Catching Up: The Flash Episode 302, "Paradox"

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Submitted by RJ Carter on Wed, 10/12/2016 - 13:15

When Barry (GRANT GUSTIN) reset the timeline in last week's episode, he learned that Iris (CANDICE PATTON) was no longer speaking to her father, Joe West (JESSE L MARTIN). This week, in "Paradox," he finds out why -- and what other tragic changes have been wrought by his attempt to save his mother from being murdered.

The first half of the episode is told in flashback (no pun intended) as Barry tries to explain things to ARROW's Felicity Smoak (EMILY BETT RICKARDS). He tells her of how Cisco (CARLOS VALDES) is in bereavement because of a death in his family that he's been trying to get The Flash to correct with time-travel. He tells her of the problems with the Wests because Joe didn't tell Iris about her mother. And he tells her about the new guy working in his office for the past year that he's never met, Julian Albert (TOM FELTON). And when she presses him for any changes that might have happened to the ARROW world, he finds one. (So ARROW watchers, beware!) She urges him that he has to fix things, and fix them now.

But as Barry attempts to run back through time yet again, he's yanked out of the timestream to 1998 by none other than The Flash -- the Jay Garrick Flash (JOHN WESLEY SHIPP). He's had a little more experience with the time travel thing, and tries to pass on some wisdom to Barry about having to accept the consequences of changing time, and moving forward.

Meanwhile, Barry's not the only one who remembers the events of the Flashpoint timeline. Edward Clariss (TODD LASANCE) has been called by the mysterious Alchemy (voiced by TOBIN BELL), and now remembers his alternate life as super-speeding Rival. Alchemy seems to be the catalyst for this season's crop of metahumans, as he is, in his words, "preparing this world."

It looks like the setting for THE FLASH's third season is going to remain status quo, at least for the foreseeable future, as Jay has talked Barry out of taking a "do over" every time things get rough. And things are definitely going to get rough for Barry.

Things to look for in this episode:

-- Excellent acting by Tom Felton
-- Jay Garrick in costume
-- Vibe!
-- Killer Frost?
-- That kiss!

Grade:

4.5 / 5.0