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| source// The CW |
As we approach the conclusion of Season 2 of The Flash, it’s time to go back to over a year ago, and Season 1’s The Sound and the Fury.
Barry is struggling with his efforts to get faster, and is trying to figure out a speed formula that will allow him to tap further into the Speed Force and ultimately defeat Zoom, but it turns out there’s only one man who can help him: Harrison Wells. Yes, Harrison, not Harry.
So it was that we had another example of time travel on the show, and again it gave us some great moments, even while the rules around it are still a little shaky. There was the delight of having a mini Flash v Flash fight, current Barry interacting with past Cisco and Caitlin, the return of Hartley Rathaway, and best of all Tom Cavanagh getting to play the old Wells and have a chat with Barry.
There wasn’t much on the Zoom front, save for a brief Cisco vibe, which means that ultimately the episode is a bit of filler, but it makes sense when the show is taking *another* break now, not back until April 19.
With another couple of weeks off, and the show sure to start up its endgame when it does return, there’s plenty to ponder while The Flash is off the air.
11. Where Is Jesse?
There’s not a lot going on in the present timeline this week, with the action and drama focused on the past, but before we get there we do see Harry Wells struggling with the absence of his daughter, Jesse.
After initially being reluctant to go to Earth-1, she’s now gone to find her own way in this world. Harry, though, is a worried dad, remarking that it’s easier to find a gorilla than his daughter, a nice nod to Grodd (who will hopefully appear again before Season 2 is done).
Should we be worried about Jesse? Last we saw she was on a bus headed for Opal City, so it could just be she’s off having fun, but you can’t discount something bad happening to her, because this is a superhero show after all.
10. What Are Time Wraiths?
Well, this was a creepy addition to the show. Looking like the hell-spawn of a Nazgûl and a Dementor, the Time Wraiths are, on one hand, just as the name suggests: spirits who appear when someone messes with time. However, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the creatures.
Why do they only target speedsters? Why haven’t we seen them before, given how many times Barry has time travelled already? What exactly are their powers, and what do they really want? Where do they come from? Why haven’t they been mentioned of Legends of Tomorrow, which has Time Masters?
They’re certainly a fun concept, and used fairly effectively in this episode, but there are plenty of other things the show could do with these mysterious new creatures.
9. How Will The Supergirl Crossover Play Into The Show?
Batman v Superman wasn’t the only big DC character crossover to happen this week, as the much smaller budget, more critically acclaimed Supergirl/Flash crossover event episode also took place.
While that was very much a Supergirl episode, and took place on another Earth, it was slightly disarming that the was no reference of it here – until it becomes clear that actually, it hasn’t happened in this chronology yet, given he has the tachyon technology in the crossover.
That means it’s setup for the crossover, which has already happened, so how will that play into this show, if they reference it at all (they’ve got to, surely)?
8. What Will Happen Between Iris And Scott?
The Flash was at risk of not having a romantic subplot at all there, a must have for any CW show, but it’s managed to establish one now between Iris and her new editor Scott.
That paid off in this episode thanks to the reappearance of Eddie, because man, how much fun was Eddie? It was nice to have Rick Cosnett back, and his message to Iris at the end – delivered with such breaming earnestness – allows her to really begin moving on.
That means she’ll be in a relationship with her editor, which will be interesting for her own position at the newspaper, and also how Barry reacts to his future-wife being in another relationship with a different man.
7. What Effects Did Barry's Time Travel Have?
Barry going back in time caused the Time Wraith to appear, and led to Hartley Rathaway building some bridges with his parents, but is that it? If so, despite the threat of the Wraith, it seems as though he’s gotten off pretty lightly…again.
The show states that time travel has consequences, the latest big warning coming from Harry Wells in this episode, but we don’t really get to see them. In particular here, Barry actually interacts with himself, his friends, and the person who tries to kill him – surely that’s going to have some impact on the timeline? And that’s before you get into the idea of Eobard Thawne being erased thanks to Eddie’s death, so how can Barry go back to that point in time anyway?
6. Will The Show Ever Establish Proper Rules About Time Travel?
This follows on from the lack of significant consequences, but it’s been a recurring issue with The Flash whenever the attempt a time travel episode. It’s always fun and leads to some exciting drama and all that, but they basically play fast and loose with the rules of what can and can’t be done, choosing them to suit their narrative needs.
We’ve seen things change to massively varying degrees, or not at all, and while it tends to work for each individual episode, it’d be good to have some coherency as to what exactly the ramifications are (or aren’t) of Barry going back in time.
5. What Next For Hartley?
Very briefly it seemed as though Barry’s trip to the past had changed things in a fairly large way, and that somehow Hartley Rathaway had actually ended up as a permanent member of Team Flash. It’s something even Barry is clearly thinking, and would’ve made for an interesting twist (for an episode or so, but then they’d need to get rid of him).
That wasn’t actually what had happened, instead simply Rathaway was brought in for his expertise now that he’s very much a reformed criminal, and while he may look like he should be making YouTube parodies of Harry Potter (maybe that’s really why the dementor-like wraiths appeared…), he was a fun character to bring back. Is that the last we’ve seen of him or, with more of a partnership established, can we expect him to help out again on occasion?
4. Are We Done With Earth-1 Wells?
Nevermind the time travel and the Time Wraith, there was one thing that stood out above everything else this episode: Tom Cavanagh.
It should come as no surprise, given Cavanagh is so often the strongest performer on the show, but it was fantastic to see him get to grips with both versions of Harrison Wells in the same episode. Earth-2 Harry is outwardly angry and snipes at Team Flash, but he’s a decent guy; Earth-1 Harrison Wells is basically the exact opposite.
It’s a testament to him that both are believable and great to watch, although for this week the show is stolen by Earth-1 Harrison’s conversation with Barry, when he has the Flash captured. It’s a great development for both Harrison Wells and Barry Allen, and brings full closure to their relationship, meaning this may be the last time we ever get to see this version of Wells on screen, which I really hope isn’t the case.
Could we at least have one scene of Tom Cavanagh interacting with Tom Cavanagh? Please?
3. How Much Faster Will Barry Get?
The crux of this episode is that Barry needs to get faster – a lot faster – if he is going to stand a chance of defeating Zoom/Jay/Hunter/whatever hybrid of those people he actually is.
That’s something that plays out in the Supergirl crossover as, with the tachyon tech, he’s able to run fast enough to cross into another universe. That’s pretty fast, but is it enough to beat Zoom? How much faster does he need to get, and how much faster is he capable of getting at this point, given we’re still just on the second season of the show?
2. What Is Zoom Up To?
We don’t really get to see much of Zoom this week, with his story very much put on the backburner while Barry figures out how he can beat him. We do get a brief flash of him though, thanks to Cisco’s vibe, and he doesn’t look like he’s up to any good.
He’s seen on what looks like a rooftop, holding a woman over the edge. Without Barry there to fight him, does he simply have a free reign over Earth-2, or could another hero be stepping up to try and fight him?
And what about the other Jays – Zoom stated it was a complication when he killed the character we knew as Jay Garrick, but what impact is that actually having on things on Earth-2?
1. How Will The Show Approach Its Conclusion?
The Flash has a couple of weeks off now, thanks to the annoying scheduling of the CW network (seriously, we’ve just had a month off, come on guys).
When it does return, there’ll be just five episodes left of Season 2, but it’s difficult to predict exactly how that’s going to go. The next episode is called Versus Zoom, and promises us Zoom’s origins, which is very exciting, but will that then continue across the four episodes after that? Or will it be another couple of filler type episodes (still hopeful of another late appearance from Grodd), and then a couple of episodes to wrap things up?
What do you make of Flash Back? Any questions you were left with? Let us know in the comments.
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