Grant Gustin
Barry Allen/The Flash
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Cast
Episode Guide
- 1. Pilot Oct 7, 2014
- CSI Barry Allen gains powers when lightning strikes him during a freak storm.
- 2. Fastest Man Alive Oct 14, 2014
- Barry experiences a setback while pursuing robbers; Iris is more intrigued by the "red streak."
- 3. Things You Can't Outrun Oct 21, 2014
- Barry and the team track The Mist -- a dangerous new meta-human with toxic gas powers.
- Going through the looking glass.
- The Flash: "Liberation" Photos
- Verdict
By Jesse Schedeen
Posted: Apr 29, 2020 2:51 am
Warning: this review contains full spoilers for The Flash: Season 6, Episode 17. If you need a refresher on where we left off, here's our review for Season 6, Episode 16.
The second half of The Flash: Season 6 doesn't feel quite as fast-paced as the first. Maybe it's that there are more moving parts to juggle in the aftermath of Crisis, or simply that new episodes have aired more sporadically over the last few months. Either way, "Liberation" is a big step in the right direction for the series. This episode helps push the Mirror Master storyline into its next phase while even linking back to the first half of Season 6 and working to tie everything together. Ignoring the inescapable fact that this season isn't going to get the conclusion originally planned, things are shaping up nicely for the next several weeks. Mostly, anyway.
Several running plot threads come to a head in "Liberation," with Eva making her big play to escape the mirror dimension and Barry finally coming to terms with the fact that the person he thought was Iris is actually an impostor. Continuing the general Season 6 theme of finding a balance between humor and tragedy, there's a welcome dose of comedy to Barry's discovery. The scene where Cecile confronts Barry at home is basically the Arrowverse's take on that infamous Pepe Silvia meme from It's Always Sunny. "Mirrors!"That moment helps cleanse the palate before things take a much darker turn in the latter half of the episode. Eva once again proves how adept she is at manipulating Team Flash and turning them against one another when they should be confronting a common enemy. And even after Cecile frees Barry to go confront Mirror Iris, we see just how unequipped he is to deal with a foe who can hide behind the faces of those he cares for most. Barry's depleted speed definitely stacks the deck against him, but this episode is successful in showing how Mirror Master can be a formidable threat even against a speedster at full power. The battle between Barry and Mirror Iris uses the mirror mechanic to its fullest, culminating in that cool moment where Iris shatters the ceiling mirror and strikes at Barry from countless directions at once.
Another big strength of this episode comes with its focus on giving the mirror doppelgangers a clearer sense of personality and motivation. It's much easier to appreciate these characters as, well, actual characters now. We understand the subservient bond they share with their "mother," even as we see Mirror Iris beginning to develop feelings of independence and longing for a humanity she can never achieve. That helps give the eventual death of Mirror Iris a weight and significance that might otherwise be lacking. Even Mirror Kamilla's sacrifice has an aura of tragedy, showing us just how callously Eva will throw these creations away once they served their purpose.
On that note, it's quite a treat seeing Sendhil Ramamurthy return as a captive Ramsey Rosso. As novel as the two-pronged approach to Season 6 has been, it's also nice to see some extra connective tissue form between the two halves. And given that Ramsey never quite seemed like he got his due as the main villain of a half-season story arc, the implication that he still has a big role to play in the series is a welcome development. I do wish there were a clearer sense of why Eva needed Ramsey's metahuman blood to achieve her escape, other than just "because it furthers the plot." But regardless, it's nice knowing we can look forward to Bloodwork's return, whether that means he resurfaces later in Season 6 or his "long game" pays off further down the road. If Legends of Tomorrow has proven anything, it's that there's no reason to discard good villains after one season of television.
It's also worth pointing out the unique approach taken to the closing epilogue scene. These scenes are almost always used as stingers - a chance to toss in one more unexpected plot twist before the credits roll. But in this case, we're treated to a heartfelt moment where both Barry and Iris reach out to one another and pledge to reunite. It's a nicely emotional way to cap off the episode, as well as providing a reminder of what's at stake as Barry struggles to figure out how to deal with the Eva problem.
It was past time The Flash picked up the pace with the ongoing Mirror Master story arc, and "Liberation" gives the series just the adrenaline boost it needed. This episode manages to mine plenty of emotional drama and a bit of humor out of Barry's realization that something is dangerously wrong with his wife. That culminates in a satisfying first s...
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Apr 28, 2020 · Liberation: Directed by Jeffrey W. Byrd. With Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes. After recent events, Barry takes a closer look at his life with Iris; Eva makes a bold move.
- (1.8K)
- Action, Adventure, Drama
- Jeffrey W. Byrd
- 2020-04-28
Apr 29, 2020 · This week on The Flash, Barry argued that "Iris" isn't his actual wife. But when it came time to make his case, did the evidence reflect poorly on him? Plus, which blast from the past made a...
- Matt Webb Mitovich
Apr 29, 2020 · Episode 17, “Liberation,” begins with Barry ( Grant Gustin ), Cisco ( Carlos Valdes ), and Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) at S.T.A.R. Labs testing the artificial Speed Force generator they built. It starts to work but then quickly fizzles out and Team Flash is back to square one.
May 2, 2020 · Published May 2, 2020. In the latest episode of The Flash, Ramsey Rosso, aka Bloodwork made his return, teasing that he is playing a long game -- but what could it be? WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for "Liberation," the latest episode of The Flash, which aired Tuesday on The CW.
Apr 29, 2020 · The Flash recap: Season 6, episode 17: Liberation. TV. Recaps. The Flash recap: For Barry and Iris, the truth literally hurts. By. Chancellor Agard. Published on April 28, 2020 09:08PM EDT....
