The Flash S04E16 Review: Fastest Woman Alive

The Flash, Season 4, Episode 16: Run, Iris, Run

Yeah, this episode got a lot of flak online, because how dare they remove Barry Allen's speed and give them to Iris West. 

Honestly, it's just something that happens for a single episode, sort of a Freaky Friday situation, although just with powers as opposed to bodies. And it's... it's not a bad episode, honestly. I just feel that they actually really tried to do something more interesting with Iris-the-Flash as opposed to "she tries to use Barry's powers". It does feel like an old-fashioned season one episode with Iris in place of Barry, and Candice Patton's a great enough actress that her giddy enthusiasm in getting superspeed (with pink lightning for some reason) is pretty fun. But at the same time... the episode is so messy. There are multiple B-plots that feel like they're scripted by a different writing team compared to the past few episodes, and while we do get a brand-new character introduced (an Asian one, to boot!) he's such a plot device that I feel that he's going to go the same way that H.R.'s scientist girlfriend was in the end of the third season -- introduced for a specific purpose, then forgotten. 

The B-plots are particularly frustrating. with Ralph Dibny being reverted back to his ultimate douchehole mode. Yes, I do get that the man's frustrated and he really doesn't want to die, but after the character development he went through in regards to facing off against Trickster and later his moment with Izzy Bowin, it really feels like three steps backwards here when he not only refuses to help out anyone, but ends up being a gigantic douchehole to everyone. Now I don't expect Ralph to completely transform into a goody-two-shoes, but at the same time... this is such a bizarrely badly-written character progression that it really hurt my experience watching this episode.

There's also the fact that Iris was motivated to throw her neck into danger just because Ralph said some mean words to her and she wants to prove him wrong, which I feel is bizarrely immature not only for Iris, but especially for Ralph -- whose career through the past episodes involves him struggling and trying to conquer his cowardice and selfishness. 

Meanwhile, Harry has the idea to look into video footage and wants to use Thinker's Thinking Cap on his own brain, while Cisco is so angry at this that he flat-out refuses to help Harry. Their plotline is genuinely unsatisfying and feels shoehorned in so that there'll be some faux conflict between these characters beyond a shrug and "oh yeah, Harry made this, he's super smart now". The plotline feels somewhat forced, and both Harry and Cisco are being complete dicks for no real reason. 

Iris's brief stint as a pink-lightning Flash is pretty neat. I'm not as enthused about the cheesy "WE are the Flash" line, but I actually enjoyed Patton's performance as she tries her best at playing superhero, and there's a neat bit of energy that the show hasn't really had in its past few episodes. We also get the surprising acknowledgement that, yes, Iris's reporting career isn't just something that the writers forgot about, but also something that she, in-universe has sort of put to the side as her characterization became more intrinsically tied to Barry and STAR Labs. Still, though, the episode does end up with some very questionable plot points, like somehow the only way to stop a fire tornado is... a tsunami? And Vibe and Killer Frost constantly being left behind (other than the one time Cisco pops on over to teleport Iris out of the burning building) feels like an intentinal handicap so hat we jump through hoops to get to a big spectacular climax... something that didn't work as well as it was probably intended. 

The main bus metahuman in this episode is Matthew Kim, a.k.a. Melting Point, an original character created for this season with no comic-book counterpart. He has the ability to transfer metahuman powers completely from one person to another, and it's insanely convenient... but while he sees himself as some sort of judge that goes "you deserve this power! You don't!" he didn't realize that his ability doesn't remove powers, but rather transfers them. Which is what happens when he transfers the lava-shooting powers of one Eric Frye into -googles- Jaco Birch (two more metahumans with no comic book counterpart). The fire-shooting dudes are all hammy, fun throwaway villains, but they're not the bus metahumans we're looking for, with Eric Frye's powers being operational all the way since the first season. It's some neat fluff with some fun CGI bits with a fire tornado and a tidal wave. 

Regardless, though, Matthew Kim ends up joining Team Flash, seemingly on a quasi-permanent basis because his power-transferring ability might just be the key they need to beat DeVoe. I'm not really that sure about him as a character, though, because he's honestly pretty flat. Granted, the episode focuses more on the central cast, but at the same time I kinda wished that either this episode or the next would actually explore who Matthew Kim is, or if he's as much a plot device as Harry's Thinking Cap. I mean, no one even mentions him holding a knife to Iris's neck earlier in the episode? Really? 

Overall, an episode that would've been fun, but has a fair amount of problems with its B-plots that it ends up feeling messy instead. At least we got the scene where Harry suggests they genetically transform the bus metas into chickens. That's funny. Jaco Birch's hamminess ("LONG LIVE ROCK AND ROLL") is also hilarious. 

DC Easter Eggs Corner:

• Thinking Cap Harry gives the last two metahumans' names as Janet Petty and Edwin Gauss. I can't find anything about Janet, but Edwin Gauss is the real name of the Flash supervillain Folded Man, a scientist who built a suit that allows him to travel into the second and fourth dimensions. He fought Wally West's Flash, and briefly joined the Rogues.
• Iris's costume seems to be based on the superheroine XS, a.k.a. Jenni Ognats, grand-daughter of Barry Allen and Iris West in the comics, and a supporting member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. 
• The Thinker's helmet is finally christened the "Thinking Cap" by Cisco, which is what it's called in the comics. 
• Neither Matthew Kim, Eric Frye or Jaco Birch are characters with any sort of equivalent counterpart from the comics. While there's a minor villain called Dr. Melting Point in the comics, there doesn't seem to be any connection with Matthew Kim or what he can do.