The Flash Season 3 Episode 23 Review/Recap: Barry vs. Savitar

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Well the Season 3 finale of The Flash aired this week and it has been a rollercoaster ride.

Savitar has been making Barry's life a living hell for several months, but now the two characters meet in one more showdown. How does it all end?

If you saw last week's episode, you would have seen Savitar stabbing Iris West in the back. It was an emotional scene, although things aren't what they seem.

HR Wells was posing as Iris West and he was the one that got stabbed in the back. Iris West was posing as HR Wells so both characters fooled Savitar.

HR Wells felt guilty about revealing Iris West's location so he secretly located Savitar's lair to rescue Iris.

When he found her, he used the Universe 19 identity changer so nobody knew they switched. Sadly though, HR Wells dies for his heroics, but the future has changed.

Savitar kidnaps Cisco and orders him and Killer Frost to re-engineer the Speed Bazooka.

Savitar wants Cisco to somehow make the device so it allows him to occupy every timeline in existence. That means Savitar will appear in the past, present and future!

Back at Star Labs, Julian reveals to the good guys that he has made a cure for Caitlin Snow. He talked with Caitlin's mother to make an antidote.

At this point of the episode, things surprisingly slows down. Barry no longer hates Savitar and starts to feel sorry for him. Since Savitar is still Barry, he wants to find a way to help him out.

Barry even invites Savitar back to Star Labs much to the dismay of the other characters. Tracy Brand hates Savitar the most after what he did to HR Wells.

Barry's plan backfires because Savitar goes back to his lair to make sure Cisco has finished his device. He still wants to become a God.

Now that Cisco has made this device, Savitar asks Killer Frost to kill him.

Luckily Cisco escapes thanks to the help of Gypsy. With Cisco's knowledge of Savitar's plan, the good guys assemble to try and take down both Savitar and Killer Frost.

Savitar tries to use the device to become a God, but something's not right. Cisco tampered with the bazooka in order for Jay Garrick to escape the Speed Force.

Now Savitar is angry and his existence is in danger. Since Iris West is alive, he will be erased.

The speedsters fight Savitar while Gypsy and Cisco fight Killer Frost. Cisco manages to knock her down then throws down the vial with the antidote.

There's a chance she can be Caitlin again. Savitar speeds around to try and kill Cisco, but Killer Frost saves him. It looks like she's back with the good guys again even without using the antidote.

The Flash/Barry then phases through Savitar to steal his cool suit. Savitar himself is weak and cannot fight against his own armor. Barry has a good chance to kill him, but he refuses. He doesn't want to turn into a villain.

As Barry walks away, it appears as if Savitar is about to kill him from behind. Thankfully Iris shoots Savitar with a gun and he dies.

Savitar is no more! Not to mention, Iris was the one to save Barry this time. The future has changed for the better.

The good guys hold a funeral for HR Wells and thank him for his duties. It appears the Universe 2 Harrison Wells will be helping the team now.

Killer Frost attends the funeral too, but she opts not to go back to the team.

She is a good person now, although wants to have time way from the team. It seems as if she can control herself even without using the antidote.

Just as it feels like it will be a happy ending, things turn sour. The Speed Force is going crazy as nobody is inside as a prisoner. Thanks to Jay Garrick escaping, the Speed Force is terrorizing Central City.

Barry feels that everything is his fault due to him creating Flashpoint.

Barry decides to go inside the Speed Force which is upsetting for Iris and the whole team. The episode ends with Barry leaving the team and going inside the Speed Force

This episode was a mixed bag for me. It felt slow and not as epic as the action packed finale that Supergirl had the night before.

The twist involving Iris and HR switching identities was clever, but Barry trying to be kind to Savitar made no sense to me in my opinion. Savitar tried to kill Iris a few hours ago!

I also think the ending wasn't powerful or emotional because we all know Barry Allen is not gone forever. The CW has confirmed that The Flash will return for Season 4 so it's likely Barry won't be trapped in the Speed Force forever. The ending would have been more emotional if Grant Gustin was actually leaving the show, or if it was the final episode ever.

Since it's just a season finale, the conclusion felt flat to me.

It's kind of similar to Superman's "death" in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

That was not that emotional because it was announced prior to the movie coming out that Henry Cavill signed on to play in the Justice League movie...

Wanna read more on this? Check these out: The Flash's Wally West Could Be Running To DC's Legends of Tomorrow (more); The Flash Might Be Forced To Reveal His Real Identity Publicly (more); The Flash Season 4 Episode 9 Review/Recap: Don't Run (more); The Flash Season 4 Episode 8 Review: Crisis on Earth-X Part 3 (more).

And here are some more related articles: The Flash & Supergirl Showrunner Andrew Kreisberg Fired After Sexual Harassment Allegations (more); The Flash Casts Former HTGAWM Actor As Another Bus Meta (more); The Flash Season 4 Episode 7 Review/Recap: 'Therefore I Am' (more).

A few more: The CW Releases Full Trailer For Its Epic Crisis on Earth-X Crossover Event (more); The Flash Season 4 Episode 6 Review/Recap: When Harry Met Harry (more).

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