The Flash 6x16 : So Long and Goodnight review

Be warned there will be *SPOILERS* involved in this review. With that being said let's get into it. 

The Flash returns from it's extended hiatus due to everything that's been going on in the world. And with this show back can it continue it's forward momentum in a season that has been extremely strong for the most part. The episode begins with Joseph Carver hiring Ragdoll to kill Joe West who is getting to close to his entire Black Hole operation. In the mirror world we see that Iris is slowly adapting to her surroundings much to Eva's dismay. Eva communicates again with Iris in the outside world and tasks her with draining The Flash of his speed so that he can't help Joe bring down her husband. If anyone is going to do that it's going to be her. Iris agrees and throughout the episode we get little nods that she is slowly draining his speed as Barry's watch turns from green, to yellow all the way to red by episode's end. Speaking of Joe we see him driving in the city. He goes to slow down his car but it won't stop instead it only goes faster and faster going as far as 120mph. He bails out of the car just before it hits a wall and explodes into flames. Soon after everyone arrives including the former Captain Singh who mentions placing Joe in witness protection as out in the open his life is in danger. Joe disagrees and says that soon Carver will slip up and then he will get him. 

At CCPD we see Joe interviewing the last assassin we saw get taken down by The Flash and Joe..Sunshine. Joe interviews her but ends up getting interrupted by none other than Ragdoll who was hiding inside of a CCPD file box behind Joe. He contorts and moves himself out of the box and attacks Joe. He shows off a new power which is now he's able to move out of the way of bullets catch them before firing back. The Flash soon arrives and catches 2 out of 3 bullets as he falls to the ground with his speed diminishing even more. The 3rd bullet hits Joe right in the shoulder as he crumples to the floor in pain. This leaves not only Iris in his ear about saving Joe but now Cecil too as they both mention how they can't lose him. With his speed going down more and more with each use Barry feels the toll of it all heavy on his shoulders. 

The episode draws to a close as Joe pays Joseph Carver a visit at his home. He manages to squeeze out of Carver that he is behind Ragdoll's attempt on Joe's life. He even gets him on record on a phone recording but it's short lived as Carver deletes it thanks to a in house built EMP device that can wipe anything from any device. In short Carver threatens not only Joe but Cecil and their daughter also if Joe continues digging into his business. Joe punches him square in the face and leaves and as he arrives back with Barry they learn that Cecil has been kidnapped by Ragdoll who Barry also learns was the one behind the faulty brake line on in Joe's car earlier. Joe goes to save Cecil who is strapped to a chair with a bomb ticking away with 5 minutes on the clock. The Flash arrives also and subdues Ragdoll who mentions how his mother passed away recently. He also says that this bomb explosion was not only going to be Cecil's demise but his own also. While Flash deals with him Joe manages to swap places with Cecil and with mere minutes remaining on the clock Joe orders Flash to take Cecil away. Flash does but returns just a second after Joe pulls out the wires to the bomb defusing it in the process. A bit anti-climactic if I do say so myself. The episode ends with three further developments. First off is that Joe agrees to go into Witness Protection and Singh sets the whole thing up. Joe asks Barry to look after Iris for him and to tell her that he loves her. With Joe out of the picture we see the former Captain Singh in his car. He looks into the mirror and we see Eva in it's reflection. Singh says that Joe is out of the way now which leaves Carver to Eva. Speaking of Carver he is the second thing and it involves him getting a mirror delivery. Upon reveal he sees Eva who instantly criticizes his way of doing things. He says he is protecting the world and there is nothing that can stop him. He shatters the mirror with his arm as on the ground various scattered shards of the mirror are seen looking back up at him as Eva looks on. Things get even more intense and emotional as the final thing is Iris and Barry's relationship taking a total 180. With Joe in Witness Protection and having not being able to say goodbye to him Iris takes it upon herself to blame Barry for every single thing that's happened. She goes as far as to throw him out of their apartment shutting the door on him as he slowly drifts off from the hallway. This was totally out of character for Iris even though I know she's not herself right now. Perhaps this is how Barry figures out that this isn't his Iris?? could be very possible. All in all though I did like this episode. Ragdoll was as creepy as ever and Barry's dealings with his speed issues is forever fascinating to me. It did feel a bit clunky at times with Iris being more of an annoyance more than anything else and Carver just not being a true captivating villain. It's great to have this show back however and I'm sure it'll only get better as we go on. 

★★★