After getting pulled into the mirror in Eva McCulloch’s office, Iris begins The Flash season 6, episode 11 on the outside, as if nothing ever happened. But do we really believe that everything is okay with her?

While the mid-season premiere was incredible, The Flash season 6, episode 11 just felt… boring. The return of Amunet Black was not something I was particularly looking forward to, as her dialogue gets increasingly worse every time she appears on the show. I also expected much more from the dramatic cliffhanger and Mirror Iris being out in the world.

I mean, it’s not like they’re going to keep Iris in the, as they called it in the description for episode 13, mirrorverse forever. We’ll probably get two more episodes max, so why are they waiting? Unfortunately, I’m disappointed with just about everything this episode gave us.

‘The Flash’ season 6, episode 11 review

Though The Flash season 6, episode 11 wasn’t an episode I’d ever want to watch again, let’s give credit where it’s due: Candice Patton gave an incredible performance as both our Iris and Mirror Iris. She really nailed the subtle changes between the new version of Iris out in the world and our own, making it click that it wasn’t her the entire time after we figured it out (but still leaving enough doubt in our minds throughout the episode).

As I said before, I just felt like the cliffhanger of The Flash season 6, episode 10 could have provided such an interesting story for this episode, but the writers really dropped the ball to give us an unnecessary Valentine’s Day episode.

Honestly, if it weren’t for Patton’s performance and a few other little moments, this would have ended up on my “skip every time” list when re-watching the series.

Mirror Iris… and the biggest disappointment of the episode

The Flash season 6, episode 11 introduced the alternate version of Iris, living the real Iris’ life while she’s trapped in the mirrorverse. And while Patton did wonderful work with this turn of events, it’s kind of disappointing what it revealed.

When Barry gave in to Ramsey/Bloodwork, Iris figured it out, like, moments later. But here, Barry hasn’t even figured it out yet, even after how differently this Iris was acting. She was much less concerned with consequences, much more manipulative, and even yelled at Barry in a way that was quite unusual for her (sure, they’ve had their fights, but not like that).

This makes their relationship feel completely unbalanced and one-sided, which is disappointing. Barry and Iris are held out, in the Arrow-verse, to be the gold standard relationship, but then, for dramatic impact, little things like this are presented that detract from that. Iris and Barry supposedly know each other better than anyone else, yet Barry didn’t really even think twice about how Iris could cook, speak Italian, and was much more willing to jump into the field with no protection? It doesn’t make sense.

So, in canon now, while Iris knows Barry perfectly, Barry is clueless? He was the one in love with her first, noticing every little thing about her, if I’m remembering correctly, so I don’t really think that should be the case. This episode just made it seem like Barry is ridiculously unaware of his life and his wife, and I’m not here for that.

Anyway, I am enjoying Mirror Iris so far, and it should be interesting to see how this story progresses. The end of the episode, with Mirror Iris taunting Iris from within the mirror, gives a subtle hint of what’s to come, which seems really interesting. I do wish, however, the writers took the time to find another way to present Mirror Iris than having to make Barry into a different kind of husband to fit the story. There were so many other routes they could have taken, and since this story won’t last longer than a few episodes, it wasn’t really necessary. Yes, I’m bitter.

Amunet Black

I mean, finally, a competent villain? A villain who knows Barry’s secret and uses it for her own gain? A villain who is smart enough to blackmail Team Flash? I’m not the biggest Amunet fan, but I will give her credit on The Flash season 6, episode 11 for being the only villain to ever use their brain.

However, my praise for her ends there. This story with Amunet and Goldface was unbearable and felt incredibly forced, just thrown in to make this “Valentine’s Day” episode work from all angles. Their motivation for attacking Central City — to get a flower — was ridiculous. Please, Flash writers, never make me watch something awful like this ever again.

I think my biggest issue with Amunet, and subsequently The Flash season 6, episode 11, is how she feels like a way for the Flash writers to make fun of feminism. Like, almost every word out of her mouth is some quippy one-liner about how women are better (which, yes, is true) and how men are so fragile, but it doesn’t seem serious. Maybe it’s just Sackhoff’s delivery, but it just seems like a joke (and given their audience as the CW show with the highest male audience, this might be on purpose).

Paired with all of the other terrible dialogue, I’m ready to put this episode behind me and never look back.

‘The Flash’ season 6, episode 11 final thoughts… specifically on Frost, Allegra, and Nash

While I love seeing Frost live her life as a normal human being, even though she still needs a purpose, was she really necessary for this story on The Flash season 6, episode 11? No. Was this story necessary? Also, no. She was, basically, written into the episode to be a mediator to begin bringing Nash and (seemingly his daughter on another Earth) Allegra together.

Frost did have some growth, learning how to interact with others and their emotions, which is always delightful. But this story with Allegra was a snoozefest. Allegra’s getting so much focus this season, while other established characters are falling to the wayside. Like, where has Ralph been these last two episodes? There’s barely been a mention of him. Cisco’s taken off for a journey around Earth-Prime, while Caitlin is never even seen. Meanwhile, Frost is present more to live out a life of her own, but are we seeing that? No.

Everyone is being pushed aside, written so poorly, while Allegra is becoming more of a character on the show this season than the characters we’ve known since season 1. I think it’s safe to say that no one wants to watch Allegra and Nash take center stage. Those are the two worst characters on the show.

The Flash season 6 continues Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW!