5x13 Goldfaced

Story the First: Iris the bad reporter goes to investigate Cicade with no understanding of what the word "Report" means

Story the Second: Barry and Ralph go undercover as criminals to get the MacGuffin essential to the cure

Story the Third: Sherloque is getting too close to Iris' secret so she need to find a way to get him off track.

In otherwords B, A, C plotlines. Based purely on the plotlines this has the makings for an awesome episode. Not just salvagable but awesome. Honestly you could trim the C plotline focus on the A plotlines and based on how things turn out this could be a heist episode. I love heist films/episodes.

So first let's talk about the C plot and where it goes wrong. Is it cheesy to find out that that Sherloque Wells' ex-wives are all the same person from different dimensions? Yes. But even that's not as awkward as the idea that Iobard Thorne knows everything about Harrison Wells down to what kind of woman he likes. It would make more sense if say the original wells was leaking into Iobard and though he's fully in control being in that body so long he's come to learn more about Wells. The problem is that's inconsistent. He didn't take over Well's body. He killed Wells and took his place. Even then rather than showing Iobard telling Nora how to get Sherloque and the new girl together. He should be telling Nora what type of woman he likes and then by coincedence it happens to be the same type of woman. It's just silly the way it looks. If instead Iobard is telling Nora to find a woman of intellect and forwardness and she starts following women in flashtime to learn which one might be the most Sherloque interested then it make sense. Heck she can fail and he leaves in a huff running into the perfect woman.. his wife. That works, and you can simplify it to focus on the heist. Heck Iobard can just make up something so when we inevitably find out he was just lying then it makes sense.

Now let's talk about the B plot about Iris and Thawne. So the basic idea is that her solo efforts haven't yielded praise and adulation in the first 48 hours and like a restaurant 8 months into that first year she need to turn it around fast to avoid that well known failure stastic. That itself is just weak. Stop being so shallow Iris. She HAD a job with adulation and left it to tell the truth. Now the truth isn't getting adulation and she wants to do whatever it takes to get adulatiion. It's inconsistent. Then the laughable scenes where she breaks into Iobard's place and sneaks around while he.... sits and mopes? Seriously he doesn't have a home life? He just comes home sits down and does nothing. He doesn't turn on the TV he doesn't read a paper. I mean the man is still human he doesn't even plan or research his next victim. Which means if she hadn't broken in Barry would have had heck hours on hours to catalyse the cure. Then she breaks into a house with lockpicks.. not through a door like a normal person but a window? A window that's got a sheet over it like there's no glass anyway. She does this in her street clothes WITH HER PURSE. A purse that she puts down. WHY? Who puts down a purse? Who brings a purse on a B&E? When she gets caught her excuse is "I was walking into your house unannounced b/c reporter". I like iris as a character but none of this makes sense. The BS "lead in the water" plotline makes no sense. you know what makes even less sense than everything above this? After she stabs Cicada with a weapon of alarming effectiveness. She tells him "We will win". Why? He still thinks you're a reporter? Which by the way why tell him who you are and where to find you? Thats dumber than breaking the dollhouse the only thing he cares about. That was just cruel and unnecessary.

And finally let's talk about the A plot. There's so much potential in this A-plot. Our heroes go to an underground black market, they want something but to get it they have to pull off a heist. This is good. The kingpin "Goldface" is a good character. This could have been a flash heist film as I say but inistead they turned it into A Good Day to Die Hard which is one of the ones no one remembers because it was nonsense. They're depowered and have bombs on them. Rather than play it clever they end up shooting their way out like full 360 shooting completely with slide shooting with 100% accuracy. it's weird. This isn't the flash. this is PG gunplay aka lasersguns. Culminating in the most violent thing I've ever seen on Arrowverse and Oliver Queen killed people with arrows for like two seasons. They eletrocute this dude till gold drips out of his eyes like blood. It was gross and sickening. But it's ok because "he's alive". Ugh it was ugly. just ugly ugly ugly. just rewrite the whole thing. Here's what you keep: black market, goldface is dangerous, they need something but have to heist to get it. Only instead of Barry good guying his way into suspicious like a moron. How about maybe Ralph stops him but they don't have the money for the MacGuffin and they offer services as payment. And beause they weren't cuffed like morons they use their powers to disrupt the heist pulling off a caper that secures the organic 3D printer for the white babies and leaves them unsuspected. But since they don't get the goods they don't get the cure device and have to scram.

It was one of the most messy episodes i've seen in a while of The Flash.