"What's a grodd?"

Barry has such a way with words, but it was a pretty good question, having absolutely no background on the subject. In The Flash Season 1 Episode 21 Barry and Joe were schooled relatively quickly and up close in Grodd.

Did The Flash pull off what could have been a cheesy technical nightmare? Oh yes. With flying colors.

Watch The Flash Season 1 Episode 21 Online

Grodd looks good. No, Grodd looks great. He is big and he is scary. Since Grodd is telepathic, he also talks, but only inside the head of others (for now, at least, I'm not hip to what's coming by way of the comics) and that's a really great way to keep things from getting weird. 

Since Grodd talks, we got to know what he thinks of his father (he doesn't like guns, thank goodness) and banana (he didn't use the plural, he's a gorilla, after all). When Grodd leans back and roars in the faces of those before him, it is downright frightening. Good stuff. 

We also had the fallout of Iris learning about The Flash. There were some issues with this story, starting with Iris strolling right into STAR Labs unseen. It's been no time at all without Harrison (which was briefly addressed by mentioning keeping the cameras he used to spy on the team) and already the security has fallen into the crapper.

Understandably, Iris is upset. There are some things that don't make a lot of sense. Somehow, and I'm unsure of where this particular accusation comes from, she believes Joe is responsible for Eddie's capture by "the man in yellow." She has some good points, however.

Did you ever stop to think that looping me in would keep me safe? That if I knew what was out there that I could prepare for it? Maybe I could have helped you and Barry put the bad guys away instead of being in the way!

Iris

• Permalink: Did you ever stop to think that looping me in would keep me safe? That if I knew what was out...

In her defense, just as she believes she's getting a handle on things, other shoes drop around her. Harrison Wells is the man in yellow?! The man in yellow killed Barry's mom? The man in yellow killed Mason Bridge?! One by one, all of her mysteries were tied back to the people she loves. 

But she's not always the nicest in the way she goes about pointing things out, either. When she wants to bring up the burning man with Caitlin, she starts out by saying Caitlin lied. There are less offensive ways to bring up a topic. Caitlin's response was something like, well, I thought he died, but...he caught on fire instead.

Iris might want to put herself into Caitlin's shoes. Step back a minute and think...did Caitlin know her boyfriend was the burning man all that time or was there ever a point when she was in the dark, too? Everyone is in the dark at some point.

The time to which Iris is referring is one in which Caitlin had just learned her boyfriend was alive after a year. She didn't know Iris and had no obligation to tell her anything. They might have something in common and an experience to share, learning such deep, dark secrets about men they love. 

Then again, despite Barry telling Iris he's only the Flash because of Iris (really?), she doesn't want to think about him that way, at least until Eddie is safe. That statement made me wonder if Eddie will ever be safe, because it's too easy for Barry and Iris to get together romantically at this point.

I think we can assume that Iris is firmly established as a member of the team from here on out both by her skill set as a newspaper reporter and her ability to talk Barry down. Without Harrison's gentle voice, hers is now a requirement. She might wish she was never in the know once she realizes how much goes into this superhero business!

And can we talk about Eddie? Gosh he's getting funnier by the minute. 

Eddie: You know they're gonna find me. And you. You're not as smart as you think you are.
Harrison/Eobard: Oh really? 'Cause I'm a genius where I come from. Imagine how smart that makes me here.
Eddie: The future? With a name like Eobard, I guess you'd have to be.
Harrison/Eobard: Eobard is a distinguished name for a distinguished member of a distinguished family.
Eddie: It's depressing to think all of my descendants are as crazy as you.

• Permalink: It's depressing to think all of my descendants are as crazy as you.

Thank you, Eddie, for saying what we've all been thinking! What an ugly name. Eobard. Yuck. 

It appears Eobard was using Gorilla Grodd to detain the Flash team so he could get his final ingredient to make whatever he needs to get home. What the heck was it? I thought he needed something from Barry to get home. Whatever was in the blue capsule didn't come from Barry, did it?

Did I miss something, did I misunderstand past episodes...what's going on?

I really have no idea what's happening on The Flash Season 1 Episode 22. I suppose they're going to try to stop him from leaving so that they can make him pay for Nora's murder and Henry can go free. Is there any other reason to keep him here if he really wants to leave? Otherwise, his leaving would be somewhat of a gift, I'd think.

What's his plan for Eddie? Is he just holding him until he takes off? There are only two episodes left and right now I don't have any sense of urgency at all to what's about to go down. Iris knows. Harrison isn't threatening anyone. What else is there?

The Flash Promo - "Rogue Air"

Hit the comments. How much did you love Grodd? Does Iris made a good addition to the Flash team? What's next in the finale?

Don't forget you can watch The Flash online if you need to catch up on all the happenings in Central City!

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.