It’s spoiler time.
The Flash 1×23: Fast Enough finally brings about forth the time travel trip that Barry never thought he’d take. The Flash finally travels back to the night where the Reverse Flash kills Nora Allen. But let’s back up for one moment.
First things first, Barry gets to confront the Reverse Flash himself, Eobard Thawne. The formerly known as Harrison Wells finally confesses he’s hated Barry for so long. However, without the Flash he doesn’t have a connection to the Speed Force. He only gets bursts of speed but can’t generate what he wants… a wormhole. So, as suspected, he needs the Flash to do it with the aid of the particle accelerator. The hook? Barry gets to save his mom. The catch? The Reverse Flash travels back to his own time.
Barry gives it a lot of thought. There’s danger involved. Barry can get killed. Or, as they discover later, they could create a singularity in the form of a black hole that would destroy the world as we know it. As Barry’s destiny is the main focus, we get a much smaller scale conflict with Eddie Thawne as he feels insignificant. It’s one of the few times I’ve felt bad for the guy. Dr. Martin Stein (the other half of Firestorm) actually gives him something to hold onto, as the coincidence he’s here is inexplicable.
After consulting with Joe, Iris and his own father Henry Allen in prison, Barry decides to do it. He will let the Reverse Flash escape to his time while he saves his mom. For that to happen he has to exceed Mach 2 at which time, the particle accelerator will release one particle for him to collide and form the wormhole. It works giving him one minute and fifty two seconds to go back. Well, technically that’s the time in which he comes back, not the time he spends on the past because… he’s traveling in time. That being said, we know the reason is drama license and we’re not going to nitpick it. Although we just totally did.
The result is that Barry indeed travels in time and here’s the part where I thought he’d realize that it’s himself that he’s gotta save and not his mom. Nope, apparently he does see the battle between his older self and the Reverse Flash. Actually as he bides his time, the other Flash warns him not to approach. It’s just a gesture, but Barry gets it. The reason is Barry has realized that he’s got a great life and great friends and doesn’t want to alter the timeline any further. He’s just here to say goodbye to his mother.
And as that sinks in, we go back to see Eobard Thawne board a bubble-shaped pod and prepare for his trip. He even says goodbye to Cisco (more about that in the Highs) and just as he thinks he’s home free, The Flash comes out of the wormhole and shatters his little bubble car to smithereens. Eobard is shaken and guesses it in a second. Barry chose not to alter the past. Eobard gets up, mad as hell. He’s ready to take down Barry and everyone else. And then we hear a gunshot and that’s when the subtle inclusion of Eddie onto the STAR Labs team makes sense.
Eddie has figured out that there’s a way to defeat Eobard. And that is, by shooting himself. It’s something that has been in the background for a while but we’ve kinda swatted it away. Eobard needed Eddie to survive and complete his own timeline so that he could exists. Without Eddie, Eobard suddenly starts fragmenting himself. We even see his true self for a moment before he disappears.
There’s little to no time to pause, because the dreaded singularity appears in the form of a black hole. And knowing full well the odds he’s against, The Flash races to try to close it down. Cliffhanger ending.
Highs:
- The man formerly known as Harrison Wells tells Cisco that the reason why he can remember alternate timelines is that he was affected by the particle accelerator too. In the DC Universe, he’s the metahuman known as Vibe.
- Joe West thinking of Barry first, although he knows that means he doesn’t get to raise him as a son.
- Eddie Thawne, becoming a hero in the most basic of manners: literally giving his own life.
- That was Jay Garrett’s helmet, as in the Flash from the Golden Age of Comics.
- When the Flash is running inside the particle accelerator he sees a pale woman that resembles Caitlin Snow. In the DC Comics Universe, Caitlin Snow becomes Killer Frost.
Lows:
- The whole “you only have 1:52 before you come back”. Barry is time traveling. He could come back exactly at the moment he left. To quote Marty McFly, “I have all the time I need, I have a time machine!”
- Technically Barry puts the entire universe at risks for a minute to meet and say goodbye to his mother. I can empathize strongly with Barry’s feelings. Still, something has to be said for PUTTING THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE AT RISK. Meaning that was not particularly heroic, more like a little selfish to do.
- Barry could have simply not travel at all, get some closure like the rest of us mortals, and punch the Reverse Flash without risking the universe. Just saying. I know that would make for a lousy season finale, so I hope something comes out of all of this.
Finale Thoughts:
The little series that could? I would have to say that the Flash learned a lot of lessons from Arrow. As a superhero show that has a little more sunlight on its scenes, the Flash has been more of a beacon of hope than a dark knight storyline. It has no doubt had its cheesy moments, but the biggest triumph that the series had in my book is to give us a more friendly, more human portrayal of the introverted class that is the scientific nerd. Cisco, Caitlin and Barry are acted with a lot more warmth that other supposed geek-friendly shows on television. Interestingly enough, they’re less caricatures than most. As a comic book TV series, they usually hit the mark in most depictions of DC comics heroes and villains.
That will do for now.
(Source: The CW)
Never Think Impossible 