The Flash Cause And Effect S3 E21 (TV) Review

Team Flash has recruited Tracy Brand, learned the identity of Savitar, and now Cecile knows the team’s identities. So what happens now? Find out in The Flash Cause And Effect.

If you missed our last review, you can find that here.

It’s like looking in a mirror. Well, not quite. Savitar to Flash

Disposable Heroes

Barry has used time remnants before. In order to defeat Zoom, he needed a duplicate to produce enough Speed Force energy. In the future, Barry will create more. Most of them die off, but one remains. It is his existence, and the way he is treated, that will mold him into what will become Savitar.

So Future Flash lets Barry in on almost all the little details on how he became Savitar. Barry will stop at nothing to defeat Future Flash, even being willing to kill the alternate Barry. Though when he tries, we find out that the Savitar armor has an automated defense mode – It is defending Future Flash on its own. It pulls Barry off of his future self, and hurls him aside.

Future Flash jumps back into the Savitar armor, and the two speedsters go at it for one final lightning attack. The surrounding trees are scorched from the blast, and when Barry rises from the attack, Savitar is gone.

Realizations

The team sit around trying to accept the knowledge of Savitar being Barry. Or at least a form of Barry. What happens to send him down this path? The death of Iris is a large part of it. There is still a missing piece, that Savitar will not explain though. Meanwhile the present Barry can see how and why the Future Flash becomes Savitar. He understands how all the pain could easily consume him, as it has the future version of himself. So how can he stop it from happening?

Cranial Corruptions

Barry recognizes how close he is, to being what Future Flash is. Speedsters are very close to being gods. What will it take for Flash to overcome Savitar? Cisco comes up with a rather wacky plan, that just might work. A little brain trick if you will: Savitar is Barry, so if they inhibit Barry’s abilty to create memories, Savitar will have no memories to feed from. It is either a genius idea, or will leave Barry at a disadvantage for the rest of his days. (As this is a CW program, I do not see them causing this to go wrong.) Of course, that is when I would be wrong.
They blast Barry’s brain with the previously discussed jolt, and now everything has gone wrong. This has just become a perfect example of overshooting the target.

Barry no longer remembers who he is, where he is, or who anyone around him is either. If that’s not a big enough loss, he has no recollection, or control over, being a speedster. He is as clumsy as a typical, non-athletic pencil pusher.

Barry is due in court to testify against a previous Flash villain, Heat Monger. Though in his current capacity, he will be useless in that endeavor. Somewhere across town, Killer Frost is antagonizing Savitar about stopping Flash, when we see the product of Cisco’s electric zap: Savitar also has no clue who or what he is.

Stumbling Speedster

Barry’s memory loss causes his court case to get dismissed. Barry no longer has control of his speed, and by extension, Wally has no power of speed. Killer Frost shows up at STAR Labs, claiming to have an answer on how to put things right.

Barry and Iris return to their loft, discussing how things have gone for the day. It’s not until Barry has the instinct to kiss Iris, that things begin to spark. Barry pulls away from his love, hand vibing, speed beginning to activate, and he has no explaination for it yet. The good news is, that the amnesia is temporary. However now he has to learn to control things all over again.

Frost is taking part in a ceasefire with Team flash in order to put the world right again. HR Wells’ fling with Tracy Brand appears to have sparked an answer on how to move forward with the Speed Force Bazooka. Cisco tells Julian about all the good times he has had in the labs with Caitlin and the team, while Iris and Joe discuss the pros and cons of Barry getting his memories back. He is happy, but is it the way things should be?

Rude Awakening

Cisco and Frost provide Barry with an unkind jolt to his brain, but he needs to remember how to use those corners of his mind. Iris reminds him of the unkind way his mother died. Iris’ words were the re-fire he needed to become the speedster we all think of. He unconsciously is able to jump out of the way of falling debris.

Suddenly all three speedsters are back in action: Barry, Wally and Savitar. Barry and Wally team up to put out a fire that Heat Monger has started, and even apprehending the arsonist responsible.

As Frost departs from STAR Labs, Julian, Barry and Cisco urge her to stay, reminding them they are a family. Julian promises a cure, and tells Caitlin he loves her. Frost shatters his feelings with a cold response, though once she is in the elevator, we see a glimmer of humanity survives inside her yet.

Suspending Speedsters

Tracy has finished the Speed Force Bazooka. However, it is going to take an extravagant amount of energy to use it. The team knows where to get that kind of power, but don’t look forward to retrieving it.

Thoughts

I’m glad to see Barry and the gang are getting closer to the way they used to be, but it’s beginning to feel a bit drawn out. Thankfully this season is almost at an end, so we can put the Savitar saga behind us, and see where the speedsters find themselves next.