Jessie Robertson reviews the season 3 finale of The Flash…
And we reach the Finish Line….
The Flash season 3 ends and there’s a lot to unpack in tonight’s finale. As it tends to do, this episode packed a whole lot of stuff into 41 minutes. First off, Iris did not in fact die, HR did. He managed to save Iris and use his transmogrification device to trick Savitar into killing him while saving Iris. They set it up last week and I totally didn’t pick up on it; shame on me. HR, as a character, was a huge boon for this show, his light heartedness, his quick wit and somehow finding a way to fit in. His presence will be missed, but his final curtain was quite a velvet one to draw. His funeral scene was somber, but dignified and he will be missed.
So if Iris didn’t die, surely Barry and team took him out? Well, no. Caitlin, just about to deliver the death blow to Cisco, was backed off and Cisco was instructed to a build a device that would allow Dupe Barry to exist in all times, in all moments, in essence, to still become a God. During this, Barry gets the epiphany he needs to reverse his thinking; hate was not going to win the day; it would be love and compassion. so, he arranges a meet with his dupe to talk him into letting Team Flash help him. It was a tense yet weird 15 minutes of him being in STAR Labs, taking verbal abuse from most of Team Flash before telling them “hate and love are so close together.” When probed, Barry and Iris couldn’t come up with one decent half- relevant answer to what kind of life would a Barry Allen doppleganger live in Central City? Could he joke with Cisco the way Barry does? And how could he be present at a wedding he feels like he should be in – after all, he remembers proposing to Iris? It was a large hole in the plan of Barry that should have had some forethought put into it. But, it didn’t and we were back to square one.
With Savitar’s device complete, he prompted Caitlin to finish off Cisco, but he was rescued by Gypsy, who awkwardly blurted out with “they are somehow connected through the universe.” Okay. From there, it was the final showdown between Savitar and Team Flash; just in as he was about to transcend into all Speed-God-hood Jay Garrick was released from the Speed Force and lended a helping hand. The final race was pretty clutch and Barry morphing himself into the Savitar armor and knocking Dupe Barry out was a cool moment. Barry stayed his hand though and did not kill his double; that was left up to Iris, who instead of being saved, become the saver of Barry when his Dupe ran after him for the killing blow. Then to the ending: with Jay out of the Speed Force, it is now empty and needs a prisoner to stop the raging storms it was raining down upon Central City (Barry surmised the world as well.) Barry was ready to accept his fate. He had dropped hints all season long that he needed to pay his due for creating Flashpoint, yet it is still extremely odd seeing him so cool with basically giving up his life and everyone he loves and being okay with it. A crazy, much talked about ending that played out very strangely to his viewer in real time.
So, season 3 is a wrap; it was not without its problems. When The Flash first debuted, it had such a light of hope, an eagerness, a smile for you every week. Now, in season three, with these characters weary and beaten and suffering, it’s become a much darker show overall (that’s including a season with a musical episode!). When The Flash was on this year, doing what it does, it was still top notch; but the dour mood set over much of the season did not help it when comparing it to season one or even two. Julian Albert started off as a very interesting character with a very cool back story but by end of the season, he’s just another member of Team Flash and one of the least engaging ones. The countdown to Iris’ death , the list of events, all very good in theory but filling out everything that made the season was a tough nut to crack. The three part crossover episodes were extremely well done and I loved Barry’s role in them. The two part Gorilla City crossover was also not without its issues but provided a fun, huge risky storyline to insert into the show’s history. There have been some duds and some winners this year and with the Savitar storyline looming so large, gone seemed to be the days of the villain of the week for the most part on The Flash this season. Our finale threw everything at the wall and while altering the state of the show (now missing Barry, Caitlin & HR), it remains the same as it still has a Flash (Wally), a scientist (Tracy) and a Wells (from E2). If anything, the Iris death swerve teaches us Barry will not be vacant long next season if at all but it does give us something to ponder as we break for the summer.
8/10- A good finale, not a great one, Savitar was so richly portrayed by Grant Gustin this season but the story between them seemed to falter in tonight’s episode
Thank you, so so much; as always it has been my pleasure to watch these shows and share some candid thoughts about them; have an awesome summer, Flash fans!
Jessie Robertson
