TV Review: THE FLASH: Season 2, Episode 17: Flash Back [The CW]

The CW’s The Flash Flash Back TV Show Review. The Flash: Season 2, Episode 17: Flash Back had Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) travel back into Season 1, but as we all know on this show, nothing always goes according to plan. With Barry shocked to learn that his new mentor Jay Garrick has been Zoom all along, Barry has been obsessed with trying to get faster to defeat him. The only person who can help him is his old enemy Eobard Thawne, who we all know from last season masqueraded as Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanaugh). So Barry must go back in time a year earlier in the show. But he soon learns that time travel can have some serious implications.

Despite Wells warning to Barry that time travel can change the timeline, the Scarlett Speedster is too stubborn to listen to anyone. This has been frustrating for Barry when he has the power to change the outcome of those closest to him, not realizing the cost of doing that. The episode ‘Flash Back’ shows us that Barry is quickly reverting back to the irresponsible man he was in the first season when he tried to find a way to save his mother.

While Barry tries to go into the past, he doesn’t come alone when a time wraith follows him into an earlier timeline. We learn from Wells/Thawne that the time wraith goes after those who travel through time without knowing what they’re doing. Barry tries to take the place of his past self, but it doesn’t fool Wells/Thawne. This led to a altercation between the two sworn enemies, as Thawne gains the upper hand. However, Barry manages to convince him not to kill him and help make him faster. Barry’s quick wit in this scene was one of the best things we like about him. He tricks Thawne into letting him know that if he eliminates him, his past self will get a letter that would inform him on how to defeat him. This helped get what Barry wants without getting killed.

The plan didn’t go quite well, as Barry’s past self managed to find him at STAR Labs after waking up from the tranquilizer that knocked him out cold. One of the funny moments was with Cisco (Carlos Valdes) when he tries to figure out who the real Barry is. It was a little silly, but Grant Gustin managed to pull off playing two Barrys quite well.

In the process of doing that, Barry also changed the fate of one of his other enemies, Hartley Rathaway (Andy Mientus). Once an enemy in the earlier timeline, Hartley became an ally by the time Flash returns to his own time. Luckily, Hartley managed to find a way to stop the wraith before completely devouring Flash. We also saw the return of Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett), who is still alive in the earlier timeline as well. It was a touching moment for Barry as he got to spend a bit of time with Eddie and also recorded a video for Iris (Candice Patton) to remember him by. The only problem now is this idea that Barry had misused his power without knowing the cost that came with it. It’s only a matter of time until Barry starts to time travel again, and who knows what world Barry may end up in if he messes up the timeline.

This week’s episode had some fun moments, but it also progressed in the story by going into the past. The plot was gripping as we saw Barry traveling back in time a year earlier and see all the craziness happening in the timeline. There were some dramatic and funny moments, but it was good to know that the consequences to Barry’s trip have yet to surface.

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