YMMV / The Flash 2014 S 3 E 23 Finish Line

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Was the Speed Force really collapsing in on itself at the end in Savitar's absence, or was it throwing a fit over Barry finally being truly happy since creating Flashpoint months ago? It doesn't help that it was established beforehand that the Speed Force isn't as lenient to Barry as we initially thought, and that Barry actually sees imprisoning himself inside to qualm its rage as his way to atone.
  • It's unclear whether Savitar was really considering Barry's offer at redemption (only deciding against it when he realized he'd never have a place with Team Flash) or if he was planning on betraying Team Flash all along.
• Badass Decay: The Black Flash. As Zoom, he is the previous season's Big Bad. As the Black Flash, he had Eobard Thawne, the original Big Bad, scared shitless of him throughout Legends of Tomorrow Season 2. This episode has him defeated by a single ice blast and barely even make an impact on the episode at all.
• Broken Base: Some feel that Savitar is irredeemable, as he could never have been truly happy watching/remembering Barry and Iris be together. Others feel that he could have easily gone elsewhere, perhaps to Earth 2 or 3 to be with his friends there, and carved out a life on his own. Sure, he would've been without the love of his life, but she'd still be happy and he could've eventually found someone else.
• Catharsis Factor: Despite being firmly a Tragic Villain, Savitar's final defeat by Barry and then ultimately Iris—the one who he was destined to kill—is immensely satisfying, mostly due to the large amount of weight that was put on her death throughout the second half of the season.
• He Really Can Act: To all those who are still arguing what is the greatest love story in the Arrowverse, Grant Gustin and Candice Patton make a strong case for [Barry and Iris this episode, showcasing their amazing chemistry, and crowning it with a Bittersweet Ending showing off their individual talents as well.
• I Knew It!:
  • Quite a few viewers called H.R.'s switcheroo after his appearance generator's use in the previous episode.
  • With the previous seasons ending on a bittersweet note (a Bolivian Army Cliffhanger that emulates Barry's comic book Heroic Sacrifice, and the prelude to Flashpoint, respectively), no one is surprised at all that there will be a Happy Ending Override.
• Like You Would Really Do It: Zig-zagged. Barry sacrificing himself to the Speed Force might be easy to write off as just the writers building up suspense.
  • Black Flash apparently being destroyed seems a bit too good to be true. Word of God says that yes he is indeed still alive.
• Misaimed Fandom: This episode saw Savitar earn a good number of fans who conveniently leave out the fact he was basically a malevolent speedster who made himself a false god, sought to corrupt the Multiverse with his presence, tried to kill his wife purely so he could force his past self to become dark enough to spawn him, THREATENED TWO OF HIS OWN FRIENDS TO MAKE SURE HE WOULD CORRUPT THE SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM AND THEN ATTEMPTED TO KILL ONE OF THEM, and made Wally take his place in what was actually described as a Hell and instead put up the front that he simply wanted to escape his own time paradox that would erase him from the history books after he failed to kill aforementioned wife.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: After slowly getting out of the heap throughout the second half of the season, H.R.'s Heroic Sacrifice to save Iris finally pushes him to full redemption.
• Shocking Moments: Barry, Jay and Wally vs. Savitar is a badass fast-paced battle filled with Visual Effects of Awesome.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • Some fans were hoping that Savitar's backstory would be expanded on or that he'd get a flashback showing how he got his scars/suit, since we never actually got to see any of it, but this doesn't happen. He's also defeated in a somewhat anticlimactic way, and much earlier in the episode than Thawne or Zoom were.
  • Savitar was also wasted as a character-wise across the season, as he was either stuck in the Speed Force or just been an enemy to Barry. Most of the season was just spent building up to his identity reveal and we never got a good look into who he was like we did with Eobard and Zoom.
  • Speaking of Zoom, he seemingly gets shattered to icy pieces by Caitlin before he even has the chance to directly attack Savitar. And he didn't really do that much yet period, aside from killing Thawne.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • Many people were intrigued by the idea of redeeming a Big Bad for a change instead of killing him off. Had he gone on to live his own life, maybe as the Flash of another Earth or just living out his life on a different part of Earth-1, we could have had a fascinating Redemption Quest and the occasional cameo. Well, it didn't take long until Savitar ditched the attempt.
  • Others are interested to see what would happen if Savitar succeeded in his plans, as the few instances we got of how he acts when he wasn't messing with Team Flash or building up to killing Iris, he was shown to be boastful and somewhat demanding yet still kind and reasonable; heck, his first appearance as Savitar was him coming to the rescue of his followers. Plus outside the stuff he did to ensure his own existence, he never really did a lot of evil stuff. In fact it can be counted on one hand: 1) Killed the Rival for failing him, 2) Tried to get Magneta to kill her abusive father.
  • Having Barry, Jay, Wally, and Jesse all team up against Savitar would've been quite a spectacle. Well, the first three are there...but Jesse was left out for reasons unexplained.
  • It's a minor thing, but when the Speed Force appears to Team Flash as Nora Allen, we didn't see a reaction from Jay^note As You Know, an Alternate Self to her husband, if any.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: Savitar, considering how awful his existence as a time remnant was and then having to spend time trapped in the Speed Force. His Redemption Rejection was particulary understandable, with him realising that even if they were able to help him avoid his inevitable Retgone, he'd never truly have any place with them and watching the "real" Barry live out his life would only make him more miserable.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: Once again courtesy of Savitar, in his Final Battle.
• Win Back the Crowd: After a long time of a doom and gloom mode, the finale reinstates the hope and optimistic tone of the show; even if things don't turn out quite like the heroes hoped.