To get ready for The Flash‘s upcoming season 4 premiere, we look back at the major events of season 3.
When Eobard Thawne declared, “Who’s the villain now, Flash?” in the season 3 premiere, we had no idea how true those words would be for the remainder of season 3. In many ways, the major conflicts of season 3 were results of Barry’s actions.
Ahead of the Flash‘s season 4 premiere, we revisit the major events from season 3.
Barry creates Flashpoint
After losing his father at Zoom’s hands in season 2, a grief-stricken Barry traveled back in time and stopped the Reverse Flash from murdering his mother. He then returned to the present day, holding Eobard Thawne captive, and lived happily with both his living parents. However, the lives of his other loved ones had changed, including his not knowing Iris very well, Cisco being a rich inventor and Wally being the Flash.
However, Barry started losing his memories from the previous timeline. And when Wally was fatally wounded in a fight against a speedster known as the Rival, Barry asked Thawne to kill his mother and set the timelines right again. However, the timeline didn’t automatically go back to the way it was — and the consequences of Flashpoint were sprinkled through the entire season.
Introducing Julian Albert, aka Alchemy
One consequence of Flashpoint was that upon Barry’s return, he discovered he shared an office at CCPD with Julian Albert, a CSI with specialties in metahumans and hating Barry. Julian, it turns out, was Alchemy; he was using the Philospher’s Stone to give people the metahuman abilities they had in Flashpoint. However, he was under Savitar’s control.
Team Flash was able to free him from Savitar’s control, and eventually Caitlin convinced him to join Team Flash. He and Caitlin grew close, and it was this connection that caused him to facilitate Caitlin’s transformation into Killer Frost in order to save her life.
Cisco’s journey
Another consequence of Flashpoint was that Cisco’s brother, Dante, died in the reverted timeline. Realizing that his brother was alive prior to Barry changing history, Cisco was furious with his best friend for much of the first half of the season.
Cisco eventually came around and forgave Barry. He also spent much of the season developing his vibing powers until he was capable of going into the field himself. He also potentially sparked a romance with Gypsy, a collector from Earth-19 who was originally targeting H.R. Wells. The two have similar powers, and she returned to Earth-1 several times to help the team.
Another Wells: H.R.
While we did get to spend some time with Harry, the Wells of Earth-2, Harry suggested Team Flash enlist the Wells from another Earth. They sent out of a puzzle across the multiverse and chose from among the Wells who could solve it. They brought in H.R. from Earth-19, who was quirky and cheerful. However, he also turned out to be a fraud; he was no scientific genius but more of a “muse,” as he called himself.
When he accidentally informed Savitar of Iris’s location when Savitar was seeking to kill her, he took things into his own hands. He used the transmogrification device to take Iris’s place as Savitar’s captive, so when Savitar stabbed Iris in front of Barry, it turned out he had stabbed H.R. instead. His sacrifice allowed Team Flash to eventually erase Savitar from existence.
Wally becomes Kid Flash
Having had speedster powers in Flashpoint, Wally became a target of Savitar and Alchemy. He eventually took hold of the Philospher’s Stone and received speedster powers. His speed was even greater than Barry’s when Barry first started as The Flash. After spending some time training with his new abilities, Wally was given a suit and nicknamed Kid Flash.
After being manipulated by Savitar, Wally was pulled into the Speed Force in order to take Savitar’s place in a speed prison that a future version of Barry created to hold him. Wally experienced hellish conditions, and though the team rescued him with Jay Garrick taking his place in the prison, it took him a while to return to the field.
Caitlin becomes Killer Frost
When Barry reset the timeline, Caitlin was imbued with metahuman powers. However, her powers came with a twist; they were changing her brain chemistry. When she was taken over by her powers, she became Killer Frost. Though she was able to keep her powers in check for most of the season through a power-dampening necklace, she was wounded in an attack on S.T.A.R. Labs. Though she seemed to be in recovery, she had a seizure and flatlined.
Going against Caitlin’s wishes, Julian removed the necklace. Caitlin healed physically but became Killer Frost in the process and ended up helping Savitar. However, during the final battle, Caitlin took control of her powers to stop Savivar from killing Cisco. She decided not to cure herself of her powers but left Team Flash to do some soul searching.
The ups and downs of WestAllen
After sharing a kiss in the season 2 finale, the WestAllen relationship was put on the back burner as Barry created Flashpoint. Upon his return, Barry and Iris started dating and Iris became a bigger part of Team Flash. When Barry saw the future with Savitar killing Iris, he tried everything he could think of to save her.
As this was going on, Barry and Iris moved in together and eventually Barry proposed. Iris was thrilled, but it eventually came out that Barry proposed because she was not wearing a ring in his vision of the future. This lead to a brief separation that was reconciled after the events of the musical episode. After Savitar’s defeat, the couple intended to go on with their wedding, but the imbalance within the Speed Force interrupted this.
Savitar
The so-called god of speed was, in fact, one of Barry Allen’s time remnants who existed in a causal loop. At some point post-Flashpoint, Savitar killed Iris West. In 2020, Barry created time remnants to defeat Savitar; though most were killed, one — who would become Savitar in the future — was spared. Though Barry succeeded in trapping Savitar in a prison in the Speed Force, the surviving time remnant was shunned by Team Flash since he was not their Barry.
The time remnant was isolated and haunted by painful memories; he realized that to no longer feel pain, he needed to become a god. Taking the name Savitar, he obtained a shard of the Philosopher’s Stone and his trademark metal suit. He then spread his legend as the first and fastest speedster through history and the multiverse, leading to the rise of a cult surrounding him.
To ensure that he — Savitar — will come into existence, he must kill Iris dies within the timline, as that is the inciting event that would lead to Barry creating time remnants, one of which would become Savitar.
H.R. Wells dying in Iris’s place, however, changed everything. Savitar attempted to preserve himself by scattering himself throughout time, but Team Flash tricked him. Realizing he had little time left, Savitar attempted to take Barry with him, but moments before he was erased from existence, Iris shot him.
Barry enters the Speed Force
The Flash season 3 ended with Barry entering the Speed Force to return balance after all the imbalance his actions in creating Flashpoint created. In order to fight Savitar, the team rescued Jay Garrick from the speed prison, leaving it empty. This created chaos all over Central City; balance was needed, and Barry volunteered himself to make amends for his mistakes.
The Speed Force promised that Barry would not suffer as Wally and Jay had — but it was his time.
Watch the trailer for The Flash season 3 below:
The Flash season 3 premieres Tuesday, October 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET on The CW.
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