The Flash season 9, episode 4 review: The Mask of the Red Death, Part 1

“I don’t know who you are, but I know how much hate you must feel for me.” Spoilers for The Flash season 9, episode 4 follow.

The Flash and Red Death come face to face for the first time, but she catches him off guard, capturing him in the process.

And because of the EMP that Red Death set off, Team Flash struggles to locate where she took Barry.

Here’s everything that went down in The Flash season 9, episode 4 “The Mask of the Red Death, Part 1”.

The Flash season 9 episode 4 review

First appearance

The Red Death made her first official public appearance in Central City this week in a bid to draw The Flash out. It didn’t quite make sense, though, that everyone immediately ran away when they saw her. Wouldn’t they have thought she was Flash? Small gripe, but still. You also can’t see any detail on her mask at all when she says the iconic “I am vengeance,” line with absolutely no emotion from her body, mask, or anything. It’s beyond flat, which an iconic line like that should never be. It’s the worst kind of fan service. It’s simply there to be there rather than to be an impactful twist on something that came before.

Red Death then reveals that she has another villain on her payroll now too, this time an old villain named Rainbow Raider, who immediately incapacitates Barry, which lets Red Death let out “the largest EMP separate from a nuclear event” according to Chester. Which, does any of this make sense or make for compelling television? Not really at all. But at least Grant Gustin continues to give his all. As mentioned in last week’s review, he’s too good for this show at this point and that continues to be true here.

Things improve after the reveal as to how Ryan Wilder and Red Death are in two places at once. At first, its played like this Ryan is still the main timeline’s Batwoman, but Iris quickly figures out that this isn’t the case when she arrives at the West-Allen household “looking for help.” It’s nice actually seeing Iris get to be the one who figures out the truth, but it then leads to the cliched trope of “I’m not actually from here, but where I’m from, I’m not actually the villain, I’m the hero,” and that’s beyond played out by this point. But, like Grant Gustin, Javicia Leslie is always better than the material she’s given and that continues to be the same here. She’s trying her hardest to make the generic dialogue feel compelling and nearly gets it to be.

Where this episode completely loses it though is when suddenly, in a pretty serious scene, Ryan finally reveals her true self to Iris, and quotes Batman (1989)’s iconic “You wanna get nuts? Let’s get nuts” line. It’s out of place, and the real indication of how bankrupt this season feels so far. But hey, at least it seems like Chillblaine’s dead now, so that’s positive points for the episode.

https://twitter.com/CW_TheFlash/status/1631414159412801539?s=20

Who cares?

And then, other than the main plot of the episode, there’s the subplots that people care about even less going on here.

Joe and Cecile arguing about moving out of Central City? Who cares?! It’s genuinely uninteresting and has no bearing on anyone else in the episode as, whenever the episode moves back to this two, it’s inorganic and forced in every single way. There’s nothing interesting about it whatsoever.

There’s also the biggest culprit. Allegra and Chester. No one cares. Let it go. It’s being dragged out for no reason and it’s hard not to bang your head against the wall when you see them, once again, come up with an excuse to avoid each other.

This week’s episode of The Flash season 9 had its strongest moments so far, but it still falls flat too many times.

If you’re a fan of The Flash, listen to The CW Spiral Podcast for news, updates, and announcements about season 9. Subscribe to their YouTube channel here.

What did you think of The Flash season 9, episode 4? Let us know in the comments below!