Note: There will be spoilers contained within the recap and review

Recap

On this week's episode of The Flash, Barry talks to Wells, who is in a containment unit. Barry asks Wells (Thawne) why he killed his mother. Wells says he hates Barry... Barry from the future. Barry wants to know why but Wells won't tell him why. Wells wanted to kill Barry in the past, but the future Barry followed and saved Barry. So Wells killed Barry's mother. Wells says after he killed Barry's mother he got stuck. Wells needed Barry to get fast to a wormhole could be created to get Wells home. Wells says Barry can go back in time, but Wells doesn't believe him.

Barry talks to the group at STAR Labs about the idea of traveling back to save Barry's mother. Dr Martin explains if he goes back that everything will change and Barry won't remember anything. Essentially, Flashpoint. Cisco mentions if he does this, Barry will have never met anyone at STAR or lived with Joe and Iris. Joe says Barry should do it.

Barry visits his father at the prison. He's against the idea of Barry traveling back in time because of the possible changes. Ronnie and Caitlin talk back at STAR. They plan on getting married again. Iris finds Barry on the roof and the two chat. She asks if Barry is going to go back. Iris says to do something for himself.

Barry goes to ask Wells how to travel back in time. Wells tells him to use the particle accelerator. Wells tells him that if he doesn't go the velocity needed, he will die. Dr Martin talks to everyone about the accelerator and traveling back in time. Cisco doesn't understand why he's going back in time. Dr Martin says he needs to go at least Mach 2. Barry needs Cisco to build a time machine. Wells has been putting together a time machine, but they need all the pieces for Wells. Cisco gets info from Wells on the time sphere (machine) they're going to build. Cisco tells Wells that in an alternate time line, he killed Cisco. Wells says because he can see through vibrations of the universe, and he was around the particle accelerator when it exploded, he may be metahuman (Vibe!). Cisco is a bit freaked out by all of this and leaves.

Dr Martin talks to Eddie and Eddie says he's no help because he doesn't matter because Wells told him that he's forgettable. Martin says what are the odds that Wells came back to Eddie's time. Martin says Eddie is the only person here that gets to choose his own future. Martin tells everyone else there's a problem with the calculations. There's a chance the explosion could create a black hole, which could create a global catastrophe.

Wells reassures everyone that nothing will work and Barry has almost 2 minutes to save his mother, then he comes back and they can close the wormhole so nothing bad will happen. Joe and Barry talk some more about traveling back in time. Joe says Barry is fast enough to do this.

Eddie visits Iris at work and brings her some lunch. Eddie wants to get back together with Iris. He says “Screw the future” and Iris repeats it. Ronnie and Caitlin get married outside of STAR Labs and Dr Martin marries them.

Barry says goodbye to everyone before he heads to the past. Barry makes it into the accelerator and runs. Barry sees the speed force. Barry coaches him on. Barry travels back in time, to his house. He sees the future Flash there and he motions for Barry not to intervene. Barry talks to her mother as she's dying. He pulls off his mask to talk to her. Cue teary eyes across America as Barry talks to his mother. His mother passes away.

Back at STAR Labs, Wells walks around his Time Sphere and says Rip Hunter would be impressed. Jay Garrick's helmet pops in and Wells says it's time for him to go. Just as he's about to take off, Barry comes back and smashes the time sphere. Wells is furious. The two begin to fight. Wells gets one up on him and is about to kill him. Then, there's a gunshot. Eddie shot himself. Wells/Thawne is being erased from existence. There's a light and the warmhole, which they closed, is reopening. Eddie's body is sucked into it. The warmhole is eating everyone and won't stop. Flash jumps into the wormhole... and the episode ends.... um... what?

Thoughts

As far as season finales go, this one was different, to say the least. It really steps away from what fans traditionally expect. We don't see the hero get finally defeat his antagonist, since that happened in the last episode. Sure, Thawne and Barry duke it out here, but that's not the focus on the episode. We're left at a point where we don't get closure for the episode as well, which is something a lot of episodic television shows do now, but no where near this extent. As far as this goes for a season finale, it's actually quite the shock.

A good chunk of this episode focuses on Barry's decision to travel back and time and that's important, but the problem with how this all plays out is that the first 20 minutes of the show is just the secondary characters asking Barry if he's going back in time and Barry not knowing if he should do it or not. Aside from Barry's father, he gets the same exact advice from Iris and Joe. Throughout the episode, it's this back and forth internal struggle for Barry, at least that's how it's supposed to seem. It comes off more of just Barry bouncing around though and it becomes a bit aggravating.

I'm also having some small problems wrapping my head around Eddie undoing the Thawne lineage by possibly killing himself. Never say never because his body was pulled into the warmhole/blackhole but there's so many changes with time going on here and a few things feel like they don't add up. Expect a larger piece about all of this later on.

That's really the only complaint about the episode, as a whole though. About halfway through, when Barry starts preparing for and traveling to the past, that's where this episode kicks up into full gear. The episode isn't about beating down the bad guy. It's all about undoing wrongs... at least what the main character considers "wrongs." Sure, Barry's mother being murdered is a wrongdoing, but so much good came out of that, like Barry becoming the Flash and saving lives.

Let's just get right into the part where we all cried or teared up. By the way, if you didn't tear up during this, you're a monster or just switched on the CW at a real awkward time. That moment when future Flash "tells" present Flash to hold off is emotional enough on its own, but then Barry had to go and talk to his mother in THE most memorable scene of the season. Let the tears fall down your face for this one as Barry reveals himself to his mother by removing his mask. This scene was brilliant and worth every moment of build-up. Then, in one of the most epic shots of the season, Barry punches the time sphere and we get another great fight, which leads up to a great, and saddening, sacrificial moment.

Here's a few other quick notes:

Jay Garrick's helmet. Enough said.

We also get a Rip Hunter reference too, but we all know he'll be around in DC's Legends of Tomorrow, which is still a terrible name for a television show.

Please let Cisco become Vibe sooner rather than later. He's the heart of this show. His conversation with Wells leads us down that path.

There's always a moment, in every season finale, where the cast comes together for a "happy" moment. Here, it's Ronnie and Caitlin's wedding. It seemed forced into the episode.

Overall, it's not the best episode of the season, but it still stands out as a great one. The biggest problem was just the repetition of Barry going back and forth between everyone, wondering if he should go to the past or not. The payoff is really in the second half though and while the actual ending was quite bizarre, it worked and the overall episode was a pretty big success. I cannot wait for next season now.

The repercussions from Eddie's actions are nowhere in sight.

It literally makes no sense, if Eddie dying causes Eobard to evaporate that would've happened in every time stream (since Eobard is already detached from his), meaning Wells never would have existed for anything he did in the show. Meaning Barry and crew should've also evaporated since they never would've reached that point in their lives. Literally makes no sense at all and I can't imagine anyway they could fix it since the effects would've been instantaneous. Very weak finale 6.5/10 maybe...

Edit: If anyone can explain how this could logically work/not be a massive plot hole it would be appreciated.

Darn you timezones that help make trains and other important things that orientate us cross time-space. I have to wait another hour for this (and prolly longer because I have friends coming over)

CHeap Plug to User Review

UPDATE: Having now sceen the episode that was wonderful, Doctor Who-esque even. I have no idea how they deal with that bit at the end, but ya know timey whimey squishy wishy.

Was anyone else thinking, "Why didn't Eddie just shoot Reverse-Flash in the back?" The last episode proved he can be tagged with projectiles while he's distracted...

That ending! Four and a half months until the next episode. I agree with the review-there were definitely several surprises/twists that caught the audience off guard. While the finale answered some questions, it definitely asked new ones-such as how does the time paradox work considering eddie's and wells's fate. Also the teases of possible multi-verses is a very exciting possibility.

As a fan, the abrupt ending drove me bats, but will be an exciting setup to season 2. I loved all the jokes and easter eggs- may the speed force be with you, multiverse, jay garrick, legends of tomorrow, flash museum, etc. Great exciting finale. Not perfect, but it definitely gets people craving more. 9/10 for me. Now I guess the only thing to do is make a list of what I want to see next year like any "sane" fanboy.

Good episode, awful ending to a series that last scene really pissed me off i thought it was atleast adverts or something

@dan12456: There is a second season coming, you know. A whole season where we can obtain reasoning for why they were all still there and what this means for the timestream and the multiverse.

The article says alot "sure, Barry's mother being murdered is a wrongdoing, but so much good came out of that, like Barry becoming the Flash and saving lives." Didn't it state that he becomes the flash regardless of his mother dying. Just saying that's a horrible argument.

@dan12456: It's almost as if it would create a world ending anomaly.

Oh wait.....it did.

@k4tzm4n: would that really of accomplished anything though? Wells had his powers. We all know if you shot Barry he'd just heal...

@dan12456: I see the black hole as the repercussion for Eddie's action. After Reverse Flash vanished, the universe saw all the other crap that would change and said, "Screw it. I've got a perfectly good black hole right here. Much less work."

Five stars from me. No question. The fact that they were able to genuinely shock me with some of the things that happened is reason enough for me to love this but there were so many great moments. I can't wait for this show to come back next fall.

Eddie wasn't there for that. He likely has no idea. Not to mention, I sort of feel like this as Eddie's big way of saying "screw you, Eobard! I am important, and I am the hero!"

I suppose it's different cases.

Eddie offs himself, meaning Eobard's entire family line ceases to exist from that point on.

That's probably different than ending the source of events, otherwise Eobard probably could have assumed the same thing would happen to him, because erasing Barry from the timestream means no Flash. No Flash means no Reverse Flash.

Eddie eliminated not only Eobard, but Eobard's father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc.

The Particle Accelerator was an event meant to happen. Eobard knew everything about it and built it, but his just came sooner than in his original timeline. It's not out of the realm of possibility to think that, because that event was always destined to happen, history itself had no problem with Eobard making it happen sooner. Hence why nobody from the present vanished.

Perhaps that helps clarify the situation? Personally, I have no problem because there's a 25% chance that I'll know I won't be able to wrap my head around stuff like this. I accept that.

This series has really impressed me. Loved the season finale. Can't wait to see what happens in season 2!

@rixec:But this should be an instantaneous result, there is extensive theory on how time travel would work, if it logically can be explained people should already be able to figure it out...

@scarlet_rogue: It didn't, the black hole was a separate thing not a result of eddie dying. A world ending event wouldn't allow everything to continue for 5 minutes. It logically couldn't continue for 5 minutes cause all the things continuing wouldn't have ever existed. It would be immediate and instantaneous ceasing of existence. (You know the way Wells ceased to exist the second Eddie stopped breathing, not 5 minutes later. )

JAY GARRICK!!

I didn't cry, there i said it, feels for sure yeah, but not a single drop of water, then again i don't cry ever i get the feels so maybe i'm not a valid opinion on that subject.

Beyond that, points to the creative team for such a different finally, but i can't say everything worked, episode took a bit to long to kick in gear, i guess you could say it wasn't Fast Enough. Maybe 5 minutes taken away from the choice drama dispersed to the planning process, other characters talking (like Wells and Cisco), and the final action bit.

Also, have to disagree here. Joe West is the heart of this show, not Cisco.

I give the finally a 4/5, could've been better, but it could've been a lot worse.

@scouterv: I think you make a good point for why they would all still exist in some way (Barry would still be the Flash etc), but how could they possibly remember Wells when Wells would never have existed or been there or met them?

Also wouldn't his mother still be alive since the person who killed her doesn't exist anymore?

I called this awhile back. I figured since Eddie seemed to only want to do the right thing he might sacrifice himself for the greater good.

As far as the plot hole goes they might could explain that with more multiverse/time travel logic. Like maybe some outside force was intervening to make sure Barry and co weren't affected by Wells no longer existing. (Maybe Rip Hunter) It's a shot in the dark guess but all I can come up with.

Me thinks Henry Allen would disagree.

Thought! Because they were all there for the moment and have interacted with him and remember Eddie, they remember Thawne. Cisco, given his suspected powers would likely still remember it anyway. As for the others, this is a thought, but it falls in line with the same reason that they remained despite Eobard having not existed.

Because Wells was the catalyst for events in many of their lives, they remember him. The world wouldn't forget Harrison Wells, because Harrison Wells built the Particle Accelerator. Eobard Thawne is another person entirely, so perhaps the fact that it was Thawne in Wells body makes his memory stick, as well?

Plus, this wasn't a change in history for them because all Wells did throughout their timeline still remains and lingers. People of Eobard's time likely don't know of any Thawnes though, but the present remembers because the timeline he and Barry (somewhat) forged still exists.

FOUR!!!?!?!?!?!?!? FOUR STARS?!?!?!?!?!? I HATE YOU @inferiorego!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...And I'm just sittin here thinking that there's a capless Jay Garrick running around in some timeline.

Might as well not be running at all if he's going to go capless...

@dan12456: If by nowhere in sight, you mean a giant wormhole opening trying to erase all of existence, then sure. Nobody said a paradox would be as simple as waking up in an alternate timeline. Eddie only killed himself because Thawne existed. If Thawne didnt exist then Eddie wouldnt have killed himself so Thawne would exist again. If Thawne existed it would lead to the Eddie killing himself ect. ect. so on and so forth. It is a huge paradox that folds on itself. Thats why the giant wormhole opened and tried to swallow this timeline. We will see repercussions in the next season for sure.

The tease is all over the place. It was really heart touching and at the same time awesome. They should have ended it with a better conclusion now we have to wait for another 4 months. The last 10 minutes is really epic.

Time paradoxis, the consequences of time travel and... and this is the bigie for me... a mercury helmet!!! (i do like to think that at that point well's slightly peed his breeches in fear that he may have to go up against a vetran speedster like Jay... but thats just me fan loving the Jay nod. COME ON SEASON 2!!!)

Curse you, cliffhanger!

Why did Barry attack Eobard after coming back? I really don't understand that. They came to a mutual agreement that Barry would go to save his mother and Eobard would go home. They even went through the trouble of building the time machine specifically for him to get back to his own time. For all intents and purposes, Eobard kept up his end of the bargain...

Then Barry changes his mind and destroys the ship? Then decides to fight Eobard for seemingly no reason?

I have to say it.........weak sauce. A very disappointing season finale overall and caps off my reservations about a season 1 (despite great high points) with such a key villain and aspect of the Flash mythology.

As a lifelong fan of Doctor Who one gets used to season long (or comic arc long) paradoxes that come together at the end at despite the weak first half once Future Barry told Past Barry not to interfere it all made sense....there is no timeline in which Nora Allen lived and this is a case of the paradox loop playing out; Barry's actions resulted in the creation of the Reverse-Flash so Thawne's actions could create Barry in order to maintain the timeline. It was nice to see that thought out......only for the writers to completely throw a wrench in it with Eddy's actions. Maybe the season 2 opener will nicely tie that up, I hope it does, but it seems like they extended themselves too far simply for the a big twist that doesn't fit with the paradox thet just fleshed out. Somebody reviewing the script should have looked that one over and questioned whether that fits.

The repercussions from those actions, aside from Eobaud's "death", aren't noticeable because of the black hole....which is sort of a representation of the repercussions and why the timeline hasn't changed yet as its all simply being engulfed as an anomoly. That should, technically, make it impossible for Barry to fix without fixing the root problem which is preventing Eddy from killing himself and force Barry to time travel again to either stop his past self from attacking Eobaud (which really made no sense anyways) or stopping Eddy from taking action. Either one would allow Eobaud to return to the future and maintain the timeline as he goes forward to continue battle with Future Barry.

I'm just not sure if the writers are thinking along those lines or are looking to expand on the idea of time paradoxes through the speed force (possibly making Eddy a speedster?)

The helmet was nice and reminded me of DW specials like Time Crash and Time of the Doctor. I'm curious to see if it was thrown through a time portal by a Future Barry, witnessed by a younger Eobaud (thus why the helmet and its appearance made sense to current Eobaud), so that present Barry will go looking for Jay Garrick as his mentor (as a follow-up to Eobaud's question of what Barry will do without him) and we'll get a version of Jay more like the Smallville depiction where he's either too old or injured for superspeed. That would be a nice way of explaining the changes to Barry's suit as well as the lighter shade of red and white background reflect Barry growing more along Jay's mentality and maybe even a little copying of whatever he wore back in the day.

I bet a evil Eddie and a non-disguised Eobard return in the 3rd season.

pretty good finale not as good as Aos's though

@scouterv: he's good, but he isn't the heart of the show.

Well, Eobard still has to pay for all the crimes he committed in the present, anyway and Barry had a change of heart. Not to mention, a few moments ago, he had to sit back and listen to Wells kill his mother all over again, so it's reasonable to think that he may not entirely have been in his right mind at the moment.

OMG KILLER FROST.....time to watch flashpoint paradox now

This episode brought the tears man ;(

Also I freaking hate cliffhangers

Some people said that they saw Caitlin as Killer Frost. I don't recall seeing that... Did anybody else see it?

Was a decent EP. Personally I think they've kinda jumped into Time Travel a little to early, I mean it's only the first season of the show...not that it's a deal breaker but still, a LOT of sh!t has gone down in only the first season. ...Anyways, despite the extra emo going on in this EP, I still thought it was good....and dat Jay Garrick helmet doe!...was the best part.

@fallen_crippled: it was while Barry was running so fast he started seeing alternate times, just after the view of Barry going to stay with Joe as a child. the next image is Killer Frost shooting ice from her hands.

And I was really really happy at the end when Barry called Joe Dad.

The anger at hearing Eobard kill his mother.

Loved it.The sound effect in it was amazing. The end had me like nooooooooooooooooooo.

OK, I hate long drawn out death scenes when somebody has super speed. I suppose because he was listening to Alter-Barry like a chump, our Barry couldn't just grab his Mom and race her to a hospital. But really. He should have! Same with Eddie. Take Eddie to the hospital! Deal with Wells while he's freaking out over maybe being erased.

Few things,

1) this storyline exists in an alternate reality. So each time something unique to that time happens, it creates a new timeline. In theory, Eobard killing Nora happened in the original Universe, it splinters each time traveling instance. My take at least.

2) I hope Thawne/Wells appears again, he was my favorite character on the show, I kept finding myself waiting for scenes with him just out of intrigue.

3) I wonder who next seasons big baddie is.. Flash has some great, great rogues but Thawne definitely ups the stakes. They'll have to make it someone who's presence pushes Barry.

4) As much as I like the show, it did come off cheesy in dialogue at times. My biggest gripe is probably how underwelming the final 2 episodes were. The way Thawne was captured? How he couldn't just vibrate out of his cell? His "end game" fell extremely flat... I kept waiting for Thawne to say "actually, I could have freed myself when I wanted..." and/or shown for versatility. Alas they downplayed him in the final 2 shows which bugged me. But overall, good first season.

But was this episode really fast enough?

INCREDIBLE

How did they do all this with CW and TV budget? WOWWW

THat's why Flash is my favorite comic book TV show. Damn

~MiB

Say what you liked and rate it whatever you like, but this episode kicked ass! 5/5 stars for me. The cliffhanger aside, this was a great ending to this season. It was emotional and surprising. The clock is ticking on next season. I for one can't wait!

Why the hell does this have 4 stars ? It should have 5/5, it was spectacular, amazing, awesome, jaw dropping, incredible.....I cried twice in this episode.......this is the best series ever, it´s just amazing.

Is nobody gonna say anything!

Aside from Barry's father, he gets the same exact advice from Isis and Joe.

Apparently Barry talks to ISIS!