Gustin essentially plays three characters this week, switching between Barry, Bart and Savitar.
So it’s a shame the writers contradict this argument by making Bart such a blast. The storyline feels like a defence for the show The Flash has turned into. Sure, Bart’s pep mirrors season one’s tone, but the characters experiencing the events surrounding Reverse-Flash, Zoom and Savitar have changed them into world-weary warriors. The storyline can’t help being a meta-metaphor for the show as a whole. The actor has always been in the show’s emotional core and she does most of the heavy lifting here whilst everyone else gets to quip away. Candice Patton plays Iris’s arc with aplomb as she gradually realises why she loves Barry. As Barry becomes ‘Bart’, in a nice reference to Barry and Iris’s comic book grandson, he becomes more peppy and goofy as he is unburdened by the memories of his parents’ murders. Humans change over time because individual experiences impact us. Even though HR’s B-plot feels tangential, ‘ Cause and Effect’ is delightful as it pauses the overarching narrative to deliver one of The Flash’s more emotionally attuned episodes, one that explores how our memories shape who we are. It’s weird holding an amnesia episode this close to the endgame. Naturally, it all goes wrong and Barry forgets everything. As Cisco (Carlos Valdes) explains, Savitar’s existence is determined by a loop, what happens to Barry influences what happens to Savitar if Barry gets punched, Savitar gets the bruise. You can’t help feeling like this facet of the reveal cheapens the storytelling how much more interesting would it be to see Barry grapple with his future self’s actions, to see how our do-gooder fell so far than watch a copy tell us he felt left out?Īnyway, once all is revealed, Team Flash brainstorm solutions to the problem, deciding to stop Barry from developing new memories.
To those not in the know, it’s the same thing even though it is a fake. ‘ Cause and Effect’ quickly establishes that Savitar is a time remnant, something in The Flash’s lore that is basically a knock-off Chanel bag you buy from a Venetian street vendor. Yes, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) is Savitar… kinda. When your entire season revolves around your hero being his own worst enemy, it is only natural, and a little bit obvious, to have your hero be the big bad.