One of the CW's high demand shows, "The Flash" is back and better than ever! season 3 left us with a cliffhanger, (which I must say the show is notorious for) when Barry headed into the speed force with his mom and took his place in a self-built eternal jail, reliving the most painful memory of his life on a continuous loop. I know what all you new-to-the-show readers must be thinking, how twisted and sadistic is this? I'd say if you can't handle an emotional rollercoaster every episode then this is probably not the show for you. But as promo's revealed and from the notion that the main character and center of the show can't simply be killed off, we all awaited Barry's return.
What remains
When Barry went into the speed force he didn't simply leave the city unprotected. Though he was the main hero in the show let us not forget about The Vibe (Cisco), and Kid Flash (Wally). If we needed someone to keep Central City safe besides Barry, we would definitely call them (and probably the DC Legends just in case). But even though the city isn't in shambles we see in a six month time skip that the team isn't all that it used to be. While still defeating villains their almost squeaky clean reputation for never letting a bad guy escape has definitely been tarnished. In addition to that, they all seem like they're taking Barry's absence pretty well??? It's clear that everyone's in denial and who could blame them.
Barry's been through a lot and he always seems to come back. The only one who doesn't believe that is Iris. Her reaction in the aftermath of Barrys "death" rings very true to her character in many ways. The last thing Barry said to her was to keep on running which, though extremely cliche, was what was getting her through each day.
She wasn't letting herself get upset or worked up over him leaving because if she did she would surely be stuck in a long cycle of grief, and there's a whole city that needed saving. So instead of feeling sad, she pours herself into helping stop the metahumans and fulfilling her promise.
Attack of the samurai
Though able to fight off most villains that come their way they certainly weren't expecting a samurai and he is definitely no match for whatever remains off Team Flash.
Though only seeming to possess a sword, when struck into the ground it sends an explosion blowing up anything within miles. He is too powerful to stop, even with Joe's, Cisco's, and Wally's combined attempts. The samurai makes a simple request, he wishes to fight the Flash. On any other day 6 months ago that would have been a simple fight but now that just can't be arranged. In simpler terms, if Barry's not back and soon they're all goners. He gives the Flash 24 hours to come and fight him and if he doesn't show up the city and everyone in it will surely be destroyed. At first, this seems like any other typical powerful villain that wants to battle the notorious flash. But after a while, you start to feel like something weird is going on here.
The samurai seems much more fixated on fighting the Flash then actually causing any destruction and this time it feels like more than a personal vendetta. Nonetheless, his threat is very real.
Cisco sees this as a perfect time to bring up a secret project he's been working on to get Barry back. Once he reveals his plans of tampering with the speed force bazooka every is on board ( except for Iris ), including Caitlyn who is now back on team flash ( permanently this time we can only hope ). Going against Iris's demands the team goes out to the field where they first trained Barry and try to bring him back. At first, everything seems to be going according to plan but instead of Barry popping out of the vortex, it closes back up leaving only a trail of dust behind.
All that remains is everyone standing in defeat as Iris emerges from the background finally having to accept that Barry might never come back. But just when all hope seems lost we see a flash of light cruising through the highway until finally stopping in front of a car revealing a naked and unshaven Barry.
The Flash is back, kind of?
Cecille calls in giving the gang the good news that Barry was found on a highway a good distance away from the city. Nonetheless, everyone is eager to see him and finish where they left off. It seems almost too good to be true! (and that's because it is). When they walk into the room they are met face to face with a now clothed Barry but he's not quite there. The walls are almost completely filled with mystery symbols while Barry can be found crouched on the floor trying to find any remaining space to continue writing on.
Very cautiously they approach him seeing that he's not as sharp as he once was. But all he does is talk in gibberish saying nonsense sentences or simply breaking down while mumbling words that rhyme. Not knowing what to do they take him back to the lab for further tests. When testing him we find out that he is psychically fine so the problem must be mental... Caitlyn suggests that maybe being in the speed force for so long has made Barry get dementia, and with the way things are looking that just may be a viable explanation. Because Barry isn't mentally stable nether are his powers. When going off on an uncontrollable run around the lab they decide to put him in a metahuman cell that dampens his powers.
Its safe to say everyone's hope of getting Barry back has drastically dwindled and with the 24 hours coming to a close end there's still the samurai to worry about.
Tick Tock
Their time is up and the samurai is extremely punctual for a villain. With Barry in no way, shape, or form ready to fight it's up to Joe and the police to protect the city. But in the last-minute surge of hope and confidence, Iris comes forward and tells the samurai to take her. At first, he just shrugs Iris off but she insists saying that The Flash will come forward if he knows she's in danger. Without skipping a beat the samurai whisks Iris away clearly convinced by her theory. Joe running frantically back to the lab slams on Barry's cell pleading with him to do something because Iris is in trouble and he isn't strong enough to see anyone else he loves to be taken away from him.
Hearing those words sparks something in Barry setting him to break out of the cell and start running faster then he's ever run before. Even with the samurai's lead start, Barry catches up to him in no time-saving Iris.Knocking the samurai to the ground Barry kneels down and rips his mask off hoping to reveal who was behind all of this. But, instead, he finds a cluster of wires telling us that the villain was just a robot this whole time. Almost to confirm our suspicions the robot ominously states "Welcome back Flash" before his circuits blow out. Everything seems back to normal as the crew reunites and everyone tries to go back tot he way things were 6 months ago. It almost makes you forget about the samurai, but not quite.
The episode ends with a mysterious creature/man connected to multiple wires talking to his associate. She reads out an article saying that the Flash is back meaning their plan has worked and I already have so many questions.
For more on tune in on Tuesdays at 8 for weekly episodes of The Flash on the CW!
