The episode ends with a reference to Impulse, which is exciting because it’s our first explicit nod to Bart Allen’s impending arrival. Even if after watching this particular arc, I’m not at all certain that Barry and Iris are meant to be parents anymore. (Sorry, XS! I loved you back in Season 5! This isn’t your fault!) This entire saga was really not a great look for them, and it made both characters nigh on insufferable at points.
Though, to be fair, a forced “family” connection between five grown adults who are virtual strangers to one another was never going to have the emotional impact that the show so clearly wanted it to, no matter how many times one of these, again, fully grown adults referred to Barry as Dad.
Truly, you know an episode is a struggle when the most entertaining part is the weird set of interludes that involved Frost randomly fighting Chillblaine in an attempt to recapture him after a freak storm set them both free from Iron Heights. Why were they in what looked like a parking garage? Where did he get that horrible feathered jacket? Why wasn’t he wearing a shirt? I don’t know, but at least their snarky and awkward flirting was entertaining. I’m kind of here for Frost’s crush, even if The Flash couldn’t keep her in prison for more than a couple of episodes.
In all honesty, “Family Matters” probably really didn’t need to be a two-parter in the first place, particularly when much of this hour retreads ground that the previous installment already covered. (Bonus points for only letting us believe Iris, Bashir, and Alexa were dead for thirty seconds, I guess.) But this episode does highlight a very specific issue that I hope someone somewhere course corrects in the back half of Season 7. And it is this: What do we have to do to just watch The Flash actually fight someone again?
Between all four Forces, Abra Kadabra, and Eva McCullough herself, this season has featured a positive plethora of villains who’ve been defeated not by our heroes’ superpowered skills, but by extended (often overly sappy) conversation. And on some level, that’s not a surprise – The Flash has always been the Arrowverse series with the biggest and most obvious heart.
But Season 7 thus far has fully leaned into the show’s worst and most saccharine tendencies, repeatedly solving problems with little more than a heartfelt speech about the power of love and some handwaving. We love these characters and we love this universe, so usually we’re all willing to go with it – the emotional beats are what we’re all here for, after all, and if The Flash gets that stuff right, we’re all willing to forgive it a great deal otherwise.
