Board Thread:The Flash discussions/@comment-9346948-20161005001212/@comment-3221148-20161005195929

He's a... pre-Flashpoint, but post-WellsobardTimeline Eobard.

Basically, "The RF Returns" portrays Eobard's first encounter with the Flash. However, it is contradictory, since he was supposed to originally meet the Flash sometime after 2020 (when he was originally created). Since Wellsobard created the Flash much earlier, in 2013, so did his younger version now had to meet the Flash much earlier, in 2016 (instead of the 202X). The meeting was supposed to happen as a prerequisite for Eobard's eventual travel to 2000 and his turning into Wells, which is why a time remnant appeared for the year 2016.

However, Flashpoint-Eobard has memories of his encounters with the Flash of 2020s, comparing 2016-Barry to him as stupid and inexperienced. Since Barry prevented the Wellsobard timeline from happening and caused the Flashpoint, Eobard's backstory could have stayed the same, with him meeting the Flash in 202X. But, after Eobard killed Nora, again, then timejumped into the future... Some timey-wimey shit happened that means that Wellsobard events happened (no idea for who was Wellsobard at that time, since we've seen 2000's Eobard to dissipate and the Flashpoint-Eobard to escape into future), while Flashpoint-Eobard was traveling through the "Speed Force Bunker", thus wouldn't die from Eddie's sacrifice.

So, Eobard that appears in TRFR now becomes a Schrödinger's Eobard: he has to appear in 2016 for the Wellsobard timeline to make sense and continue, but he shouldn't appear for Flashpoint-Eobard's own timeline to make sense.