Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Arrowverse catchup, this time looking at Flash season 4 episode 13, Goldfaced. This episode saw Barry have to fight without his powers and I would say that this is actually one of the better episodes where they have done this type of story. The team up with Ralph was strong and it allowed Barry to show off a bit of his comedic side saved normally only for crossover episodes. It also gave Ralph time to shine in a more serious and competent role, having to take the lead in a number of instances. I liked the whole story with him at first being prepared to do what the rest of Team Flash couldn’t but then choosing to not commit the crime himself in the end. This was actually one of Ralph’s stand out episodes so far in my opinion.

Now let me talk about Cicada: I love the idea of the villain and have enjoyed some of his performances but this episode was really strange in his portrayal. Either the actor suddenly forgot how to act or he was being way too over the top. The delivery of some of the lines were just not good, especially if he was trying to convince Iris that he was not a deranged serial killer. Speaking of Iris, she is the key to stopping Cicada…she absolutely battered the guy! Just send her back in there for a second round and it’ll all be sorted!

The Goldface villain himself was a nice one time villain with his name being revealed to be literal. The image of him melting from the inside was a gruesome one but how did he survive it? Surely like his brain would have been destroyed (even though I guess you don’t want too much blood on Barry’s hands).

The whole Sherloque stuff felt unnecessary but in a way that was the point. It was supposed to be something to distract Wells and consume his attention and to that extent it worked. It took me way too long to realise that the woman he met in Jitters was the same woman he had married multiple times on different Earths. Somehow that flew straight past me.

Overall a good episode which had a clear message for Barry. You do not need your speed to do a good job. Just getting a giant net or something. Be like the Scooby Gang and cook up a plan to catch this idiot!

DD Rating: 8/10