Recap / The Flash 2014 S 3 E 23 Finish Line

Come lay me down
Come heal me now
Come take this crown
Don't need it anymore...

— Will Cookson, "Alone in the Dark"

H.R. reveals himself to have switched places with Iris, and dies in her stead. With Iris' fate altered, it is now Savitar whose time is running out. But it so happens that Iris' death is just one part of his true plan...

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• All-Loving Hero: Both Barry and Iris were willing to give Savitar the benefit of the doubt, and while their trust was misplaced, it was admirable all the same.
• Ambiguous Situation: It's not clear if Savitar is genuinely moved by his younger self's attempts to rehabilitate him and seriously considers it before going back to his old ways, or if he's faking it the entire time in order to plant the Philosopher's Stone in S.T.A.R. Labs as a makeshift bomb.
• And Then What?: Savitar asks what will become of him after he is redeemed. He obviously doesn't have a normal place among Barry's friends and family. Barry and Iris are sadly not able to give him a sufficient answer.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Barry recounts to Savitar his favorite memory about him being with his mother and father together being stuck in a small town while waiting for the car to be fixed while trying to convince Savitar to stop and let them help. He caps off the recollection of that day to a clearly pained Savitar by asking him a question.
  Barry: What was the name of that town?
  Savitar: (Looking hurt and sorrowful) Masonville.
  Barry: I'm still in there. Come home.
• Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence:
  • Savitar's ultimate plan is to convert the Speed Force Bazooka (which he obviously knew from experience they were going to build to try and stop him) into a Quantum Splicer, which he could use to splinter himself across every moment in time, from the Big Bang to the end of the universe, thereby not only placing himself beyond the reach of the Delayed Ripple Effect, but also essentially allowing him to rule every second of existence.
  • Barry offers to sacrifice himself to the Speed Force to prevent it from destroying the world as Savitar's prison apparently kept it in check. However, it does clarify that it won't be the "hell" that Savitar described, but a "heaven".
• The Atoner:
  • H.R. happily sacrifices himself to break Iris' deathly fate to make up for unintentionally helping Savitar find her to begin with.
  • Barry goes to the Speed Force as a prisoner to make up for all his time travel blunders.
• Back for the Dead: Black Flash appears to try and stop Savitar, only to be shattered by Killer Frost. However, since Barry seemingly killed him before only for him to return no worse for wear, this may be temporary.
• Back for the Finale: Harry Wells, Gypsy, Jay Garrick, and Black Flash all reappear to help stop Savitar.
• Bad Boss: Savitar threatens to kill his own Dragon Caitlin/Killer Frost, if Cisco doesn't obey him.
• Badass Normal: Of all the metahumans battling Savitar, it's Iris and her dead aim that wins the fight.
  Iris: (to Barry) All these months you tried to save me from him! Look at that, I saved you!
• Bait-and-Switch: Savitar seemingly threatens Cisco with the vibrating hand when the latter was uncooperative. Knowing Cisco would rather die than help him, however, Savitar threatens Killer Frost (without her knowing) instead.
• Battle Couple: We finally get to see Vibe and Gypsy in action together against Killer Frost.
• Batman Gambit: Turns out, Savitar was counting on Team Flash to create the Speed Force Bazooka as part of his larger plan.
• Beyond the Impossible: Killer Frost's cold blasts manage to destroy the Black Flash's physical form, whether temporarily or permanently.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Just when Cisco is about to test Savitar's patience, Gypsy shows up and vibes them out of there.
  • Savitar thought he had it made when the Speed Force Cannon is fired, the Speed Force opens up, and Killer Frost destroys the Black Flash. Unfortunately for him, Cisco rigged the Speed Force Cannon to instead allow Jay Garrick to bust free and help stop Savitar.
  • Caitlin/Killer Frost stops Savitar just before he's about to execute Cisco.
  • Just when Savitar is about to launch one last sneak attack on the heroes, Iris shoots him.
• Bittersweet Ending: Iris is finally safe from her doomed fate, only to have H.R. literally substitute himself in her stead. Savitar is dead and gone, but the Speed Force needs someone to stay in Savitar's prison to stop the universe from being destroyed so Barry volunteers to go. Caitlin resisted staying on the dark side, but she refuses to take the cure and return to Team Flash, opting for a Journey To Find One Self.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: Savitar never expected Cisco to sabotage the Quantum Splicer, in spite of the fact that its successful use would allow him total control over all of time. Cisco even points out how foolish it was of Savitar to think that he would willingly help him become a god.
• Bookends:
  • Of sorts. Through Alchemy, Savitar began his tenure on the show by contacting the speedster Clariss. This episode is his ultimate confrontation with Barry, his main speedster opponent (and his own past/good self).
  • Wally is The Flash in the Flashpoint timeline. This episode ends with Barry officially Passing the Torch to him.
  • Both the first episode and this one show an A God Am I villain shot dead by a West.
• The Bus Came Back:
  • Julian is back, and even explains his absence in the previous episode: working with Caitlin's mother to engineer a cure.
  • Gypsy returns to save Cisco from captivity.
  • Harry returns after H.R.'s death and, if his promise to Barry is any indication, intends to stay with the team for some time.
  • Jay busts out of the Speed Force to assist in taking Savitar down once and for all.
• But Now I Must Go:
  • Caitlin decides she needs to leave Team Flash and Central City to figure out who she is as she is neither Killer Frost nor the old Caitlin Snow.
  • Barry goes into the Speed Force Prison to save the world and to atone for Flashpoint.
• Call-Back:
  • Savitar mentions remembering singing to Iris, which Barry did in "Duet".
  • Julian had been working with Caitlin's mother on a cure to the Killer Frost condition.
  • Just before he is about to vibrate his hand through Cisco's heart, Savitar says that "he can die the same way twice".
  • When the Big Bad's plans have been foiled, he vows to kill everyone that Barry loves out of spite, much like the Reverse-Flash did.
  • Much like in the first episode, the villain with delusions of Godhood, is shot down by a mere human with a gun. By members of the same family no less.
  • Like Thawne, Savitar's body disintegrates into light when the paradox of his own existence catches up to him.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Savitar needs Cisco, so he threatens to brutally murder Caitlin unless he co-operates.
• Celestial Deadline: Savitar can only be born when he kills Iris the night of May 23rd, 2017, at Infantino Street. Since this is foiled by H.R., Savitar becomes a Paradox Person with only a few hours left to live before he is erased from existence.
• Chekhov's Boomerang:
  • H.R.'s chameleon tech comes into play again, since it turned out to be the key to saving Iris. He used it to switch places with her without anybody being the wiser.
  • The ability of various pieces of Savitar's armor to return to the main body is used by H.R. to find Iris.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience:
  • When Barry phases Savitar out of his armor and himself into it, the lights change from blue to red.
  • Caitlin's eyes change from white to normal after she decides to forgo being "Killer Frost".
• Cool Shades: Several characters sport them during H.R.'s funeral. Even Caitlin.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Savitar initially gives to Barry, Jay and Wally, blasting them all with lightning. Then Barry takes over Savitar's armor and the tables are turned.
• Death by Irony:
  • The (real) Earth-1 Harrison Wells was killed by an evil speedster via a body changing device after said speedster killed an important woman in Barry Allen's life. Earth-19 Harrison Wells dies because he uses a body changing device to save an important woman in Barry Allen's life.
  • Savitar has a complex one: he claims to be a god but is killed by a mere human, who is the very person he intended to murder. Also, he has been calling H.R. a pretender and impersonated the still-heroic Barry to trick him, but H.R. negates his existence with an impersonation.
• Delayed Ripple Effect: Savitar has a few hours before the paradox that will result in his non-existence catches up with him.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Caitlin disposes of The Black Flash with a single ice blast.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Not Iris, but H.R. dies this way after being stabbed by Savitar.
• Disappears into Light: Savitar's corpse disappears this way, disintegrating into particles of light.
• Dude, Where's My Reward?: Ironically, not expressed by Barry but by Iris as the Speed Force takes Barry away, before they can get married and start their life together.
  Iris: [crying] This isn't fair! We were suppose to get our happy ending! I'm ready to be Iris West-Allen!
• Dynamic Entry: Jay Garrick makes his comeback by derailing Savitar's Evil Plan B.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: It was very well earned, and then quickly subverted as Barry is forced to take Savitar's place in the Speed Force Prison.
• Easily Forgiven: Averted with Savitar. Only Barry and Iris were interested in having him around. Played straight however with Caitlin, by everybody but herself.
• 11th-Hour Ranger: Caitlin pulls a Heel–Face Turn in the climatic Final Battle and helps Team Flash.
• Face Death with Dignity: H.R. proudly pulls a Heroic Sacrifice for Iris.
• Face Framed in Shadow: Used for dramatic purposes with Savitar since half of his face is damaged it's used during Barry's "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight speech to Savitar. In the beginning of the speech the damaged part of his face is shown in the light showing how monstrous he has become. But toward the end of the speech and when Barry asks his Armor-Piercing Question the undamaged part of his face is the one shown in the light. This is done to emphasize the fact that, if only for a brief moment, Savitar remembered who he used to be and feels pain at what he has become.
• Gone Horribly Right:
  • Throughout the season, Savitar mocks H.R. as a "pretender" in any given chance. It bites him in the ass this episode in the worst possible way.
  • Another one from Savitar is how Killer Frost has never lived up to her name. He's right namely because Killer Frost turns on him and saves the heroes.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Savitar points out that even if he lets Barry help him, he still has to deal with the fact that Iris and Barry will marry, even while he still remembers proposing to her and being in love. He has a point, and it makes his Redemption Rejection very understandable.
• Happy Ending Override: Almost immediately after defeating Savitar, a Speed Force storm threatens to destroy the world, forcing Barry to go into the Speed Force prison to stop it.
• The Heart: During the eulogy, it's once again emphasized how much H.R. was this to the team.
• Heel–Face Turn: Killer Frost ultimately chooses her former friends over Savitar, but she feels "Caitlin" is still not ready to rejoin Team Flash yet. This is even highlighted cosmetically as her eyes switch from Killer Frost's blue to Caitlin's natural brown and she loses her Voice of the Legion.
• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • H.R. used his chameleon tech to switch places with Iris as a way to make up for his stupidity last episode.
  • With Savitar dead and Jay Garrick free, the Speed Force prison needs someone to take their place, and Barry volunteers to go.
• History Repeats:
  • The Philosopher's Stone causes a Particle Accelerator-esque explosion similar to the one in the pilot.
  • Harrison Wells is killed by an evil speedster who originally wants to kill an important woman in Barry Allen's life, and his death directly involves a body changing device.
  • An A God Am I villain is shot down by Joe in the pilot. Iris does the same to her would-be killer.
• Idiot Ball: It occurs to absolutely NO ONE that Barry could just create a time-remnant and ensure Savitar's existence. Furthermore, for all their promises that they will help him, Team Flash forgets that Savitar is still a villain.
  • Like in the first episode of this season with the Rival, Barry walks away from Savitar after thinking he's won. Savitar reveal he was faking, then springs up and prepares to kill him. You would think Barry should have learned from his mistakes by now.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Not so much "fight" as "talk", but Barry decides to appeal to Savitar, offering to help him before he is Ret-Gone, by sharing a memory from his childhood.
  Barry: I'm still in there. Come home.
• If I Can't Have You…: Savitar ultimately decides to complete his plan upon realizing that if he doesn't, present!Barry and Iris will live happily together without him. Shortly before Barry takes his armor, he rants that he'll kill Iris, even though it won't keep him alive, just to spite his past self.
• If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Literally. Savitar tries to bring up Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred! to Barry in order to, through a different mechanism, ensure his own existence by having Barry give in to darkness.
• Ignored Epiphany: Even though it makes him doubt himself, Savitar ultimately abandons the chance of redemption and goes straight back to his original plan of becoming a god. See Villain Has a Point as to why.
• In Spite of a Nail: Much like his Earth-1 counterpart, H.R.'s death directly involves a body changing device, an evil speedster from the future, an important woman in Barry Allen's life, and Barry Allen himself.
• In the Back: Iris shoots Savitar from behind as he charges at the rest of Team Flash.
• In-Universe Catharsis:
  • Killer Frost quite clearly gets satisfaction out of shattering the Black Flash, seeing as it's the zombie of the man who personally betrayed Caitlin and fooled her into falling in love with him the previous year.
  Killer Frost: See ya later, Hunter.
  • After Jay Garrick was brutally attacked by Savitar, Jay knocks him for a short time and says while smiling that he always wanted to do that.
• Ironic Echo:
  • Remember when Savitar told Killer Frost that she hasn't been living up to her name? He says it again, when Killer Frost turns against him.
  • After sending the wedding invitations, Barry asks Iris if she's ready to become Mrs. West-Allen, and she says yes. When Barry offers to go into the Speed Force to appease it, Iris mentions that she's ready to become Iris West-Allen again in order to convince Barry not to go.
• It's Always Sunny at Funerals: H.R.'s funeral takes place during a bright and sunny day, evocative of his cheerful demeanor; some characters, like Barry and Harry, even wear sunglasses.
• Karmic Death: Doubly so for Savitar: 1) He was killed by the very same person he was destined to kill (though he would have died regardless), and 2) For all of his talk about being a god, he's ultimately brought down by a mere bullet.
  • Also a Call-Back to Flash's very first villain, Clyde Mardon, the original Weather Wizard who likened himself to god because of his powers, yet was shot to death by Joe.
• Kick the Dog: Once it becomes apparent to Savitar that he can't prevent himself from being Ret Goned he tells Barry that before he dies he will personally kill everyone Barry loves as one final middle finger to his past self.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • The Black Flash is shattered by Killer Frost the woman that he tormented, kidnapped and almost murdered when the two were Hunter Zolomon and Caitlin Snow respectively. To top it off, he has already killed a Killer Frost, just not this one.
  • Savitar is shot In the Back by Iris, the woman he was destined to kill and tormented for months on end. He was planning to kill her by Back Stab.
• Leitmotif: As one would expect, Barry and Iris' love theme pops up many times, but most notably the same orchestraion "Come Home To Me," that was used when Iris saved Barry from the Speed Force in season 2 ironically now plays as Barry gives one last forlorne smile to Iris before accompanying "Nora" into the Speed Force.
• Literally Shattered Lives: Black Flash shatters after Killer Frost freezes him.
• Load-Bearing Boss: Turns out Savitar being trapped in the Speed Force for millennia was necessary for preventing the Speed Force from destroying the universe.
• Logical Weakness: Both Black Flash and Savitar's deaths show that Super-Speed doesn't help you much when an attacker knows where you're going, or if you're running in a straight line.
• Manly Tears:
  • Barry and Joe during the opening scene after thinking that Iris died. After The Reveal, H.R. does a Tears of Joy version of this.
  • Wally during H.R.'s funeral.
• Men Act, Women Are: Finally(!) subverted with Iris being the one who ultimately kills Savitar and saves Barry.
• Moment Killer: Appropriate for the Powers That Be regarding motion and time, the Speed Force. They cause a Happy Ending Override for Barry right after his hard-fought battle with Savitar and while he and Iris are discussing their future plans.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The blue lights on Savitar's armor are exclusive to him and him alone, while Barry, in his brief possession of the suit, instead emits red. This further reinforces Savitar as a counterpart to the Future Flash, who is primarily associated with blue.
  • The acknowledgement of the Speed Force as a "Heaven" references how the Speed Force is sometimes known as "Speed Heaven".
  • The Speed Force storm is identical to the one in DC Rebirth where Godspeed, Fast Track, and many others got their powers.
  • Barry passes the Flash mantle to Wally in the end. In the comics, Wally is Barry's successor as The Flash after the latter dies.
    • Additionally, a time rift is causing red skies.
  • Cisco calls Savitar Two-Face at one point.
• Non-Protagonist Resolver: H.R. is the one who negated Savitar existence, and Iris shoots Savitar so the latter cannot do more harm before being erased from existence.
• Obligatory Joke: Keeping up with the Frozen jokes in Killer Frost episodes, Caitlin's final line for the season is telling her friends to "let her go".
• Oh, Crap!: Savitar when his memory of the day changes and he realizes that he failed to kill Iris.
• Passing the Torch: Barry officially anoints Wally as the Flash when he goes into the Speed Force prison.
• Plot Hole:
  • Barry names Wally as his successor on being the Flash after Savitar is killed. Thing is, Savitar's existence being a major factor regarding Wally having powers is a major plot point just two episodes ago.
  • This episode confirms that Tracy does see H.R.'s true face. But the reason H.R. uses the face changing device to begin with is because Eobard Thawne ruined his Earth-1 counterpart's reputation by confessing to Nora Allen's murder, and Tracy being a student of scientific studies should know who "Harrison Wells" is/was.
  • Savitar continues existing for a few hours after the paradox should have erased him, seemingly in line with the "time needs to set" rule from Legends of Tomorrow. However, when Eobard Thawne was erased due to a paradox in Season 1, the effect was near-instantaneous.
  • Another plot hole is that Eobard Thawne's time remnant did not get erased on his own; The Black Flash was required to kill him to ensure his Cessation of Existence. Why does Savitar simply be erased on his own?
• Possession Implies Mastery: As soon as Barry phases into and takes control of his future self's armor, he immediately figures out how to activate the Blade Below the Shoulder with no trouble whatsoever.
• Put on a Bus: Played with as far as Barry willingly going into the Speed Force with its personification, in the form of Nora Allen, telling him that he reached his finish line. See, Justice League came out a month after Season 4 began, and due to the embargo between the Arrowverse and the DC Extended Universe (which has its own Barry Allen), there was a concern that this episode would write Arrowverse!Barry (and thus, Grant Gustin) out for good, suggesting Wally would become the "official" Arrowverse Flash. Eventually, photos of Gustin on set were released, confirming he'd be back for Season 4 and thus having another shared character between the two franchises; the other being Superman.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: When Barry pushes Savitar out of his suit and hijacks it, the blue lights on it turn red, and then he nearly becomes evil via killing Savitar with the suit's wristblades.
• Redemption Rejection: Savitar seriously considers Barry's offer of being helped by them and joining them—even after everything he's already done to them—but ultimately goes back to his evil ways when he realizes he will never be able to fit into their lives, particularly after having memories of proposing to Iris yet not being the Barry who gets to actually be with her.
• The Reveal: Savitar didn't kill Iris. He killed H.R. disguised as Iris.
• Reverse the Polarity: Cisco does this to the Speed Cannon, so that instead of scattering Savitar across time, it instead pulls Jay out of the Speed Force Prison. Later, he directly quotes the Trope Namer while giving Wally technical instructions.
• Rewatch Bonus: "H.R." is running quite slow and effeminate during the opening scene.
• Ripple Effect Indicator: After its revealed that H.R. died in Iris' place, she, Barry and Joe immediately check the 2024 newspaper hologram. "Iris West-Allen" is once again the name of the article's author. No word yet on what the hologram will show now, after Barry's departure into the Speed Force (i.e. if he's not there to disappear in 2024, then what will the article be about; also, who will build Gideon).
• Rule of Symbolism: While Barry is recounting the best memory he has of his parents together to Savitar in an attempt to reach the man he was inside his broken time remnant the entire time Savitar's face is shown, only the scarred half is in shadow while the unscarred half is visible and clearly in pain.
• Screw Destiny: Team Flash manages to succeed in saving Iris, although H.R. had to sacrifice himself to do it.
• Season Finale: The third one.
• Sequel Hook: Once again, DeVoe^note Clifford DeVoe, a.k.a. The Thinker is alluded to as another major foe that Barry will face.
• Shipper on Deck: Before going to the Speed Force, Barry still takes time to bless Cisco's relationship with Gypsy.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: In a heartbreaking example of this trope, H.R. is killed minutes into the episode. However, the rest of the episode isn't quite as dark as one might think.
• Shout-Out:
  • Savitar briefly considers Barry's offer for redemption before concluding that he's too far gone.
  • Cisco asks Wally to Reverse the Polarity of the neutron flow to get the Star Labs satellite back up and running.
  • Another one to Doctor Who: Savitar's plan to fragment himself throughout all of time is essentially the Great Intelligence's plan (and likewise Clara's solution) from the Eleventh Doctor's final season.
    • Which itself is very similar to the classic series episode The City of Death.
• Spanner in the Works:
  • Savitar would have succeeded in killing Iris and ensuring his own existence if not for H.R., forcing him to essentially wing it for the rest of the episode...ultimately unsuccessfully.
  • Iris vehemently refuses to have H.R. take her place (and doom himself), but Killer Frost ambushes and knocks Iris^note who by then has already switched appearances with H.R. out before she could protest a little more, completing the ruse.
• Spoiled by the Format:
  • The Season 4 text promo says that Iris will be part of the season and will be alive, so we know that Iris is going to be safe by the end of this episode.
  • Similarly, given that DeVoe is intended to be a villain in Season 4 and he was specifically mentioned to be one of Barry's villains, it's unlikely that Barry will be gone for good; this did indeed turn out to be the case.
• Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!:
  • When Savitar is forcibly ejected from his armor and is at Barry's mercy he encourages Barry to do this, knowing it will ensure his own existence.
  • Killer Frost also provokes Cisco, but he gives her the antidote.
• Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum: Once Savitar realizes he only has a few hours left to live, he resolves to merge himself with everyone, throughout space and time. When this is foiled and he ultimately has only minutes left to live, he vows to use his last moments of existence to kill all of Barry's friends and family.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Barry and Iris take pity on Savitar and try to reform him. The rest of the team however is not so quick to forgive him.
• Talking the Monster to Death: Barry tries to do this to his future self, and it appears to succeed at first, as Savitar considers his younger self's offer to join Team Flash...before ultimately going back to his evil ways after seeing there would be no future for him on Team Flash.
• Take a Third Option: Barry comes up with a plan that doesn't involve fighting Savitar but instead trying to help him.
• Taking You with Me: With all his plans foiled and his time running out, Savitar decides to cut all his losses and take down as many of his enemies as possible before he gets Ret Goned.
• Technicolor Fire: Well, lightning in case of the Speed Force storm. It ranges from the normal yellow, red, white, and purple (the same as the lightning trails Speedsters leave behind).
• That Man Is Dead: Caitlin says that she isn't Killer Frost anymore...but she also isn't Caitlin anymore, and that she needs time to figure out just who she is.
• Title Drop: When it appears to Team Flash, the Speed Force (in the form of Nora Allen) tells Barry that he's reached his finish line.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: After going through childhood plus two seasons of losing people close to him, Barry managed to end his curse by keeping Iris alive.
• Tragic Villain: This episode really shows just how much of one Savitar is; all he wants is to live without pain & sadness, plus he can't seek help from the heroes and then just leave them be because every happy moment Barry & Iris have together is just going to make him more miserable.
• Trash the Set: The exploding Philosopher's Stone completely wrecks S.T.A.R. Labs, and that's presumably not helped by the Speed Force storm afterwards.
• Tricked Out Time: Barry's original vision of the future was followed...but H.R. still managed to save Iris by taking her place.
• Unexpected Character: The Black Flash was highlighted as appearing nowhere before the episode's release.
• Uncertain Doom: Due to his undead nature, the Black Flash's fate is up in the air after Killer Frost shatters him.
• Unlikely Hero: Two of them.
  • H.R. saves Iris from her unfortunate fate at the expense of his own life.
  • Iris is the one who kills the Big Bad.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Gypsy saves Cisco from Savitar, but he answers with a "I had everything under control" and outright tells her that he is doing the oposite of thanking her. Gypsy chastises Cisco for it.
• Villain Has a Point: Savitar's reasoning in his Redemption Rejection makes a lot of sense, as here are basically the options laid out in front of him:
  • A) Pull a Heel–Face Turn, and watch Barry and Iris live a happy life together even though he himself is a version of Barry that never got her, also as he's from the future every happy moment they have he will remember. (It's pretty much borderline torture)
  • B) Pull a Heel–Face Turn then go to live away from Iris and his past self so he doesn't have to watch them be together, but that would probably be pretty lonely and he'd still most likely keep receiving Barry's new memories, thus making him even more miserable.
  • C) Go through with his original plan and become the closest thing he can be to a god.
  • D) Die.
  • E) Go back to the Speed Force prison and hope that saves him, and spend all eternity reliving the worst moment of his life.
• Villainous Breakdown: Savitar has one when his plan fails, he then tries to pull a Taking You with Me.
• Wham Line: One from the beginning of the episode:
  "Iris": B.A.
• Wham Shot:
  • Picking up from the end of "Infantino Street", Barry is cradling Iris' corpse, Joe and Tracy start breaking down, and then H.R. races to the roof too late to do anything...and then we cut to Iris dropping H.R.'s drumsticks.
  • Barry and Iris are all set to prepare for their wedding, but then an "earthquake" hits. We take a look outside, where there's a freak storm brewing.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gypsy scolds Cisco for his blatantly ungrateful attitude to her.
• The Worf Effect: The Black Flash, who had Season One's Big Bad scared shitless (and lived up to his reputation) gets frozen and shattered in one single blast by Killer Frost. Especially notable as Earth-2's Killer Frost had to keep a constant stream of ice on him before his upgrade to the Black Flash just to delay him. Whether he is dead or not, however, remains unknown.
• Yank the Dog's Chain:
  • After it seemed like H.R. had finally found someone who loved him just the way he was, he dies.
  • After all of the grief and misery that Barry and Iris have undergone this season it finally seems as if they will finally be able to get married...then the Speed Force starts collapsing in on itself and Barry has to take up Savitar's place in order for it not to destroy the city (and possibly the world).
• Your Princess Is in Another Castle!:
  • Fans should have already been clued in that there's more to Savitar's scheme besides killing Iris, since there's still a whole episode left.
  • Barry and Iris are just about ready to tie the knot, now that Savitar is gone for good. But then the Speed Force storm hits.

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