In The Flash’s season 9 opener, Wednesday Ever After, Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin) has fought his worst enemy, and is finally reunited with Iris West-Allen (Candice Patton), his wife, and co-leader of Team Flash. Everything should be perfect and simple. But this is Team Flash. Nothing ever goes as planned. Definitely not this particular Wednesday.
The Flash Season 9 Episode 1: Wednesday Ever After
Vanessa Parise (director), Eric Wallace (writer), Thomas Pound (teleplay), Sarah Tarkoff (teleplay)
Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Danielle Nicolet, Kayla Compton, Brandon McKnight (cast)
February 8, 2023
Having overcome far too many near-death scenarios, the West-Allens are enjoying a welcome break from superheroing and their day jobs. But life doesn’t stay still, especially not for the fastest man alive. It’s Wednesday, February 1, and Barry and Iris have a packed day ahead. There are big decisions to be made at work. New baddies to defeat. And a future to plan. When their Wednesday takes an unexpected turn, Barry and Iris try everything in their power to save their team and Central City.
The primary plot of The Flash Season 9, Episode 1: Wednesday Ever After hinges on a sci-fi device that is a personal favourite of mine, so maybe I’m predisposed to loving this episode. But I don’t really care because it’s a fun trope, and I think it’s used well here. I also feel like this trope serves the main purpose of the premiere, and more importantly, is used to shine a much-needed light on Barry and Iris’ relationship.
This is significant, because Barry and Iris have been a through-line for The Flash, which after nine years is coming to an end. The second show in the CWVerse, formerly known as the Arrowverse, The Flash is also one of the last of the universe to survive (Superman and Lois is the other). Like its predecessor, Arrow, The Flash started off very strong. The first few seasons were tight, engaging, and had amazing character dynamics. It leaned heavily on comics connections while helping to build out the universe that birthed DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and even incorporated Supergirl. Though the show hasn’t had its best run in recent years — the turnover of cast members certainly impacted storytelling — The Flash continues to ride on the strength of its central romance between Barry and Iris.
This episode turns the spotlight firmly on the West-Allens. While Season 8 kept Barry and Iris apart, to the detriment of Iris’ character growth and the ire of her die-hard fans, it seems this final season might be trying to make up for it. At least, this first episode is trying — there’s plenty in this episode for Barry/Iris fans to love. There are special moments between the pair. Small annoyances in their married life will illicit a smirk. Full-on laugh-out-loud moments that one can only expect from an on-screen couple that we’ve watched grow together over nine years. Conflict that arises when their hopes and dreams diverge. And several reminders that Barry and Iris have always been, and always will be, each other’s lightning rods.
Considering the frustrating amount of time they spent apart in previous seasons, it is a relief to watch Barry and Iris have frank conversations about their expectations of their lives, each other, and their future together. And while Barry has been getting increasingly insufferable while Iris was away, I feel like Wednesday Ever After is working hard to right some of the wrongs of past seasons and put Barry on the right track. He’s not just Central City’s scarlet hero, he’s finally returning to being the man who was deserving of Iris’ care and attention. And it’s taken him a long enough time to get there.
(I do need to know why Barry spent so much time half-clothed? Like, it was bordering on gratuitous. I get that Grant Gustin has been working hard on looking more muscular for the role but there was a lot of screentime with half-naked Barry.)
The highlight for me is that Iris finally gets to be more than a damsel in distress or plot point in The Flash Season 9 Episode 1: Wednesday Ever After. She’s back to being the editor-in-chief of CCCN Media, taking the first steps towards building her future media empire. She gets to fight, as well, which is a change from her being stuck in StarLabs. More importantly, she’s allowed to be human in this premiere. When she gets overwhelmed, she finds an excuse to run away (we’ve all been there). When she’s sick and tired of being stuck in the same situation Team Flash always finds themselves in, she gives herself the day to wallow in her misery (we wish we could do this!). Iris speaks her mind when she thinks Barry is being too obsessive, and borderline controlling. This is the Iris I’ve been waiting to see for so many seasons. Relatable, believable, flawed, yet determined. It’s taken a very long time, but I can only hope this final season lets Iris be not just a silent hero for Central City, but a vocal one for herself.
Aside from Barry and Iris, we do get plenty of time with the rest of the cast in The Flash Season 9 Episode 1: Wednesday Ever After. There’s obviously a lot of setup being done here for some major events we can expect in the remainder of the season. We get glimpses of the central villain, though there’s a lot of ambiguity around this big bad so I’m excited to see where the season goes with them. Some of the past villains have been lacklustre, or have lacked follow-through. I thought Godspeed’s design was amazing but he barely got enough screentime (and his Hindi was awful!). Despero from Season 8 wasn’t as threatening as I’d like, so I’m hoping the final season gives us a villain as powerful and manipulative as Reverse-Flash, Mirror Master, or DeVoe. That all remains to be seen but I’m optimistic from the little we’ve seen here.
We’re also getting breadcrumbs about how some characters’ stories will conclude. Not sure how I feel about that but just because something has been mentioned in this episode doesn’t mean it’ll be the characters’ destinies. Who knows, maybe things will end better for them. Or worse.
So much is riding on this final season of The Flash. There’s already been a slew of announcements about returning characters and rumours about possible cameos—all of which I have studiously ignored. The Flash Season 9 Episode 1: Wednesday Ever After doesn’t give much away, choosing to hold its focus on the driving force of the show. I like this start to the final season, and I do hope that Iris finally gets her due, especially considering all the racism that Candice Patton has endured. More than Barry, I need this season to do right by Iris. This premiere does a good job. Now please, CW, keep this energy up for Iris for the rest of Season 9.
