The Flash - Flash Back - Review : The past that haunts us

The Flash Episode 217 review

Written by Aaron Helbing and Todd Helbing

Directed by Alice Troughton


The title gives this away as another episode where The Flash travels through time .He really should have learned by now the consequences involved. Barry is still very angry over being tricked by Jay and his need for speed drives him to this decision. There is only one person who can help him and he is in the past .The one person who understands speed force better than anyone Barry’s old mentor/nemesis Harrison Wells who was, of course, Eobard Thawne, the reverse Flash. Add in a crazy Dementor, I mean Time Wraith and a few Harry Potter references and you have a most enjoyable episode. However will Barry have changed the future when he returns?

Barry (Grant Gustin) is still wallowing in his man pain (he hasn’t had his zip over to the Supergirl earth yet where he seems to get his personality back). He is working religiously to stop Zoom who he believes is Jay Garrick after Cisco’s revelation last week.

At dinner at the West household, Wally gives him the idea which may help when he mentions reading journals of dead engineers as he can’t simply just ask them in reference to his project. Barry knows the person who knows more about speed force is Eobard Thawne but as we all know he ceased to exist after Eddie Thawne sacrificed himself. So in order to get the information Barry hopes to travel back in time to before they know of the fake Wells deception, get the information and come back quickly.

Caitlin gives Barry a dart to knock out the timelines counterpart so Barry can slip in and replace him.Only Earth 2’s Wells (Tom Cavanagh) seems to sense it won’t work even though Cisco (Carlo’s Valdes), Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker and Barry have written out a timeline of events to stop any slip ups. The time they pick is when Barry takes down the Pied Piper / Hartley Rathaway (Season 1 episode 11 The Sound and the Fury).

Barry is spooked on his way back by what looks like a wraith and arrives earlier than the bridge scene to his first encounter with Hartley. He almost fails to tranquilize his other self. Capturing Hartley and taking him back to star labs he makes his first mistake. Hartley first escaped by the devices in his ears saying he needed them so Cisco lets him keep them, this time, Barry know they contain an explosives charge and gets Cisco to scan them. No Explosive earbuds no escape.

Wells/Thawne questions Barry saying it was a good call. Barry knows he is running out of time and shows Wells/Thawne his speed equations which are further forward than this time frames Barry is and you can see Wells/Thawne seems suspicious. Barry also doesn’t react either when it seems like he is about to stand from his wheelchair.

The arrival of a wraith at C.P.D seems to confirm Wells/Thawne suspicions that this isn’t his timelines Barry and only some fast talking convinces him to give Barry what he wants and head back to his time. I was surprised Wells/Thawne didn’t see through the lies but maybe his megalomaniac ego prevented him from doing so or is there a twist somewhere we have not seen coming??

While these two are having the talk the wraith attacks the labs and surprisingly Hartley saves them all.

Trying to track the wraith and now with Wells/Thawne on board Barry tries to find some clue left behind at C.P.D by the Wraith so they can track him. I also loved the scene where Barry gets choked up seeing Eddie and the nice thing he does for Iris telling Eddie he is making a video for Iris birthday.

All of this seems to be taking time and as you can guess it soon is Barry meet Barry. Wells gives Future Barry the help he needs and then he hopes the wraith follows him back to his time where Caitlin and Cisco should have found a way to defeat it.

The Flash with a little help from himself heads back but almost gets drained by the dementor , I mean Time Wraith until he is saved by Hartley who it would seem is no longer a prisoner but must work with them sometimes.( Interesting in the comics The Pied Piper is a reformed Villain). They also see the information on the disk drive, seems Wells/Thawne may have given them the answers. (I guess we get an idea how he ended up on Supergirl’s earth now).

He heads home and plays Iris the video from Eddie saying he found it and took it awhile back. I think this is all about Iris needing to move on.
As Barry goes back to the lab and picks up Jays Helmet you know the showdown is coming.

‘Sometimes the only way to move forward is to revisit the things in your past that were holding you back'

This was a great improvement on the past few weeks’ episodes and clearly is building up to the ultimate showdown between Zoom and The Flash.
I wonder if Hartley will appear in more episodes now we know The Flash is getting a third season. I also loved the return of the evil Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne. Perhaps after almost getting his soul sucked Barry will stop hopping about the timeline before the consequences are more disastrous.

What are your thoughts on the episode?

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About the Author - Zandarl

Zandarl a Writer and avid TV and film buff ,once described as a wilful hedonist, has travelled all over and lived in the states for a short time. Now based in the UK she attends cons when able and meets stars from her favourite shows .Her first start in fandom was Xena and since then has admired tv shows that portray strong women. Her current favorites being Rizzoli and Isles and Once Upon a Time as well as anything comic book related. A regular movie goer she watches most genres but never ask her to watch a horror movie.

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