The Flash - Season 1

[Christopher]

This was pretty epic. Lots of revelations, and I continue to admire how they manage to pull off these big, exciting, comic-booky action set pieces on the budget of a second-tier commercial TV network. The climax was really thrilling.

Of course, they telegraphed the time-travel angle way early -- the Flash seeing himself, the focus on seemingly irrelevant details like the cab lady and Barry spilling his drink on the captain (which he'll presumably avoid the second time around). That sort of random-little-details thing has been used in so many time-loop stories that it was a dead giveaway along with the double-image Flash.

And they did cheat a little by doing so many revelations and injuries/deaths that they could handily undo. I'm a little uneasy with keeping Barry's knowledge of Iris's feelings but erasing her memory of the revelation; that shifts the power/control dynamic too much in his favor. I hope he doesn't screw it up by trying to push things.

Also, how will they handle the Wells/Eobard revelation the second time around? Will they undo the whole thing? Barry doesn't even know that Cisco died in the first timeline, so how would he prevent it?

 

[Vendikarr]

Also, how will they handle the Wells/Eobard revelation the second time around? Will they undo the whole thing? Barry doesn't even know that Cisco died in the first timeline, so how would he prevent it?

He will be so busy he won't have that sit down with Iris. Then Barry won't speak with Cisco and Caitlin, and Cisco won't become curious.

 

[DWF]

Also, how will they handle the Wells/Eobard revelation the second time around? Will they undo the whole thing? Barry doesn't even know that Cisco died in the first timeline, so how would he prevent it?

He will be so busy he won't have that sit down with Iris. Then Barry won't speak with Cisco and Caitlin, and Cisco won't become curious.

Barry went back in about three days so he's got to stop the captain dying, Prevent Joe's leg being broken, prevent Sisco's death and perserve Wells' revelation. Much of it all revolves about Iris' talk with her mentor at the paper and the double date. Some where in there something has to change.

 

[Mach5]

Was that a Quantum Leap reference at the end?

 

[Guy Gardener]

I'm sensing an issue that will not be looked into.

If there are two timelines and they both survive.

Barry from the beginning of the episode ends up three days into the future in front of a Tsunami if they switched places and probably almost certainly dies.

 

[davejames]

Well even if a lot of what happened in this episode does get rewritten, it still made for an awesome hour of television.

And the difference between this and, say, VOY's Year of Hell two-parter is that the massive events and revelations in this episode should at least have some lasting impact-- we know a lot more about Well's secret and how far he's willing to go to protect it, and Barry knows the feelings Iris has for him (which should make their future encounters even more complicated).

 

[Dick Whitman]

Was that a Quantum Leap reference at the end?

Had to intentional! Glad I am not the only one to think so. I searched on Twitter and a lot of viewers thought so. I love this show in general. Being a huge time travel fan getting shout outs to my favorite movies, Back to the Future and now my favorite TV show Quantum Leap makes me very happy.

They are doing with Reserve Flash what I suspected for a while. "Wells" is primarily Eobard Thawne the original and most well known version of the character. But using some of the Hunter Zolomon elements for his fake identity of Wells. Just hear him saw his real name was amazing! This show is not messing around. This is "real", authentic feeling. The character from the comics.

 

[Taylirious]

This really felt like a season finale EP. I can't wait to see where they go and judging from the PaleyFest footage it looks good.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Was that a Quantum Leap reference at the end?

Had to intentional! Glad I am not the only one to think so. I searched on Twitter and a lot of viewers thought so. I love this show in general. Being a huge time travel fan getting shout outs to my favorite movies, Back to the Future and now my favorite TV show Quantum Leap makes me very happy.

They are doing with Reserve Flash what I suspected for a while. "Wells" is primarily Eobard Thawne the original and most well known version of the character. But using some of the Hunter Zolomon elements for his fake identity of Wells. Just hear him saw his real name was amazing! This show is not messing around. This is "real", authentic feeling. The character from the comics.

Christopher would say it can't be a reference, as it's a different company, and the phrase is a common one used to family-friendly shows.


But yeah, i loved that, and then a Walking Dead reference... (Wonder if that has any connection to the iZombie premiere right after the Flash).



Like others said -- amazing episode...even though we know there'll be a re-set with Cisco, it'll be interesting to see what things from tonight do stick for a while...and which things will come up later

 

[Christopher]

Christopher would say it can't be a reference, as it's a different company, and the phrase is a common one used to family-friendly shows.

Wrong, because context matters. If someone says "Oh, boy" in any random situation, there's no reason to assume it's a Quantum Leap reference; but here, it came during a cliffhanger ending involving time travel, exactly the context in which it was routinely used on QL; and it happened on a show that's known for being heavy with pop culture references and that actually had characters explain time travel theory to each other by invoking The Terminator and Back to the Future, works of time-travel fiction from the same period as QL. Within that context, with multiple factors reinforcing each other, it would be quite a coincidence if it weren't a deliberate QL nod, so it's entirely reasonable to suspect that it was.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Now that he's gone back in time, the first people that Barry goes running to will be the folks at STAR Labs...which will probably sidetrack Cisco's side project one way or another.

The big question: Is there still another Flash running around in that timeline who hasn't gone back in time yet? If not, where did he go? If so, how will that play out?

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Now that he's gone back in time, the first people that Barry goes running to will be the folks at STAR Labs...which will probably sidetrack Cisco's side project one way or another.

The big question: Is there still another Flash running around in that timeline who hasn't gone back in time yet? If not, where did he go? If so, how will that play out?

I was wondering that, cause Flash from the future occupied the same point in space and time we saw earlier Flash in at the beginning.
Where did Flash-from-10-minutes-ago go?
Did they merge somehow on a quantum level with Future Flash's memories only emerging after living through those actual experience in normal foward time?
Did he actually quantum leap into his own past to right what once went wrong? (Would make the oh boy comment that much better!).
I hope the show has a clear idea on their time travel rules.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Did he actually quantum leap into his own past to right what once went wrong? (Would make the oh boy comment that much better!)

Now that you mention it....

Problem with that version, though, is that it clearly wouldn't be the same situation as when he eventually travels back to the night of his mom's death, since that didn't seem to involve jumping into his childhood body.

 

[DWF]

Now that he's gone back in time, the first people that Barry goes running to will be the folks at STAR Labs...which will probably sidetrack Cisco's side project one way or another.

The big question: Is there still another Flash running around in that timeline who hasn't gone back in time yet? If not, where did he go? If so, how will that play out?

I was wondering that, cause Flash from the future occupied the same point in space and time we saw earlier Flash in at the beginning.
Where did Flash-from-10-minutes-ago go?
Did they merge somehow on a quantum level with Future Flash's memories only emerging after living through those actual experience in normal foward time?
Did he actually quantum leap into his own past to right what once went wrong? (Would make the oh boy comment that much better!).
I hope the show has a clear idea on their time travel rules.

I thought it was pretty obvious that past Flash continued on and he told Wells of seeing his image following him. Since Barry doesn't know about Sisco, I ould imagine he'd try to save his captain and Joe and preventing the tital wave in the first place.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Now that he's gone back in time, the first people that Barry goes running to will be the folks at STAR Labs...which will probably sidetrack Cisco's side project one way or another.

The big question: Is there still another Flash running around in that timeline who hasn't gone back in time yet? If not, where did he go? If so, how will that play out?

Just looked at it again.

In both scenes the digital clock moves from 9:59 to 10:00 as Barry is standing there freaked out trying to get his bearings.

First time around, the faster moving Flash "laps" 3 days ago Barry. We see him power forward as young Barry is checking out old Barry's butt.

2nd time around the slower moving (nontime travelling) Barry Vanishes. Of course since how fast they are moving, just if he stopped running it would seem like he vanished. The special effect is that Grant turns into a silhouette first, all red, and then disappears a second later. Which is more of an erased from time effect, than a slowed down to a leisurely gait effect.

Barry is too young to have seen Back to the Future as anything else other than classic old timey history lesson to learn his rules for time travel.

What is the movie that a modern 20somethign year old would have seen at the theatre and imprinted on the kid as "THEBESTEVAH" for time travel rules?

(I'll slap my TV if Barry starts going on about the Time Travellers Wife rules to explain what is happening to him... Not sure what I'll do if he says Timey Whimey. Wells already mentioned Back to the Future a while back, but that's the first thing Becka in Hindsight did when she time travelled back to the nineties, went to a video store and rented every scifi movie she could find to do with time travel, and Dirty Dancing.)

I just felt sorry for the current generation and their streaming pads, nothing is larger than life, but then they probably feel sad for my limited childhood hanging out at uncomfortable, stinky movie theatres, and really what are you compensating for with a 60 foot screen?

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Yes, the furst time around future Flash seems to vanish and he stops on the road to look around sees all the rememer-these-obviously-important-for-later people before running to the morgue.
On the second round past Flash seems to vanish and he stops at exactly the same spot at the same time to realize he has been there before.
If there were two versions of him, they would be standing right next to each other, which they don't.
As oresented it looks much more like a Quantum Leap scenario mixed in a bit with a Tru Calling rewind day.

 

[Morpheus 02]

i forget...did Time Travelling Flash ran PAST First Flash? If so, could he have run so fast he got there first? And then take off running before the 2ns Flash got there? i'll have to rewind the scenes & see...

 

[Guy Gardener]

5 minutes in. Young Barry is passed by a much faster Old Barry. Young Barry stops, and takes in his surroundings as the clock turns from 9:59 to 10:00 and looks baffled.

58 minutes in. As old Barry passes a much slower young Barry. Young Barry loses definition. For a second he looks like a painted monochrome red cardboard cutout of the Flash, and then he vanishes like fom a transporter on Star Trek. Old Barry stops, and takes in his surroundings as the clock turns from 9:59 to 10:00 and looks baffled.

 

[Christopher]

i forget...did Time Travelling Flash ran PAST First Flash? If so, could he have run so fast he got there first? And then take off running before the 2ns Flash got there? i'll have to rewind the scenes & see...

No, because they both witnessed the guy spinning the sign and the woman yelling at the taxi. As is generally the case in time-travel stories of this type, Barry has taken the place of his earlier self.

 

[Fist McStrongpunch]

Holy crap, just watched it. Some thoughts:

The thing at the beginning about the bowling alley being for sale? No doubt in my mind it's a reference to Tom Cavanagh's old show, Ed.

Maybe Zoom's vibro-fist will somehow give Cisco his Vibe powers.