Love is a Battlefield, picking up immediately after where the previous episode left off, seemingly sees Iris West-Allen (Candice Patton) in Eva McCulloch’s office at McCulloch Technologies. Dazed and possibly a tad confused, Iris pulls herself up off the floor from behind Eva’s desk. With the sound of approaching footsteps, Iris makes her escape. The scene transitions to an exterior shot of the apartment building where Iris and Barry Allen / The Flash (Grant Gustin) reside.

It’s a few days before Valentine’s Day and Iris has prepared for her husband a special breakfast. If you’ve been paying attention, as all good Arrowverse fans should, you’ll know Iris doesn’t have a good reputation in the kitchen. She makes my mother look good and she could burn water. The anticipation on Barry’s face, considering Iris isn’t a great cook, is telling. There is more than a hint of dread as he inches his way toward taking his first bite. The bite leaves Barry wondering when his wife learned how to cook. Unbeknownst to Barry, other than an expensive new juicer, the coming few days will have more surprises than he can handle.

Later that night, hoping to enjoy a pre-Valentine’s Day meal together, Barry and Iris are seen seated opposite each other at Giovanni’s Italian restaurant. Barry, when the waiter (Rodrigo Massa) speaks to him in Italian, apologies for not understanding the language. It is here that Barry discovers Iris can speak Italian. Barry is shocked, there is no mistake. Iris reminds Barry of the story she wrote a few months back on Little Italy. She explains that she picked up a phrase or two. Exemplifying her point, not that it is something one would use in polite conversation, Iris tells Barry porca miseria means pig misery.

As the evening unfolds, with this being Central City, the pleasantness is interrupted when Leslie Jocoy / Amunet Black (Katee Sackhoff) makes an appearance. I personally don’t care what people say about Katee Sackhoff’s British accent. I like it. Get over it!

We previously saw the British metahuman in the 2018 season four episode Harry and the Harrisons. That was the one where Amunet teamed up with Team Flash to defeat Clifford DeVoe / The Thinker (Neil Sandilands). It was also the episode where Dr Harry Wells (Tom Cavanagh) is expelled from the “Council of Wells,” but that’s an entirely different issue.

Amunet gets her target to reveal himself by threatening to kill everyone in the restaurant. He hands over the briefcase. When Barry attempts to arrest Amunet, she notes his position as a CSI. That shouldn’t stop him from being able to arrest her. The thing that does prevent the arrest is her knowing he’s The Flash. I almost fell off my chair when I heard Amunet refer to Barry’s superhuman costume as a onesie. Seriously? How did Iris manage to keep a straight face?

Is Barry willing to risk being outed as The Flash? No. Consequently, because of Amunet’s threat, Iris does much of the heavy lifting. That bar scene is excellently executed. This is the bar where Amunet used to hand out. Iris walks in like she owns the place.

When Iris asks about Amunet, whilst it doesn’t initially look like she’s going to get the information she wants, she proves herself more than capable of handling the situation. Iris takes out the bar’s bouncer, Skullstar (Darryl Quon), with a single swing of a bottle. As Iris takes care of business, in the STAR Labs van, Barry is freaking out in a big way. Lars Patel (Kyle Strauts) gives Iris the information she’s looking for. What could Amunet possibly want from Ivo Labs?

Image Credit: IMDb.com

Barry doesn’t seem to have much confidence in Iris’ ability to get things done. Obviously, even though Barry is rightfully concerned for Iris’ safety, this isn’t the 1950’s. Iris doesn’t need Barry to treat her like she’s a damsel in distress. This Iris doesn’t need protecting.

The next thing we see is the door of a safe being blown off its hinges. I guess it’s a good thing Amunet loves loud noises because that’s essentially what we got. Amunet removes a black case from the safe. Close by, as Amunet gets her hands on her next illegal acquisition, Barry and Iris watch what the British metahuman is doing. What’s in the case?

When Keith Kenyon / Goldface (Damion Poitier) shows up, even though Iris correctly notes that they used to date, Barry wrongly concludes he is working with Amunet. It quickly becomes evident they aren’t working together.

Amunet and Goldface argue about their vinyl record collection. Even after the Security Guard (Phillip Mitchell) shows up, they continue arguing like their a married couple on the verge of splitting up. As they bicker at each other, not that the security guard is amused, Iris steals the object from the case without anyone noticing. Subsequently, because both Amunet and Goldface believe the other has the object, a gang wat between the two factions ensues. Unfortunately, possibly due to certain production issues, the gang war is entirely off-camera.

Iris’ observations, given how Amunet and Goldface argued, is far more personal that Barry realises. The investigative journalist develops a plan where she gives Amunet the device. Barry objects to Iris’ plan because he feels it’s too risky.

Barry doesn’t seem to get Iris has grown over the past few months. Iris doesn’t need Barry to save her. She’s no longer his damsel in distress. It was Barry that insisted Team Flash be prepared for life without him. Ignoring Barry’s advice, Iris takes the second device to Amunet. Amunet is planning to steal a rare orchid that blooms once every 25 years. It’s not the flower Amunet is interested in as much as it is the pollen. The pollen, when adequately heated, can be synthesised into a telepathic narcotic. Amunet is immediately suspicious of Iris.

Iris tells Amunet that she wants to use the pollen to gain telepathic abilities so that she can read Barry’s mind. She convinces Amunet that she’s trying to save her marriage. Amunet, believing that men are all idiots, buys into Iris’ story. Amunet agrees to let Iris in on her little floral heist.

Iris and Amunet break into an unnamed facility to steal the orchid. The two women have a brief heart-to-heart. As business boomed, as Amunet tells Iris, the passion in her relationship with Goldface wilted and died. Shortly thereafter, Goldface makes an appearance. He steals the device directly out of Amunet’s hands.

Barry shows up in his onesie to support his wife. Iris, with another reckless plan, suggests to Barry that he burn the orchid. The pollen is released. Amunet and Goldface hear each other’s real thoughts. Surprisingly, not really, they are still in love with each other. Amunet and Goldface get it on. This is not an image Barry or Iris will manage to forget in a hurry.

After saving the day, having returned home, Barry and Iris share a tender moment. Whilst this Iris is a bit more confident with her abilities, something which is much overdue, the real Iris is still in the Mirrorverse. Is it Eva pretending to be Iris?

In other parts of the episode, we see Frost (Danielle Panabaker) helping Allegra Garcia (Kayla Compton) get past her issues with her ex-boyfriend Emerson Fairweather (Tyson Arner). There are references to life not being black and white. The brief conversation between police Captain Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) and Barry notes the mirror-like way trees grow. The branches of a tree grow outwards in the same way the roots penetrate the surrounding ground. Mirrors and opposites are a clear theme.

There is a scene in CC Jitters where Harrison ‘Nash’ Wells (Tom Cavanagh) momentarily sees what essentially looks like a first season Harrison Wells. Is it the first season Wells or could it be Earth-2 Wells? The facial expression is suggestive of the former Wells rather than the latter one.

Next Time …