THE FLASH 7.9

 

RECAP - THE FLASH  7.9:  "Timeless"

Team Flash just can't seem to get on the same page these days.  In the wake of Frost taking a life in prison without parole term, they're also dealing with the fallout of the many variants of the Speed Force and how to handle them.  This week, we see how a difference in opinion can splinter a team.  Plus...we have a surprise guest make an appearance, and two people who have been struggling with internal questions that will eventually change BOTH of their futures.

"Timeless" gives us the aftermath of what happened when Nora killed Alexa Garcia...who was Fuerza---the Strength Force.  Nora put it on Barry and Iris that this happened.  That when they brought HER back, they brought these other aspects of the Force into being, and now they've attached themselves to other people.  She tells them that they're dangerous, and they must be destroyed.  Barry refuses to kill them, and Nora---who goes out of her way to call Barry "her beautiful boy"---says he doesn't have a choice.  It's here where we get our first splinter of team unity.  As the team tries to figure out how to stop Nora before she kills the other forces, Barry feels that he needs to go back in time to the point the forces were created....and stop them from coming into being.  Iris isn't on board with this, and says that they should try to find Nora and reason with her.  Barry feels she's beyond reason, and they need to do this now, before people get hurt.  Iris sticks to her guns, and tells Barry that he's going to be doing this on his own, while she and Team Citizen take a crack at trying to find Nora and trying to talk her down. Everyone warns Barry that he could lose his speed in the process---but that's a sacrifice Barry's willing to take.  Cisco agrees with Iris on this, but he said he'd help Barry anyway.  Chunk is on board, and Barry races into the past----Starling City circa 2000----to grab the Timeless Wells for assistance in his plan.  Harrison agrees to help him.

Cisco's been wrestling with some personal issues as he listens to Kamilla discuss that her photos of Eva during her reign of terror were making waves, and they're being shown at a gallery in San Francisco.  Cisco is bothered by something, and Kamilla can tell, but he's happy about this even happening for her.  Later on, she joins Iris and Allega, as she gets to use a special camera rigged to pick up Nora or the other Force's signatures.  Kamilla also notices that there's some residual force energy still within Iris.  And they hope that they can use Iris as bait to lure Nora out.  They figure out that the one place Nora will go to reconnect with things is the old Allen home.  You see, Iris looks at the Speed Force as a person---Nora---while Barry does not.  

While constructing the old tachyon device to pick up and capture the force particles at the moment of creation, Deon---the Still Force---shows up at STAR Labs.  He and Barry talk about how Nora is out to get him, and will kill him.  Barry says he wants to be able to save Deon from ever having to get connected with the Still Force, but Deon won't hear any of it.  He feels like a God, and he's going to be damned if Barry takes that away from him.  He takes off and fries the tachyon device.  Chester feels he can fix it, and he gets to work.  Barry, meanwhile, has a talk with Joe, seeking fatherly advice.  Joe sets him on the right track, and talks to him as a father would to a son---and reminds him of how Wally was when he came into their lives---reckless, bad attitude, lost...but reminds Barry of how Wally turned out.  Barry needs to think of these forces as his children---he brought them into existence.  And despite what they are NOW...you don't judge your children.  Armed with this knowledge, Barry goes to put his plan into place.

Team Citizen make it to the old Allen residence, and when the ladies arrive inside, they head into Barry's old room.  But they're soon trapped, as Psych makes his reappearance.  He manages to give them all nightmares, including Iris....who's nightmare is seeing Nora tell her that she'll NEVER live up to the memory of her---Barry's mother. Iris tries to reason with Psych...trying to get him to understand his life being in danger.  But he won't listen.  At this time, Barry arrives back at STAR Labs, and with Timeless Wells as his beacon, the go back in time around 17 days ago, and Barry and Wells watch Iris ignite the Speed Force once again.  Wells looks upon his future self in acknowledgement, and then returns his focus to Iris.  As they hit the roof, they are watching the beautiful display of the Forces being brought into existence.  Barry actually sheds a tear, as he can feel a connection to them.  He steps into the lightning beam, and uses the tachyon device to capture the forces.  He succeeds, and in the present, all the forces begin to suffer and die.  As the team counts down until the mission is finished, Barry begins to have second thoughts.  He then smashes the captured particles, and allows them to fly free....and lets the forces be born.  He remembers what Joe told him, and feels that his "children" deserve to live.  

Back in the present, he and Iris apologize to each other for not taking each others' thoughts and opinions on the matter into consideration.  They both  agree, however, that they will deal with this issue together...as a unit.  They eventually feel a tremor in the building, and they head into the med bay, where Caitlin said that Alex sat up and looked alive, but then fell back dead again.  Barry and Iris feel that maybe she isn't really dead.  They both realize that they can use their energy to bring her back....and it works!  Alexa is awake and alive.  

We get yet another Wells/Cisco goodbye, and Wells reminds him of holding onto the things he loves most, and following his heart.  Afterwards, Kamilla and Cisco talk, and both agree that they need to leave Central City.  But...how do they tell their friends?  To close things out...we see Deon out on a walk when he bumps into Nora....who's ready to kill him.  

This show touched on the issue of time travel again, and what a disaster it CAN be...but having Barry willing to break that Cardinal Rule to save people isn't always the best route, and I had to agree with Iris this episode.  It's honestly the first time in a LONG time we've seen Barry and Iris at odds about ANYTHING.  And, well, it looks a bit weird, but we have to remember that married couples aren't ALWAYS going to agree on everything.  It's nice to know we can still throw that in there to make their marriage a bit more authentic.  The fact that Barry got some fatherly advice from Joe was the pivotal point in this episode, as it allowed Barry to see things from a different perspective. It made him understand that--despite what they are---they are, in essence, his and Iris' "children".  And how they help their "offspring" before Nora kills them all will be the biggest task of all.  It was also interesting to see what Iris' fear was when Psych attacked her mind---her fear of not being able to live up to the memory of Nora Allen.  Barry has, in his own way, put his mother on a pedestal...and the one person in this life (aside from Iris), that he's loved the most.  It was HER death that spurned him on, and eventually led him into becoming The Flash.  So, it's understandable for Iris to have that fear.  Of course, it was good to see Wells again, and I do believe he's slated for a couple more appearances before Tom Cavanaugh disappears from the Flash canvas on a more permanent basis.

The other big story is the changes the team is going through. We've seen every Wells all but disappear, Ralph is off globetrotting with Sue Dearbon, Wally has been on his own solo quest for quite some time, and now the team is going to lose TWO members at the end of this season:  Cisco and Kamilla.  Carlos Valdes is departing the show at the end of this season, and with Chester having been introduced to the team as the new Engineer, we've come to see that Cisco isn't needed anymore, and therefore, it's time for him to move on.  I think this has been on Cisco's mind for quite some time now.  All the travelling he did to get a gauge on this New Earth took him to many places...and simply being stuck in Central City isn't doing it for him anymore.  I think he's tired of the grind of the hero game, and needs to live a normal life.  Kamilla's career as a photographer is taking off, and she feels it's time to spread her wings as well.  So, over the course of the rest of this season, we'll see Cisco and Kamilla take their final bows, and depart Team Flash.  That will leave Barry and Caitlin as the only original OG's of the team left.  And with Bart making his appearance this season, as well as the rumored return of Jessica Parker Kennedy as Nora West-Allen/XS down the road, we're seeing a drastic shift in the Flash family.  As it becomes more closer and closer to the actual West-Allen Family, everyone else on Team Flash will be outliers to the cast.  So, further changes will more than likely come as the season goes on.  We could see Allegra take on a larger role as Flash will need someone out in the field with him, now that Frost is in prison.  It's time for Allegra to step up. 

It was a decent episode, and did move the plot a little more forward.  What're YOUR thought's on our Scarlet Speedster this week?  Subscribe and leave a comment below.

Until next time...Keep on running!