Please Keep In Mind That This Article Contains Potential Spoilers For “Liberation” and Events That Occurred Prior
It’s not a secret that I believe the Mirror Iris storyline has gone on for far too long. It took until this week’s installment to finally reveal the imposter to the team. Originally I had thought that then when they got around to it, that the reveal would be done in a mediocre fashion. Color me surprised then, that when it came time for the big reveal, it was done in a surprisingly interesting and unique way.
I still stand by my belief that the entire fracture between Barry and Iris held no emotional footing. However, it was a big event that the writer’s took advantage of in an interesting way. Coming right off the big exile from Iris, Barry knew something was off. To anyone else though, it would simply seem that he was grasping at crazy straws due to the severity of the situation. And that’s exactly how the writer’s played it out on screen. Barry came across as crazy, and a little obsessed. Immediately leaning into crazy ideas before simply considering the more likely logical reasons why everything happened. While we know Iris isn’t Iris, Barry’s way of coping certainly wasn’t the healthiest. While the irony behind it all is strong, in the fact that he was actually correct, there’s no doubt that it wasn’t the sanest first course of action.
This is where Cecile shines. At first, she thought what anyone would think: Barry was simply heartbroken and not able to cope. Yet, despite everything telling her otherwise, she decided to give Barry a chance. A powerful choice that she even doubled down on when all of the facts presented to her told her that Barry was lying. We don’t get much of Cecile/Barry time, so it was refreshing to get some focus on that dynamic this week. It was touching to see her stand her ground so firmly when it came to believing in Barry—and placing her entire faith in him.
When it can to Mirror Iris, her desire to be alive was a nice touch. Though it would have had a far greater impact had it been seeded through the story earlier. They certainly had plenty of time to do so. I mean to this point, she only seemed like an evil drone. Not even a hint of anything deeper—so it kinda came out of left field. As for the real Iris, after taking her sweet time, she finally discovered the truth about Eva (You’re telling me she never noticed that button before now?). The real standout aspect of Iris’ role in this episode came at the very end. The last sequence with Barry and Iris talking to each other through the glass was very touching, and was a fantastic moment for the both of them. It’s been awhile since we got a truly genuine moment between the two of them. It’s a shame that it had to be preceded by a fairly subpar and awkward action sequence.
“Liberation” finally moved the storyline forward when it came to Iris on all sides of the glass. Not only does the entire team now know about the Iris situation, but Eva is also free of her imprisonment. I’m still unsure of Eva as a villain, or of Efrat Dor’s performance. Sometimes I’m digging it, other times not so much. Now that she’s out in the world properly, we’ll get a true taste of her villainess presence. Her first action scene certainly wasn’t a great first taste though.
Bonus Notes:
- I’m still not sure I understand why Eva hasn’t been able to get out this entire time. I mean she seems to be able to make faux people and control them fairly well.
- Pretty convenient that Iris just had Eva’s entire plan and previous diabolical actions just played back to her.
- Also in this episode? Caitlin had THE cold. The plot spent so little time, and held no real narrative value. It felt entirely unnecessary. As if it was added as an afterthought.
