At first glance, this is a filler episode. Clive Yorkin doesn't add anything relatively new to the series that other one-off villains had, but tonight's episode posed a serious threat to the team both mentally and physically.
I'm not sure this show has the guts to kill off Iris, but they sure are milking out this storyline for better or worse. It reminds me a whole lot of Arrow teasing a team member's death last year from the first episode. But in this case, it's much easier to get emotionally invested because we know it's Iris from the get-go. It also doesn't hurt that both Candice Patton and Jesse L. Martin have been fantastic as of late. The latter particularly had a memorable night.
So Yorkin gave the team the conundrum of having the ability to turn everything he touches into ash. This became particularly frustrating as Yorkin continued to take out cop after cop in pursuit of taking down those who wronged him during Flashpoint. It's not the fast nor probably the last villain Julian aka Alchemy created, but I'm glad that this gave him some extra incentive to help Team Flash. And really, that was the episode's greatest strength, the team. Sometimes the CW shows are so packed with characters and plot lines that certain characters get pushed to the background but tonight seemed to highlight everything that Team Flash can bring to the table. Caitlin and Julian worked on the autopsies, Cisco and Wells ripped off one-liners to provide comic relief, Barry and Wally trained for the future, and Joe headlined everything by giving the best performance of the evening. I couldn't have asked for a better team effort.
But who knows if the effort will be enough come May. Savitar may be sidelined for a few episodes but he will make his return. Even if Iris doesn't depart, he will take someone. The future, much like the past, has a way of fixing itself back to what was originally going to happen in some way shape or form. As devastating as it was to see Joe find out about his daughter's supposed fate, I'm betting it will be equally hard to say goodbye to the person who does die. I think it's still most likely Julian at this point. In all, tonight's CSI style episode continued the string of solid episodes since the break. It's all but guaranteed that will continue next week as the Team travels to Earth-2 and Gorilla City with Jesse Quick & company.
+Another really well written and well-rounded adventure
+A test for the team in more ways than one
+Jesse L. Martin killing it
8.6/10
