Does Barry want to be the kind of hero that kills?
It's something the speedster considered when Grodd arrived on Earth-1 with an army of gorillas on
The Flash Season 3 Episode 14 "Attack on Central City."
But was he pondering the option because he believed it was the right thing to do? Or because he wanted to save Iris?
The answer likely lies somewhere in the middle.
It's understandable for Barry to be frustrated. As he said, Grodd
manages to come back stronger each time. The only way to make sure that
doesn't happen again is for the gorilla to die.
Barry even questioned if he made the right choice letting Solovar live on
The Flash Season 3 Episode 13. He started to think mercy might not be the way to go.
Iris: Wait. You want to kill Grodd?
Barry: Why not? That's how their
society in Gorilla City works. Kill or be killed. That's why he wanted
me to kill Solovar. You know what? I should've. I showed too much mercy.
Iris: No. You did what's right, Barry. As you always do. That's what makes you a hero.
Thank God for Iris West.
She knows Barry better than anyone. She's the exact person he needed to
tell him that he's not a killer. It doesn't matter if other heroes can
be killers.
Barry's heart and humanity are what drive him. Iris knew that if he
risked those, even for her, he wouldn't be the same person any longer.
She made it clear her life was not worth him losing who he is.
We need to take a moment and appreciate Iris' strength.
She's living her life knowing each day brings her closer to her
prophesied death. One little tweak could change her fate, but she
refuses to let anyone else sacrifice for her.
Not only that, she still comes to work every day, both at the lab, and
at her reporting job, and fights to make the city a safer place.
We should all aspire to be that selfless.
Go ahead and raise your hand if you squealed when Barry proposed.
I enjoyed the symmetry of the opening scene where Barry made breakfast
and the proposal scene. The last few episodes have a pattern of giving
us little moments of Iris and Barry being adorable in their domestic
life.
It's a nice balance to all the craziness. The show's always been good at striking that balance.
Too bad they left us with a cliffhanger when it came to Iris' answer.
She's going to say yes, right?
Barry and Iris weren't the only ones with love on the brain.
Thanks to H.R., Team Flash was celebrating Friendship Day before all
hell broke loose. Like Barry and Iris' quiet moments, it's always fun to
see the team smiling, and having fun in between chaos.
H.R. has grown on me more than I realized over the course of the
season. To the point where I wasn't even that upset about seeing Harry
going back to Earth-2.
Seriously, though, how much fun was the bantering between the two men?
H.R.: I'm fascinated by the subtle differences between us.
Harry: And the not so subtle ones.
H.R.: Like what?
Harry: Like the fact that I'm a genius and you're a moron.
It's hilarious to watch Harry be grumpier than usual around H.R. It's
obvious a part of him is jealous. But he's also egotistical and crabby.
Of course he's going to make snide remarks every chance he gets.
As H.R. predicted, Harry didn't take the news of Jesse's choice well. I
felt bad for Wally even as I correctly guessed Harry was just messing
with him.
But Harry did the right thing in the end. He threatened his daughter's boyfriend's life, and then wished them well.
Oh, fine. I'm going to miss Harry a lot. Can't we keep both of them?
One more potential love story we have to touch on: Cisco and Gypsy.
The bounty hunter returned and immediately refused to help with the
Grodd situation. Normally, that would be infuriating. But it's hard to
blame her. It wasn't her fight. She'd already been pulled in thanks to
Grodd's manipulation.
Cisco letting her leave without putting up too much of a fight was the
right call. And so was following her back to Earth-19 to try and reason
with her again.
One of the greatest things about Cisco, and there are many, is his ability to understand people.
He appreciated what Gypsy did for him when she helped him awaken more
of his power. He wanted to do the same. He recognized she wanted to be a
hero, too. She needed an extra push.
Plus, once Team Flash won the battle, Gypsy and Cisco shared their first kiss. Is she his love donut? Time will tell.
Finally, how cool was it to see Grodd and Solovar fighting?
The speedsters didn't stand a chance against the gorillas. But when it came time for the death blow, I found myself cringing.
I know Grodd's done terrible things, but I didn't want to see him die.
Thankfully, neither did Barry.
I love that he showed Grodd mercy. Maybe he doesn't deserve it, but
Barry's not a killer. If he would have sentenced Grodd to death at
Solovar's hand, it wouldn't be that much different than killing him
himself.
Besides, we need to keep as many of the interesting villains alive as possible since the later season ones have been lacking.
Which brings us to the final scene of the episode and the return of Savitar.
Despite the reminders of Iris' future murder that kick off each
episode, I forgot Savitar existed. It took me a moment to figure out who
he was when he greeted Wally.
I hope the upcoming story proves to be more memorable than the buildup.
Your turn! Hit the comments and tell us what you thought of "Attack on
Central City." Do you think Iris will say yes? What will Savitar do to
Wally?
Remember, you can
watch The Flash online anytime!
