The Flash - S3E19 - The Once and Future Flash
Previously on The Flash, “Abra Kadabra”
Only time will tell how significant the events in “The Once and Future Flash” are, but we know Barry didn’t achieve his main goal in traveling to the future: he still doesn’t know Savitar’s identity.
Once Barry has decided to go into the future, nothing will stop him - not even Killer Frost on the loose. With help from Wally, Barry lands in 2024 just in time to get his ass kicked by very free, and very powerful, Mirror Master and Top. Once he gets away, he heads to his and Iris’ loft. Now, it’s home to nothing but trash and sad memories.
Sensing a disturbance in the force, Cisco tracks Barry and agrees to take him to his future self. The loft isn’t the only thing that’s gone to shit since Iris’ death. Sad Future Barry is sad, and looks like all he does is listen to The Smiths all day and refuses haircuts. His attitude is channeling 2017 Oliver Queen, but his hair is channeling flashback Oliver. Basically, the wig is a hot mess. Sad Future Barry doesn’t know who Savitar is, and tells Barry he should go home and make as many babies happy memories with Iris as he can.
Barry attempts to go back to his time (after checking one damn source), but for some reason his speed isn’t opening a portal. Oh, well. Might as well see how the rest of the city went to shit when it lost that glorious Black Girl Magic.
Barry meant it when he said there was no Flash without Iris West, and if there’s no Flash… well, there’s no Team Flash either. Julian does science stuff in the bowels of S.T.A.R. Labs and babysits Killer Frost, who mopes in a power-dampening cell. Though he’s still good with tech, Cisco cannot use his hands to vibe because he doesn’t have hands - thanks to Killer Frost. Wally went up against Savitar alone after Iris’ death and was left paralyzed in a vegetative state. That’s right: Savitar left Wally in a constant state of shook. H.R. owns Jitters, writes successful sci-fi romance novels, and gets laid a lot.
Joe is a wreck. Turns out, Barry didn’t keep the promise he made to Iris right before traveling to the future: with her gone, he didn’t take care of Joe; he pushed him, and everyone else, away.
Having seen enough to depress him for four lifetimes, Barry is ready to go, and Cisco finally admits he used a bit of tech to keep Barry from time-traveling. That’s right: Cisco stole Barry’s speed keys ’cause he’s lonely.
Instead of going home to get back to work ensuring this future never happens, Barry agrees to stay and motivates everyone — including Sad Future Barry — to work together to stop Top and Mirror Master for good. They’re not exactly the team they were before Barry arrived, but it’s better than the nothing they were. Barry is content with the knowledge that even if he doesn’t save Iris, he and his future team will be okay.
He goes home with some tech used by Tracy Brand, the physicist who helped Sad Future Barry trap Savitar after Iris’s death. Maybe if he connects with her in 2017, they can speed things up (yeah, I went there) and get her invention working before Savitar kills Iris.
But Wait; There’s More
Present day Killer Frost meets Savitar in the woods and he offers to help her. Once he steps out of his suit and reveals his identity, Killer Frost immediately agrees to work with him. I know it better not be Ronnie!
Quick Hits
Sad Future Barry reveals that Barry made a bunch of time remnants in an effort to defeat Savitar and it didn’t work because Savitar killed “mostly all of them.”
Up to Speed
H.R. is out here living his best life in 2024 and I’m here for it.
Speed Bumps
Still no explanation as to why Killer Frost is evil when Caitlin wasn’t. I suspect this is so it will be somewhat believable when the mother of all pep talks turns her good again. Hopefully we’ll find out why she speaks in autotune.
Leave your thoughts on the episode below, or on our Facebook post for this review and we’ll read them on tonight’s podcast.
The Flash S3E19
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Plot - 8/108/10
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Dialogue - 8.5/108.5/10
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Performances - 9/109/10
"The Once and Future Flash"
Starring: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Jesse L. Martin, Tom Cavanagh, Carlos Valdes, Danielle Panabaker, Keinynan Lonsdale, Tom Felton
FOR THE PODCAST: This episode was…what’s the word you use, Nina? Basura? What a heaping pile of fetid garbage. How do you come back from a break with FILLER??
I’m sick to death of Barry making boneheaded choices, but then he doesn’t even follow through. If Future Barry knows the answer, get it the answer! And why did he look at Top during that fight when he KNEW what she would do to him? Why didn’t Cisco warn him about Caitlin or Wally or Joe? This episode was an exercise in frustration. I can’t even drum up any curiosity as to who Savitar is.
Thank God, 10pm rolled around and SHIELD gave me life.
Getting my feedback in!!!
FOR THE PODCAST: Hey guys, I mainly leave feedback to get John to say “It’s Flash time bitches” Two quick thoughts:
1. My biggest issue with this episode was that Cisco wanted Barry to help him get the band back together so he stopped Barry from going back BUT if he would have helped Barry get the information he needed, this future wouldn’t exist and there would be no need to get the band back together. So basically I was frustrated that Cisco was guilting Barry about not helping when Barry’s mission was to make sure this future never happens.
2. Although he got hit by the CW Bad Wig Fairy, I really liked Emo!Barry2024’s deep baritone. Grant put some bass in his voice and I was with it.
That’s all. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
That voice was doing all the right things to me-I mean, for me.
😎
For The Podcast:
1) HR is a FREAK!!!
2) Future Julian had Harry Potter glasses
3) Future Wallace needs a Clean Fade
4) Did we really need to bring back Great Value Frank??
5) This Savitar reveal better be fucking worth it!
6) SnowBarry Moment:
Cisco: “Killer Frost is loose and wrecking havoc, someone needs to cool her temper”
Barry: “Nah mate, Iris is still in trouble, let me go galavanting in the future to save her and come back with nothing”
Barry gives NO FUCKS about Caitlin and I LOVE it.
7) Did Iris control the sun or something in Central City, because after she died suddenly everything is in greyscale.
8) That Team Flash huddle proves that Iris needs to survive, because otherwise we’ve got too many dudes in this crew.
Wrap up:
Betrayer - Caitlin
Fate worse than Death - Wallace
So who will be “the one who will fall”?
FOR THE PODCAST: Great job tugging at the emotions and Grant Gustin did an awesome acting job! Loved the way Barry kicked KF across the floor in the beginning. Otherwise, this ep was horrible and weak. 1) The ep initially started off about Iris but took a terrible turn to Team Flash and KF 2) Putting Future Team Flash back together: Really? How about save Iris and you don’t have to worry about putting them back together. Correct the past and the future will take care of itself. More time should have been spent in the present 3) Savitar reveal is going to be so anticlimactic that very few people care anymore. If it is Ronnie, they will have a lot of explaining to do based on what Savitar articulated (He volunteered to help w/the worm hole and what did Joe and every1 else take from him?) 4) Iris should have been included more in the ep 5) There should have been a nice WestAllen reunion at the end. After seeing Iris’ grave and the impact her death had on his future self, as well as his future self telling him to spend as much time as he can loving her, we needed a nice reunion scene. Seriously? Instead, Barry goes to JOE and hugs JOE and tells JOE he’s sorry (although he made the promise to Iris)??? Barry could have finally had a serious discussion on how much her life IS worth saving no matter what and that she needs to stop thinking of others so much. 6) Send KF to LOTs already and be done with that cold heartless bitch. Love you guys!
FOR THE PODCAST: Basically what the show is telling me is that even 7 years from now Barry STILL requires pep talks? 🤔 *sigh*…… Also all this who is Savitar hype has basically killed it for me. I think the only way I’ll be shocked is if it’s someone random like….. Joe *shrugs*
For the podcast
I’m not 100% sure I liked this episode or not. I just want the Savitar reveal to be over with. I will say KF’s reaction at the end did peak my interest. Could it be Ronnie? Eddie? Or Zoom? Or Future Barry? Earth 2 Harry? Jessie? Caitlin’s mama? I can’t think of who would have caused her to have that reaction.
So Barry didn’t seem to be very thrown by KF showing up. He knocked her out the room and was back to it all being about saving Iris. Lol
Loved the photo of Iris & Joe. That was adorable.
WTF did Savitar do to Wally? And why didn’t his spine heal?
I’m sure I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again. When Grant Gustin cries, I cry. That confrontation between the Barrys had me all up in my feelings.
Since this is getting long, I’m ending it with saying that bitch KF betta not take my Cisco’s hands! 😡 Do you think Barry will warn Cisco about that so he can take precautions? And I understand why Barry needed to talk to Joe after seeing how much he fucked up in the future but just a shoulder pat to Iris? What the hell was that? You pat Cisco! Not the love of your life! Anywho, can’t wait to hear the podcast!
PODCAST:
Hi Nina and Donny! (and John…?)
So, having the first few minutes of this episode shown in the teasers made me pay attention less to what was happening. I was more concerned about where tf Barry put his suit or where he got that red sweater..
Anyway, is it canon that it’s a lot harder to go to the future than the past? Because if it isn’t, it would’ve been an easier way to explain Barry’s intervention in the future. Maybe F-Barry is too angry to even talk to the Barry who failed to save Iris. But he ALSO needs F-Barry like he needed Wally to get back to the past. So Barry has to get the team back together to convince him to help. Blah blah blah happens, they defeat Top and MM, yay. THEN F-Barry gives that speech to relish his time with Iris but also gives him that drive as a result of his renewed hope.
Side note: If traveling to the future IS harder than going to the past, it sort of doesn’t make sense. I mean time only moves forward, so in theory, trying to go against it should be harder, no?
My feedback is short….why they still got newspapers in 2024?!
FOR THE PODCAST
I hope I am not too late.
1. This WAS FUCKING FILLER!
2. Best thing that happened in the show is when H.R. said threesome! Fucking died.
3. This episode disappointed me. The fuck is the reason why we didn’t learn shit about Metal Flash? Whose ass do I have to whoop to get a decent fucking plot? If they don’t pick this up and stop dragging me along.
4. Never want to see emo Barry and his Backstreet boy wig ever again. Burn that shit along with this episode.
5. Finally topsy turvy and reflection’s existence in this episode was the biggest disappointment since their birth.
For the podcast:
I’ve never left feedback for any show, but… I can’t stand Danielle Panabaker so much that it’s making me. As Caitlyn or as Killer Frost, she is a trash actor compared to every single other person on this show. Including Grodd. She doesn’t even wave her arms convincingly when she’s throwing snow and shit. Girl bye, go freeze people on trash ass Arrow or something.