The Flash – Enter Flashtime

By: Stacy Miller

Barry (Grant Gustin) is exhausted. He is sweating and it looks like he has been running forever. What Meta Human has The Flash been chasing this time? He comes to Star Labs where he finds Iris (Candice Patton) at a complete standstill. Barry is tearful and gently grabs the woman he loves. He holds her face and Iris comes out of her standstill. She immediately asks him what’s going on. “You’re moving as fast as I am like in the courtroom.  I can’t save us this time,” Barry sadly tells Iris.

8 minutes, 48 seconds ago. Iris and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) are working with Barry, who is attempting to speed through a quickly opening and closing breech. As they have been at it all day, Cisco wants to take five. Unless Barry is willing to give him a shoulder massage. Ah no, Barry is not rubbing Cisco’s shoulders? So, Ramon takes his well-earned break. When they are alone, Barry tells Iris that can’t believe that he can’t get this; he has to be able to get through one of DeVoe’s quickly opening breeches in order to catch him.  Iris says that Cisco isn’t the only one he needs a break. Barry needs one too; he has been training non-stop. She suggests date night. Barry agrees; he knows that they’re The Flash, but they need time for themselves every once in a while too. Barry promises to make a reservation at that fancy restaurant that she likes. “How is it that we live together, work together and sleep in the same bed together, but it seems like we never spend any real time together as husband and wife?” Barry asks as Harry (Tom Cavanagh) calls over the com link for Allen and West-Allen. “I have no idea,” Iris answers with a laugh. Yes, it’s hard to be newlyweds when you’re constantly saving the world!

Harry and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) tell Iris and Barry that DeVoe has been travelling through his pocket universe via breeches for the last three years, so it’s obvious that he’s been planning this for a long time. It’s a good thing Ralph is moving in so they can protect him from DeVoe by using the buddy system.  Suddenly, Jesse (Violett Beane) appears through a breech; startling Cisco. They tell her that Wally isn’t there. But Jesse isn’t looking for Wally.  She came because Harry sent her an apology cube for everything that happened on Earth 2 when she had to kick him off the team.

When they are alone, Jesse tells Harry that she fired him from her team because he’s angry mood was bringing everyone down. Jesse knows that it’s because he misses her mom, but she reminds her dad that if he allows himself to grieve, he’ll be able to cope better. They are interrupted by a distress call.

Joe (Jesse L. Martin), A.R.G.U.S agents and team of Central City PD officers are exchanging gunfire with assailants, who seem to be after something in a storage container.  Barry and Jesse go to help. “It’s over,” Barry says, thinking he stopped the crime. “For all of Central City,” a woman replies as she pushes a button on a detonator. Barry super speeds to her, freezing time. He and Jesse realize that it’s a nuclear bomb and the core has already been compromised; as long as they’re moving, everything is okay.  But once they stop, it’s over. Jesse suggests they run the bomb to the Badlands. But Barry reminds that if they move that fast, they’ll speed up the core causing the bomb to explode before they even get out of the city. And running everyone on Earth to another Earth is impossible. Barry tells Jesse to run to Earth 3 and get Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp) to see if he has an idea on what to do. Barry then goes to get Cisco to see whether his genius friend has any suggestions. Barry shows Cisco the bomb and Ramon thinks that maybe he can toss it into a breech.  But Cisco appears to be “all breeched out” and unable to open one.  And also because he’s not a speedster, Cisco’s body doesn’t react as well to moving as fast as Barry. So Barry has to let go of Cisco.

Returning to Star Labs, Barry then goes to seek Harry’s advice. After Barry tells him about the nuclear bomb, Harry thinks that they could possibly throw it into The Speed Force. The arriving Jay Garrick tells The Flash that is not an option. If they toss the nuclear bomb into The Speed Force, the risk losing The Speed Force forever. Jay explains that getting rid of The Speed Force means the end of speedsters. Jay says that it’s not just about speed, it’s about destroying an essential element of the multiverse. They explore other options. The first way to stop the bomb is nuclear fusion. But the second way is cooling it down. That way is more within their reach. Barry gets Killer Frost and asks her to cool down the bomb. She tries it but it doesn’t work. Killer Frost experiences something she never has…heat. Barry tells Killer Frost that he has to let her go. “Don’t let Caity die,” Killer Frost tells Barry.

Jesse has another idea: Perhaps if all three speedsters (she, Jay and Barry) super speed lightning bolts, they can target it at the nuclear bomb and stop it. They try it. But Jay’s legs give out. He tells Barry that he doesn’t know how much longer he can run. Barry thinks they’re only option is sending it into The Speed Force. Jesse reminds that Jay said it wasn’t safe, but Barry agrees with Harry that it could work. Jesse thinks that maybe they should run back in time to stop the bomb before it starts.  But Barry thinks that’s a bad idea; he knows from experience that going back in time and changing history can have a bad reaction for those they love. Jesse doesn’t think a different version of her dad would necessarily be a bad thing. Barry urges Jesse to use the remaining speed she has left to return to Earth 2; Harry would want her to be safe.  But Jesse doesn’t run directly home.  She goes to Star Labs and talks with her stand still dad, telling Harry that she knows how sad he’s been since they’ve lost her mom.  But all she ever wanted was for him to be happy.

This bring us to the beginning of the episode where Barry ran to Iris and got her moving as quickly as he was and told her. “I don’t think I can save us this time.” Barry tells Iris about the bomb that has already gone off. He explains that they’ve tried everything to stop it. Barry cries that he failed to save them. Barry tells Iris how they tried running at super speed, cooling the nuclear bomb down and even lightning, but nothing seemed to work. She knows that he did everything he could. Iris comforts Barry. “You’re my lighting rod,” Barry tells Iris, giving her an idea on how he can stop the bomb. When Cisco and Caitlin tried to bring him out of The Speed Force, they used a sphere filled with his DNA to trick The Speed Force into releasing him and a bolt of lightning. If they can get that sphere, they can toss that into The Speed Force, causing it to admit a strong bolt of lightning at the nuclear bomb to defuse it. It’s worth a shot. “Come back to me,” Iris tells Barry. “As fast as I can,” Barry promises.

With the sphere in hand and running faster than he has ever before, Barry throws it into The Speed Force which as predicted, shoots out a lightning bolt directly at the nuclear bomb causing it to deactivate. Earth is saved!

Everyone returns to their normal speed. Harry is surprised to see Jesse there. With a nuclear bomb about to go off, he wanted his daughter safely out of harm’s way.   But Jesse tells him that she couldn’t leave. Harry admits that she was right all along. His grief over losing his mother has turned him into someone who is not fun to be around.  Using the brain inhibitor that he created for Cecile to help her block out everyone’s thoughts, Harry and Jesse bond over him being able to share his memories of her mother with her.

Before returning to Earth 3, Jay Garrick tells Barry that he’s (Jay) decided to work in the capacity of training the next group of super heroes and there is already one that he knows who could use his help. It’s good to see that The Flash is drawing on the history of the character of Jay Garrick from the comics.

The most important thing to come out of the threat of the Earth being destroyed by a nuclear bomb is that Barry realizes that he is now fast enough to catch DeVoe in a breech. Is he closer to stopping DeVoe?