A New World, Part Three

"The second I died, everyone forgot about me! And you, Barry, the man I sacrificed my life for, you thanked me by stealing my fiancée! But now, I have a chance to change that. If I choose the crystal, maybe I could be the hero. I could get the girl and the family I deserve."

—Eddie Thawne to Barry Allen

"A New World, Part Three"
Information
Season 9 » Episode 12
Episode number	183 of 184
Original airdate	May 17, 2023
Written by	Sarah Tarkhoff & Jonathan Butler
Directed by	Stefan Pleszczynski
Chronology
Preceded by	"A New World, Part Two"
Followed by	"A New World, Part Four"

"A New World, Part Three" is the twelfth episode of the ninth season of The Flash, and the one-hundred-eighty-third episode overall. It aired on May 17, 2023.

Synopsis

Team Flash works together to figure out how to protect Barry, all while being very careful who they trust. Cecile is skeptical of the plan after an unsuccessful attempt. Khione's confidence in Chester enables him to convince Cecile to try one more time.[src]

Plot

The Speed Force warns Team Flash that Barry and the crystal are in 2049 before vanishing. Eddie watches Korber get pulled into a singularity that opens over his grave. He goes to the Flash Museum and sees a girl resembling Nora West-Allen claiming to be his daughter, but the real Nora stops him. Team Flash 2049 finds that Eddie is subconsciously opening the singularities. Nora becomes possessed by the crystal and tries to tempt Eddie into accepting its power, but Barry appears and escapes with him. Eddie is angered by how his sacrifice didn't erase the Reverse-Flash and how he was forgotten while Barry lived and married Iris. In 2023, Cecile projects her consciousness into her 2049 self, but returns when she learns that she rarely visits Joe due to work. After Chester (at Khione's urging) consoles her, she returns and frees Nora from the crystal's influence. Eddie asks 2049 Iris to be with him again, but she rejects him. As the Negative Speed Force begins to fracture the timeline, 2049 Iris talks with Barry before he is pulled away again. Now in possession of the physical crystal, Eddie accepts its power and opens a portal by using a piece of tech designed by Felicity Smoak.

Cast

Starring

• Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash
• Candice Patton as Iris West-Allen
• Danielle Panabaker as Khione
• Danielle Nicolet as Defense Attorney Cecile Horton/Virtue
• Kayla Compton as Allegra Garcia
• Brandone McKnight as Chester P. Runk
• Jon Cor as Mark Blaine

Special guest star

• Rick Cosnett as Eddie Thawne
• Jessica Parker Kennedy as Nora West-Allen/XS and the Negative Speed Force

Guest starring

• Michelle Harrison as the Speed Force

Co-starring

• Stephanie Izsak as Captain Korber
• Robert Picardo as Dexter Myles (voice)
• Robbie Segulam as Security Guard

Uncredited

• Morena Baccarin as Gideon (voice)
• Matt Letscher and Tom Cavanagh as Professor Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash (archive footage)
• Jordan Fisher as Bart West-Allen (archive footage)
• Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon (voice; archive audio)
• Katherine McNamara as Green Arrow (archive footage)
• Ryan Handley as Zoom (archive footage)
• Andre Tricoteux as Savitar (archive footage)

Trivia

• The episode's title sequence subtitles this episode as "Changes", but the official title to the episode does not contain the subtitle.
  • The subtitle "Changes" is a reference to Eddie's change by the end of the episode of him accepting the blue crystal.
  • It's also references to the future timeline being change due to the Negative Speed Force lightning storm which was caused by Eddie's negative emotions.
  • Nora's lightning changed from purple to blue due to being possessed by the crystal.
  • Cecile changed into a new suit.
  • The photos which shows Eddie's life changed drastically throughout this episode due to the crystal's influence.
• Speed Force Nora is shown to be in pain and weakened even more last episode, despite returning home, implying she can't call in Deon, Bashir and Alexa to help her.
  • It also means the Negative Speed Force spent the last nine months building up its power and negativity, so it could overpower it and attack her.
• Unlike the Reverse-Flashpoint timeline, Chester and Allegra are happily married in the future.
• Chester mentions Allegra going supernova in a fight, yet another nod to Captain Marvel.
• Eddie found out in this episode that him killing himself to erase Eobard didn't work in which he saw video footages of Eobard in various points in time alive and well after 2015. Which proves to Eddie that his sacrifice was in vain.
• Eddie forgets that Eobard showed him proof from The CC Citzen that Iris would marry Barry, which meant she would have divorced him before 2024. Even if he got that daughter from her, Iris still would have broken up with him. Even Joe feared that Iris would only stay with Eddie out of pity, not love.
  • Future Iris outright tells Eddie that even if her past self did marry him, she would have realized her mistake and go back to Barry. ironically enough, the truth is what finally breaks Eddie, just like Eobard. Eddie isn't able to accept that his dream of having family with Iris is essentially a selfish delusion and egotistical jealousy.
• The Negative Speed Force shows its willing to let its avatars be happy if they kill the current Speed Force avatar rather than just drive Eddie crazy like Eobard. Though, it did drive Eddie to desperation due to manifesting as voices in his head.
• Like her previous timeline self, the Iris West-Allen of 2049 causes problems; unlike her present-day self, who is more compassionate. This is the opposite of her husband, whom suffered way more trauma and screw ups than she did, which shaped him into a highly compassionate hero. Iris had to deal with the stress of running a newspaper and frustrating investigations Barry doesn't due to his speed.
  • Before Crisis, she kept secrets from Nora, which led to Nora seeking out Thawne, who manipulated events that eventually resulted in Nora's erasure from the timeline. Had Nora chosen to shelter in the Negative Speed Force to survive, she would've been fully corrupted and potentially became an avatar.
  • 2049 Iris is visibly disturbed and uncomfortable when Eddie arrives, violently rejecting him. This pushes Eddie over the edge, swearing revenge on Barry and Iris, as well as submitting to Negative Speed Force as its avatar.
    • 2023 Iris would've been more compassionate to Eddie due to the team's current dealings with the Negative Speed Force and the cobalt crystal.
• Cecile's activities in this episode have reference to the Doctor Strange duology in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  • Cecile forcing the Cobalt Avatar out of Nora is very similar to what happened in the 2016 Marvel movie Doctor Strange where the Ancient One pushed Stephen Strange's spirit out of his body when she was training him in the mystic arts.
  • Cecile projecting her astral being and possessing a future version of herself is very similar to what happened in the 2022 sequel film Multiverse of Madness when Dr. Strange dream walked.
• This episodes has callbacks to previous seasons:
  • Nora being controlled by the cobalt crystal is similar to when she was corrupted by the Negative Speed Force in the Season 5 episodes "Snow Pack" and "Gone Rogue".
  • Future Iris' appearance is a reference to her appearance in the Season 5 episode "Godspeed".
    • However, she was shown to look more youthful in "Negative, Part One",retaining her hair color, implying she dyes it.
  • Future Team Flash being in 2049 is very similar to what they did in the Season 5 finale "Legacy" where they travelled to 2049 to fought Eobard Thawne.
  • Eddie remembering the day he met Nora West-Allen is what took place in the Season 8 episode "Impulsive Excessive Disorder".
  • Nora sending a message to Barry in the Time Vault is similar to how she left a message dedicated to her parents before being erased from existence. Barry and Iris played her video message at the end of the Season 5 finale "Legacy".
  • The Chronarch was mentioned in this episode. Abra Kadabra previously mentioned him in the Season 6 episode "Central City Strong". Jay Garrick also mentioned him in the Season 8 finale "Negative, Part Two".
    • Ironically this makes them the only villain Abra Kadabra warns about that doesn't get an appearance.
  • A video footage in the Flash Museum was shown of Eobard fighting Mia Queen which took place in the episode "Armageddon, Part 5".
    • Additionally, the Reverse-Flash's true identity as Eobard Thawne remains unknown to the Flash Museum as evidenced by Dexter Myles' comment during the video footage, on contrary to the one on Earth-1, where Reverse-Flash's civilian name was known publicly.
  • Another video footage also shown Barry fighting Eobard during the crossover episode "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 4".
  • Eddie remembering when Eobard told him that he was the only Thawne that was forgotten in future generations is what took place in the Season 1 episode "Grodd Lives".
  • Future Iris mentioned the time Eddie was saying that there's three people in their relationship which was him, Barry and Iris after he found out from Eobard that Iris will marry Barry in the future in which he said this in the Season 1 episode "Rogue Air".
  • During his conversation with Nora, Eddie said "screw the future", it's the same thing he told Iris in the Season 1 finale "Fast Enough" where he decided to continue dating Iris despite what Eobard told him about Iris marrying Barry in the future.
  • The blue crystal appearing in a glass case at Mercury Labs at the end of the episode is similar to how it appeared at the end of the Season 8 finale episode "Negative, Part Two" where it foreshadowed it's appearance in the final arc of Season 9.
• Eddie looking at the crystal one last time and seeing multiple speedsters are shots taken from previous seasons:
  • Hunter Zolomon/Zoom's flashback was taken from "Enter Zoom", during his fight against Barry
  • August Heart/Godspeed's flashback was taken from "Pay the Piper", although it was August's 5th clone who fought Flash and Pied Piper.
  • Savitar's flashback was taken from "The Wrath of Savitar", when Savitar manipulated Wally West/Kid Flash into throwing the missing piece of the Philosopher's Stone into the Speed Force, thus freeing him from his prison.
  • Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash's flashback was taken from "Rogue Air", when Reverse-Flash was facing off Flash, Firestorm and Oliver Queen/Al Sah-him.
• Even though the surface of S.T.A.R. Labs has been converted into the Flash Museum by 2049, the Team still uses the basement level as their base.
• Chester's whiteboard mentions that they tried to reach out to the Waverider, but did not get a response. This makes sense, given that the Legends are currently under arrest by the Time Police, as seen in "Knocked Down, Knocked Up".
• Chester in 2049 mentions N.K. Jemisin, who whilst also being a famous science fiction author, also wrote the Green Lantern title Far Sector.
• Eddie sees Zoom, Godspeed, Savitar and Eobard in the cobalt crystal, foreshadowing their return next episode. Of these villains, only Eobard originally had a connection to the Negative Speed Force. However, as seen in "A New World, Part Four", all of the speedsters became connected to the Negative Speed Force after their time displacement.
• The Flash Museum includes a display for Earth-90 Flash's suit, indicating that a restored version of the suit was found following the restoration of the multiverse. This also suggests that, by 2049, the general public is aware of the former multiverse, or at least that universe's Flash.