How ‘Finish Line’ Made Barry A Hero & Sets Up A Strong Season 4

Credit The CW

Last nights episode of The Flash saw the culmination of Savitar’s plan of killing Iris West fail at the hands of H.R.  In a heroic effort to save Iris from Savitar H.R. sacrifices himself for Iris by using his holographic tech to impersonate Iris and have himself killed by Savitar without anyone knowing but Iris.  While Savitar’s plan to kill Iris failed it did not mean that his ultimate plan of becoming a god failed.  Where “Finish Line” succeeded was in the final moments of the episode.  While I have had mixed emotions about how everything played out this season seeing Barry finally understand what it means to be a superhero.  With Savitar finally defeated the Speed Force needed another speedster to take the mantle and without any resentment Barry sacrificed himself to save the planet.

This season of The Flash has seen Barry try to fix every wrong that has been done to him.  Thinking that his superpowers could fix everything Barry blinded by his emotions kept on making mistake after mistake.  It wasn’t until he realized at the end everything bad that had happened to himself and the team was caused by his actions.  So when Barry finally takes responsibility for his actions and goes into the speed force, we are set up with a show that will be missing its main character.  That moment and time without Barry will make this show stronger.

Credit: The CW

Some time without Barry will make Team Flash stronger and more resilient.  Like any team with one member stronger than the others there becomes a dependence on one member. With Barry now in the Speed Force and Wally left to protect Central City the team is being sent right back to where it was at the beginning of the first season.  Wally will need to rely on Cisco and Wells more than ever to help him protect Central City.  While we probably won’t see a lot of Frost at the beginning of the season there is some hope that she could come in and help the team out when it is needed.  Going into next season Cisco will need to take the point as the leader of Team Flash even with Earth 2 Harrison Wells staying around for help.  The addition of Julian was a nice change to the team this season and it will be interesting to see his character grow now that Caitlin in no longer around.  The dynamic that will be different on the show will be Joe and Iris West, with both being so absorbed in Barry’s life they will now have to focus on Wally.  With Barry being gone we should see the individuals of Team Flash shine on their own.

Credit: The CW

When Barry does return he will be the complete hero that we know in the comics.  Over the past three seasons we have seen Barry continue to stumble and fall learning how to be superhero.  It wasn’t until his sacrifice going into the Speed Force that we saw Barry understand what it takes to be a hero.  The Flash we have come to know on this show is still raw and learning the responsibilities that comes with his powers.  Just like a young teenager gaining independence Barry has taken the approach that with his powers he can fix anything.  He was selfish in using his powers to save his mom, dad, and Iris.  It wasn’t until he saw the ramifications of all his actions that he realized the his powers were not given to him to help himself.  They were given to him to help others.  The selfless act to leave the people he loves and spend eternity in the Speed Force showed that he finally understood that a true hero must be selfless.

With three seasons of Speedsters as the main villains it is safe to assume that next season would feature a collection of all the classic Flash villains to keep Team Flash busy while waiting for Barry.  I think it is safe to say that everyone won’t be disappointed if the main villain is not a speedster next season.  With Wally taking over as the main Flash it will be nice to see him take on some of the characters we saw Barry defeat so easily.  Where Barry would use his knowledge of physics and chemistry to help him defeat his opponents Wally will need to use his knowledge of engineering to defeat the same villains.  This provides the audience with a new version of The Flash that they might not be use too.

While “Finish Line”  was filled with mixed emotions with Iris’ death being a facade and having Barry accept his fate and go into the Speed Force.  This season finally ended the trials and journey of Barry Allen becoming The Flash.  In an era of entertainment where we are used to the hero making the journey in one season of television or two hours in a movie, we forget to realize that becoming a superhero is a long journey.  That is what this show has reminded us of.  There were some major flaws this season but the moral and heart of this season goes all the way back to the broken cup Garrick showed Allen.  Telling him that he has to accept and take responsibility of his actions.  Although this season was a mixed bag, “Finish Line” was the right finale to have at this point in time of the show.  What did you all think about last nights episode or this season of The Flash?  Let us know in the comments section below.

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