By Russ Burlingame
When it comes to the second half of The Flash season 3, we’re calling it right now: it’s all about the West Family.
And that’s not just because of the possibility that Iris could die if Savitar isn’t stopped. It’s not just about Wally suiting up. Something is going on with the West family, and it’s going to have profound implications for the series.
All throughout the midseason finale last night, The Flash reinforced one thing: you don’t trifle with the West family.
Then, Savitar had to go and trifle.
After trying to kill Wally, we saw him actually kill Iris West in a flash-forward that any true fan of the series knows nobody is going to allow to happen.
(That’s right, fans: as sad as that scene was, and as hard as it was to watch it, you know the truth: those stakes aren’t real because there is no chance Wally, Joe, Barry, or Iris Badass West herself is going to let Iris go down like that.)
“One shall betray you, one shall fall, one will suffer a fate much worse than death,” Savitar told Barry — and more or less the entire audience assumed that he was talking about Team Flash.
After all, it would make total sense: we already saw a vibe where Caitlin turned evil and potentially killed Cisco.
But we think it’s likely Savitar was actually talking about the Wests: that Wally would betray Barry, that Iris would die, and that Joe — the father to both — would suffer a fate worse than death.
It not only holds up with his prophecy — but it makes sense when you consider the timeline. Julian said that it was about six months ago that he started hearing Savitar’s voice — and it was easy enough to think that was all about Flashpoint. Perhaps even Savitar really believes that.
Jay Garrick was surprised and perhaps a little hurt that Savitar — a Speed Force myth — chose Barry to reach out to instead of himself. But as we’ve seen repeated over and over again for the last few weeks, Wally is actually faster than Barry was at this point in his training, and the potential he’s unlocking could make him the fastest man alive — something that actually happened in the comics, where Wally tapped into the Speed Force in a way Barry never had, and as a result became the target for Savitar.
Following the events of “Flashpoint,” Barry spent the first half of the season trying to fix damage he’d done to the timeline following a trip to the past. Now, following this trip to the future, Barry has to find a way to avert an event which has an unclear path.
We think the Wests are the key to finding that path — and may even have to “save themselves” with only tangential support from Barry Allen.
The Flash airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW. New episodes return on January 24, 2017.