“Grodd Lives” is like that old school video game level before the Big Boss that you may die a couple times trying to beat, so you just turn off the game and restart the battle until you are successful. Just add the drama of your best friend/love of your life learning your biggest secret and having that person watch you as you keep taking brutal hits.

Without Wells to guide them with his personal Speedster Fighting Knowledge, Barry and his team must use what they know to defeat the Bad Guy of the Week (BGOTW), or, in this case, the Bad Gorilla of the Week. And guess what? He hates bananas… which is unfortunate because while watching, I could not help but mind-sing, “This shit is bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!”

Let’s see how many times I could use the word “apeshit” to describe something.

Iris West looks out over Central City from the rooftop where she and “The Flash” first met/flirted. Her inner monologue is torn between confronting Barry about his secret or just going along with it. Nah, Iris: CONFRONT HIS ASS. “Either way, things will never be the same,” Iris correctly thinks.

Eddie’s been missing because he’s been ancestor-napped by the Reverse Flash, and Iris is semi-concerned. Let’s be real, she’s more focused on Barry and his Flash secret. At Barry’s police lab, they speak in uncomfortable subtext: Barry pretends to be surprised by all of this “brand new information” he’s getting from Iris, and Iris narrows her eyes from all the lies. It’s kind of like whenever Barry spoke to Wells all the while knowing the truth.

Barry is recovering from a telepathic mind-whammy at S.T.A.R. Labs fully suited up when Iris walks in. Worst security ever. “Looks like we’ve both been whammied. BOOM!” I wish they’d stop using the word “whammy”… it takes me out of the seriousness of the scene.

Westallen argues while KillerVibe spies on them. No boundaries, I guess. I don’t blame them… it’s about to get real CW up in the lab. Iris learns that Eddie knew. And that Wells is the man in yellow. And Joe knew and told Barry not to tell her. It’s bananas.

Papa Joe and Iris visits Iris’ office to try to explain himself. When I said that I wished that there were more father-daughter moments between these two, I didn’t mean like this.

“Did you ever stop to think that maybe looping me in would keep me safe? That if I knew what was going on out there, I could prepare for it? Maybe I could’ve helped you and Barry put the bad guys away instead of being in the way?”

Then Iris bring up Barry’s romantic feelings and how Joe knew about that but didn’t say anything either. Ohhhhhhh. This makes sense: there are parallels between the two secrets. What choices would Iris have made if she had all the information that was out there? Sigh.

The man in the mask that telepathy-bombed Barry’s head earlier makes an attempt to rob the gold reserve with an ice cream truck. I don’t even know. They unmask him Scooby Doo style to reveal… General Eiling? Ruh roh!

Eiling is locked up in the pipeline as the team interrogates him. Eiling has the perfect gorilla voice.. it’s bananas. “Eiling” knows who Barry is, who he truly is. He will only monkey-talk to the Flash. “I am Grodd. Fear me.”

Yes. Fear him because gorillas, especially scientifically-enhanced gorillas, are terrifying. Barry, Joe, and Cisco climb into the sewers to talk to Grodd. Really? This plan is terrible. Caitlin and Iris bond in the lab as the boys play real life Donkey Kong. And by “play Donkey Kong” I mean “lose Donkey Kong”. The tranq darts don’t work. Grodd gets into Flash’s head and renders him completely useless. Grodd captures Joe and uses his psychic-gorilla skills to turn Joe’s own gun on him. Joe screams a scream that I never want to remember. In summary, everything goes apeshit.

With Joe still in the sewers, Team Flash + Iris try to figure out a way to rescue Joe and avoid the gorilla brain-bombs. It’s the team’s first play without Wells, and they don’t seem to confident about it. Iris watches and listens like, “Srsly?” Her frustration over Eddie, her dad, and Barry escalates into a full on Westallen argument over each other’s feelings. I mean, that’s what this is all really about anyways, right? I guess.

Cisco creates an anti-telepathy headband that looks way too bulky to be practical. Oh dear. I mean, it kinda sorta works? It just falls off because there’s no chin strap. CMON CISCO. Flash vs. Grodd doesn’t look too good: the sonic punch doesn’t work, the speed punches don’t work. I doubt the wind funnel vacuum arms will do anything. It’s bad.

Once Flash’s headband falls off, it’s basically over. Grodd paralyzes his body as a speeding underground train heads toward his immobile superbody. It’s the irony of the fastest man alive who can’t move his legs. Iris talks to him through the comms and tells Barry he is strong and that he need to move… for her. Cue the Westallen montage that gives Barry and the shippers life! Love is the anti-telepathy headband he needed all along!

Barry releases Eiling from the pipeline and they bond over the common enemy that is Harrison Wells. Iris and Joe reconnect at the hospital. Snowbarisco recoup from their first Wells-less mission.

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Things seem to be alright, besides the fact that Eddie is still a prisoner and Wells is brainwashing him to hate Barry Allen, who is most definitely about to steal his girl. Even though you can’t really steal something that was already yours in the first place.