User blog comment:Gifist8/How Did ??? Become Savitar? (SPOILER ALERT TO FLASH EPISODE 19)/@comment-24152851-20170504124506

I think it's a bootstrap paradox. I've seen a lot of Doctor Who which is particularly fond of doing these. The paradox is due to the nature of time travel, an event seemingly causes itself to happen, without an original source. After Iris dies, Barry loses his mind and ends up becoming Savitar. Then he clashes with present Barry and ends up killing Iris, but that could only happen due to watching Iris die in the first place. It's one great big timey wimey cycle which our Barry needs to break somehow.