'The Flash' Recap: 'Borrowing Problems from the Future'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

The future is something that puzzles all of us. Some of us firmly believe that the future is what we make of it, and our actions today determine what we become tomorrow, and on the flip side of that...there are folks who believe that the future is set in stone and we are merely going through the motions along our predetermined path. But regardless of which school of thought you side with, we know nothing of tomorrow and the future is truly a mystery to all of us. 

But, that doesn't stop us from wondering what we would do if by chance we could get a sneak peek at our future, because that inside knowledge should allow us to alter our path accordingly and make whatever changes we need to if we were to discover that our future was one that we weren't comfortable with, and it is that attempt to change tomorrow, and figure out how to do it that was at the center of last night's episode of The Flash, and 'Borrowing Problems from the Future' turned out to be a brooding and fascinating character study that analyzed everyone's need for control in both the future and their daily lives, all while wiping away the sense of hope we enjoyed at the end of the winter finale.

Because in this particular episode Barry was still haunted by the events of said winter finale and he could not shake the image of Savitar brutally murdering Iris. But he continued to keep that vision under lock and key and go about his day...that is until Plunder, the man who appeared in the future television broadcast came into his life, forcing him to debate whether or not he should catch the man in the hopes of keeping Iris alive. However, the arrival of Plunder and the guilt of keeping this secret from his love was too much to bear and eventually Barry opened up to Iris and let her know what was coming...which in turn led to an open discussion amongst the team (minus Joe) in the hopes of figuring out how to alter the future and keep Iris alive. 

So with Cisco's help, a quick vibe into the future helped the team uncover headlines on that fateful day, in the hopes of finding key moments that they could change before they arrived, and considering the fact that H.R. showed up in this particular trip to tomorrow, change had already come to pass just by Barry telling the group about what was going to happen, allowing the team to band together to make the future a better place and rather than let Barry capture Plunder on his own, the honor was instead handed to Kid Flash...thus altering the future for certain and it didn't end there. Cisco stepped into save the museum since there was a headline discussing that it was going to close down and Caitlin was presented with a new device to help keep her powers at bay since Killer Frost seems to show up in the future as well and more or less that's where this episode left us, with an inkling of hope, and the clock ticking down to the return of Savitar.

Yes despite that happy-ish ending...let's just say it now, this was one dark episode, perhaps the dreariest I've ever seen when it comes to The Flash, simply because I cannot recall the last time I saw the team without hope or direction and resigned to their fears. It's an interesting direction for the show to go in considering how upbeat the series often is, but considering how this season has delved into more philosophical territory for Barry and the gang, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised over the fact that eventually, there were going to be moments that weren't peachy keen, especially when you consider that we are barreling toward the end of Iris and it will take some incredible work to alter those events and save her and it should be interesting to see just how far Barry is willing go to once again alter time and space to save those he loves...and one can only wonder if more consequences will come from his actions. Until next time.

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