The Flash
Season 3 Episode 19: “The Once And Future Flash”
Directed by Tom Cavanagh
Written by Carina Adly MacKenzie
Starring Grant Gustin, Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Panabaker, Candice Patton, Carlos Valdes, Tom Cavanagh, Keiynan Lonsdale, Tom Felton
Created by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, Geoff Johns
The CW
Air Date: Tuesday, April 25th, 2017, 8:00pm

Last time on The Flash, the new meta in town was Abra Kadabra (David Dastmalchian), a 64th century Flash-hating villain with Gypsy (Jessica Camacho) on his tail. He withheld Savitar knowledge. Barry (Grant Gustin) won’t free the murderer in a deal, but Joe (Jesse L. Martin) did. A fight and ensued and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) got speared with a pole, making surgery with no anesthesia and no doctor a necessity. Julian (Tom Felton) managed to do a decent job to no avail. Caitlin coded. Julian pulled off her protective necklace turning her into Killer Frost. Barry told Joe and Iris he was going to the future for answers.

Spoilers below.

The Flash 3.19 “The Once And Future Flash” review: Barry figures out that 2024 is the year he has to go to to find answers. Iris (Candice Patton) makes Barry promise that he will look out for Joe after…

HR (Tom Cavanagh), Julian, and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) run and hide from Killer Frost, who outsmarts them. Barry shows up, and they banter, but she gets away.

Wally (Keiynan Lonsdale) propels Barry into the future. The first people he runs into is Top and Mirror Master (Ashley Rickards, Grey Damon). “Next time we are gonna put him in something he can’t get out of.” Foreshadow much?

Barry goes to a broken down S.T.A.R. Labs. Future Cisco shows up and says that Barry was the one who shut everything down. He takes him to himself. Barry meets Barry. “You can’t save her.” He doesn’t know who Savitar is in the future either. Present Barry tries to leave but a portal won’t open. Cisco has no powers because Killer Frost took his hands. Killer Frost knows who Savitar is but won’t tell. Wally is in a wheelchair. In a rage, he went after Savitar one night. Joe found him with a shattered spine, and he hasn’t spoken since. When Barry goes to Joe in the graveyard, Joe won’t even look at him and sends him away, not knowing he is from the past. This is a sadder future than we had anticipated.

He goes to confront himself for breaking his promise and abandoning everyone. Future tells him how he tried to save her, using remnants. He tells him “it will break you.” He “won’t be there for anyone.”

Future Cisco was keeping him here with tech. “You wanna help me try to fix this?” HR is a romance novelist (appropriate). Barry speeds and grabs HR, Joe, and Julian.

“You ready for Team Flash to take down the bad guys again?”

They go after Top and Mirror Master, who reminded him that they warned him “I try not to listen to criminals or stupid people.” I love when Barry Allen is funny. Barry is losing, but Future Barry comes and saves the day. Yaasss!!!

Barry promises Cisco he will save his hands, “You’re too good of a superhero to lose those powers.”

He returns and they follow the lead Future Cisco gave him.

Savitar wants to help Killer Frost remove the Caitlin inside, and reveals himself to her. She immediately follows him. Who is Savitar? Ronnie? Future Julian? Future Caitlin? Those are the only people I can think of that would make her do that.

BTTF! This episode was not only a mindbending delight, but realistic (as much as any Flash episode can be). Barry would definitely shut down if Iris dies. He’s loved her his whole life.

Tom Cavanagh directed this winner…what else can I say? Anybody that is not watching this show, should be watching this show. It is fun and sad, light and dark, loony and serious. The relationships between the team members give us that feeling of family, while the time travel and meta powers thrill the inner geek in all of us.

One thing I didn’t like that comes up occasionally is that Barry knew those metas easily mess with his balance, but there was not a plan except a snarky quip (however funny).

The Flash airs Tuesday nights at 8:00pm ET on The CW.

The CW’s synopsis:

The Flash
The Once and Future Flash (Ep# 319)
TOM CAVANAGH DIRECTS; BARRY TRAVELS TO THE FUTURE TO SAVE IRIS — Barry (Grant Gustin) travels to the future to find out Savitar’s still unknown identity in the hopes of saving Iris (Candice Patton). Upon his arrival in 2024, Barry encounters future versions of his Team Flash friends, who, following the death of Iris, have become very different people, profoundly impacted by their showdown with Savitar. It will be up to Barry to infuse a sense of hope back into the team, as he proves to be hero his future friends have been waiting for. Meanwhile, back in 2017, the hunt for Killer Frost (Danielle Panabaker) continues. Tom Cavanagh directed the episode written by Carina Adly MacKenzie (#319). Original airdate 4/25/2017.

Videos

The Flash | The Once and Future Flash Scene | The CW

The Flash | Inside The Flash: The Once and Future Flash | The CW

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