The Flash Review – S2 Ep 17: “Flash Back”

The Flash Review – S2 Ep 17: “Flash Back”

So let me start off by saying, this show really makes an attempt to have solid and consistent internal logic when it comes to the villains, and that’s why I love it.

Zoom is still coming and Barry knows he’s not fast enough (yet) to stop him. Barry makes it clear that he’s willing to take the risk of possibly altering the timeline to save the world. He does so because he knows that if Zoom arrives and he’s unprepared, everybody he knows is either going to die or live in misery because of Zoom. So he figures that talking to Thawne/Wells from the past is the only way to crack the speed formula, and increase his speed to give him a chance against Zoom. And therein lies the thrust of the episode.

There’s this side plot with Iris dating, and her incredible grief over losing Eddie still being a major factor in her refusing to move on.

I have to admit I don’t understand what they’re doing with this Iris/Barry thing. It was a mistake to make them step-siblings or whatever they are if they were going to pair them romantically. It adds a whole vibe that’s unnecessarily creepy. Last episode, “Trajectory,” Iris was clearly warming up to the idea of she and Barry as a couple, but Barry still seems suddenly nonchalant about it. He’s loved her since he was a child, and now he seems to have accepted…what? That it will never be reciprocated? That’s what I don’t get. Especially since they have the future evidence of a marriage (and they accepted everything else from Thawne/Wells’ version of the future) and an Earth 2 situation where they are indeed a married couple. I just hope that they don’t pull their romance out of nowhere in terms of Barry’s attitude. Does he love her and want to be with her or not? So the whole relationship stuff with them still feels really…awkward.

Back to the main plot. Earth 2 Wells warns Barry that Thawne will sniff him out like a rat smells cheese. He also forcefully reminds him that his enemy is Thawne with Wells’ face, not an actual version of Wells. Kudos to the outstanding Tom Cavanaugh for playing three different versions of the same character: Earth 2 Wells, Earth 1 Thawne/Wells, and Earth 1 Wells that hasn’t been discovered as Thawne yet. I don’t understand how Barry can now just time travel at will by jumping into a blue hole, but in that hole we discover what is later dubbed a “Time Wraith.” Most of us comic readers would’ve sworn that was a version of Black Flash. (Black Flash is the Grim Reaper specifically for speedsters. He shows when a speedster is about to die. We also noticed the wink Caitlin gave when she said “Godspeed, Barry.”) Barry makes it back to where he wants to be, albeit a little early, past Barry discovers future Barry and they have a really bad CGI fight.

Depending on what time travel paradigm you subscribe to, they shouldn’t be able to both be there, or touch, but okay we’ll go with this obvious paradox that would destroy all of time and space.

The CGI was markedly awful for the Flash on Flash speed brawl for some reason. They need to get that back in check. Our Barry/Present Barry/Future-Barry-to-them knocks his one year younger self out, and enacts his plan. But almost immediately Thawne knows that something’s up. Barry does a really good job of pretending to be himself from last year, but he’s not quite detailed enough to fool Thawne, as Earth 2 Wells had warned. Barry just simply knows too much to be the version of Barry he’s trying to pull off.

Mr. Time Wraith shows up at CCPD and is pretty miffed, and later on Barry gets an idea about recording a final love letter video from Eddie (who was obviously still alive at that point) to Iris. Which again, makes it seems like Barry’s accepted that he’ll never be in that position with Iris, because that’s something that ONLY a friendzoned man would do, or a caring brother.

That Time Wraith was the last clue that Thawne/Wells needed, and Barry gets clonked on the back of the head. Then we get the best scene in the whole episode, and one of the best of the season. Thawne reveals himself to a handcuffed Barry to prove his suspicion that Barry is from the future, and their hatred, mistrust, bitterness and cat-and-mouse sparring is absolutely phenomenal. Fantastic acting from both men. I said it on Twitter, but Tom Cavanaugh as Thawne as Wells is still the best thing that ever happened to this show. His menace is always palpable, and the superspeed sound effect that plays whenever Reverse Flash is around is incredible, like Vader’s breathing. Barry threatens to expose him, and Thawne threatens to kill everyone if his plans fail, and the two enemies must begrudgingly work together. After another appearance from Mr. Wraithy-Wraith, and having Pied Piper temporarily save the day, it looks like Barry might still make it through with no more hitches. And then…! Best twist ever, the two Flashes meet again.

So Barry literally does THEE WORST THING he could do, and starts spilling all the beans as to why he’s really there. But I love these writers, because all of the knowledge that he arms Caitlin and Cisco and himself with is going to came back to bite him in some way. My guess is that Thawne/Wells is going to fake his defeat at Eddie’s hand, and be revealed to still be alive in the last shot of the season two finale.

So the team of one year ago Team Flash and current Barry work together to find and defeat the Wraith. And Cisco and Caitlin’s confusion over Two Barrys and a paradox is some of the best comedy we’ve seen all year. Thawne/Wells gives Barry a flash drive with all of the instructions for tachyon enhancement and it’s obvious, since he was wearing a device similar to Reverse Flash’s, that that’s what he used to jump to Supergirl’s earth a few episodes ago.

Barry switches emblems with his past self and heads back home, warning the team that they have a year to prepare for stopping the

Time Wraith. Past Barry helps him on his journey with a little superspeed Flash Fu. He gets back mere tenths of a second after he left, the Wraith shows up, and Cisco’s gun can’t stop it. Barry starts to get the life drained out of him in a very gross way. Fortunately Hartley, who clearly comes out of nowhere, is good now and stops it for them, just like he did in the past. So that’s one little tidbit that’s different.

But we know there’s going to be more. The episode ends with everybody Scooby-Dooing their way through it, and Caitlin conveniently mentioning that Reverse Flash still got destroyed. Not buying it though! Barry hits the module in Wells’ old room, and surprise surprise, the flash drive contents show up in 3D. Gnarly. Heart to heart with Earth 2 Wells, Iris weeps over Eddie’s living Hallmark video, voice over by CareBear, and he ends by threatening JayZoom’s helmet.

This season doesn’t quite have the same level of edge and drive as season one, but I’m still loving it thoroughly. Everything’s pointing to the showdown between Barry and Zoom. We know Barry will win, but the fun will be in seeing how, as well as counting the twists and revelations they are going to throw in along the way. Especially since we know that Killer Frost is going to be a part of that mix. I just hope they don’t do what they usually do and have Barry win by default, or because someone else had to rescue him. For once, I want to see Barry use his own brain, skills, and courage to figure out a way to stop Zoom once and for all. Until the writers ReZoom! But hey, it’s The Flash, when you have time travel and parallel worlds, no victory is forever, and nobody’s really dead. That is the main testament to this level of writing. They keep us guessing in spite of the flexible death rule, and it’s fantastic!