Line #77 Recap/TheFlash2014S1E23FastEnough


1	Barry makes the decision whether to go back in time and save his mother, risking the world in the process, and if he can trust Eobard Thawne to help him do it.
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3	----
4	!!Tropes:
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6	* AlternateSelf: Barry comes face to face with his alt-timeline self, who warns him not to interfere with their mother's death. [[Recap/TheFlash2014S9E10ANewWorldPartOne The series finale reveals that this is actually his future self.]]
7	* AndYourLittleDogToo: After Barry quashes Eobard Thawne's chances of escaping to his own timeline, Thawne vows to not only kill Barry but all of his friends and family.
8	* ApocalypseHow: The black hole can cause greater than Class X, according to Prof. Stein.
9	* ArcWords:
10	-->'''Eobard Thawne:''' Run, Barry. ''Run''.
11	* ArcNumber: Barry has 1 minute and '''52''' seconds to change the past.
12	* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Releasing a single hydrogen particle in a corridor that is distinctively not a vacuum and thus already chock full of particles, including traces of hydrogen. In RealLife, this would do absolutely nothing.
13	* BackhandedApology: Thawne to Cisco, for killing him in an alternate timeline.
14	-->'''Cisco:''' ...you crushed my heart with your fist.\
15	'''Eobard Thawne:''' Cisco...I'm sorry.\
16	'''Cisco:''' Yeah, ''it sucked''.\
17	'''Eobard Thawne:''' Oh, [[{{Jerkass}} not for killing you.]] [[BlueAndOrangeMorality I'm sure I had a good reason]], I'm sorry for the fact that you're able to retain traces of another timeline.
18	* BackForTheFinale: Henry Allen, Martin Stein (though technically, he "was" in the penultimate episode fused with Ronnie) and a cameo by Captain Singh.
19	* BaitAndSwitchGunshot: It appears that somebody shot Reverse Flash in the back just before he was going to kill Barry...but it turns out it is Eddie, committing HeroicSuicide, which [[SubvertedTrope has the same effect anyway]].
20	* BeingGoodSucks: As Barry tries to save Nora the night she was murdered, the other Flash motions for him not to interfere with the timeline. Not only does Barry force himself to not barge in, he cadn't bear to watch as his mom dies once again. At this point, the trope name is merely an understatement.
21	* BeleagueredAssistant: Stein implies that he has one:
22	-->'''Stein:''' ...and I have a mug that says "World's Best Boss." I doubt that my teaching assistant would testify to its authenticity.
23	* BerserkButton: When Thawne tells Barry that he has the same love and pride that Henry and Joe have from -- it's enough to get Barry riled up.
24	* BlackMarketProduce: Eobard says there are no more cattle in his time, which is why he loves Big Belly Burger so much. The team later provides him with takeout while he's in his cell.
25	* BookEnds:
26	** The opening shot of the pilot shows the sky [[{{Pun}} zooming]] towards Barry running in the streets. The closing shot of the SeasonFinale has Barry running from the streets towards the sky.
27	** The first episode ends with Barry reversing a twister through his SuperSpeed. In this episode he tries to do it again, but with a ''wormhole''. This is even given a LampshadeHanging, and both times have someone tell Barry that it cannot be stopped, only for him to counter, "I have to try".
28	** Excluding TheStinger of the pilot, the last shot of both the pilot and the SeasonFinale shows Barry and Henry Allen.
29	** Both the SeasonFinale and the pilot has Joe ending up with a DeadSidekick.
30	* BrutalHonesty:
31	-->'''Barry:''' Why did you kill my mother?\
32	'''Eobard:''' Because I hate you.
33	* TheCameo: We see both Snart and Captain Singh briefly as the wormhole consumes the city.
34	* {{Cliffhanger}}: The episode and the season ends with Barry in the process of attempting to defuse the wormhole.
35	* ContinuityNod: As in previous episodes, liquid suddenly rising out of a container is the clue that temporal hijinks have or are about to take place. Martin Stein uses it as the sign that it's time to create the wormhole.
36	* CosmicPlaything: The reason why Joe wants Barry to save Nora. He reasons that Thawne has controlled and screwed around with their lives long enough, so it's time to put an end to that.
37	* CurbStompBattle: [[Recap/TheFlash2014S1E9TheManInTheYellowSuit Just like last time]], Barry is hopelessly outmatched by The Reverse-Flash when he's fighting alone.
38	* DarkReprise: The OpeningNarration is delivered slower and the background music is more dramatic. Instead of the usual "I am The Flash", it ends with "That day is today".
39	* DealWithTheDevil: Thawne makes a deal with Barry: Barry can go back in time to save his mother, while Eobard will finally escape back to the future. None of the heroes question whether Eobard can be trusted, though as it turns out, unlike Barry's deal with Captain Cold, he was indeed sincere.
40	* DeathByIrony: As it happens, Eddie ''does'' manage to do something significant with his life: he just has to kill himself to do it.
41	* DefiantToTheEnd: Eobard taunts Barry as he disappears from existence.
42	* DeusExitMachina: Professor Stein has to stay in the Cortex to monitor the singularity's progress, Ronnie is briefly incapacitated trying to deactivate the Accelerator, and Oliver's whereabouts are currently unknown while under his TenMinuteRetirement; thus Barry has no backup this time when he tries to face Thawne.
43	* DidntThinkThisThrough:
44	** When Barry decides not to alter the timeline, he overlooks how to deal with Eobard -- the one meta-human he ''just'' can't beat on his own.
45	** Eddie doesn't quite understand the ramifactions of killing himself to eliminate Eobard.
46	* DiedInYourArmsTonight:
47	** Barry does not save his mom, but at least he was able to say goodbye to her and have some closure with his life.
48	** Joe and Iris are cradling Eddie as he dies from his HeroicSuicide.
49	* DownerEnding: The season definitely doesn't end on a high note. On one hand, Caitlin and Ronnie finally get married, Reverse Flash is defeated and Barry gets a chance to say goodbye to his mother. On the other hand, Eddie is dead, Barry's attempt to save his mother ended in heartbreak (even if he did at least get to say goodbye), and there's no indication that Barry's dad is getting out of prison anytime soon. Oh, and [[NiceJobBreakingItHero congratulations on creating a giant wormhole that could destroy the earth]].
50	* DynamicEntry: Barry returns from his aborted mission with a supersonic punch that not only hits Thawne, but also destroys the latter's ride home.
51	* EarlyBirdCameo:
52	** We see a brief glimpse of Hawkgirl before her introduction proper in ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow''.
53	** Thawne mentions that the [[TimeMachine Time Sphere]] looks like one [[Series/LegendsOfTomorrow Rip Hunter]] would be proud of.
54	** Barry's trip into the Speed Force shows Caitlin as Killer Frost, who the creators have indicated will show up.
55	** Sara Lance/White Canary appears in one of the glimpses to the future during Barry's trip into the Speed Force; standing alongside Captain Cold, the Flash and the Atom in a clip taken directly the ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' trailer.
56	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Played straight and subverted. When Cisco tells Eobard that he remembers another timeline, Eobard shows regret, not for killing Cisco, but that Cisco ''remembered'' it. Though it appears he does still think of Cisco and Barry as a "son" and in fact remarks that rebuilding the Accelerator would've been more fun with Cisco's help. When Thawne is being erased from the timeline he calls out to Cisco to help him.
57	* EvilCannotComprehendGood:
58	** Eobard assumes that by killing Nora that the tragedy would prevent Barry from becoming the Flash. Likewise he can't understand why he wouldn't save Nora.
59	** Eobard obviously never considered the possibility that a family nobody like Eddie would make a HeroicSuicide to ensure that he doesn't leave any descendants.
60	* EvilPlan: Eobard's plan is to help Barry go back in time to save Nora so he can return to the future he left.
61	* FaceDeathWithDignity: Eddie proudly makes a HeroicSuicide just so a monster like Eobard won't ever exist.
62	* FlashForward: When he enters the Speed Force Barry sees glimpses through time, including the future which includes the [[MythologyGag Flash Museum]] and Caitlin as Killer Frost.
63	* FlashStep: Excusing the pun, Barry does this to different debris near the end to close the wormhole.
64	* ForegoneConclusion: The ''Legends of Tomorrow'' trailer proves Barry will stop the wormhole and return more or less okay.
65	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
66	** Barry's trip to the Speed Force allows him to see multiple {{Flash Forward}}s (see above).
67	** Jay Garrick's helmet coming out of a wormhole.
68	** Subtle instance when Barry is ready to save Nora. His alternate self stops him...but curiously, alternate Barty is only mildly surprised to see himself there. It's almost as if...Alternate Barry ''knew'' he'd be there. How is that possible (and why would he warn himself not to interfere)? Subsequent events over the series will gradually reveal Alternate Barry is actually the Season 9 Barry and thus was well aware his younger self would "drop in" (having done so 8 years earlier). Nora's death will also be revealed to be a fixed point in time and nothing can be done to change it. Season 9 Barry knows this all too well from personal and painful experience (and knows that if his Season 1 self tries this, it'll prematurely trigger the Flashpoint). And because Nora's death is a fixed point, Season 9 Barry knows he and Thawne are in a time loop and that Nora has to die to ensure the events of the series to come play out.
69	* GoodAllAlong: After all the {{Red Herring}}s regarding him turning evil or is EvilAllAlong, Eddie pulls a HeroicSuicide to save his friends.
70	* GoOutWithASmile: She still DiesWideOpen, but Nora, knowing that her child and husband will be OK, is able to leave the world peacefully this time around.
71	* GrandfatherParadox: To stop Eobard from killing Barry and everyone else, Eddie kills himself to stop Eobard from being born, which erases him from existence. If Eobard was never born than he wouldn't traveled in to the past, which wouldn't have put Eddie in the position of killing himself. If Eddie didn't kill himself, then Eobard would be born and he would traveled into the past, etc. [[RealityBreakingParadox The result is]] a [[NegativeSpaceWedgie blackhole that threatens to engulf the world]].
72	* HappilyMarried: Caitlin and Ronnie mid-way through the episode.
73	* HeroicSuicide: When Thawne is in the process of killing Barry, and taunting him that he will kill everyone Barry cares for, Eddie shoots himself causing his descendant, Eobard Thawne, to be erased from history when Eddie dies.
74	* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Eddie is angsting that he's the only one who doesn't seem to have anything to contribute; he doesn't have scientific knowledge, technical skills, metahuman abilities, or an emotional connection to support Barry, and according to Eobard, is even a complete nobody in his own family. Stein reassures him that he has something unique: the ability to choose and decide his own future. [[HeroicSuicide Eddie makes a choice]].
75	* InsistentTerminology: Eobard is quick to point out that he and Barry are mortal enemies in ''a'' future, not ''the'' future.
76	* InternalReveal: Thawne finds out about Cisco's ability to remember the changed timeline, and realizes that Cisco also has metahuman abilities.
77	* {{Irony}}:
78	** Thawne killing Nora Allen seems to be right up his comic book successor's alley, but their motivations for doing so are revealed to be complete opposites. Zolomon wanted to inflict tragedy in order to make the victim a better hero, when Thawne here murders her not just out of spite, but he thought the trauma would prevent Barry from ever becoming the Flash.
79	** Who's the first to encourage Barry to save his mother (and inadvertently change the timeline)? ''Joe West'', usually the voice of reason for Team Flash.
80	** The prison that S.T.A.R. Labs built to house metahumans now houses Eobard himself.
81	** Eobard Thawne claims to The Flash "I always win", immediately before he is [[RetGone killed.]]
82	* KarmaHoudini: This is Eobard Thawne's plan: he will leave back for his own timeline and Barry will get to save his mother. Of course, things don't go this way.
83	* KilledOffForReal: Both Eddie Thawne and Eobard Thawne.
84	* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: Hawkgirl makes an EarlyBirdCameo before becoming a main in ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow''.
85	* LoadBearingBoss: Eobard Thawne appears to be this, as the removal of his existence from the timeline seems to be what causes the black hole in the end.
86	* TheMaidenNameDebate: Iris reflects on the "Iris West-Allen" future byline, saying she didn't think she'd be a "hyphenator".
87	* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Subverted in that it is a major death. Cisco vividly remembers every detail of his Alternate-Timeline murder. But when he tells Wells how he crushed Cisco's heart in his hand, he merely, though a bit tearfully says that "it sucked".
88	* MagicCountdown: Barry's time in the past is supposed to be 1:52 minutes. Just the time between Eobard and Flash leaving the house and the scene fading out is longer than that.
89	* ManipulativeBastard: Thawne is on top form, thoroughly manipulating everyone into going along with his plan. Of particular note is when he says he believes in Barry's ability to successfully time travel, and then says that the real question is whether Barry's friends and family believe in him as much as he does. This practically guarantees that they'll support him, and is a really diabolical example of emotional manipulation.
90	* ManlyTears: ''Half'' (Barry, Joe, Cisco and Eddie) of the (speaking) male cast were in tears this episode, especially Barry. [[TearJerker Not that it's not justified]].
91	* MyFutureSelfAndMe: When Barry travels to the night his mother died, he sees both his future and past selves.
92	* MythologyGag:
93	** Eobard says that Barry will have one minute and [[ArcNumber 52]] seconds to return to the present once the wormhole opens to prevent a black hole.
94	** Cisco basically played the same part as Richie Foley from ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'', right up to the discovery that he's a metahuman long after the accident.
95	** When we finally get our first well-lit look at Future Barry, he is indeed wearing the brighter red Flash costume with the white ChestInsignia from the comics, though he's vibrating all over and thus obscuring any other details.
96	** Barry sees himself in the future as a prisoner in Iron Heights, in a jumpsuit and handcuffed, speaking with an unknown person. This is a reference to The Flash story arc "The Trial of The Flash!" in which The Flash is charged with the murder of the Reverse-Flash.
97	** Jay Garrick's helmet shows up through the wormhole, which Eobard takes as a sign to return home.
98	** Just like in ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'', Eobard Thawne is killed when somebody attacks him in the middle of his EvilGloating while about to kill Barry Allen.
99	** How odd that the season finale would end with a near-copy of one of comicdom's most famous {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s (namely, ''Barry's'').
100	* NeverTheSelvesShallMeet: Averted. ''Three'' versions of Barry actually are at his house that night -- present-day Barry, Future Barry, and Kid Barry. Kid Barry probably didn't recognize Future Barry as himself, but present-day Barry does. He and Future Barry make eye contact, and Future Barry warns him not to try saving Nora.
101	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: While he didn't actually change much in the past, Barry choosing to travel back in time results in Eddie sacrificing himself and a black hole singularity being created, resulting in several deaths and mass destruction. Eddie's sacrifice ends causing the wormhole that Team Flash tried to prevent.
102	* NiceJobBreakingItRivals: Barry and Thawne's time travel attempt. [[TrappedInThePast Thawne]] would like to get back to the future, and Barry would like to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong save his mother]] from being killed by Thawne in the first place and stop his father from going to prison for it. In the end, none of this happens and the only thing they manage to do is accidentally create a singularity over the city and get several people killed.
103	* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Had Eobard not recently told Eddie of the relationship between the two, Eddie would not have realized how to defeat him. Of course, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood Eobard probably could not comprehend sacrificing oneself for this.]]
104	* NoOntologicalInertia: Eddie's death erases Eobard from time, but appears to have no effect on anything else...until the wormhole reopens.
105	* NonProtagonistResolver: Eddie, not Barry, is the one who stops Eobard Thawne. He does so by killing himself to negate Eobard's existence.
106	* NotHisSled: The ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' storyline was heavily alluded throughout the season. In the end, Barry ultimately doesn't save his mother [[YouAlreadyChangedThePast because his future self silently tells him not to]].
107	* OhCrap: A subtle one, but Eobard is ''not'' happy when Jay Garrick's helmet shows up. He takes it as his cue to hightail it.
108	* OnSecondThought: Cisco is not at all interested in a plan that will either have his friendship with Barry potentially RetGone or have Barry killed...until Barry tells him he needs him to build a time machine.
109	* PortalToThePast: Barry has 1 minute and 52 seconds to save his mother in the past as the wormhole is not subject to the normal rules of time.
110	* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: The only reason why going through with Eobard's plan is even considered once the team finds out that there's a chance it will destroy the Earth. By any reasonable standard, risking the lives of the entire human race on the chance of saving the life of a ''single woman'' is a '''terrible''' idea. That being said, they also [[IDidWhatIHadToDo don't have any other way]] to deal with Thawne, besides letting him return to his time.
111	* RealityBreakingParadox: Eddie creates one (via HeroicSuicide) to erase Eobard Thawne (his descendant) form existence. It works...but then creates a massive black hole over the city.
112	* RedHerring:
113	** Barry (and the audience) sees a brief glimpse of Killer Frost and then Caitlin soon thereafter rushes down to the particle accelerator and has to try and shut it down, just as Ronnie did when he became Firestorm, starts fooling around with the hardware, and yet she shuts it down successfully.
114	** After a season-long buildup for the ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' storyline, Barry ultimately doesn't save his mother.
115	* RetGone: Eobard Thawne, in a rather unnerving way: first, his appearance reverts back to his ''true'' form, and then he begins to ''disintegrate''.
116	* TheReveal: Cisco is a metahuman.
117	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: After Barry witnesses his mother die all over again, he becomes determined to not let Eobard Thawne escape scot-free to the future. However, by destroying Thawne's time machine he causes the latter to go on his ''own'' RoaringRampageOfRevenge, and unfortunately, Thawne is much stronger and faster than Barry.
118	* ScrewDestiny: Eddie says this regarding the destiny that Iris and Barry are to be together. [[YankTheDogsChain Unfortunately...]][[DeathByIrony Funnily enough, Eddie still invokes this trope...]]
119	* SeasonFinale: The first one.
120	* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong:
121	** Averted. Barry sets out to save his mother's life but then sees his future self warn against changing the timeline. Barry makes the decision not to, consoling himself by being able to say goodbye to her before she died.
122	** However, Eddie killing himself can be seen as a form of this.
123	* ShoutOut:
124	** One of the things Stein assumes he'll say if the wormhole is formed is "[[Creator/StanLee Excelsior]]".
125	** Cisco's reaction to a possibility of a black hole destroying the world? "Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish."
126	** Eddie pulls a move out of the end of ''Film/{{Looper}}''. Considering [[HeroicSuicide he does the same thing as a character in it]], it's not without reason.
127	** "[[Franchise/StarWars May the Speed Force be with you.]]"
128	** Shown briefly on the wall of young Barry's room is a poster for ''Film/{{Frequency}}'', a cross-time father-son drama.
129	** The three flashes of light before Present!Barry appears in his room are similar to the three flashes of light before the [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture DeLorean]] appears.
130	** Cisco calls Eobard Thawne "[[Film/AustinPowers Doctor Evil]]."
131	* StrongFamilyResemblance: When Barry removes his mask in front of his dying mother, she remarks that he looks just like her father.
132	* SuddenlyShouting: Eobard as part of his VillainousBreakdown when Barry comes back from the past without saving his mother.
133	-->'''Eobard Thawne :''' You could have had the life you wanted. You could have had EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED!
134	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: The final fight between Barry and Thawne in this season. While Barry might have become more determined than before to win this fight, just having a HeroicSecondWind doesn't automatically allow him to surpass the gap between him and Eobard that must have come from ''decades of being a Speedster over Barry''. The best he did was lasting a bit better than he had ever did before, which only amounted to Barry buying enough time for Eddie to arrive and make the final sacrfice. He ''would'' have died if Eddie hadn't appeared at the last moment.
135	* TeamDad: S.T.A.R. Labs is without an older experienced scientist leading them ever since Thawne was exposed, so Prof. Stein steps in.
136	* ThereAreNoCoincidences: What prompts Eddie's HeroicSuicide, which he discussed earlier in the episode with Stein. It just so happens that the timeline spawned from Eobard Thawne murdering Nora Allen is one where Eddie is a member of Team Flash, as Barry's friend, Iris' boyfriend/fiance, and Joe's partner. Thus, he would have a vested interest in making sure Eobard doesn't have his way. Coincidentally, it also leaves him in the right place, at the right time, to kill himself and prevent Eobard from killing anyone else via the GrandfatherParadox. It doesn't take long for Eddie to connect the dots and do what needs to be done.
137	* ThisWasHisTrueForm: As Thawne begins to fade from existence following Eddie's sacrifice, the genetic alterations that transformed him into Harrison Wells' double are undone and he reverts back to his true face.
138	* TitleDrop: Done by both Barry and Eobard at different occasions.
139	* TomatoInTheMirror: Cisco finds out he's a metahuman. He does not take it very well.
140	* TheUnreveal:
141	** The history between Reverse-Flash and the Flash from their original rivalry (from Eobard's perspective) is never elaborated on.
142	** We never hear what happened to the Future Barry to get to that point in his life.
143	** Eobard refuses to tell Barry exactly ''why'' he hates him so much. Barry asks him, but Thawne says it doesn't matter.
144	* VillainousBreakdown: Eobard '''loses it''' when Barry doesn't rewrite the time-line and destroys his time machine on his return journey. He beats Barry to a pulp, and gloats he'll kill all his family and friends after he kills him.
145	* VillainsNeverLie: Unlike [[Recap/TheFlash2014S1E22RogueAir Barry's experience last week]], Eobard Thawne is perfectly sincere about his bargain with The Flash -- Barry gets to save his mother, and Thawne [[KarmaHoudini gets to return to his timeline, scot-free.]]
146	* WhamEpisode: Caitlin and Ronnie get married. Cisco is a metahuman. Barry does not save his mom. Eddie kills himself to stop Eobard from coming into being...which causes a wormhole to form which Barry runs into to stop it.
147	* WhamShot:
148	** Jay Garrick's helmet flying through the wormhole.
149	** ''Quite literally'' with Eddie shooting himself.
150	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Played with: Barry ultimately does ''not'' save Nora because of his future self telling him not to. ''However'', Barry ''does'' reveal to her that he's the Flash once it's just her and him in the house.
151	* WhiteShirtOfDeath: Both Nora Allen and Eddie Thawne, complete with blood on their hearts.

Context Recap / TheFlash2014S1E23FastEnough