Welcome back to our coverage of The Flash! Have you missed me? It’s nice to be back in the saddle, so let’s not waste any time getting to “Flashpoint,” the first episode of the show’s third season.
1. The Dopples
This show loves making its actors play different versions of the characters they play regularly, so I doubt this is the last time we see the cast getting to put a new spin on their parts. But it was fun seeing everyone tweaking their characters a bit. Let’s breakdown who was different and why:
– Iris: pretty much the same
– Wally: confident and awesome as (Don’t Call Me Kid) Flash. Side note, why the hell would they add “kid” to his name without an actual Flash? Do we chalk this up to the whole world having a sort of hazy memory of the fact that Barry was once the Flash, and so they knew not to call him that? How would they even know he’s a kid? Wait, he’s not a kid. What the hell?
– Joe: a drunken misery.
– Henry and Nora: adorably middle aged and wanting their son to move out (presumably, so they could fuck more)
– Cisco: a billionaire with an unusually tall girlfriend/secretary
– Caitlin: a nurturing, gentle pediatric ophthalmologist
– Jitters: still popular
The show did a nice job in presenting the world in ways that looked similar, but had interesting tweaks. I definitely didn’t want to spend a full season in this alternate world, but I also wouldn’t have minded another few episodes here in the Flashpoint world.
At least give us a Flying Graysons poster or a Wayne Casino or something.
2. Actual Iris/Barry chemistry!
This episode was, hands down, the best evidence for Barry and Iris to be in love. Their interactions were adorable and sparked with a connection that has been more or less missing for two full seasons. The scene in Jitters where Barry asks her out was really excellent, and presented their relationship as something I really hope works out. That was a feeling I had rarely felt before, so if for no other reason, the alternate timeline helped the show in a considerable way. Thanks, “Flashpoint!”
3. Barry didn’t know it was Wally? C’mon!
This was the one part of the episode that really felt dumb – how did Barry not put together that Wally was Kid Flash? It seems like Barry took his sweet ass time looking up all the folks he knew and loved in the new timeline, so much so that he never once checked in on Wally. But if there was one person whose eyes are fast enough to unblur the Kid Flash’s face, it is Barry. If there’s one guy who could see him move at ‘normal’ speed, it is Barry. Even if he didn’t know for sure, between the voice and the mannerisms, he should have had some idea.
Then again, on these shows, the smallest of masks really do fool people, so what do I know?
4. If Barry didn’t start getting the vapors, would he ever have undid everything?
The logic for Barry wanting to reset the timeline is a little suspect. He brags to the Reverse Flash how happy he is, how “everything that was taken from me is back,” etc. And then, he starts to get these tremors and starts to forget the old timeline, which all of a sudden means he has to fix things. Huh?
I’m sure those tremors didn’t feel great, but why doesn’t Barry want to forget the old timeline? How selfish is this dude – he wants everything fixed, but for only him to remember how it was broken. That seems like a totally unfair set of requirements, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t Barry be happy to put the past behind him, and move forward with the ‘normal’ life he always wanted?
I understand once Wally got hurt that he wanted to save him, but it seems like he could use up the ‘last’ of his speed to go back in time and stop Wally from getting got, and then he would forget the old timeline, and live happily in the new one. I know why, for the show and for Barry’s character, this needed to go this way, but the script was a little lacking in that regard.
Continued below5. Reverse Flash is a dick (and a quick shave)
Making Barry say out loud “I need you to kill my mother” was about as cold as anyone could be. You a dick, Eobard.
Also, did anyone else notice that he had a 3-month beard in Barry’s cell, and then was clean shaven when they ran back in time? Did he shave on the way (similar to the way that the scientist on The Simpsons stopped for that haircut in “Marge Vs. The Monorail”), or did going back in time undo his facial hair?
I don’t quite understand how the whole Reverse Flash thing works – time travel, am I right? – but I do love how truly evil he appears in this episode.
So, what did you think of the episode? Let me know in the comments!
