The Flash Season 4 Episode 2: Mixed Signals Review

If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.

Synopsis: Barry takes on a dangerous meta who can control technology and confronts an obstacle in his personal life: the ramifications of abandoning Iris for six months to balance the Speed Force. Meanwhile, Gypsy prepares for a hot date with Cisco, but she gets annoyed when his work keeps them apart. (TVGuide)

Writers: Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza

Director: Alexandra La Roche

Rating: TV-PG

Running Time: 43 minutes

The Flash is off to a more light-hearted and humorous start this season. After a season of gloom and doom, this has been a nice change going into Season 4. Tonight’s episode dealt with something we’ve never quite seen before. Barry aka The Flash going to therapy. After being away in the Speed Force for 6 months, him and Iris are having communication problems. Not to mention, Barry has decided to dive headfirst into his prior responsibilities, without noticing all that has changed around him.

It was refreshing to see the characters back to their old selves again. Cisco is in love, Barry is loving being the Flash again, and Wally is killing it as Kid Flash (even though his character seems to get less important with time). The team is back together and ready to face Central City’s enemies. This episode introduced us to what is a wave of tech-based villains that seem to be a big part of the show this season. Last week we had the “Samuroid”, this week we had Kilg%re, who possesses the ability to hack into technology as he so wishes. This proved to make for some funny moments when he hacked into Barry’s new suit causing it to malfunction. Behind the scenes of all these new tech villains is, the Thinker. We have yet to learn his plan, but if the post-episode scenes are any indication, it ain’t gonna be good.

The subplot of Barry and Iris going to therapy felt like a genuine and necessary part of tonight’s episode. The list of problems in the world of the Flash is never-ending sometimes too unrealistic. However, seeing two characters just trying to figure out their love life and how to get on the same page was refreshing. It is understandable that Iris felt frustrated and abandoned by Barry leaving her behind, a point that needed to be talked about. Speaking of love lives, it was wonderful to see Cisco and Gypsy’s love story progress. They make for a fun couple that adds a unique element and tangent to the overall story.

There is a lot of potential in the slowly, developing plots so far this season and the hope is that they continue to build upon them. We know that the Thinker will inevitably play a huge role at some point this season. However, it seems that, at least for now, we will see a new villain emerge weekly until the eventual showdown that will occur. Let’s hope that this doesn’t cause the show to feel too dull or slow as the story progresses.

Score: 7/10

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