Flashpoint


 * For the eponymous event, see Flashpoint (event).

"So, what should we call this brave new world that you have whipped up for us? I was thinking... Flashpoint."

- Eobard Thawne mocking Barry Allen for changing the Timeline

"Flashpoint" is the first episode of the third season of The Flash, and the forty-seventh episode overall. It aired on October 4, 2016.

Synopsis
Barry is living his dream life – his parents are alive, he's asked Iris West on a date and he can finally be a normal guy as Central City has another speedster, Kid Flash, running around saving the city. When Barry starts forgetting parts of his old life, the Reverse-Flash taunts his nemesis and tells him that there will be serious repercussions for Barry and the ones he loves if he continues to live in this alternate universe. In addition to losing his memories, his powers will also start to fade. When disaster strikes, Barry must decide if he wants to continue to live in this world as Barry Allen or return to his universe as The Flash.

Plot
Barry Allen is in CC Jitters, muttering to himself that "today is the day [he talks] to her". Iris enters and stands in line for a drink. Barry moves to engage her but news of the Flash fighting Rival distracts them both. Barry runs off and chases two speedsters around the city before all three stop in an alley.

A black speedster - Rival - is standing opposite another figure in a red and yellow suit. The police identify this new figure as the Flash as he and Rival fight. Rival throws lightning in an identical manner to that of Barry before escaping as the new Flash saves the police and Barry.

The Flash professes a dislike of Rival and Barry assures him that he will catch Rival next time. The Flash disappears as Barry smiles.

Following the title card, Barry has returned to Jitters and approaches Iris from behind. He uses super-speed to steal her purse under the guise of returning it to her in order to strike up a conversation. It soon becomes clear that in this new timeline, Barry didn't see Iris after elementary school.

He bumblingly asks her out for a drink to which she accepts.

Despite his mother not having died in this timeline, Barry remains a CSI at the CCPD. Instead of Captain Singh, a Captain Mendez is there instead. After asking for an update on the Rival situation, Mendez is distracted by an absent Detective West. Barry attempts to cover for him and asks for an early evening to 'have dinner with an old friend'.

A flashback covers the night that Barry save his mother from being killed. Barry then dragged the attacker back to the future and to an abandoned warehouse, where Barry has currently arrived at. The old friend in question is actually a bearded Eobard Thawne - the Reverse-Flash.

Barry has used the same techniques as Zoom in order to trap Thawne in a speed-proof cage. Barry leaves Thawne with food and gloats over how he had managed to get everything he and Zoom took. Thawne, however, says that this world he created is a "mirage" and demands to be released as their common enemy - time - is closing in. Barry happily ignores him amidst claims that he will one day beg Thawne to kill his mother.

The view then skips to the next day. Barry is at home with his parents and enjoying breakfast. Nora and Henry gently try to recommend that Barry move out and find his own place. Barry then reveals that he actually has a date with Iris. When back at the CCPD, Barry discovers that Joe has not returned to work again and Captain Mendez is threatening disciplinary action. Barry speeds over to the West house to find a hungover Joe sleeping on the sofa.

He cleans up the sleeping man and transports him across town and into the lift at the CCPD. Joe is seemingly unaware of what happened but asks Barry why he cares - Barry and Joe are not friends in this timeline. Iris then arrives for their date and Joe believes he has figured it out. Iris tells her father that she wasn't even sure he still worked for the CCPD and goes out with Barry. Whilst walking, Barry experiences a sudden loss of memories from his previous timeline.

News of another Flash/Rival fight prevents Iris from pressing the issue. Both run off in separate directions. Barry arrives in time to find the Flash plummeting from a window. He is able to generate a strong enough vortex to slow his fall and discovers that the new Flash is actually Wally West.

Wally takes Barry back to his apartment and reveals that Iris also knows and both ask how Barry knows who Wally is. Instead of telling them the unbelievable truth, he claims that his work as a CSI lead him to find Wally. He offers to help him with Rival but Iris claims only one person can help them. The outside of an undamaged STAR Labs is shown before it is revealed to now to be called Ramon Industries. Flashpoint Cisco patented a lot of his inventions and made billions.

This Cisco developed the same type of suit for Wally as he did for Barry but chose to avoid directly helping afterwards. He claimed that fighting against speedsters inevitably ends up with “a vibrating hand going right through your ribcage”. Barry uses a story his Cisco told him in an attempt to sway him but suffers another loss of memories. In order to find out what is happening, he returns to Eobard Thawne.

Thawne reveals that he hasn't suffered it and while wondering why, he ecstatically says that Barry's use of his speed is causing him to lose his memories and the more he uses it, the faster he will lose them. Unless he frees Thawne to kill Nora, he will forget everything and be unable to return time to how it was before.

Barry does the one thing that he can still do. By snatching people at superspeeds, he brings Wally, Iris and Cisco to Ramon Industries. He then reveals his existence as the Flash and explains that he is from another timeline. The group does not believe him and Barry brings in another one of his friends - Caitlin Snow. The Flashpoint Caitlin is actually an eye doctor for children but she is able to pinpoint Rival using the city's cameras. Flash and Kid Flash go off to fight him.

Rival is surprised to find another speedster and is so sure of his win that he tells them his real name - Edward Clariss. Wally takes an early lead in the fight but is stabbed in the back when he turns around. Barry then fights Rival but ends up losing more memories and suffers a strong blow to the chest. Rival takes advantage of the distraction by creating two F3 tornadoes.

Barry calls for help and Iris reassures him that he can do it. He unravels both tornadoes by running around the insides, and then defeats Clariss, who calls Barry the fastest. Joe West shoots him in the back and Barry reveals his identity before telling him about Wally.

Caitlin delivers bad news upon their return to Ramon Industries - Wally isn't healing as he should. Barry feels responsible and asks Iris to help him set things right. The pair drop by Nora and Henry and Barry silently wishes his parents goodbye and tells them he loves them. He and Iris then go to Thawne.

Thawne is adamant that Barry say exactly what he wants to hear. "I need you to kill my mother." He is let out of his cage and given his ring, while both claim to hate each other. Although Barry tries to run them back to the past, another wave of memories causes him to collapse and Thawne - claiming that he is the hero now - carries him back despite claiming that he wants to kill him. Barry from that night has just finished calming Nora down before the new Reverse-Flash steps in and kills Nora, both the previous versions of him and Barry disappearing as time is rewritten.

A now clean-shaven Thawne takes Barry to Joe and Iris's house through a time portal.

Although time has now returned to the previous state, Thawne indicates that things will have changed for Barry and promises to return soon.

Barry enters the West house and discovers that Joe and Wally are both their former selves. When asking where Iris is, Joe becomes upset and leaves. Wally reminds Barry that Joe and Iris don't talk with each other before leaving as well. Barry is horrified that he might have somehow caused the schism by meddling with time.

In the final scene, Clariss is in bed with a woman. A sourceless voice, out of nowhere, tells him that it is time to wake up and the word 'ALCHEMY' is scrawled onto his mirror.

Production
Shooting ran from July 6 until July 18, 2016.

Trivia

 * Alex Désert portrays Julio Mendez again in this season episode, "Flashpoint", where he is the captain of the Central City Police Department in the Flashpoint timeline. This makes the fifth actor from The Flash 1990s TV series to make an appearance in the series, and the fourth to reprise his role as his character's Earth One Doppelgänger
 * Due to Flashpoint - the old timeline once restored has major repercussions, which will not only affect Team Flash but Team Arrow as well, which will be revealed over the course of the 3rd and 5th season respectively.
 * The big bad of the first half of the season, Alchemy makes his debut, albeit in voice only.
 * The name of the episode is a reference to the famous storyline in DC Comics known as Flashpoint, which launched The New 52 in 2011.
 * This episode is the second adaptation of Flashpoint after the animated movie Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox in 2013.
 * This is the season 3 premiere of the flash.
 * This is the first appearance of Kid Flash in the Arrowverse series.
 * This episode takes place 3 months after the events of the episode "Race of his life", and since the events of the previous episode take place on May 24, 2016, that would place this episode somewhere near the end of August 2016.
 * This episode is similar to episodes of Supergirl, & Arrow
 * In the Supergirl episode, For the Girl Who Has Everything, Black Mercy causes Kara to wake up in a dream world where Krypton never blew up, and she never came to Earth and became Supergirl.
 * In the Arrow episode, Invasion!, Oliver, Thea, John, Sara, & Ray wake up in a dream world where Oliver and Sara never got on the Queen's Gambit and they were living their "perfect life"