The Flash has officially run “Fast Enough” to close out his first season, but all is far from well in Central City. Not only did Barry’s big mission to the past yield an unexpected (and emotional) outcome, but the team said goodbye to one of its own as time itself threatened to pull Central City into oblivion. Find out who survived, what DC heroes popped up, and what timey-wimey shenanigans went down with our full review of tonight’s Flashfinale!
You’re warned of all the major spoilers from tonight’s Flash finale “Fast Enough” from here on out, but we certainly can’t say we saw that coming. Barry Allen may or may not have saved the day, racing to stop a singularity that threatened to pull all of Starling City with it, and we didn’t even see the results! For all its promise of answers, The Flash left us on a cliffhanger. Uncool, but how did we even get there?
[Ed. Note: Ryan, your usual Flash aficionado is away on business this week, but given all the juicy events of tonight’s finale, I’m going to go through some of the highlights and burning questions before getting in deeper with the review below.]
SO, DID BARRY GO BACK AND SAVE HIS MOTHER?
Close, but not quite! Following a tense confrontation with the incarcerated Harrison / Eobard, Barry gave weighty consideration to the Reverse Flash’s proposal, in which Barry would use the particle accelerator to facilitate his trip back in time, saving his mother, but also enabling Harrison to return to his own time 136 years in the future. Grant Gustin put it all on display this week, weighing the possibility of changing his entire existence, and likely severing relationships with Joe, Caitlin, Cisco, Ronnie and Dr. Stein in the process.
Even despite his father’s urging, Barry ultimately opted to follow his instincts and return to the past, sharing heartfelt goodbyes with the entire team, particularly Joe (seriously, Gustin killed it this week, but Jesse Martin also got in some gut punches admitting his fears to Barry). With a bit of coaxing from Harrison, Barry easily surpassed Mach 2 running around the accelerator ring, while a single hydrogen particle fired by Dr. Stein enabled Barry to punch open a wormhole to the past, spying all manner of past and future events on his trip through the vortex.
Just what kind of future events, you ask? Oh, a few Legends here and there, alternate realities, giant robots and this Frost-y lady.
Upon arriving back in his childhood bedroom, Barry raced downstairs to find the battle between Reverse Flash and his future self already in motion, though the redder-suited future hero silently cautioned Barry against any interference. Heavy-heartedly (did I mention how much Grant Gustin destroyed me this week?), Barry opted to remain in hiding until after his mother was dealt the mortal blow, though in her dying moments Barry emerged and unmasked, quickly explaining his noted resemblance to her father. Nora quickly recognized her future son, and Barry finally at least got to say goodbye, assuring his mother that both he and Henry were okay.