Wells presents Barry with a life-changing choice. Dr. Martin Stein and Ronnie Raymond return to help the STAR Labs team with this final fight.
"Fast Enough" is very much an emotional and character-driven finale. Yes, it is all building up to Barry traveling back to the day that his mother was killed and then one final confrontation with the Reverse Flash while a singularity opens over Central City. But all of those events are allowed to happen because of the emotional honesty between the characters. More than half of this finale focuses on the weight of this decision Barry has to make: Whether or not he should listen to Eobard and let him travel back to the future while he travels back to the past to save his mother.This decision is something life-altering that Barry has to make a decision on. It allows for these fantastically emotional interactions with Eobard, Joe, Henry and Iris. Every single character on this show has made an impact on Barry this season. It's because of what Eobard did to Barry's past that this entire reality was created. Eobard killed Nora Allen in order to alter the Flash's past. The consequence was not being able to return to his home time - and thus needed to create the Flash in the first place. Eobard hates the Flash with every fiber of his being. And yet, he hates the older version of Barry Allen. The young man who has stood before him for this entire season has taken on an identity of a surrogate son of sorts. That's not something that Eobard expected to have in this grand quest to get back home. And yet, it's precisely the reality he finds himself in. He is willing to explain everything to Barry and the team. Eobard is the one who places this grand decision on Barry in the opening moments of the finale.
Eobard has been just one of Barry's father figures over the course of this season though. Even though he is no longer the wise mentor and has been exposed as this very evil presence, that role is still a very big part of his identity. And yet, he has a selfish stake in this opportunity. He wants to get home no matter what - and thusly needs Barry to create this time portal. That means the advice Barry receives from his friends and family carries more weight. Joe has long been the heart of the show. He is strongly for Barry traveling back and saving his mother because it would allow Barry the chance to grow up with a mom and a dad. It is incredibly tragic because Joe has become just as much a father to Barry as Henry has been. All of that pain and emotion is apparent but Joe is still willing to give it all up to take this past tragedy away from Barry.
Meanwhile, Henry has the exact opposite view point. Over his years in prison, he has been led to believe that things happen in this world for a reason. He hates that he can't be with his son without a piece of glass separating them. But that is the reality of the moment. He is so very proud of the man Barry has become. The work he has done saving this city has made him happier as a father more than anything else in the world. He doesn't want Barry to give all of that up just to create an uncertain future. Yes, Nora would still be alive and they would be a family. But that also runs the risk of Barry turning into a completely different person. Henry doesn't want that for his son.
Ultimately, it's Iris' advice of listening to his own heart that gets Barry to decide to take this journey into the past. He is willing to face whatever reality this choice will make. It's a choice that carries so much weight because the show has put so much emphasis on its characters throughout the season. All of these character interactions as Barry is deliberating what to do work because of the relationships that have been established over the course of the season. That's what makes it so tragic and heartbreaking when Barry makes this journey only to be told by the adult Flash from Eobard's universe caught in this epic battle not to intervene. He is there for his mother in the final moments of her life. He comforts her and shows her that despite what has just happened her family will be safe. That her son grew up to be a great and honorable man. That's what all mothers want for their children. It's such a pleasure that Nora Allen got to experience that in her final moments alive.
But that also means that Barry has to travel back to the present to stop Eobard from returning to his home time. It's a very climatic final sequence for the episode. It features Barry triumphantly returning from the time portal to do battle with the Reverse Flash one last time. Eobard is furious and more vengeful than ever before that the Flash has gotten in his way yet again. When Barry returns, Eobard no longer sees him as the surrogate son. He sees him as The Flash who he hates so much. He vows to kill Barry and everyone else at STAR Labs who he loves so much.
That is a strong motivation for Barry to win this battle once and for all. And yet, it's not up to Barry in deciding how this fight will end. Instead, it's all in Eddie's hands. He makes the grand sacrifice to kill himself and thusly erase Eobard from this timeline all together. It's a tricky beat of time travel mechanics. The more one thinks about it the more confusing it gets. However, it still works on an emotional level because the final few episodes of the season gave voice to Eddie as a character. After being kidnapped by Eobard, he felt destined to failure. He was the Thawne who made nothing of his life. He didn't even get the girl. And yet, Martin Stein gave him one rousing pep talk about Eddie being the biggest wild card out of anyone here. He is the one with this connection to Eobard in the first place. He is the one who holds the fate of this outcome in his hands. It is such a tragic end to the character. And yet, he chooses to die as a hero protecting the ones that he loves. That has been Barry's mission all season long. And yet, Eddie's the one who makes the ultimate sacrifice in the end.
Of course, Barry is allowed his big heroic moment at the close of the finale. After Eobard disappears, the time portal returns as a singularity that begins sucking in everything around the city. As it grows, Barry doesn't have much time to think. He just knows that he needs to stop this from becoming a massive global event that could destroy the entire human civilization. He jumps willingly into the heart of this singularity ready to run fast enough to cancel out its power. It's a triumphant and exciting way to close the season. It's a cliffhanger ending that will have to be resolved immediately in the fall. And yet, it was still an excellent and fun way to end a very strong first season.
Some more thoughts:
- "Fast Enough" was directed by Dermott Downs with story by Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg and teleplay by Gabrielle Stanton & Andrew Kreisberg.
- Cisco's ability to have memories of different timelines is explained by Eobard alluding that he too was effected by the particle accelerator explosion. That information will likely play a huge role in his character arc next season.
- Amongst all of this high stakes drama with Barry, Caitlin and Ronnie also decide to get marry - with the ceremony officiated by Martin Stein.
- However, Caitlin's future may be taking quite the turn as one of the images Barry sees while he is creating this time portal is of her in her Killer Frost persona.
- The finale also offers up several references to not only the future of this show but of the first season of the Flash-Arrow spinoff Legends of Tomorrow. Eobard mentions that Rip Hunter built the first time machine and would be impressed by Cisco and Ronnie's creation. As the singularity intensifies over the city, Ciara Renée makes a cameo appearance as Kendra Saunders aka Hawkgirl. Also, the helmet that came out of the time portal that signaled that Eobard should leave quickly could very well be for Jay Garrick.
