The latest episode, “The Wrath of Savitar,†provides some deep characterization for the heroes of Team Flash. As you’d expect, a lot of it involves characters falling down the same traps they have as the season rambles on.
Barry is a character who has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. He’s saved countless people, Central City itself and is always looking to save as many people as possible. He also has created Flashpoint, which has not only created some of the worst villains they’ve come across, but also put those closest to Barry directly in the crosshairs. In this episode, we see Barry fall into the trap, which he continually launched himself into in the earlier episodes: his intense focus on doing what is right at the expense of others.
The fact that Iris is dying, if they don’t drastically alter events to change the future, only fuels the fact that Barry’s desperation knows no bounds. Similar to how he created Flashpoint due to his insistence to save his mother, he’s willing to do anything to save Iris. That includes proposing to her, belittling Wally when he isn’t where Barry believes he should be and guilting Julian into being Savitar’s medium.
In the past few episodes, Barry and iris have lived together, moved in together and gotten engaged. The breakneck speed is obvious, but it isn’t until Cisco vibes Wally into the future when Iris is murdered that he understands why. Iris didn’t have a ring on, thus Barry proposing to Iris beforehand should drastically change the future. Sadly, it is also going to change their dynamic because, even if Barry did want to propose to her at some point in time, it’s impossible to say that it was forced in hopes that it will avert her fate.
His desperation extends throughout the entire team, especially into Wally. Not only does Wally have to deal with Savitar, he has to deal with being berated by Barry when he should know exactly how that feels after the same thing happening to him in the previous season. The same really goes for julian. Presumably, a guy who was controlled by Savitar to do his bidding, and now Barry is forcing him to be Savitar’s puppet once again.
The unraveling of Barry and everything around him has rapidly advanced in this episode. It also did a fantastic job of showcasing the viciousness of Savitar.
While Barry’s desperation was the key struggle in the episode, Caitlin had her fair share of moments as well. Since Savitar needs every piece of the Philosopher’s Stone to get out of the speed force, all is well, except for the fact that Caitlin kept a piece so that she could get rid of her powers. It’s insane that, after seeing how secrets continually chip away at the team, she decided to go at it alone instead of asking the team for help.Â
