The Flash finale was all about character. Specifically, Barry and his dilemma about saving his mom from Thawne. We opened with a verbal confrontation between the two speedsters, but it quickly switched over to Barry meeting with each and every member of his supporting cast. The main question: should he keep the timeline or save his mom?
Most all of the cast had something to say. Cisco and Barry’s father were on the side of keeping things as they are. The West’s told Barry to do it, with Iris even subtly acknowledging just how selfish the act kind of was. And in the middle of it all, Ronnie and Caitlin finally got married. Barry went for it, but future him stopped him from doing the deed. He settled on just saying good-bye.
Back in the present, we got a short fight with Flash and Thawne. There we got to see that Flash still can’t beat Thawne. But in a moment of desperation, Eddie shot himself. In his death, Thawne was instantly erased. But at the same moment, a wormhole opened up. Flash raced off into the wormhole, determined to do what he could as time tried to correct itself.
Positives
Emotions were HIGH in this episode. Performers were at the top of their game, whether it was Wells, Iris, Henry, or Joe. Each had great moments with Barry as they discussed the idea of going back. Cisco even had a great scene when he learned he was affected by the particle accelerator. In the end though, it was Grant Gustin who stole it all. That brief trip to the past, with the hearing his mother stabbed and the saying good-bye, was one of the most heart-wrenching things I’ve seen on television in a long time.
It was excellent to see a finale so focused on a character-driven finale. Yes, saving Barry’s mom was horribly irresponsible from a time travel standpoint and was nearly stated outright to be selfish. This was good though, as it was a great homage to Flashpoint, where the selfish act of Barry saving his mother wrecks the world. In other homages and easter eggs news: Jay Garrick’s helmet! Earth 2! Wow! Also all the random shots seen when Flash was running back in time! When it did come to action, both Eddie’s death and that final run were quick the shocker and showstopper!
Negatives
It was weird seeing Caitlin question the singularity idea. Yes she’s a biologist, but with all the science talk in STAR Labs, she should have probably picked up on it. It also would have been nice to hear some thoughts on the time travel save from the newly married couple, but I’m just grasping at negatives here, really.
The Verdict
Sure there is a lot of time travel confusion in this episode, but that’s because we don’t fully know the rules yet. Just enjoy the ride! The Flash “Fast Enough” delivered an emotionally powerful finale that will be talked about for months.
