The Flash season 3, episode 1, “Flashpoint,” introduced a new world but proved that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
So, that didn’t last long, huh?
Over the summer, The Flash showrunners told us Flashpoint wouldn’t last very long; silly me, I assumed that meant it would be two or three episodes before we got back to the timeline we knew. But The Flash has never been a show to take too long on anything except bringing Iris in on Barry’s secret in season 1.
By the end of “Flashpoint,” Barry has been forced to come to terms with his own selfishness and return things to normal.
But things aren’t quite as he left them after all. In the final moments of the episode, as Barry shares a beer with Joe and Wally, ostensibly only days after losing his father to Zoom, he discovers that Joe and Iris aren’t on speaking terms.
Wait, what?
But let’s rewind to the beginning. When we meet Barry in The Flash season 3, he’s happier than he’s ever been. He’s living with his parents, who are alive, well and “stupidly in love.” Every morning, Barry hugs his mother like he hasn’t seen her years. And when his parents suggest he move out, he panics. They also tease him about “stalking” a girl at Jitters.
Who else could that girl be but Iris? Not having been raised by the West family, Barry has no relationship with Iris (or Joe, but we’ll get to him in a moment). So when he works up the courage to awkwardly ask her out for coffee iced tea, she doesn’t even remember his name. But Iris later admits that she accepts his invitation because she felt something with him. Like something that had been missing in her life was finally there.
Barry and Iris are the central relationship of the episode, and seeing Iris at the forefront of the story is a nice change of pace. She’s been needing more to do for a while now, and making her part of a crime-fighting duo with Wally — aka Kid Flash — is utterly fantastic. More of that in the regular timeline, please.
On the other hand, Barry and Iris being the central relationship of the episode puts the friendships Barry made with Cisco and Caitlin to the side a bit. Though Barry pleads a wealthy Cisco Ramon to help take down The Rival, a speedster terrorizing Central City, and kidnaps brings in pediatric ophthalmologist Caitlin Snow to complete the team, that dynamic takes a backseat to the romance.
Admittedly I worry about that moving forward, as it sounds like the Barry and Iris relationship will be a large focus in season 3. The friendships in The Flash have always been the strongest part of the show for me, and I hope we don’t lose any of that in favor of more romance. I’ll withhold judgment until I see more, but that is definitely a concern.
All right, who else do we meet in the Flashpoint universe? Well, there’s Joe. He’s doing his best Quentin Lance-off-the-bandwagon impression; he’s still a detective at CCPD who Barry frequently covers for, but he’s also an alcoholic who sleeps off his hangovers rather than going to work. Oh, and he’s estranged from his kids. Hell hath frozen over.
However, Joe still manages to fulfill the same duty in “Flashpoint” as in the pilot as, after The Flash stops two tornadoes, Joe shoots the rogue who created them to keep him from killing The Flash. The echo of the pilot is powerful, as it shows that while the timeline may change, people’s cores remain the same.
In fact, this seems to be the theme throughout the episode, as Barry invokes Cisco’s good nature when trying to get him to help take on The Rival while its Iris’ pep talk that gives Barry the push he needs to stop the tornadoes. I was shocked she didn’t say our favorite phrase, “Run, Barry, run.”
However, the defeat of The Rival comes at a cost: Wally. Wally is mortally wounded during the fight and for some reason his fast healing isn’t kicking in to save him. (Also, more Kid Flash in the regular timeline please. Because that was delightful.)
Barry, who has been steadily losing his memories of his previous life, realizes he can’t let things keep going as they are. His happiness with his parents comes at a cost, and it’s one he’s not willing to pay.
In the most powerful scene of the episode, Barry, weakened by his loss of memories, is forced to beg Eobard Thawne (who he’s been keeping in a speed dampening cell) to go back in time and kill his mother. And Thawne, being the villain that he is, makes Barry say just that. The hatred these two men share for one another is palpable, though neither can act on it in the moment. It gave me chills.
For my part, I was glad to see Barry recognize he was being selfish. His willingness to change the lives of everyone around him for his own happiness has bothered me since the season 1 finale. At least in that episode he talked with the others about changing time, but in his grief in the season 2 finale, Barry made a choice for everyone for his own ends.
Barry absolutely deserves to be happy, but he was clearly taking what he had for granted. In everything else, Barry is the epitome of an unselfish hero, so I hope this experience will have a lasting effect on him moving forward. Moreover, it’ll be interesting to see what other effects Barry’s trip through time will have. (Time wraiths, anyone?)
All that said, I’m thrilled The Flash is back and can’t wait to see where the season takes us.
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