The Flash season 7, episode 4 review: Central City Strong

“I’m the greatest magician of all-time, which is why you should be more than just afraid.” Spoilers for The Flash season 7, episode 4 follow.

With Eva defeated, Team Flash begins to rebuild Central City in the episode that was supposed to serve as the premiere of The Flash season 7. But while they do so, Iris continues to adjust to being back in the real world.

Just as things begin to calm down though, Abra Kadabra makes his way back to the present day from the far future.

Do you believe in magic?

Who’s a great villain to use in the interim when you don’t want to just jump straight into the next big bad of the season? Well, Abra Kadabra is the perfect Arrowverse villain to use for what seems to be a one-off episode that bridges the gap between two story arcs. David Dastmalchian chews the scenery exceptionally well in the role every time he shows up, so it’s always fun to see this sadistic villain on the show. The character itself is definitely not someone who warrants half of a season to devote to though, so it’s great to just basically have some one-shots with him from time-to-time – and that’s exactly what we got here.

What’s really great about his appearance here though is that he’s no longer just basically causing mischief throughout Central City. He’s out for blood. This creates a much more interesting dynamic for the character to have with Flash and also provides him with a better motivation that of which he’s previously had, even if it’s not revealed until later on in the episode. Plus, Kadabra’s plan of using an anti-matter bomb to destroy Central City builds on the previous storyline in a very organic way.

And as much fun as it to see a magic vs. speed fight, the climax of this episode makes the best choice possible by not throwing a single punch. Seeing The Flash talk Kadabra down and treat him as a person instead of a villain is a wonderful story move. It’s arguably one of the most heroic things that Flash has ever done on this show so far. It’s just too bad that Abra suddenly gets killed by a monster that looks like Rampage, aka Kitty Faulkner.

Readjusting in The Flash season 7

One thing that was worrying about the beginning of this episode was that it looked like the show was basically going to ignore the traumatic experience that Iris, and many others, had in the Mirrorverse. The first scene basically indicated that everything was going to be hunky-dory and now that she’s out, we’re going to move on. Luckily, this absolutely isn’t the case.

Iris’ struggle to readjust to normal life is really authentic. Her inability to even write a quality article was an immediate red flag that things weren’t right with her. But then we get to see her visiting a group therapy session for those who were kidnapped by Eva and things begin to go downhill quickly. She’s very much not okay and it’s great that show doesn’t shy away showing so, even if the episode doesn’t focus on it as much as it should have.

This also leads to a great scene of Iris walking Barry through their shared trauma. It’s a fantastic scene but it could have been much better if Barry acknowledged that he wasn’t the only one traumatized by Iris’ kidnapping. If he had acknowledged Iris’ struggle as well, it would have made that scene so much more striking than it already was.

Something’s wrong with the cold

The least focused-on part of the episode, as it feels more like set-up for the next story arc, but yet again there’s something wrong with Frost. It’s unclear what’s actually wrong with her at this moment in time, but it’s obvious that something’s messing with her head.

This could very much be setting up the proper introduction of Kitty Faulkner into this season of The Flash as Frost goes to her to help with whatever is troubling her. Kitty is very similar to how Frost has been portrayed early on in the show, so if this is the way that the season is heading, it’s poised to be interesting.

In what is probably the best episode of the current season of The Flash so far, Abra Kadabra really gets a chance to shine.

What did you think of The Flash season 7, episode 4? Let us know in the comments below!