‘The Flash’ episode 15 review: Enter Eobard Thawne
If this is what episode 15 of “The Flash” is like, we really cannot wait to see what happens in the finale. “Out of Time” is the best episode of the entire series. Really, it’s so fantastic that it’s not even close compared to some of the others. It’s got a whole lot going on, but there is one question that does still haunt us after watching it: Was much of what we saw tonight actually going to matter anymore? Is it canon?
In an attempt to stop the Weather Wizard, we saw Barry end up jumping right back through time, back to the events at the start of the episode. He burst the space-time continuum, and now is back where he first was, trying to pick up the pieces of all that went wrong.
The biggest problem for Barry is that he does not quite know of what happened in the present with Cisco and Harrison Wells … or, as we should call him, Eobard Thawne. It turns out that he was the Man in the Yellow Suit, but he’s not necessarily a horribly malicious villain. He has his own set of rules and an agenda, and it is something that is not entirely clear just yet other than that he went back in time in order to kill Barry Allen, only to end up killing his mother instead. Since then, he has spent 15 years trapped in the past, and with a singular mission in mind: Ensuring that he can find a way to tap into Barry’s energy, and return to his own time.
Tom Cavanagh and Carlos Valdes were incredible in their showdown, as we saw Harrison ultimately murder Cisco, while tears ran down the face of the latter. He knew that there was no way he was going to live through that confrontation, and he didn’t … unless Barry can find a way to alter the course of events in a way that ensures that he survives.
The time-travel and the Weather Wizard story (he was a genuinely formidable villain!) were so great, it almost minimized to an extent everything that we saw here with Iris and Barry at the end of the episode. They kissed, and finally admitted to their feelings.
Once again, though, we wonder: How much of this will matter? There will be a certain part of us bummed if all of this is washed away, and we’re even torn on Cisco. We do really like the character, but his scene was so well-done. We also want the show ultimately to not trivialize death.
Ultimately, we’re not a time-traveler. There is no way for us to know what the future holds, and we can only grade on the present. Luckily, this was incredible. Grade: A.
We’ll have more reaction on this episode soon, but for now, let us know the following: Do you want the events of tonight’s episode to stick? Share with a comment, and head over here to get some other TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: The CW.)