Barry learns Iris’ secret, a baddie unleashed and Bloodwork returns in latest Flash

After spending a good chunk of the season on the wrong side of a mirror, the story of doppelgänger Iris finally came to a head this week — though that doesn’t mean OG Iris is any closer to getting free.

Spoilers ahead for “Liberation,” the latest episode of The Flash, which aired Tuesday, April 28, 2020, on The CW.

After being kicked out by Iris last week, Barry finally comes to the realization that something is truly wrong with his wife — to the point he starts investigating the possibility she’s not actually herself at all. He admittedly sounds a bit frantic trying to explain his theory to Cecile, but it’s a great balance between his manic investigation and resolve that he knows he’s right. Of course, we already know he’s right, but they pulled the journey of discovery off well for Barry. We see him trying to convince the team, their hesitance to believe him, then the “will they/won’t they” is resolved by episode’s end. Wise move not to drag that story out any further.

We even get a fun twist where Barry’s big reveal to show Iris is a fake goes awry, as Eva mirror swaps the Mirror Person Detector to have it instead show Barry as the impostor — leading Nash and Cecile to lock him up for a bit. It’s also Cecile who sees through the tricks to realize that, evidence or not, Barry is still Barry. So she lets him go despite not being sure if it’s the right call or not.

Mirror Iris also gets some character development this week, as we learn she simply wants to be alive, and that drive is even stronger than her urge to serve her master, Eva (and we also learn here that Singh is definitely a mirror doppelgänger, so his real version is also lost somewhere in the Mirror Universe). In a twist that felt a bit too abrupt, she also channels some of real Iris’ inner goodness, and chooses to let him go and try to find her (after literally trying to kill him liquid Terminator-style a few moments earlier, but still). Upon that betrayal, Eva immediately shatters Mirror Iris, so now we’re officially back down to one, real Iris. She’s just, you know, still trapped in the Mirror Universe.

Eva also finally makes her escape, or liberation, as she calls it, from the Mirror Universe. So she’s officially on the loose, and most likely aiming to take out her estranged husband who left her trapped there.

But all that drama leads to arguably the best moment of the episode, where Barry and Iris speak to each other — even though they can’t actually hear one another — through the mirror. After seeing the power couple of the Arrowverse struggle so mightily the past few weeks, it was a touching reset to remind us all of the true love that runs through the heart of this series. Their love has carried this show for five seasons, and it’s nice to see it’s as strong as ever — across dimensions or not. They finally know what’s going on, Barry is trying to find Iris, and Iris is using her time in the Mirror Universe to now try and find and rescue her fellow prisoners in Singh and Kamilla.

Assorted musings

The CW

Bloodwork is back! Or at least, still in ARGUS custody despite an attempted jail break. Eva sends her mirror folk to get some of his blood, which is the missing ingredient to stabilize the mirror and facilitate her escape, and attempt to bail him out. But instead of making a run for it, Bloodshot offers up some blood then hops back into his cell at the last moment — noting he has an even longer game he’s playing to take out The Flash. So yeah, it seems Bloodshot will definitely be back.

Caitlin is having some trouble recovering from her light wounds, and almost dies in an ice coma before Cisco and Ralph are able to zap her back into health. But the wound’s still not healing correctly, so they have to turn to Caitlin’s scientist mother for help. Look for that story to come into play in the coming weeks for sure.

Also of note: We caught up with Flash showrunner Eric Wallace, who confirmed the final three episodes of the season were not filmed before production was shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic. So, this season will most definitely end with a massive cliffhanger — since it wasn’t the original plan to end the season at this point. But he noted the scripts are written and they’re ready to roll in wrapping up this season properly, they’re just waiting for things to reach a point where production can possibly resume.

Next week: There’s a new speedster in town, and Barry is almost out of speed.