Elsewhere, two characters you wouldn’t expect to have a deep talk converse, as Stein tells Eddie Thawne that he’s the most interesting character in this whole story, because it’s unlikely that Reverse-Flash planned on ending up in the same town as his great-great-great-grandfather. Scoffing at Eddie’s assertion that he doesn’t matter, Stein tells him that he might be the only person who can choose his own destiny. Let’s hear it for the power of coincidence, I guess. Alas, there’s another risk in the time travel plan. Stein has figured out that opening the wormhole could also result in a singularity, otherwise known as a black hole. When someone asks if it could destroy Central City, it’s clear they aren’t thinking big enough. It could cause a global catastrophe. Oh, is that all? Undeterred, Thawne says the plan will work. Barry will have 1:52 to change the past and return before the singularity gets to be an issue. That won’t be enough time to return and stop Thawne from going home, but everything is a choice, as the villain points out. He also says he believes Barry can do it, and wonders if everyone else does too. Joe and Barry have one final talk, where Barry says he doesn’t want to regain one dad and lose another. Some tears are shed, and Joe assures Barry he’ll always be there. Eddie decides to visit Iris at the newspaper, telling a story about coincidence; namely, the one that led to them meeting each other. Saying screw the future, Eddie says he has a destiny too, and it’s with Iris. Didn’t know this episode was going to have a wedding? Neither did I, but it looks like Stein is going to preside over the marriage of Ronnie and Caitlin. Cisco has the rings, “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House is playing (Google it, youngsters) and the star-crossed couple is official, I guess. Now it’s time for Barry’s big run. After he suits up, he gets some advice from Cisco and says his goodbyes to Joe and Iris, nodding to Eddie as well. And … we’re off! The Flash easily achieves the speed he needs, though he starts getting glimpses of his past, present and (possible?) future as he runs. Thawne says that’s the Speed Force, and that he needs to focus on the night of his mom’s death. It works, as the wormhole forms, and Stein says they need to start the clock.
The Flash sees his future self motion for him to wait in the next room until he can get his past self clear (headaches … returning …). But when the moment comes, Barry agonizes before closing the door and waiting until the attack on his mom is over. Once Reverse-Flash leaves, Barry goes in to comfort his mom, unmasking and telling Nora that both he and Henry turn out alright. It’s a truly emotional and unexpected moment.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Thawne admires the time machine Cisco has built and says Rip Hunter would be proud. A helmet like the one Jay Garrick wears in the comics comes flying out of the wormhole, and while Cisco and Joe are confused, Eobard says that’s his cue to leave. He fires up the time machine, but Barry returns and blows it up. Enraged, Reverse-Flash says that Barry blew the chance to have everything he ever wanted, though the hero says he’s already got it. A speedster fight commences.
Ronnie and Caitlin race to kill the power to the particle accelerator before the singularity forms, and they barely succeed — though Ronnie is caught in an explosion in the process. Meanwhile, Reverse-Flash has the upper hand in the battle, but just as it looks like he’s going to finish off the Flash, Eddie appears and shoots himself in the heart. As Thawne’s ancestor, that creates a time paradox, and Eobard reverts to his natural appearance while he starts fading from existence. With his last words, he asks Flash how they’ll be able to carry on without him after depending on him for so long.
Iris rushes in and sees Eddie near death. She’s horrified, of course, but Eddie says that he gets to die the hero in her eyes, which is all she ever wanted to be. That scene is cut short as the wormhole unexpectedly reopens, swallowing Eddie’s body and the remnants of the time machine.
Everyone rushes outside to see an even bigger wormhole open over Central City and beginning to swallow everything. Among the other people we see looking up in the sky are Captain Cold and Hawkgirl. Stein notes that it has rotational energy that will ensure it just keeps feeding, but Barry thinks that it’s just the same as a tornado, only bigger and upside-down. Even though Stein says it’s impossible, Barry says that he has to try, and the final scene shows him zipping up the side of a building, dodging debris and beginning to run around the singularity before appearing that he might head right into it.
Hey, that’s a real, honest to goodness cliffhanger!
*Favorite Moment: Good Cisco moments in this one, particularly hints that he’s already Vibe and him telling Thawne never to come back. Yet as a fan old enough to have read the adventures of the Earth-Two heroes in All-Star Squadron as a kid, my favorite part was absolutely Jay Garrick’s helmet coming out of the wormhole. Can we please see him in Season 2?
*Final Thought: That sure didn’t disappoint. Action, emotions, several plot twists … not sure what else anyone could have wanted. It’s going to be a long wait until Season 2 begins, but something tells me it will be worth it.