The Flash The Flash Season 1 Episode 23: "Fast Enough"

[Slade W]

Excellent episode. Eddie's sacrifice caught me completely off guard. That was very heroic and brave of him.

Does anyone know why when Barry went back in time, the other Barry told him (by gesturing with his hand) not to save his mother?

 

[Slade W]

That is confirmed by Kreisberg.

That is great news. I will miss him as the RF I have to say (that is if my assumption of him playing the real Harrison Wells next season is correct is correct).

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Awesome finale!

I bet Harrison Wells and Eddie are back next year with the timeline changed somehow.

Nice Vibe tease. Nice Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy refence as well from Cisco.

I liked the Flash Museum, Killer Frost, Captain Cold and Hawkgirl cameos.

Martin Stein was fun in this episode.

Nice name drop of Rip Hunter and Jay Garrick Easter Egg.

This post made me think of the last few bits with the black hole, and I couldn't help but remember the Spot episode from the 90s Spider-Man cartoon.

 

[Nathan]

Great Episode. And man, I was actually hoping that Eddie would do a Looper and off himself in order to safe the day. But that cliffhanger! >_<

 

[Strafer]

I wonder what kind of hell Grant tapped into during the mom scene.

He ****ing killed it.

 

[Spidey220987]

Because Eobard killed her in the past, that event will be unchanged because Barry didn't stop it.

Eddie killed himself, so I assume all the Thawnes of the future have been wiped from existence. By all time travel movie logic lol, only an event in the past can affect the future.

He was marooned in the year 2000, making it plausible for his (Thawne's) actions to still have effect. As his ancestor was killed in the present day, only the future is altered - if any of that makes sense.

There are multiple timelines at play in the show.
1) The season 1 timeline (Nora Allen's death to present day)
2) The future (where Thawne/Reverse Flash exists and Red-Suit & White Logo Flash exists)
3) The alternate future (Where Barry saved his Mom).
4) The future without the Thawne bloodline (after Eddie's death)

You might think how I know there's an alternate future where Barry saved his Mom. Well, if you think about it, why did Future Flash signal to Barry to NOT save his Mom? Why else would he do it? Obviously when he saved her, he disrupted the timeline and events played out differently. So in a way, they've acknowledged "The Flashpoint Paradox" without going in to great detail.

There could also be a way for Thawne/RF to be resurrected in the show. Say in future seasons there is an event that they can't deal with and they need the help of Dr.Wells/Thawne. The night he killed Nora Allen is still in continuity, since he was stuck in the past. As the finale said, he had 1 minute & 52 seconds before the wormhole closed. It closed, trapping RF in that timeline. So that event will most definitely always be in play. What's to stop The Flash from returning to that night or pre-Eddie death timeline and taking Wells/RF with him?

That's my suggestion for bringing back Tom Cavanagh anyway LOL!

 

[ThePreface]

So that cliffhanger... I don't know much about singularities or black holes (what I do know is from Stargate, Farscape, Interstellar, ect), but I do know that the closer you get to the event horizon the more time dilates. So even if Barry manages to close the black hole what would seem like minutes to him could end up being weeks or months for the rest of Central City. Hope that this isn't overlooked in season 2 episode 1.

 

[macphisto96]

Flash risking destroying the entire world just to save his mom seems kind of selfish.

Not too sure on that. His mom didn't apparently die in the original timeline that Eobard came out of. It's selfish on the one hand but also could be seen as a corrective on the other. Future Flash stopped him for some reason and he listened, but in that Flash's timeline we don't know what originally happened since Thawne wanted to kill Barry.

 

[Silliminite]

An amazing finale to cap off an excellent season. Definitely one of the best episodes of the series and one of the best shows I've ever watched. It handles both emotion and comic book elements so well. Brilliant.

 

[godisawesome]

It's hilarious they basically sucker-punched the audience with the same "red herring supervillain sacrifice" gambit as Arrow Season One, and it still worked.

And sonufagun! That Jay Garrick helmet tease! You just know there's multiple living rooms where die hard fans were watching with casual fans, and the geeks losing their $#!+ must have been funny to the casual guys.

 

[Sorath]

So that cliffhanger... I don't know much about singularities or black holes (what I do know is from Stargate, Farscape, Interstellar, ect), but I do know that the closer you get to the event horizon the more time dilates. So even if Barry manages to close the black hole what would seem like minutes to him could end up being weeks or months for the rest of Central City. Hope that this isn't overlooked in season 2 episode 1.

There one fatal flaw in you're theory I'll try and explain why. They did close the black hole like they where supposed to. The reason the second one open is because that time line was being destroyed completely and a new one will replace it. Here is why.

When Eddie killed himself he insured Wells would never be born. There for that entire time line from the moment he went back and killed Berry Mom never happen. This is why the black hole open up. It's destroying that time line completely. When Berry returns everything will be completely different. But there is a twist.

If Wells was never born then he never went back in time. This creates new time line. One in which Eddie never killed himself to stop Wells. So in short Eddie isn't dead. He will very much be alive. This also means Wells will be alive as well. So we will more then likely see him again.

What will be interesting to see is how they approach the new time line and Berry becoming the Flash in season 2. Also the only one who will remember any of it will be Cisco.

What I'm wondering is how much of this will effect Arrow. Sense this time line is being destroyed in favor of a new one how will that effect the event's of Arrow.

I really can't wait for Arrow and Flash to return.

 

[the gael]

Because Eobard killed her in the past, that event will be unchanged because Barry didn't stop it.

Eddie killed himself, so I assume all the Thawnes of the future have been wiped from existence. By all time travel movie logic lol, only an event in the past can affect the future.

Not exactly, for me. I'm sure season 1 is just a big time loop. because, if RF doesn't exist anymore, then, who will return in 2000 to kill Nora Allen ?

My guess is that when Barry returns from what will probably be Earth 2, he will find a very changed Earth, which will follow the "original timeline" (the timeline before Eobard Thawne changed it by murdering Barry's mother, if you prefer) with only one (but big) change : Barry is now the Flash (in the original timeline, he was supposed to be Flash 9 years later)

So, in this new reality :

Both Barry's parents are alive and well

The Wells are also alive (which means Tom Cavanaugh is back) and are working in Starlab to create the particule accelerator.

Because of that there is no supervillains at the time, and noone has ever heard of the Flash. Central City is a quiet city.

Season 1 will only have happened to Barry and Cisco (even if Cisco has no way to understand that his dreams are in fact a time loop in this reality)

Iris will never have grown with Barry as a brother figure.

I don't know what will happen for Cisco, Caitlin and Ronnie, but they probably won't have a great life in this timeline, if Eobard Thawne is right when he said he created a better life for them. (he said that in "the Trap") But I'm sure that Barry, during season 2, will recreate the team.

There could also be a way for Thawne/RF to be resurrected in the show. Say in future seasons there is an event that they can't deal with and they need the help of Dr.Wells/Thawne. The night he killed Nora Allen is still in continuity, since he was stuck in the past. As the finale said, he had 1 minute & 52 seconds before the wormhole closed. It closed, trapping RF in that timeline. So that event will most definitely always be in play. What's to stop The Flash from returning to that night or pre-Eddie death timeline and taking Wells/RF with him?

To me he is already reborn. For me, Eobard Thawne did a fatal mistake in giving Eddie a better life than in the "original timeline". I'm sure Eddie was meant to be Cobalt Blue. But, Eddie having a better life annihilated his jealous nature. Eobard tried to realign his destiny by showing him that Barry would marry Iris and not him, but it didn't work. He turned Eddie to a hero instead of a villain, and was then erased from the timeline. But, by being erased, all his past and future action have been erased to, realigning Eddie life with his Cobalt Blue destiny (just probably a little sooner). This "new" Eddie has, like anyone if Eobard is right, a way harder life (I wouldn't be surprised if he is now the janitor of the police station and not some kind of elite cop), will become a villain, have a son.... and then Eobard Thawne will be reborn in the future... only to someday (but for that, Eddie will have to become a villain and Barry has to make something bad to Eobard Thawne) return in 2000, being stuck, taking Well's life, creating the Flash... and being erased someday to realign the timeline !

 

[LizardMan07]

What an incredible finale

Acting was on point, grant gustin absolutely 100% killed it.

Other then daredevil, my favourite comic book adaptation of the year. Just incredible.

Best comic book show on TV. What they did with such a small budget is amazing. I honestly don't know how Warner brothers will be able to top this with their movie adaptation.

Just phenomenal!!

 

[Justin]

I loved the finale. I thought it was brilliantly acted and they got their moneys worth out of Wells, Joe, Iris and Barry's dad's scenes. Gustin was fantastic throughout. Wells/Cisco interactions were also great.

Only disappointing character was Caitlin, she should not be the character asking what a singularity is or what it's doing. She's a brilliant scientist who's been working with Time Travel for weeks now. That's what Iris, Joe and Eddie are there for, to ask the audience questions. The wedding was also a little out of nowhere and I was very surprised nothing happened to them.

That being said Killer Frost moment was epic, as was that whole Speedforce thing. Should have put Grodd in there though! And Barry in cuffs was interesting.

The scene with his mom was incredible and his acting was fantastic. Eddie's death was also great, noble and so in character. He was the Tommy Merlyn of the season as I predicted, a good guy who was just a good guy despite all the evil potential.

Overall it's a 10/10. Forgetting the science which we aren't going to be able to work out until we see where the writers go with it, this was epic and couldn't expect more from it really. Arrow was terrible in comparison to this.

 

[halo51]

first i just want to say the finale was phenomenal. kudos to the CW for this show.

now... after watching the episode twice and understanding it a bit better the second time i realize what Eobard Thawne did. He is not gone folks. He pulled a reset.

When Eddie killed himself he ended this timeline for Eobard so in effect Eobard never went back and killed Nora, therefore he still exists in the timeline in the future and none of what we saw in season 1 happened and he is able to go back in time again.

Dr. Stein was way off base when he said Eddie was a "coincidence." Eobard knew full well that Eddie would be there and what he would do. Thats why when he had Eddie in the basement he did nothing to him and even said he was his "insurance"

Eobard was aware of two possibilities. The first one that Barry would save his mom and thus Eobard would go home though the portal. the second one would be that Eddie would kill himself and thus erasing the current timeline for him, sending him back to the point before he went back in time to create the current timeline.

He'll be back. Thoughts?

 

[Justin]

He'll be back. Thoughts?

He'll be back? Most likely.

Your scenario? Viable, but there's about 50 different viable ways to write this. They really left a lot of avenues and possibilities open. You could say there's an infinite number of routes to go from here, so it'll be all up to the writers.

 

[Sterling Archer]

I hate time travel. It instantly makes everything confusing.

Still, fantastic episode. I have had my issues with the show, it has had a lot of weak elements bogging it down in my opinion, but this episode was excellent.

Also it's kind of funny how Eddie's storyline is beat for beat exactly the same as Tommy's from season one of Arrow.

 

[Dr.]

Without a metahuman of the week to stop they spent way too much time in this episode just talking.

I thought the character-driven “just talking” scenes raised this episode several notches above their usual metahuman-of-the-week stories.

 

[Spidey220987]

Not exactly, for me. I'm sure season 1 is just a big time loop. because, if RF doesn't exist anymore, then, who will return in 2000 to kill Nora Allen ?

My guess is that when Barry returns from what will probably be Earth 2, he will find a very changed Earth, which will follow the "original timeline" (the timeline before Eobard Thawne changed it by murdering Barry's mother, if you prefer) with only one (but big) change : Barry is now the Flash (in the original timeline, he was supposed to be Flash 9 years later)

So, in this new reality :

Both Barry's parents are alive and well

The Wells are also alive (which means Tom Cavanaugh is back) and are working in Starlab to create the particule accelerator.

Because of that there is no supervillains at the time, and noone has ever heard of the Flash. Central City is a quiet city.

Season 1 will only have happened to Barry and Cisco (even if Cisco has no way to understand that his dreams are in fact a time loop in this reality)

Iris will never have grown with Barry as a brother figure.

I don't know what will happen for Cisco, Caitlin and Ronnie, but they probably won't have a great life in this timeline, if Eobard Thawne is right when he said he created a better life for them. (he said that in "the Trap") But I'm sure that Barry, during season 2, will recreate the team.

To me he is already reborn. For me, Eobard Thawne did a fatal mistake in giving Eddie a better life than in the "original timeline". I'm sure Eddie was meant to be Cobalt Blue. But, Eddie having a better life annihilated his jealous nature. Eobard tried to realign his destiny by showing him that Barry would marry Iris and not him, but it didn't work. He turned Eddie to a hero instead of a villain, and was then erased from the timeline. But, by being erased, all his past and future action have been erased to, realigning Eddie life with his Cobalt Blue destiny (just probably a little sooner). This "new" Eddie has, like anyone if Eobard is right, a way harder life (I wouldn't be surprised if he is now the janitor of the police station and not some kind of elite cop), will become a villain, have a son.... and then Eobard Thawne will be reborn in the future... only to someday (but for that, Eddie will have to become a villain and Barry has to make something bad to Eobard Thawne) return in 2000, being stuck, taking Well's life, creating the Flash... and being erased someday to realign the timeline !

As I posted in another thread, you make some good points (I agree about the timeline where Barry's parents are both alive, etc), but I respectfully disagree lol. It could go 3 ways, where you're right and I'm wrong, where I'm right and you're wrong, or we're both wrong.

The reason I say this is because it still has to be a time loop. Like, have you ever seen Misfits (the UK series)? Don't wanna spoil it,

Spoiler

but Simon from the Future (AKA SuperHoodie) goes to the past then has his powers removed, all so he could make Alisha fall in love with him. But then she gets killed, so the Simon of the present does the same. It was even acknowledged in the show by a cast member that the events will play over and over again.

.

The way I see it is that those events still HAVE to play out (RF going back in time, killing Nora, getting marooned, etc). It has to because it's like "canon" for that timeline. Thawne only died after Eddie killed himself, because it's easy to deduce that he's the head of the Thawne bloodline. They both appear together within the show's timeline.

The only way for it to be undone, where Thawne can't kill Nora Allen, is for something to happen to one of Eddie's ancestors, e.g. death of one of his parents. They don't exist, Eddie doesn't exist. Eddie doesn't exist, Thawne will never exist.

That's how I see it anyway. I like nerd debates lol

 

[BLACKVULCAN]

another thing was great was as mentioned Jay Garricks helmet coming through the portal... what made it really cool is that while Reverse- Flash has never been scared of Barry... seeing that dude got all scared and was all F^&* That!!! I AM OUTTA HERE!!
that made jay look like a totally Bad ass ( if can scare the ^& outta Thawne!) without even being there!! Hahahah that was great!!t:

 

[Rowen]

Why didn't Barry save his mother?

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Why didn't Barry save his mother?

Guilt? He did not want to lose his life? The idea of changing the past again could hurt?
A nod to Flashpoint 2.0?

 

[SuperBatman]

Why didn't Barry save his mother?

I think it was that the Orginal Flash told him not to. That being said Barry's mom should still be alive since the Reverse Flash is no more for the time being

 

[Bathead]

I thought the character-driven “just talking” scenes raised this episode several notches above their usual metahuman-of-the-week stories.

Indeed. It doesn't always have to be wall to wall action, It's these personal moments that give the show it's humanity, instead being a shallow actioner with no heart.

 

[SuperAl]

I feel like this is gonna end up getting really convoluted now. Reverse Flash going back in time is what led to Eddie killing himself, thus wiping RF from the future meaning he no longer goes back in time, which means Eddie no longer has a need to kill himself. So in the new timeline Eddie is alive and RF is in his own time??