S02.E17: Flash Back

[ElectricBoogaloo]

After the shocking revelation that Zoom is Jay Garrick, Barry is more determined than ever to get back to Earth-2 to stop Zoom forever. Desperate to find a way to increase his speed, Barry decides to travel back in time and masquerade as his earlier self in order to get his arch-nemesis, Dr. Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne, to teach him how to run faster. However, things don't go as planned and Barry is stunned to face familiar foe Hartley Rathaway, as well as old friend Eddie Thawne. Iris makes peace with her past in order to embrace her future.

Promo:

Edited March 23, 2016 by Chip
lock until episode airs

[ottoDbusdriver]

Desperate to find a way to increase his speed, Barry decides to travel back in time and masquerade as his earlier self in order to get his arch-nemesis, Dr. Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne, to teach him how to run faster. However, things don't go as planned and Barry is stunned to face familiar foe Hartley Rathaway, as well as old friend Eddie Thawne.

 

This sounds like a terrible idea.  How can Barry go back to a timeline that kind of no longer exists once Eddie Thawne died.  It's like that Eobard Thawne appearance a few episodes ago that was a leftover in the timeline (the timeline that kind of no longer exists anymore).   And what happens to Barry from the past ? Sometimes when Barry goes back to the past he takes the place of his past self and then continues in that timeline (like when he prevented the Weather Wizard from destroying Central City), but other times there are some times 1 or 2 versions (like when he went back to save his mom and returned).  

 

Funny -- no mention of the Wraith in the episode description.

[Trini]

Funny -- no mention of the Wraith in the episode description.

What was that?? What is it supposed to be?? Kinda late for a halloween episode.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Iris makes peace with her past in order to embrace her future.

 

Why does this line make me think they'll finally show Iris completely peacefully accepting Eddie's death and ready to move on with her life, only so she can start a relationship with Scott?  Oh, that's right; CW.

Edited March 23, 2016 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[zannej]

I really liked the promo. Loved how Hartley looked like he was temporarily getting along with Cisco and Caitlin. Loved the "Holy Harry Potter" bit.

There are better quality promos and extended ones out, btw.

 

I wonder why Eobard / Wells is doing the whisper voice now.

 

I liked the look of the wraith.

 

At least Iris got mentioned in the press release, but I'm not a fan of the ship-stalling.

 

I wonder if future Barry and the time wraith will help explain what happened when Eobard was on the floor and Hartley approached him and asked him if he was still his guy. It never explained why Hartley just left him alone and why Eobard was back in the chair when Barry got there. It would explain it if future Barry intervened.

 

I really liked Hartley so I'm glad to see him back.

[Wishing Well]

Oh god it's a mix of a dementor and that wraith thingy from Once Upon A Time

[bettername2come]

That was really good. Between Happy Barry last night and Badass I-Can-Bluff-Reverse-Flash/I-Care-About-Iris's-Emotional-Well-being Barry tonight I am liking him more and more. I was scared for a second when they showed Hartley in STAR Labs at the end. Not ready to suddenly have him on the team, but as he seems to be part-time and hasn't hit Caitlin in the face, tried to kill Barry or blown up Cisco, I can deal with him (even if it means I don't get my Cisco vs. Hartley fight that I've wanted).

[nerdyduck]

After watching the Supergirl crossover and this episode, it made me realize how much I miss fun and non-angsty Barry.  Bring him back.  And seriously, when your people are telling you not to do something ("Don't let us know), listen to them.  I do like seeing Hartley again.

 

There is no crueler punishment than being Rick Rolled.

 

I miss Eddie but that video made him look a little weird.

[Trini]

Nope. Didn't like them re-writing Season 1 (essentially). It sounded like a dumb idea when I read the description, and the episode confirmed it.

 

Doesn't messing with the timeline always backfire?

 

I had read a while back that Pied Piper was a reformed villain in the New 52, but I didn't think they could do that story here. I don't like that they did it with time travel.

[Jediknight]

Hey, Barry went back in time and this time it had a positive outcome.  He got what he was after, got that Eddie video, and Hartley's one of the good guys.  Hartley's not just one of the good guys, but he's got a good relationship with his parents.  That means his parents have actually changed their ways, and are good with Hartley being gay.

 

It was nice to see Cavanaugh play Harrison Thawne again.

 

I really liked this episode.

[madhacker]

If this episode means that Andy Minteus has joined the cast as part of Team Flash (as least part time), all I've gotta say is.....YAY!!! Maybe they'll be an episode with Hartley and Barry at the karaoke club.

[maczero]

The Legends of Tomorrow need to stop wasting their time chasing Vandal Savage and concentrate on a real threat, Barry Allen.  He's the biggest threat to the planet, time and the multiverse.

 

If you were Pied Piper which would you rather endure Rick Astley or a non-stop high pitched ringing?

Edited March 30, 2016 by maczero

[Lantern7]

"Fellow Time Masters, I come to you with a new initiative. We will go to Central City in the early 21th Century. Anytime Barry Allen, alias the Flash, even thinks of travelling through time, we will pick him the nearest heavy object and smack him until the notion passes from his head. His stupid, well-meaning head. We're okay with him running anywhere in his own time, we're fine with him exploring other universes willy-nilly. But time? Nuh-uh. The man is a putz, and he needs to be stopped."

 

So . . . does Wells dope up Cisco and Caitlin to make them forget about the two Barrys? Great to see a Barry/Wells scene taut with drama, though. Both GG and TC were at the tops of their respective games.

 

Seriously, Barry is the worst time traveler ever. He needs a hundred index cards to thumb through in order to have him not mess with time.

[ottoDbusdriver]

So where do the Time Wraiths come from ?  Are they minions of the TimeMasters (from LoT) -- or somebody else ?  And was the Time Wraith just trying to kill future Barry -- because wouldn't that also affect the future timeline ?  Seriously, nothing made sense about the Time Wraiths.

 

Who makes the call that a Time Wraith is called for ?  HarrisonWells/Eobard Thawne didn't seem to be bothered by them in the past -- so WTF ?  Because HarrisonWells/Eobard Thawne was changing a lot in the past.

[phoenics]

I just can't believe that Barry went back like that and all that changed was the Pied Piper. Not realistic. And even though I liked smart scientist and happier Barry Allen this week, as well as "actually cares about Iris" Barry Allen this week, I really thought his dogged determination to go back in time when everyone said not to was a stupid move and really selfish.

The Time Wraith concept was cool, but eh.

I did get emotional when I realized what Barry was doing with recording Eddie for Iris' sake.

I really liked seeing Wells/Thawne again.

[catrice2]

I struggled to stay with the story.  I am still waiting to see the "smart" Barry we were told he was on the original Arrow crossover and when he first got injured. This Barry just does dumb things, is way too trusting and too emotional. I actually thought he was going to time travel and go back and talk to some scientists. 

 

I have no interest in seeing Iris move on with her boss.  Joe is off this season and Cisco continues to annoy.

 

Unlike everyone else, I have never liked Harry, Harrison, Eboard or whomever he is supposed to be. 

[miracole]

Whaaat, Barry was a good friend to Iris this week?!

He also threatened to destroy the very fabric of time once again, but hey you can't have everything.

I bet a langolier could totally take a time wraith.

[opus]

I bet a langolier could totally take a time wraith.

I loved The Langoliers

[Ruby25]

Yeah, the Iris/Eddie stuff was emotional, but I'm sorry...is it me or is the show once again showing/telling us that Iris will never love ANYONE more than Eddie? Because that's what I got from that video scene. She still loves him, if he was alive she'd still be with him, the show retconned him into her fiance (he wasn't), and Barry or anybody she dates in the future will just always be second choice.

 

That sucks. I don't understand why the show has seemed to want to pummel that into our heads, but they have, over and over again. Maybe E2 Iris loves her own Barry, but the E1 Iris we have clearly does not and will not love anyone besides Eddie. Some love story for Barry and Iris there. These writers, man. Why should we root for them if she will always be settling because it's not Eddie?

[Cthulhudrew]

This episode reminded me of two things:

 

1) How good Tom Cavanagh's turn as Harrison Wells/Thawne was in the first season, and how much  more menacing and impressive a threat he posed compared to this season's Zoom.

2) How, even with its shortcomings, the first season seemed so much more fun and thrilling to watch, because every episode seemed to pack so much story into it. They advanced their A plot, but also introduced so many new characters and stories along the way. While this season... plods along. It's something I noticed with the second season of Arrow, and have noticed in other shows as well, but it didn't strike me until this callback to Flash season 1. It almost feels like, whereas in season one they didn't know if they'd get renewed, and they kept adding moer episodes to the order, so they just kept introducing more and more elements to the show. Then, in season two, they were given a distinct episode run, and in order to make the show fit into that tangible number, they just keep padding it out, until they hit the end and try and cram in too much story into too few episodes in order to resolve it all.

 

Pacing issues.

 

On a show called the Flash.

 

Irony?

 

Anyway, for all of the troublesome time antics, I enjoyed this episode, definitely more than last week.

[Trini]

Whaaat, Barry was a good friend to Iris this week?!

 

 

Okay the Barry/Iris/Eddie parts were good, but I'm still not happy with the other 80% of this episode, because Barry knows firsthand the consequences of screwing with the timeline. And he didn't even manage to follow his own plan. Come on.

 

And with Hartley a 'good guy' now, no Vibe vs Pied Piper rematch.  :(

[miracole]

They haven't let Iris grieve for Eddie all season it's about time. I don't think they're saying she'll never love anyone but Eddie. They're actually giving her closure and a chance to move on. She needs to just not move on with Scott.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

They haven't let Iris grieve for Eddie all season it's about time. I don't think they're saying she'll never love anyone but Eddie. They're actually giving her closure and a chance to move on. She needs to just not move on with Scott.

 

This criticism belongs to the writers, but I'm fine with Iris getting closure on Eddie ('bout time)..... but what I'm not fine with?  The fact that it took 17 episodes to truly acknowledge she still even remembered the guy, let alone having major trouble letting go of his memory and its hold on her.

Edited March 30, 2016 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[Lady Calypso]

Yeah, so I enjoy time travel storylines because I like seeing what people do and do not change. Plus, I love callbacks to past episodes. So, needless to say, I enjoyed this one. I'm just going to set aside the fact that Barry could have really screwed with the timeline, because I enjoyed the episode for what it was. 

 

First off, EDDIE! Eddie was back for a few scenes and I couldn't have been happier. It's still great to see that Iris' number one fan is still Eddie, although Barry? Points to you for being a great friend to Iris for a change. That is why I believe this is in the top three of favourite episodes...at least of this season. Did I want more scenes of them? Sure, but Barry gave Iris a very nice gift, and I appreciate him all the more for doing it. Plus, I miss Eddie. He, at least, gave Iris a storyline. I don't want Iris to end up with Scott, so I'm just going to believe that, like Eddie this episode, Scott is there to allow Iris to find a way to move on and be open for love again. 

 

Tom Cavanagh as Harrison Wells as Eobard Thawne. Yes, it's so nice to see Eobard as Harrison again. There are such differences between Eobard/Harrison and Harry that I didn't realize until the two characters were in the same episode. I'm glad that Eobard figured Barry out, but in a surprise turn of events, Barry was really smart and did some good things to keep himself alive! Sure, he's still not a great liar, but he managed to lie about Eobard's fate! It was really cool to see the tension between him and Barry, though. Such a different vibe from season 1, even after the Eobard reveal. I liked seeing season 2 Barry (who has also grown and changed a lot, as seen with this episode's season 1 Barry) and Eobard Thawne interact. That is an interaction I never, ever would have even thought of, until now.

 

Cisco and Caitlin felt the same as their season 2 counterparts. Ok, Cisco more than Caitlin, actually. But Hartley! It's surprising that it was the only major thing that changed, but it's good that they got an unexpected ally! Plus, it's not like we've seen Hartley much, and Barry put the course back on track by telling Cisco what Hartley would have told him if he hadn't gotten his escape plan foiled. So, at least Barry tried to correct something like that, and it did end up having positive consequences. I'm ok with it, because Barry needed a little positivity this time around. 

 

I still have hope for a Vibe and Pied Piper fight, even if it's just a fake one or something. Maybe in another universe, or if Barry accidentally (or purposely) messes with the timeline again. 

 

Again, I really missed Eddie and I teared up when Barry made that video for Iris. Again, this episode worked out well. Now, I imagine things will go horribly awry when he goes through time again, but for now, I'll be ok with his win. I imagine the show didn't want to go too complex on time travel and messing with stuff quite yet. Maybe in season 3. 

[Actionmage]

Silly me; I thought  that when Barry got the idea from Wally, that the idea was to read original writings from non-Thawne Wells and maybe even Thawne Wells. Silly me! We only open on Barry speed reading, so why would he do more of that in our allotted time? Wastesful Actionmage am I, apparently. Because expecting your scientist to use his noggin to solve a problem is for suckers, especially when you can literally make an end run?  Granted, the problem is mostly theoretical until it comes time to test it, but thinking is for suckers, right?

 

The only time I feel badly for Thawne-Wells is when Barry jabbers on about time travel. TC has this anguished, 'fer the love of Mike!' expression that Barry refuses to heed.

 

It was nice to hear Eddie again. It was great to see him, too, but with the softer talk, his voice was nice on my ears.

 

Hartley being an ally to the group?  I like that. Even if it's just a sometime thing, where he's gray, I could deal with that.

 

If the Time Wraiths don't like people mucking about time, then why isn't Zoom target #1? He's killing other world's heroes and villains, which no doubt messes with those other worlds' timelines.

 

I am glad that Wally is getting praise and recognition for his mechanical prowess. I am glad that Iris is not thinking that Scott is someone to find happiness with, unless I missed something. I had to duck out of the room for a sec and missed the picture.

 

I just wish Barry quits with the time travel for a good long bit. Not because I don't want him to help ( not that it ever really seems to help), but because it tends to cause more headaches for the viewers who try to keep things straight. Barry seems more interested in cutting corners to save time ( as such) instead of getting things right the first time. In the process he threatens, essentially, reality.  Reality around Central City has been changed 5 times already. That there hasn't been something worse than these Time Wraiths means Barry's luck on that front may be shorter than he thinks.

 

I also can't help but wonder what Earlier Barry thinks when his Later self knocks him out pretty forcefully and in the middle of capturing a villain?

 

All the above said, though? I agree with Cthulhudrew; it was more fun this week than last week.

[Maverick]

 So was Barry supposed to have bopped over to Earth-CBS on his way back from the past and the time wraith just left him alone because he was in a different universe?

[Lantern7]

Maverick . . . no, he didn't have the Firestorm-looking device on his emblem.

 

Is the Speed Wraith based on Black Flash? Also, I kinda/sorta thought of the Reapers from the "Father's Day" episode of Doctor Who. Anybody else want to see Christopher Ecceleston lecture Barry about paradoxes?

 

ETA: "The ghost-looking thing is still floating! What do we do?!?" "KEEP FIRING!!!" And that's how the CCPD budget was exhausted repairing the ceiling.

[twoods]

The Iris/Barry scenes were great. Better late than never. I got teary eyed when I saw Eddie, then again at his video. This show always brings the tears.

Eobard was pretty smart to figure Barry out. Forgot how creepy Wells used to be.

Would like to see Harvey back in future episodes.

[johntfs]

I just can't believe that Barry went back like that and all that changed was the Pied Piper. Not realistic. And even though I liked smart scientist and happier Barry Allen this week, as well as "actually cares about Iris" Barry Allen this week, I really thought his dogged determination to go back in time when everyone said not to was a stupid move and really selfish.

The Time Wraith concept was cool, but eh.

I did get emotional when I realized what Barry was doing with recording Eddie for Iris' sake.

I really liked seeing Wells/Thawne again.

To be fair, we really don't know that the only changed thing as that Hartley is good.  That's just the only thing that Barry has noticed so far.  Maybe there'll be a scene with:

 

Iris: Barry are you okay?

 

Barry: What? Why?

 

Iris: You know.  It's been nearly a year since your dad was shanked in prison after you got that final note from Wells/Thawne that said "Fuck you Futureboy.  I know you lied.  Your daddy's going to die in prison."

[Ruby25]

This episode made me want Season 1 Barry yet again. I FAR prefer S1 Barry, with his happy self, to the serious, mopey one we have now.

 

I want that Barry back. Permanently.

[Commando Cody]

The only thing I thought about when The Flash saw Eddie was that he should pull him aside and say "Dude. Get a vasectomy". 

 

Apart from that, not taking the time to explain to himself why he was there, didn't make any sense.  

[FiveByFive]

Apart from that, not taking the time to explain to himself why he was there, didn't make any sense.  

Exactly. This bugged me to no end once they saw one another. I was thinking, "Yeah, um ... you have like a super metabolism and there's a good chance he's going to wake up sooner than you think." So while they added that maybe the formula wasn't strong enough even though they calculated in his metabolism, I totally expected him to wake up.

 

Also, time traveling requires that everything happen the same as it happened before.  Barry threw off the timeline the moment he didn't let that bomb explosion happen and warned them about the Pied Piper's ear bombs. At that point I was thinking, "Yeah, you really don't care do you?" Furthermore, every scene he had with Bard/Wells totally came off like a soap opera, John Black eyebrow raise tell. He was literally doing the worst "acting like the person next to me is my friend when I know he is evil" thing. I was thinking, "How could he not know something is up? Could you at least try to to act normal so you don't blow this whole thing?" So many awkward pauses, forced responses and side eyes. How ridiculous. 

 

On the other hand I'm super happy that Andy/Hartley/PIed Piper could possibly show up on the series again as a friend to the group. It'd be nice to add in a gay character who actually, you know, does more than Captain a police force while only appearing on screen every few episodes for five seconds.

 

(Also, was I the only one nearly expecting Eddie to come down the stairs at the end? I knew that wouldn't happen and yet I wouldn't have been too surprised.) 

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

X-amount of times Barry has time-traveled (or traveled to other universes) to fix mistakes/help others ....

-and-

.... (same)X-amount of times Barry did the very things he was told he couldn't do - or he himself said he wouldn't do - when doing it

 

I think that ranks up there with "My name is Barry Allen, and I am the fastest man alive...... except for those times when I'm really not (Reverse Flash, Zoom, Trajectory, and so on)".

[thuganomics85]

So, of course, even though the last time Barry time-traveled, he almost caused Central City to get sucked up into a vortex (and taking Ronnie with it in the process), he totally does it again.  Dammit, Barry.  You are so lucky that your played by a charming, great actor like Grant Gustin, or I would so be over your stupid ass.

 

Despite that huge, idiotic decision, I actually enjoyed the episode.  It was fun seeing the team back when they had their season one, almost innocent quality to them, original Barry being more carefree and optimistic, and especially OG Harrison Wells a.k.a. Eobard.  As much as I've been enjoying Harry (except the raspy voice), Tom Cavanagh is just on a whole other level when he gets to play the smirky, all-knowing, sinister Harrison Wells.  Loved that Wells saw through Barry's act, because he would be the one who figures it out before everyone else.  Even though I understand why he had to go and he probably would have gotten tiring at some point, I will always miss that version of him.

 

Great seeing Eddie again, and him using the "bear" nickname again reminded me what I always appreciated about him, in that even though he was an obstacle for Barry and Iris in the long run, he truly seemed to actually like Barry as a person, and wasn't just some dude who was not only his romantic rival, but a jerk.  He just seemed like a decent guy.  Barry getting Iris his video was a nice moment, although it seems to strengthen that he really was Iris' true love, so I wonder if anyone, even Barry, is just going to be a replacement for her.

 

Hartley!  And thanks to wacky time-traveling hijinks, he now ends up being good!  That was a fun twist.  Although I will miss his feud with Cisco.  Especially since Cisco stuck a low blow by Rick Rolling him.  That was cold, Cisco!

 

Cisco's brain practically fritzing out when he saw both Barrys was perfect.

 

The West dinner scene was nice, although I hope that Wally ends up playing a bigger part in the overall story soon, because while it's nice to know that he is just as intelligent as Barry and the rest, I still feel like he's just mainly hanging around.

 

Harrison kept his word, so now Barry might have what it takes to finally beat Zoom.  But I'm sure it won't be that easy.  Still got a few episodes left!

[scarynikki12]

I feel like the Time Masters from LOT really need to focus on Barry and leave the Waverider alone.  Barry's the one who actually makes noticeable changes to the timelines yet they ignore him.

 

They reference Dementors but somehow forgot that they can be defeated by the Patronus Charm?  Come on, Cisco!  You're inventive!  Surely you can come up with a gun that creates the equivalent.  It also would have been hilarious if Cisco had passed out chocolate after learning about the wraith. 

 

I was pleasantly surprised at how thoughtful Barry was to record Eddie for Iris.  Watching her watch him talk about how awesome she is and how much he loves her was very moving.  I want Eddie back! 

[Ruby25]

Barry getting Iris his video was a nice moment, although it seems to strengthen that he really was Iris' true love, so I wonder if anyone, even Barry, is just going to be a replacement for her.

Yeah, I don't know why the fuck they keep doing that. They can't be that blind to how it's coming across, right?

 

Why would they want to keep reinforcing over and over again, that Eddie was Iris's true love, so that Barry or anybody else will always just be second choice? That seems INSANE from a writer's pov, if they want us to root for the main couple of the show. Unless they're going to eventually replace these people with the E2 WestAllens, who presumably had a proper backstory and love affair that didn't involve one of them preferring to be with someone else except for the fact they they died.

 

I mean, come on, show. What's our reaction supposed to be in the finale? Yay, Iris has finally decided she's ready to settle for Barry!!! They'll get married, have kids, and she will always think about Eddie every day and wonder what their own kids would have been like!

 

I mean, WTH is that? I don't fucking get that at all.

[johntfs]

One of the weird but true things that Sherlock on Elementary has said is that "grieving is not unlike voiding one's bowels."  With the video to acts as a laxative, Iris will be able to get Eddie out of her system and move on with her life.  Probably to date that asshat editor for awhile.

[Grace19]

I don't get this trope that a tv couple must be epic, each others first and only love to be taken seriously. Its never like that IRL, people can love someone completely and deeply and still end up divorced within two years or can still find an equal or greater love if the past one ends up dead. Iris is lucky, she got to love and have two wonderful men love her. Eddie was a great guy to iris, he dosent deserve anything less than love from iris, so to show westallen are the greatest, iris shouldnt mourn and miss eddie? That iris loved eddie dosent mean she would be settling for less with anybody else. I loved this episode for the barry/iris/eddie arc, thats a mature way to show iris is ready to move on.

[blugirlami21]

I was angry with Barry at first for traveling back in time. Again. But this turned out to be one of my favorite episodes of the season.

I was annoyed that they acted like their Jay was Zoom. They saw Zoom kill their Jay. Why would they not just assume that the Jay Garrick that is Zoom is a doppelganger?

Barry definitely didn't follow Cisco and Caitlin's instructions to a tee but if an ally in Hartley is the outcome, I think I'm ok with that. Seeing past and future Barry together only emphasized how burdened and sad Barry is in the future. I hope that he can find that lightness of spirit again once we're done with Zoom.

I'm a huge fan of the pairing of Barry and Iris and I think this episode was a huge stepping stone for them. It was a return to their close friendship of last season and I love that Barry was still thinking of Iris even while he was preoccupied with the past.

I thought everything Eddie said in the video was perfect. He reminded Iris that she's strong and that she never needed him to hold her hand. He encouraged her to live her life to the fullest with or without him and he reassured her that he had no regrets about their time together. I've seen the damage a sudden death of a loved one can do most recently and I wish that they were able to have that person say goodbye to them in such a lovely way as Eddie was able to. What a gift to both characters.

I didn't realize how much I missed Eddie until I saw him again in this episode. I had forgotten what an all around good person he was.

Edited March 30, 2016 by blugirlami21

[millennium]

Fortunately, I don't give a flying fig about shipping or whether Iris and Barry get together, so whatever happens between them -- or doesn't -- has no impact on my enjoyment of the show.

 

This episode was fun.   It reminded me how much fun Season 1 was.  Eobard/Wells is a far more engaging character than Must-Save-Jesse/Wells.   Even when he's evil, I like him.  

 

Keeping my fingers crossed that Barry will screw up the timeline but good on his next time travel attempt and strand himself in Season 1.

Edited March 30, 2016 by millennium

[Oscirus]

-  Can somebody slap the shit out of Barry the next time he talks about time traveling. Good god, how many times is this dude going to keep creating enemies by doing that nonsense?

 

- It's mighty convenient that in the year since Eddie's died that Iris has a heart to heart with Barry concerning her feelings about Eddie's death. That would've been mighty awkward if the she was grieving like this the whole season. Can somebody also slap the shit out of the next person who calls that work meeting a date?

 

-A good pied piper? What an interesting development? I wonder if that means that he was around for the events of the first season.

 

Wally engine talk bores me. I know it's supposed to build up to the kid Flash reveal, but whatever.

 

Finally the only thing that Zoom has on Wells is a really cool voice. It was probably not a good idea to remind us of that.

[Ruby25]

I don't get this trope that a tv couple must be epic, each others first and only love to be taken seriously. Its never like that IRL, people can love someone completely and deeply and still end up divorced within two years or can still find an equal or greater love if the past one ends up dead. Iris is lucky, she got to love and have two wonderful men love her. Eddie was a great guy to iris, he dosent deserve anything less than love from iris, so to show westallen are the greatest, iris shouldnt mourn and miss eddie? That iris loved eddie dosent mean she would be settling for less with anybody else. I loved this episode for the barry/iris/eddie arc, thats a mature way to show iris is ready to move on.

It makes WestAllen a lot less than what they were in the comics canon. A whole lot less. To have Barry be her second choice is weak.

[Grace19]

I dont care if they lost their virginity to each other in the comics, this is the westallen i am watching and want to see get together. I've never read a comic book even though i love movies and shows based on them, if my love for stucky didn't get me to read one (though i've been tempted to read the winter soldier comics), i doubt i would read for westallen (i love them too, but not as much as stucky).

[AudienceofOne]

That was really good. Between Happy Barry last night and Badass I-Can-Bluff-Reverse-Flash/I-Care-About-Iris's-Emotional-Well-being Barry tonight I am liking him more and more.

 

Also Science-Barry.

 

I actually thought this episode was great. Yes, Barry was a dumbass for going back in time but it's not the stupidest decision he's made. This season. Or possibly this week.

 

Getting the video for Iris was not just thoughtful, but in doing so it showed us how much he cared about Eddie too.

 

I particularly liked the contrast between Wells and Thawne and Barry realising that the man he knows now really isn't anything like the man he remembers. It was a nice character moment that wasn't ruined with some meta dialogue telling me what it means (yes, I'm looking at you Supergirl).

[Jediknight]

I mean, come on, show. What's our reaction supposed to be in the finale? Yay, Iris has finally decided she's ready to settle for Barry!!! They'll get married, have kids, and she will always think about Eddie every day and wonder what their own kids would have been like!

 

I mean, WTH is that? I don't fucking get that at all.

And Barry will be thinking about Kara, how he can't be with her because they live in different universes, and wonder how powerful their kids would be.

 

I was annoyed that they acted like their Jay was Zoom. They saw Zoom kill their Jay. Why would they not just assume that the Jay Garrick that is Zoom is a doppelganger?

They saw ThawneWells get his ass kicked by Reverse Flash, and know about speed mirages.  Zoom's faster than Reverse Flash, so they're going on the belief that there's a speed mirage.

[driedfruit]

I wasn't a huge fan of this episode since it reminded me of all the things that bored me in the stretch of 1x10-14. Stupid plan. Time Dementors reminded me of Nine's run, but without the emotional punch to make the sillyness work. 

 

The one thing I liked was the Eddie/Iris/Barry stuff. Time travel is annoyingly convoluted, but the human component makes it. Here, we had Barry watch the love of his life struggle with her dead love, and instead of getting resentful, he stepped up and thought of a way to ease her suffering. Help her move on. It was beautiful and touching, and I say this as someone who never cared about Eddie.

 

My problem with Flash is how, unlike other science fiction I enjoy, the human component isn't tied to the main plot. Barry goes back in time to get faster...okay. Where are the personal stakes? That's where the show is losing me. Eobard threatened everyone Barry loved, he wanted to hurt them to make Barry hurt. But Zoom? Can't say I'm invested in his downfall, or feel Barry's urgency. 

 

I'm a huge fan of the pairing of Barry and Iris and I think this episode was a huge stepping stone for them. It was a return to their close friendship of last season and I love that Barry was still thinking of Iris even while he was preoccupied with the past.

 

That scene at the dinner table was the first time I think I saw them both on the same page romantically. The tension was there. Whereas in the past couple of episodes, Iris has been hinting and Barry's been swatting away every suggestion she makes. But here, their looks said it all. Like when Iris joked about how she went on a date, Barry's dumfounded jealousy couldn't be more apparent. And the end, when Barry told her she had to decide when she wanted to move forward, the look on her face pretty much said they both knew where with whom she was moving forward with. 

 

Also, something that's been lacking all season were camera cues hinting at Iris/Barry's romantic future. There were two lingering shots on Barry while Eddie was talking, and both pieces of dialogue were pretty clearly meant to convey his feelings about Iris. "What Iris means to me..." when Barry starts recording and on the staircase, "You are without question the best decision I've ever made, Iris West."

 

Shipping preference aside, Candice and Grant are so wonderful at this, and when the directing and writing is there, the subtle touch adds a lot to the story without it having to be laid out blatantly.  And given what we've seen I don't see Scott as anymore than a choice brought on so Iris gets to overtly choose a romance with Barry. 

[zannej]

I found this episode both entertaining and disappointing.

I was disappointed that instead of answering some plot holes or filling in some unanswered questions from the first Pied Piper episode, they just had Barry change the timeline.

I had to agree with Harry that Barry's plane was asinine. If he had to travel through time, why not go back in time and land inside the time room and talk to Gideon and then ask Gideon for the formula?

I don't quite get why he stopped Hartley from blowing up the cell-- Cisco was only hurt a little and was not killed.

Harry was completely right that Eobard would see right through his ruse. I think the Time Wraith was the clincher for him. He might not have been as confident that it was a different Barry. Btw, I love how he said "my Barry Allen" when referring to the season 1 version. It's interesting that he seemed to view future Barry Allen as a different person and while he had affection for younger Barry, he had great contempt for future Barry-- even though he didn't really look any older.

I know it must have been difficult, but I wish Barry had tried a little bit harder to act like things were cool between him and Eobard.

One of the things I wanted answered was what happened in season one when Hartley found Eobard on the floor away from his chair and said "Am I still your guy?" We never saw what happened after that or what Hartley thought about why Wells was on the floor like that. Wouldn't he have asked how he got there? Or did he somehow already know that Wells could walk and was faking? If so, why didn't he reveal that? And why did he just leave him on the floor without harming him? It seems Eobard got his speed back in time to get to his chair, so why didn't he kill Hartley? He posed a threat and could have exposed him.

Since Barry arrived before they found out that Wells knew the accelerator could explode, did the team ever find that out? Other than them appreciating that Hartley helped them, what changed? Were they nicer to him and that made all the difference? Why did his parents suddenly have a change of heart? Did Hartley ultimately help them take Harrison down? I want to know about the altered timeline and just what changed.

I also wonder who Eddie would have married to create the Thawne family line. Wouldn't it have been interesting if it turned out that he initially married Iris and they had kids but then Eddie either died or they split up for some reason? How weird would it have been if it turned out that Iris was actually Eobard's ancestor as well? Barry could have then married the widowed or divorced Iris and they could have had their own kids. And maybe the Thawne family would have ended up successful in life because of Barry's influence.

Anyway, I liked seeing Eobard/Wells back. Tom does a great job with showing just how crazy Eobard can be. One minute he's amused and the next he's angry. He clearly has some sort of bipolar disorder or mental instability. I wonder if he was always unbalanced or if that came after his attempts to gain speed powers.

I think the only reason he believed Barry's story about winning is because he wanted to believe it. And Barry was smart enough to know that if he told Eobard about Zoom that he would probably just say "deal with it yourself" or laugh about it. But I do think that he wants to be the one to kill the Flash, so I'm not sure how he would deal with competition.

And it was cool to see the difference in how good of an actor Eobard is vs how bad of an actor Barry is. Although, Eobard/Wells pretty much never directly lied to Barry. He omitted the truth, but for some reason he didn't just lie to his face. I wonder if that was in response to knowing that Barry lied to him and lied to other people. Maybe the dishonesty was one of the things that bugged him about Barry. Then we have the jealousy factor. Barry had and was something he could never have or be.

Too bad Barry didn't get to ask him about the other speedsters. I wonder if Eobard had friends that were speedsters.

I loved the look on Eobard's face when his Barry showed up wondering where the other Flash was. Total facepalm. Then when future Barry was blabbing too much info, Eobard was signaling to him to stop and then cringing. At least he made a good save when he could rightfully blame future Barry for the Time Wraith without giving away that he knew for certain what it was and why it was there.

I also loved how he was so agitated over the fact that the Time Wraith was there and he didn't know how to stop it. It showed some of his vulnerability-- despite all of his knowledge and intelligence, the wraith was scary to him, but he had figured out how to avoid them. I don't think that the wraiths are like the time masters. I don't think they have any sort of official time policing capacity and it's more that I think they are beings who exist in the timestream who go after people who trespass and don't know how to avoid the parts of the timestream they inhabit-- or how to not disturb them when rushing through. I think the time masters leave Barry and speedsters alone because those things happened in their past and are meant to be. I think they are more concerned with stopping people from their own time or the future from going back and dicking around.

Anyway, I liked the bit where Eobard said "Run Barry" and instead of being inspired like he had been in the past, he just rolled his eyes.

Am I the only one who thought the thing about the letter was total BS? How would past Barry have known where to find it? And how would future Barry get it back before he saw it-- or before Eobard ripped things apart looking for it?

Also, if they knew that Barry could run fast enough to open a portal without releasing the hydrogen atom (or whatever it was), why would they still do things in such a way that it opened a singularity?

So, Eobard kept his word and did give the info to Barry rather than tricking him. It actually makes me kind of sad that Barry didn't uphold his end of the bargain when he went back to save his mother. Instead he stopped Eobard from going home. I shouldn't have sympathy for Eobard because he's essentially a psychopathic serial killer, but it did make Barry come off as more of the jerk in the situation by breaking his end of the deal. There was a time when heroes kept their promises even if they didn't like it.

I kind of wish there was a way for Barry to try to mend things with Eobard (even if it may end up failing). And I kind of wish he had just said in passing "Be nice to Eddie" to Eobard.

On one hand, I wish that Barry hadn't changed things, but on the other, I was glad to see that Hartley is now a good guy. I always thought that maybe he could be redeemed and he might not hate Barry if he had found out what happened to the real Harrison Wells and what Eobard did and how Barry was a pawn.

At least Barry didn't give away that Cisco had powers.

Back in the future, I wonder where Harry had been going and what he'd been doing to try to find Jesse. Yeah, a giant talking gorilla is easier to find because it stands out. There was only one of those and there are thousands of teenage girls in CC. I wonder why he didn't ask Cisco to try to use his powers to find her. Also, did anyone else notice that instead of a photo, on the nightstand there was a framed fan art drawing of Harry and Jesse?

Even though it can suck when things change, in some ways, I wish they could change things so Eddie lived long enough to procreate so we could have seen the origins of the Thawne family-- even if Eobard never got to return home. Or, maybe if Barry just let him go home and decided to deal with him in the future.

I did enjoy this episode overall, but I do wish they had answered some of the questions instead of leading to more unanswered questions.

PS. Did Iris actually go on a date with her boss after the coffee thing? Because if she considered that coffee thing a date, I want to slap someone.

Oh, and I thought the video from Eddie was very sweet.

Edited March 30, 2016 by zannej

[driedfruit]

PS. Did Iris actually go on a date with her boss after the coffee thing? Because if she considered that coffee thing a date, I want to slap someone.

 

 

I thought Iris was only joking about the "date" as an ice breaker into the difficult conversation. I did like how he teased her about the boss aspect, and her waving it off made it seem even less serious. By the end I don't think they were talking about Scott anymore. 

[benteen]

You know, I like my heroes flawed.  But Barry's idiocy annoys the living hell out of me.  He doesn't just do stupid things.  He does the most stupid thing EVER.  Let's tamper with the timeline...brilliant!  And The Time Masters are worried about Vandal Savage?  Please let Barry get a visit from the Time Masters!

 

The Time Wraiths looked like Dementors but reminded me of the time wraiths I saw on Doctor Who.

Nice to see Eddie but I agree that speech is weird as hell.  Iris FINALLY remembers him after 17 episodes and now needs a message from him to do anything?  Get way to give her agency.

 

I enjoyed seeing TC as Harrison Eobard again but he needs to stop whispering in every freakin scene.

 

I did like the Pied Piper becoming an ally.

[roomtorome]

TC is so great as Wells; glad they found a way so we could see him again.  I hope it's not the last time.  They gave TC such a great character only to snatch it away and give him a more mopey, less interesting one.  That IS a shame.  

 

I understood Barry's reasoning re: traveling back in time (I would if I had that ability - I'd be doing it every weekend....) - because if he didn't find a way to go faster, their earth would ultimately be doomed because of the shenanigans of the evil-doers - right?  That's kind of it in a nutshell as I understand it - don't care about the specifics and since I don't read the comics, have no idea if it is adhering to them - I'm just enjoying having some actual entertainment after a long day vs. a bunch of angst, torture porn, etc on other shows.

 

Fun, good to great characters, silly stuff, time travel - what's not to like when it's well written and has such good actors?