The Flash The Flash season 3 episode 23 "Finish Line"

[herolee10]

I felt they really fumbled the ball at the end. Don't get me wrong , most of the episode was quite good, but ending the finale with him disappearing into another cloud/ time travel gimmick for a third season in a row seemed pretty lazy and disappointing.

If its from the comics ,fair enough, but it really felt tacked on and I was hoping they would do something more inspired than what they did. That said, I didn't like the Savitar storyline anyway, and i'm glad that its done.

Hopefully next season they'll ditch the dour tone and try to recapture some of the magic from season one with a new non speedster villain.

I hope with how Abra mentioned Devoe as one of Barry's greatest villains earlier this season, ,along with his name having been dropped in tonight's episode as well, that it signifies that he'll be the next big bad for Season 4 and not some throwaway villain like "Alchemy" was.

 

[SV Fan]

Hopefully next season gives us a non speedster big bad.

I have to agree with this, it would be nice to have something different as a villain next year

 

[herolee10]

I don't know about anyone else, but I feel like it really looked apparent that the producers didn't have enough of their budget left to make this episode really work because everything just looked low-key when compared to the last two finales.

The action sequences and effects really looked sloppy compared to the show's past episodes.

 

[mqg96]

I hope with how Abra mentioned Devoe as one of Barry's greatest villains earlier this season, ,along with his name having been dropped in tonight's episode as well, that it signifies that he'll be the next big bad for Season 4 and not some throwaway villain like "Alchemy" was.

When it comes to the flow of episodes next season, I believe The Rogues will take Alchemy's place, and DeVoe/The Thinker will take Savitar's place.

 

[j0ke5ta]

Spoiler

Always been a big fan of the Flash on CW. Probably my favorite show on there after finally dropping Arrow due to some of the bad choices on that show in season 3 & 4 and their continued botching of Black Canary on that show.

Even really enjoyed this season mostly but man did they botch the finale. The acting felt off a lot in this episode. Dialogue was bad. Just the way they decided the chain of events needed to unfold in the finale and the reasoning in this episode was bad.

They couldn't have tied the whole Savitar and Speed Force ending together better than that? Maybe to where the speed force didn't shut when Savitar opened it, and then Barry had to make that choice then.

Then deal with the ramifications of Barry being gone/death & HR's death simultaneously to make the death feel more impactful with a dual funeral. Played it up more that Barry was basically giving up his life in that moment. Even the final fight with Savitar was terrible.

Then that ending was just so poorly written, and acted. Just "Hey guys guess I'm going to go with mom to the Speed Force." Felt like the director just said "Hey everyone Barry is sacrificing himself so give you best shocked face but no emotion."

It felt so misplaced from the moment Jay left the prison to how long it took until the Speed Force gimmick to pop up, to how ok everyone seemed about it as it was happening. That ending felt so forced. It was like the writers sat in a room and said hey lets throw darts at the best idea for a cliffhanger.

Sadly that dart landed on "Hey lets beat the villain midway through the episode in a way a 3 year old could have figured out and destroy any purpose he had for the season then pause for a bit for HR's funeral and then the big surprise be the speed force comes back and Barry has to sacrifice himself after a long day at home with Iris where there is no emotional impact to his sacrifice."

Sounds like a winner. I wonder if it's a thing with CW shows to just have terrible finales for all these shows. The lead ups most times are good until the finale given they have 20+ episodes. Don't get me wrong there have been some good endings to some seasons but they really deflate every show by having good lead ups only to have bad finales.

I remember feeling underwhelmed in one of the best seasons of Arrow in the finale of season 2 after they built Deathstroke into this bad ass only to witness a terribly choreographed fight scene in the finale that ended in like 2 seconds.

Then for them to totally ruin the character within the first part of season 3. I will tune into season 4 because I enjoyed the season 3 & 2 for the most part. The only problem with both were the finale.

If they botch another finale or this show heads towards Arrow season 3 & 4 territory I will be out. One thing about enjoying stories. You can have a great story but mess the ending/conclusion up and no matter how good your lead up you can ruin everything you built.

 

[flickchick85]

This show remains my favorite of the CW/DC shows, but never I have I felt like it was just spinning its wheels more than in this finale.

 

[Lencho01]

I thought the ending was weird. Something just felt off and random about it.

 

[herolee10]

This show remains my favorite of the CW/DC shows, but never I have I felt like it was just spinning its wheels more than in this finale.

Agreed. I've said this before and I'll say this again, I really hope that this season marks the FINAL time that we get a evil speedster as the main villain for the season.

Honestly, IF the show did go with yet another evil speedster adversary (e.g. Godspeed), then I hope the producers would get the message that no one would really care for it.

I'd like to think that just like how the producers and even Amell were aware of how bad Season 4 of Arrow was received, that the producers for this show would get the message that the show's quality has severely declined since its promising start and is in need of a major revamp.

Plus, even if next season starts with the premise of Wally being the new "Flash" for awhile, I don't think anyone would really care for it because the actor is so bland that he's failed to make any real impression on fans imho.

 

[Batmannerism]

To be honest I'd lost interest in the Flash, but I figured I'd watch this episode, and I'm glad I did.

I give this one a 10/10, one of the best Flash episodes ever.

Really redeemed a lot of the crap from this season. Well done Berlanti !

 

[flickchick85]

Agreed. I've said this before and I'll say this again, I really hope that this season marks the FINAL time that we get a evil speedster as the main villain for the season.

Yeah, they really shouldn't go to that well again. It's dry as a bone.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Where do you go after you have already made Barry the big bad?

 

[herolee10]

Where do you go after you have already made Barry the big bad?

Well it seems like they'll go with "The Thinker" as the next big bad for Season 4.

Personally, I think having the rogues band together for a multi-episode arc, with Weather Wizard or the Trickster leading them against Flash would also be great.

Just anything where Barry doesn't complain about not being fast enough.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

To be fair, on this show, Barry is right. He isn't fast enough way too often.

 

[Frodo]

They definitely need a fresh pair off eyes on the series. I would have frankly preferred they just end the season with Barry and Iris on the couch planning their wedding.

That way it at least leaves the road open to taking the show in a new direction and starting fresh with the season opener.

 

[nightwing06]

Is it just me or did Barry accept his fate to easily?
The cliffhanger felt a bit forced and rushed IMO

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Armor shattering moment is really cool, it's my favorite moment of the season, especially after Barry using it to pummel on Barritar.

A season that doesn't end with the kind of cliffhanger that leaves me curious to see what happens next, I can drop the show.

 

[Web-Head]

I have a feeling that next season is going to be the Godspeed arc from Rebirth resulting from this Speedforce storm that just happened. Which kinda fits, since the big bad will be another...*drumroll*...speedster.

They already said it won't be a speedster

 

[Web-Head]

Glad this season is over, truthfully. Wonder where they will go with it next season

 

[FunkMiller]

Pretty obvious they're going to do a CW version of Rebirth in season 4, the way they did Flashpoint in this one. Two or three years of Wally as Flash, and Barry returning to find the world has changed while he's been gone.

As for villains, let's be honest, Flash's rogues gallery is mostly crap. I hope for season 4 they cast the net out a bit further into the DC universe, and maybe chose a villain that's not necessarily a Flash one, but is one that would link into the Speed Force/multiverse. Maybe something from beyond the Speed Force wall. Hell, why not some version of the anti-monitor?

 

[theflashionist]

last night's episode was disappointing to say the LEAST.... there were several areas to where they lacked creativity...

If we are going to have Barry phase savitar... why not do it from the beginning... the fastest man alive killed by a bullet? come on... Barry going into the speed force at the end.. did they not know that taking jay garrick out of the SF will cause an unbalance.. when they HAD to sacrifice him before to get Wally out?

This is my favorite show, my favorite super hero since i have been a kid... this episode was not a Finale...

They need to do better in season 4.

As some of you mentioned... another speedster as a villain is just too bland.. We need Thinker and we need Wally's character to step up and stop being such a cry baby and such a boring character.

/rant

 

[javonstokess]

I thought the Finale was a bit disjointed. In truth, I'd probably have combined the last two episodes and had Flash, while battling Savitar, running into the speed force to not only stop him permanently but provide his penance for his mistakes this season.

Not allowing for the "goodbyes" allows for a more dramatic narrative. You possible show him considering creating a speed copy (or whatever they call it) to take his place, but realize that it would just create Savitar again.

They lost all sense of urgency during the last 2 episodes. The "heist" from last week should have taken up the whole episode.

You could also have the a powerful scene with Barry running into the speed force and disintegrating Crisis-style with his uniform falling to the ground. Then have Wally pick it up and decide himself to become Flash instead of being told to by Barry.

This stuff ain't hard folks...

 

[javonstokess]

Frankly, they could benefit from using the 3 storyline format AoS used this season. Have a threat for each arc that all tie together at the end.

 

[Frodo]

Is it just me or did Barry accept his fate to easily?
The cliffhanger felt a bit forced and rushed IMO

Yeah. Even the actors didn't seem convinced.

 

[jokesonm3]

Same thing happened in Young Justice season 2. Only it had a different ending.
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And both were references to what happened to Barry in Crisis On Infinite Earths.

ooh i thought of this video too for the flash finale.

 

[Syncos]

Yep. All the other times of a speedster either getting trapped in the speed force or almost getting trapped has been more exciting then what happened in this episode.
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That's one of my favourite scenes from Justice League Animated.
Man, I miss the DCAU.