TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews the Season One Finale of The Flash: Fast Enough

So here we are, the whole first season of Flash over, and questions about Season 2 now burning in our brains. But for many a fan, me included, we were all hoping that “Fast Enough” the Flash season finale would not only live up to what we expected, but deliver the moments that we would remember for a while. And for the most part it did, in droves in fact. But there were a few things holding it back from perfection.

Let’s start with the good shall we? How about with the literal beginning? Doing the narration as Barry went to talk to Wells was brilliant, especially with Grant Gustin doing it in a more somber tone this go round, showing that Barry was feeling the weight of the situation.

And oh, did that conversation between Wells and Barry give me chills. From the simple reasoning that Wells gave about why he killed Barry’s mother, “Cause I hate you”. To the banter back and forth, and Wells showing just how well he knew Barry cause of his time stuck in our present, it was all great. Props to both these actors for delivering a powerful and emotional scene a season (or decades depending on how you look at it) in the making.

But then came the question, “Should Barry go back in time and save Nora?” Yes, Barry nonchalantly said he was going to do it earlier in the season, but the fate of his life, and the lives of others in his hands, the decision was much more serious. This lead to another great moment in “Fast Enough”, Dr. Stein’s explanation of the implications of what Wells was suggesting Barry do. Cause as he noted, if Barry saved Nora, he would never have lived with the West’s, and (in theory) many of the events that we know from “our” timeline wouldn’t have happened, or would be altered.

To set this in perspective, DC once did a comic event called Flashpoint, in which Barry actually did this, he saved his mother from dying. The result? He wasn’t the Flash. Not so bad right? Well…

What also occurred was that Aquaman and Wonder Woman were at war, Superman was a lab rat, Batman was Thomas Wayne not Bruce, Hal Jordan was not Green Lantern, and on and on. Oh, and the world was essentially about to end. So there you go. Bringing this back to Flash continuity. In theory, if Barry had done this, not only could he not guarantee he would be the Flash, he couldn’t guarantee anyone else in his friends or family circle would be alive in the “present”, not even his mom and dad, as 15 years can do a lot to a person.

Thankfully, the writers took full note of this and showed a very uncertain Barry. One that clearly wanted to do one thing, but realized that his life wouldn’t be what it was now, and that scared him. As he told Iris so beautifully, “I’ve had a good life”.

So when the time came to do the deed, I was SO HAPPY when Barry came to his senses and didn’t save Nora. Funnily enough, Future Flash noted the same thing, and waved him off from doing so. This led to a touching scene with Barry’s mom, as he was able to say the goodbye he didn’t get to as a kid, all the while showing her that he was alright, and that he grew up to be something special.

Before I delve into the not so good things, I want to note some of the other good things that happened. First off, how about that time travel sequence where we saw not only Killer Frost, but the Flash Museum? Oh, and Jay Garrick’s helmet? Huh? Huh? Did you catch that? Cool right? Also, Wells again shined in numerous scenes, making you wonder if he was indeed pulling a double cross, but again, the best scene was him and Cisco. Where not only did Wells show he was shocked at what he did (though not sorry , cause “clearly I had a good reason), but he was happy knowing that Cisco was on the path of a true and “honorable destiny”. Which…for the record…I totally called in my past review! I noted that his abilities as Vibe could’ve been the reason he remembered the past timeline, which Wells said was the case. BOOYAH!!!

Oh, and Caitlin got to get married to Ronnie finally, in a totally “legit” way might I add. It’s good that she’s come full circle since we first met her in the pilot. She’s honestly been a really good character most of the season, so I’m happy she got to be happy at the end.

Ok, now, if you’ve jumped to my score below you’ll think, “well what could he have seen wrong if he gave it such a high score?” Well…quite a few things actually.

First off, though the buildup was good, and the impact was felt, you kind of knew Barry wasn’t going to save Nora. From his talks with Joe and Iris, to the wedding, you could tell it wasn’t going to happen. So that was a letdown. Which led to the final battle with Wells. I don’t get why Barry had to crash the time sphere, and for the record he TOTALLY meant to do that! No accidents here! That was intentional, which is weird, cause while Barry could’ve contained Wells, he couldn’t have brought him to true justice. He couldn’t have saved his father because no one would believe him, even if they proved he was the Reverse Flash. In the future at least, he would’ve been out of their hair, and Future Flash would’ve been able to deal with him. Also, you could argue that he was a changed man, and possibly wouldn’t have done AS MUCH bad things as he had. Just saying.

And of course, there’s Eddie. Thank the good writing lords above that they made Eddie a true hero in the end, as he not only got the courage to defy fate (thanks to Dr. Stein), but then took things into his own hands by killing himself to save Barry from Eobard. Well done Eddie….BUT…

Doesn’t this cause a similar time travel result as Barry saving Nora? Why? Well, Eddie being killed means that none of the Thawne’s done the line are born, thus Eobard disappearing. BUT, doesn’t that mean that future Eobard can’t go into the past to kill Nora, thus being trapped in the present, and causing the death of Harrison Wells and so on and so forth? Hmm?????? Exactly. Then, when the wormhole opened up and Barry leapt into it with no worry…it felt like a cop out. Especially since it wasn’t a time paradox, but a simple “the wormhole became unstable” kind of thing.

True, we may get answers to these questions, but they linger in my mind, and that’s sad, cause this episode was so good up until then.

In the end though, “Fast Enough” was an incredibly worthy season finale. Filled with great moments that will resound for quite a while. It wasn’t perfect, and many questions remain, but for what it was, it was so good.

And as a great man/villain said so well…RUN, BARRY, RUN!!!!!