'The Flash' Recap: 'Flashpoint'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

When we last saw Barry Allen on The Flash, he was in essence a man pushed to his breaking point, suffering one painful emotional blow after another, driving him to finally say enough and travel back in time to that fateful night where he lost his mother...and change the future forever by saving her life and capturing the Reverse Flash in the process.

The end result of his decision was something that every single fan of the show waited for with great anticipation, since 'Flashpoint' would signal the small screen beginning of one of the most iconic storylines for The Flash, but while that in and of itself is awesome, there was so much more to be found when it came to this story, because once we got past the jarring images of Kid Flash ruling the roost in Central City, and Barry waking up to spend time with his parents every single day...this season three premiere boiled down to the harrowing story, of a broken man trying desperately to heal and dealing with how his selfishness caused more harm than good. 

After all, this new and improved Barry Allen, enjoyed nothing more...than not being the hero. He was content to get up and have breakfast with the folks every single day, ogle Iris from afar since in this timeline, the two never grew up together and spend his hours at work productively hunting down criminals the old fashioned way, through criminal science. Occasionally on the side, Barry was also content in mocking his prisoner by constantly letting Eobard know that this was the happiest he had ever been and while we the audience should have been furious over this selfish move, all you could do is feel for Barry throughout the entire episode. We've seen him challenged, we've seen him suffer and we've watched his heart break so him taking a seat on the sidelines and enjoying his own personal paradise, while Kid Flash handled the rest was perhaps exactly what Barry needed.  

Because this episode allowed for Barry to find everything he needed to heal on his own, and sure part of that was only because paradise started to crumble, but deep down Barry knew this wasn't the life he was supposed to live, this was just a waypoint station to heal, and properly say goodbye to his parents because a true hero cannot resist the call and it didn't take long before he answered it, returning to his identity as The Flash and doing his best to help this alternate Central City before finally realizing...he had to restore the timeline or risk losing everything about himself forever and in heartbreaking fashion he let Thrawn out of his cell...and went back in time with him to ensure that Barry's mother died on that fateful night, putting Barry back in the driver's seat as Central City's champion, and restoring the timeline...or...so it seemed...

This episode was a fine example of the fact that character development has been, and will forever be The Flash's strongest suit structure wise and this premiere was no exception to that rule, and it even went above and beyond by stepping into some philosophical territory. This was truly an episode that explored the power of grief, and what it can do to even the noblest of people and while some may chide Barry for his selfishness and stupidity for creating this mess, what choice did a broken man have? He needed that time with his folks, he needed to grieve properly and step away and yes, while he did screw everything up, he knows that, he sacrificed again to try and set things right and he will spend the rest of the season paying for his mistake. Plus, it was a genius and thoughtful stroke of storytelling, to explore the importance of how our memories and experiences define us and we are nothing without them. Either way, this was a powerful and poignant season premiere and at long last, Flashpoint is upon us and it should be one hell of a ride. Until next time.

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