S01.E23: Fast Enough

[millennium]

I'm unsure if someone already addressed this as it played out in this episode. But, I'm going to throw it out there anyway.

 

In order for the Reverse Flash to exist in the first place, he really needs The Flash to exist just as much as he needs an ancestor in the early 21st Century.

 

Without The Flash, Eobard Thawne would not be a speedster in the Future. So, we would not have seen the Earth-2 Flash's helmet, Eobard would not have had a vendetta against Barry, he also would not have time travelled to kill either Barry or Barry's mom. So, why it is not completely obvious to him that The Flash needs to exist is baffling.

 

The way the show set it up is that he needs to The Flash to exist for the events in the season finale to play out and for him to be able to return to his proper time. All I think that has occurred is that he basically just took himself out of [the present day] time period...or, maybe Eddie killing himself made it seem like Eobard Thawne no longer existed and he still does, just in his proper future and not at STAR Labs in 2015.

 

The thing is everything else seemed to remain the same after both Thawnes vanished. But, this doesn't mean that Eddie isn't still Eobard's ancestor, and, there's a chance they could reboot Thawne getting stuck in this time period. That would negate him replacing the Real Wells and would leave both Cisco and Barry as definitely knowing what transpired when HarriThawne existed.

 

God. They've painted themselves into a tight corner. But, the one thing that baffles me is that to go back in time to eliminate The Flash is to wipe out Reverse Flash and reduces the chances that the alternate universes will be discovered (or will discover each other).

 

Baffling.

 

I haven't kept up with the Flash comics since the early 1980s, so the last time I looked in, Flash was still Barry Allen and the whole Reverse Flash/Eobard Thawne storyline is unknown to me.

 

I remember the Golden Age Flash from Earth 2 stories in DC.   But I have no idea how Earth 2 Flash relates to Eobard, or how Eobard would have recognized Golden Age Flash's helmet. 

 

I just googled and was pleased to discover Tom Cavanagh "is returning as a series regular" in Season Two, although what character he is remains a secret.

 

I just watched the finale again last night and was struck this time by how evil Thawne becomes once he dons the yellow RF hood.   Before that, he was Mr. Jovial, but he slipped on that hood and said to Barry, "After I kill you, I'm going to kill all of them, and then I'm going to kill your father."   Not the same grinning guy with the Slurpee.

Edited June 9, 2015 by millennium

[Hobo.PassingThru]

 

haven't kept up with the Flash comics since the early 1980s, so the last time I looked in, Flash was still Barry Allen and the whole Reverse Flash/Eobard Thawne storyline is unknown to me.

Other than the big events comics, I haven't read much of the comic either. What I do know from reading back issues is that

In the earlier comics, before Reverse Flash killed Barry's mother, the original story was that

RF killed Iris--who was married to Barry by then and they were at a costume party together. The RF framed Barry for the

crime.

 

The way the show and the current comics are set up is a lamer approach to play off of the Destiny vibe that Batman and Superman have. It isn't needed, in my opinion. [those old comics from the Cold War years had an Accidents Happen gimmick that lead to harsh things resulting in Great Things for people. So, unlike the show or Smallville--there was no gimmick that one event mainly resulted in the universe. That Big Bang theory of why superheroes and supervillains exist is kind of cheap, lazy]

 

The one thing Barry has-- and it is strongly hinted in the show-- is that he's the reason why time travel and alternate Earths are incorporated into the main universe. He is vital. The comics drag that importance through the mud by making him responsible or vital to every little change that happens in the big comics events.

 

So, the season finale makes sense with all the little easter eggs tossed in, like the helmet for the Earth 2 Flash. Barry deals with RF and I don't really know all the crazy villains the Jay Garrick Flash deals with, The Maestro?. But, opening the door to alternate timelines and universes will allow the show to keep it interesting. That's part of why in the 1960s they had Barry meet the older Flash. More story possibilities.

 

The show Smallville realized that way too late and still they made it seem like they were squeamish about superheroes showing up in full glory. That's what's great about The Flash: it isn't ashamed to be a superhero show.

Edited June 9, 2015 by Hobo.PassingThru

[Rai]

Just rewatched the back half of season 1. I like to think I'm too cool for melodrama, but when Barry listens to his mom being stabbed and then watches her die, I become a big, sniffling mess, and the cat next to me just doesn't know what to do about that.