A superhero who is super human is bound to make super mistakes. Especially when he let’s his heart lead.

**** NEWS FLASH – SPOILERS AHEAD ****

One would think after defeating Zoom, Barry/Flash (Grant Gustin) would be all about celebrating and moving forward starting a new life with Iris. Instead, our sulking superhero is inconsolably consumed by the loss of his Father at the hands of Zoom and the fact that he was unable to save his Mom. Because of this he chooses to take off and go back in time, this time completing the task he couldn’t do earlier, saving his Mother.

His actions rip a hole in the timeline and create a new world. One in which Barry is quite content, even if he has to start all over with getting to know Iris. The best part, not only his Mother alive, so is his Dad. Plus, with another Flash in town, it appears Barry may be able to hang up his Superhero cape. With a little training Kid Flash/Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale) could take the lead.

As with anything, there has to be a catch. Nothing can be this perfect, and Barry finds out quickly what that catch is. He is loosing his memories and the more he uses his powers, the faster they disappear. Once those memories are gone, his former world will cease to exist and this alternate world will become permanent.

He has created a Flashpoint Paradox, and as Reverse Flash (Matt Letscher) points out, the only way to stop this is to let Reverse Flash go back in time and kill his Mother. It will reset the timeline and put things back to the way they were.

Nothing Reverse Flash says to Barry will get him to agree to this until he sees the repercussions of his selfish actions. All his friends are paying the price for his happiness. It is at this point Barry releases Reverse Flash, letting history repeat itself and making things right. Or so he believes.

Once back into his old world, Barry quickly finds out things are not the same. Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and Iris (Candice Patton) are not speaking. Cisco’s (Carlos Valdes) brother is dead and he is not speaking to Barry because Barry refuses to go back in time and save his brother. Diggs (David Ramsey) has a son instead of a daughter. And, Caitlyn (Danielle Panabaker) has cold powers, but she is keeping them a secret.

In addition, he has an associate in the forensic department. His name is Julian Albert (Tom Felton). He is a Meta expert, and he does not like Barry.

Barry is distraught over all of this, and his best efforts to get Team Flash back to what they were fail. He decides the only way to really fix things is to once again go back in time in effort to reset things back to what they should be. Before he can do this, Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp), the original Flash, who just so happens to be his Father’s doppelganger, stops him and gives him a talking to.

He knows the repercussions of messing with the timeline. He tells him he has to except the consequences of his actions and move forward. He can’t keep trying to reset what he broke.

Jay actually gets through to Barry. He realizes he has to find a way to make the new timeline work. The first thing to do is confess his sins to Team Flash. They are a bit taken aback by this, but all seem to understand the lengths one will go to save family.

All that is, except Cisco. Knowing it was OK for Barry to change things for himself, but no one else, makes it even harder for Cisco to just forgive Barry.

Added to Barry’s problem is the fact that although he reset the timeline, things that happened in the alternate timeline have not been completely erased and a new villain is determined to see those that had powers in the alternate world seek to ignite them in this world.

That villain is Alchemy and he wastes no time awakening the once powerful, so they can unleash their fury on Central City. He also has his sights set on Wally, who was Kid Flash in the alternate timeline.

Wally is the key to awakening an even greater risk to Central City. That risk is Savitar, the God of Speed, who once released, will stop at nothing to destroy Flash and anyone who gets in his way.

Through all of this, Caitlyn has her own personal battle, figuring out how to deal with her meta power before it takes control. Fortunately just when it appears Killer Frost will permanently control Caitlyn, Barry pushes her to be just that, a killer. When she realizes she does not have that in her, she is able to break free from Killer Frost.

Unfortunately, her escapade as Killer Frost may has caused permanent damage. Julian knows she is a meta and uses that against Barry. Threatening to turn Caitlyn in to the police if Barry doesn’t resign. With no other options, Barry does just that.

In addition, she has planted an even deeper seed of doubt in Cisco’s mind in regards to trusting Barry and the friendship they shared may be broken for good.

It’s going to take something really epic to save Barry and Cisco’s friendship and that thing turns out to be an alien invasion.

Yes, an alien invasion. One in which it will take an army to defeat the aliens. That army of course is the combination of Team Flash, Team Arrow, Team Legends and Supergirl.

In an effort to learn more about the aliens, Cisco, Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards), Mick (Dominic Purcell), Nate (Nick Zano) and Vixen (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) go back to 1951, during the alien’s first invasion, with the intention of kidnapping an alien to interrogate.

Their plan falls apart when the Men in Black show up and take Mick, Nate, Vixen and the alien all prisoners. Cisco and Felicity come to their rescue, but also save the alien from would most definitely be death.

Cisco realizes the device the alien leaves behind is a transporter, which allows him to communicate with the alien. In so doing, he discovers even the aliens are pissed with Barry for screwing with timeline.

There was treaty signed back in 1951 and his actions broke that treaty. They want his head or they will destroy all the metas around the world. They see them as a threat to all life.

It is at this point Cisco realizes he is no different than Barry. He just wanted to help, and in so doing changed the timeline for the worse.

As can be expected, in the eleventh hour, all the Teams band together and find a way to defeat the aliens, saving Barry from turning himself over.

All is well again in Central City, at least temporarily.

With the aliens gone, Team Flash is united and tighter than before and ready to unravel the mystery of Savitar.

Their first clues lead them to the Philosophers Stone, which is the source of Savitar’s power. It also turns out Julian just so happened to lead an expedition 4 years earlier in search of said stone.

Needless to say Julian admits to being on the expedition but claims he had no success in finding the stone.

Barry doesn’t buy it and seeks out Jay Garrick to aid in the fight. The two of them flush out Alchemy and the stone, which of course means Savitar (Andre Tricoteux) makes an appearance.

Jay takes on Savitar while Barry goes after Alchemy. Once Alchemy is knocked out Barry gets the stone and locks it back in it’s box, just as Savitar is about to kill Jay, saving Jay and locking Savitar in the box.

Pulling back Alchemy’s mask, Barry discovers Julian is Alchemy. Funny thing is, Julian has no recall of being Alchemy. Barry figures out that Savitar is controlling Julian.

Julian doesn’t buy it, but once Barry reveals himself as the Flash, they realize Savitar played on Julian’s grief after his sister passed and in so doing pushed him on the quest to find the stone and unleash him.

Meanwhile Savitar is doing the same thing to Cisco, by posing as his dead brother. Convincing Cisco if he opens the box they can be together forever. Cisco’s grief of course pushes him to believe in the impossible.

Once the box is opened Savitar is unleashed in Star Labs. Barry goes in pursuit, with Wally close behind. Just as Savitar is about to kill both Barry and Wally, Caitlyn convinces Cisco to the close box, thus trapping Savitar again.

Realizing Savitar has a mental connection to Julian, Cisco finds a way to sync Julian’s brain to the stone so they can communicate with Savitar. The plan works, but they are told things they didn’t want to hear.

One will betray you. One will lie. And, one will die.

He tells them he wants everything back they took from him. In the future they trap him. It is their fault he is this way.

Having heard enough, they shut the connection down, but now what?

A decision is made to toss the box with the stone in the speed force, where it will be lost forever. Jay will start running with Barry trailing off speed by running Jay behind with box. Once he hits the speed force he will toss the box in.

The plan works, except Barry is tossed into the future. What he sees is far from promising. In the future Savitar still exists, and Barry is once again unable to save a loved one who is killed right in front of him.

Once back in his time, Barry can’t shake the foreboding feeling of what’s ahead. Jay tells him the future is not written yet, but this is not enough for Barry.

So, instead of lamenting the past, Barry will now be obsessing about the future and what he can do prevent the loss of his one true love Iris.

The problem with this is he won’t be living in the present and will miss out on the very things that will make memories, which he will want, should the future actually unravel as he has seen.

 

Tune in on January 24, 2017 at 8PM when The Flash returns to see what the future holds.

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About Mariann E. Danko:  A single Mom just trying to make it through every day without losing my mind. Fortunately I have a passion for writing, which is why I decided to share my thoughts and somewhat off-beat parenting tactics with all who are willing to read them. You can check them out at https://wakingthewalker.wordpress.com/ or my writers page at www.facebook.com/MariannE.DankoWriter or follow me on twitter @Danko818