I’m not prepared for The Flash to finish. True, lots of my favourite DCTV exhibits have taken their last bows over the previous few years, however The Flash is totally different. It’s been round since 2014, and in some methods it’s sort of comforting to nonetheless see it on. However paradoxically, its long term (no pun supposed) has precipitated me to take it without any consideration. It acquired to the purpose the place it felt like it could at all times be round.
In some methods, the season 9 premiere episode presents a world the place The Flash by no means has to finish. Barry and Iris get caught in a time loop, forcing them to repeat the identical Wednesday time and again. It is a world the place main selections will be procrastinated, errors will be undone, and nothing ever has to finish. In different phrases, if you happen to’re caught in a time loop, then a superhero tv drama you take pleasure in won’t ever need to air its last episode.
In fact, time loops will not be sustainable. As human beings we proceed to be taught and develop and issues change whether or not we wish them to or not. Don’t fear, I’m not going to spoil tonight’s episode for you, however I believe it’s fascinating to see how Barry and Iris every cope with this idea. Iris appears to embrace the unknown, rolling with the punches alongside the best way. That’s why she’s an excellent reporter, and a worthwhile asset to Workforce Flash.
Barry is one other story. He doesn’t need any surprises, and must know each step of his future. In actual fact, he turns into fairly obsessive over ensuring the longer term performs out in line with plan. I can’t say I blame him. His time-traveling has screwed up the universe earlier than, and the entire thing has in all probability given him a posh. Nevertheless, there may be extra occurring inside Barry’s head that we may be overlooking.
The Flash is an upbeat present, and Grant Gustin performs Barry Allen as a typically well-adjusted man. In actual fact, it’s simple to overlook all of the trauma Barry has been by because the sequence started. As a younger boy he misplaced his mom and had his father framed for the homicide. Think about how traumatic that will be for a kid.
As an grownup, Barry was in a position to clear his father’s identify, solely to have Zoom homicide him just a few months later. Then Flashpoint occurred, which compelled him to expertise his mom’s demise another time. There’s extra I might go into, however you get the purpose. The Flash may not be as moody as Batman, however he has skilled simply as a lot loss as him—if no more.
Due to this fact, it makes excellent sense that Barry is obsessively making an attempt to comply with a predetermined future. He’s misplaced a lot, and that is his approach of holding on tightly to his completely satisfied ending. He is aware of there’s a future the place he and Iris have youngsters. He is aware of when the children shall be born.
Any deviation from that timeline calls his completely satisfied ending into query. And if that future isn’t sure, then nothing is. It means he might lose Iris or his future youngsters. For a person who has skilled demise at each flip, these are very actual fears for him. He is aware of that preserving the longer term on its predetermined path is a surefire option to stop this from occurring. So naturally, he’s holding on as tight as he can.
Getting caught in a Groundhog Day-style time loop is the proper option to confront these points. Time loops can appear enjoyable and so they make for a very good narrative conceit as a result of they offer you an opportunity to pause, repair your errors and reside within the second. And naturally, if I used to be caught in a time loop, then I wouldn’t need to say goodbye to The Flash later this yr when it concludes.
However this episode teaches us one thing essential about time loops and about letting go. The long run may be unsure, and that’s okay. We are able to attempt to comply with a plan right down to the minute like Barry, or we will take issues as they arrive like Iris. We are able to do both of these issues, however the one factor we will’t do is stay paused. We don’t get time loops, and time goes ahead whether or not we wish it to or not.
And that’s why The Flash is ending. No tv sequence runs (heh) eternally. We’re getting a sure-to-be-spectacular ninth season to shut out the present, and that’s one thing to be enthusiastic about. Perhaps I’m not prepared for The Flash to finish, however that’s okay. Time loops may not be actual, however reruns, DVDs and streaming all are. The Flash has begun his last lap, and proper now, on this second, we’re alongside for the journey.
The Flash airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CST) on The CW. Seeking to hold tempo with Barry Allen within the house stretch? You should definitely go to our official Flash sequence web page!
Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, films and comics for DC.com, is an everyday contributor to the Sofa Membership and writes our month-to-month Batman column, “Gotham Gazette.” Observe him on Twitter at @TBUJosh.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed on this column are solely these of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and don’t essentially replicate these of DC Leisure or Warner Bros.
