Bam Smack Pow
Fansided

The Flash season 3, episode 23 recap: “Finish Line”

By Tim Adams

facebooktwitterreddit

In The Flash’s Season 3 finale, it will take all of Central City’s speedsters to defeat the God of Speed, Savitar.

We have reached the end of the finish line on The Flash. The season finale begins by giving us a recap of everything that’s happened this season, from the Flash causing “Flashpoint” to Savitar’s ascension to the fate of Iris West—which took us to the end of “Infantino Street” and Iris’ death.

We discover a switcheroo has taken place, with HR Wells taking the place of Iris. Remember when I said HR would do something heroic?  Turns out he tracked Savitar using his own suit shard, freed Iris, and took her place as Savitar’s prisoner. After all, Iris would not have been captured if it wasn’t for HR opening his big mouth in the first place. Everyone (except for Tracy Brand) is relieved Iris is alive and HR is dead. Tough break.

More from TV

I originally wondered if Savitar would know Iris is alive since he gains Barry Allen’s memories. The answer is yes because Savitar later gets bombarded with these fresh images.

Before Savitar left Infantino Street he did take the Speed Force Bazooka with him; probably for nefarious reasons. Barry’s not worried since the Time Paradoxes will now be after him to wipe him out of existence. Savitar isn’t going down without a fight, as he instructs a captured Cisco Ramon to reverse engineer the bazooka to blast his particles throughout the timestream. If Cisco refuses, Caitlin Snow dies.

#TeamFlash would like nothing better than to bring their friend Caitlin back from the darkness that is her Killer Frost persona. Julian Albert had been missing the last few episodes; turns out he was developed a cure for Caitlin, thanks to her mother’s help.

A confident Barry goes off to meet with Savitar, somehow knowing they both would show up at the exact same place for a pow wow. Barry unloads a sappy story on his evil doppelganger before ending with a plea to let his friends go in return for help. It seems Barry is taking Captain Cold’s advice and using compassion with Savitar. We’ll see how well this goes for him.

Barry and Savitar return to S.T.A.R. Labs to the shock of #TeamFlash, especially Tracy. She refuses to help the man who killed HR. It’s a good thing Earth-2’s Harrison Wells is here to help. While Savitar has shown a lighter side to Iris and Barry, it’s all been a ruse to get closer to them. The God of Speed ignites the Philosopher’s Stone inside S.T.A.R. Labs and then quickly escapes back to his lair. Right when it looks like he’s going to kill Cisco, Gypsy appears for the teleporting save.

Image Courtesy of The CW

Gypsy tells Cisco that they’re connected through their powers, and she felt him in danger across the multiverse. Now we discover the real reason Savitar kept Killer Frost around; he needed her to fight the time wraiths for him. Speaking of fighting, it is an all out speed brawl with Savitar going up against the Flash, Kid Flash, and Jay Garrick, who made it out of the Speed Force thanks to Cisco messing with the Speed Force Bazooka.

While the four speedsters battle, Cisco tells Killer Frost that they have a cure for her disease/powers. She doesn’t give a yes or no answer, but Killer Frost does save Cisco from Savitar. I’d say there’s still some of the old Caitlin lingering around inside her.

It is a stalemate between the speedsters, so the Flash uses a new technique by vibrating inside Savitar’s suit to take it over. Flash won’t kill Savitar, but he doesn’t have to because Iris becomes the hero after popping some bullets into Savitar’s back. All this time Barry tried to save her, but she saved him in the end.

Before everyone celebrates too soon, there is the matter of HR’s funeral. We do learn that HR’s message to Cisco before he died was that Cisco gave him the strength to do his sacrifice. HR wasn’t such a bad guy in the end. He will be missed. A non-Killer Frost Caitlin even shows up to say she didn’t take Cisco and Julian’s cure, but she will continue to control her dark persona on her own.

This is where the episode really gets interesting. A bad storm rips through Central City, sending its citizens panicking in the streets. Turns out the Speed Force is angry that it no longer has a prisoner (Jay Garrick was freed earlier during the Savitar fight). It needs a new occupant. Since every bad thing that happened this season is because of the Flash, he makes the ultimate sacrifice and becomes one with the Speed Force as we close out season three.

Next: Catch up with a recap of 'Infantino Street'

Highlights

Seeing the return of Jay Garrick was a pleasant surprise, but the huge highlight was finding out Iris West is still alive and kicking. Also, with the Flash now a resident of the Speed Force, will Kid Flash take up the mantle of Central City’s premiere hero?

Closing Thought

Not a bad third season for The Flash. I’m curious to see where they take season four, especially with the rumor of the writers going with a non-speedster as the main villain.

Home/TV