Woo boy, who needs a drink?
Grab one, and then join me to discuss this amazing hour of television. As always, spoilers are imminent.
And, if you want to see my thoughts as I watched live, check out the @MultiversityTV account on Twitter.
1. That helmet!
This episode had so many wonderful allusions to the greater DC universe, and created an even stronger base to build the show atop of, but no moment was greater than when Jay Garrick’s Flash helmet came flying out of the wormhole. This means that, potentially, Earth 2 will be in play as early as next season. We know that there will be a “Crisis on Infinite Earths” type story at some point in the future (2024, if Gideon is to be believed), and you need more than one Earth to qualify as ‘infinite,’ but this is still incredibly fun.
That helmet is indicative of just how amazingly comic book-y this entire episode was, and I mean that in the absolute best way possible. So many things happened that felt like they were ripped directly from a page of a classic Flash story, but none of them felt overplayed or forced. The show really knows what it is, and far faster than Arrow did, either. The staff on the show manages to create an easy to follow television program, without losing any of the complexities of the source material.
And because we now know how Barry can time travel, because we now know that Earth 2 (and its heroes) are out there, and because we now know that history can be altered, the stakes just got raised considerably. As if they didn’t already seem high enough.
2. Eddie, the hero
Let me put this out there before hand: Eddie probably is coming back. His “dead” body was sucked through a wormhole – he could very easily be found by the inhabitants of Earth whatever and be revived and, by doing so, could theoretically create another Eobard Thawne somewhere. But let’s leave that aside and celebrate the truly impressive sacrifice the character made.
Giving Dr. Stein the ‘coincidence’ speech was a really nice touch, as it gave Eddie a purpose that went beyond ‘romantic foil,’ and let him pick his own destiny. As we now know, he wasted no time fulfilling that destiny, and being the hero that he always wanted to be. This season has procured a lot of discussion on ‘is Eddie a good guy or a bad guy?,’ and this episode decides its own answer: he’s not just a good guy, but he’s a hero.
Of course, here comes the time travel paradox business again – this isn’t Eddie creating a new timeline where Wells doesn’t get face melted by Eobard – we see him literally erase Eobard from existence. But if that is the case, then why doesn’t everything we’ve seen so far disappear, too? If Barry went back and saved his mother, in 2015, he wouldn’t be the Flash (more than likely), right? He would reset his life, back to being 8 years old, and live happily ever after with both parents. His present would instantly disappear, to be replaced with something else.
So then, if Eddie kills himself, allowing Eobard to never be born, then wouldn’t everything Eobard touched – like everything that Nora’s death touched – disappear? So, wouldn’t there, again, be no Flash? My head hurts.
Also, how lucky is it that Eobard is a direct descendant and not a great-great-great-great nephew of Eddie? Eddie would’ve shot himself in the heart, only to find out that his brother was Eobard’s direct ancestor.
3. Vibe Begins
If you had told me in 2012 that, one day, you’ll be rooting for Vibe to have his own spinoff show, I would have laughed in your fool face. But here we are, and Cisco Ramon is one of the most compelling characters on television. Wells, when revealing that he, too, was affected by the particle accelerator, seems happy for Cisco, but that’s not how Cisco feels. You can see he’s taking in the understanding, the pressure, the inherent burden that having powers brings. He might love helping Barry be the Flash, but he also loves being a normal dude, quoting Star Wars and eating ‘za. He is reluctant to give that up, which I completely understand.
Continued belowThe show has also done an incredible job of building the character to a point where it doesn’t feel forced or surprising to find out that Cisco has powers. The way he learns to harness them is going to be very, very interesting. In a way, I am afraid for how the show handles them. It reminds me a bit of Arrow, although the producers must have known that, one day, Laurel Lance will be the Black Canary, they cast Katie Cassidy for her skills (lol) as a romantic counterpart to Stephen Amell. The Flash cast Carlos Valdes as the goofy Cisco, not the heroic Vibe; I’m sure he can handle it (much like how Cassidy has grown into a much, much better martial artist on screen), but I don’t want the show to ruin a role that he was so clearly born to play.
4. What we saw in the speed force
There were three (that I could spot) hints of the future that we saw in the (surprisingly blue) Speed Force. There was:
– Caitlin Snow as Killer Frost
– the exterior of the Flash Museum
– the scene from the Legends of Tomorrow trailer when a giant robot foot crashes through the roof of a building, almost taking out Captain Cold
The last one is the least cool, because we’ve seen it before and we have no idea what it means, but the other two are stunningly awesome. What, at this point, could push Mrs. Raymond to a life of crime? It has to be Ronnie’s demise, right? Or, will the show subvert her origins and make Killer Frost a hero?
But let’s get right to it: we just saw the motherfucking FLASH MUSEUM on television. That symbol of the Bronze Age, of continuity and celebrating heroism; that one building that completely invalidates the goals of the New 52 – we saw that on TV. My goodness.
5. Where we go from here
The show ends on a cliffhanger that, on the surface, seems nearly insurmountable. But, let’s be real: season 2 isn’t going to end with Barry failing at this task. Next season, he’s going to get this singularity stopped, and he’s going to be an even greater hero.
In fact, I think the show is going to run (no pun intended) in the opposite direction that Arrow went this season: I think Central City’s relationship to the Flash is going to grow even stronger and more bonded. I think he will be worthy of that museum sooner than later. And I can’t wait to see it.
Tell me your favorite moment from the finale in the comments, and come back next week for a discussion of the first season as a whole.
