“How do we know he’s not spying on us through Wally right now?” asks Barry (Grant Gustin) to Team Flash after discovering Savitar has been messing with Wally’s mind in The CW’s The Flash season three episode 15 titled “The Wrath of Savitar.”
As the episode begins, Barry and Jesse (Violett Beane) are training Wally (Keiynan Lonsdale), trying to get him fast enough to stop Savitar from killing Iris in the near future. After Wally completes a choreographed practice take-down of The Flash posing as Savitar, H.R. (Tom Cavanagh) and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) report Wally recorded his best time yet – fast enough to stop Savitar. Barry, Wally, and Jesse are thrilled but Wally’s happiness doesn’t last long because he thinks he sees Savitar on a nearby rooftop. After a quick sighting, Savitar disappears. Wally’s the only one who sees him.
Julian (Tom Felton) arrives back from London and is greeted by a smiling Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) who approaches for a hug but he puts out a hand for a shake. They’re awkward with each other, not exactly knowing where their boundaries are. (It’s a cute, brief scene).
Everyone waits in the cortex for an announcement from Barry who arrives with Iris (Candice Patton) as well as coffee and tea. Barry gives Iris the go-ahead and she shows them her engagement ring. Caitlin hugs Barry, congratulating him, and Wally hugs his sister. H.R. says “good going” to Barry and Iris, but Joe (Jesse L. Martin) stays uncharacteristically quiet. Iris asks her dad to please say something and he slowly walks over and gives her a hug saying he couldn’t be happier and that she’s grown into such a lovely woman. He adds that she’s marrying the best man he’s ever known, looking at Barry.
As Jesse hugs Iris and becomes focused on the ring, Joe asks to speak with Barry for a minute. Joe asks Barry why he didn’t ask for his blessing, and Barry tells him he got caught up in the moment and wanted it to be a surprise. Their talk is cut short when Cisco and Wally tell them there’s a fire and they need to help evacuate the building full of people.
The Flash and Kid Flash are speeding to the fire when Kid Flash gets knocked down by a white blur. Barry looks for Wally and heads into an alley where he sees him getting tossed around by nothing. Wally finally stops and sees Barry, asking him what’s going on. “Where is he?” asks Wally. “Who?” asks Barry. “Savitar,” answers Wally to a very surprised Barry.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin is checking over Wally who admits he’s been having brief visions of Savitar for about a week. Barry’s very upset with Wally for keeping it a secret and realizes until they know exactly what is going on with Wally and Savitar’s mind tricks, he needs to be benched from the team. Wally, upset and angry, heads off to sulk and Jesse goes after him to calm him down.
Barry decides it’s best they try to talk to Savitar through Julian again to see how much he knows and what he’s up to. Julian declines to be used as a Ouija board, and when Caitlin asks why he admits he doesn’t want her to hear Savitar’s voice coming through him again, fearing she won’t be able to see the real him afterward. Caitlin reminds him he brought her back from becoming Killer Frost and still knows who she really is. She asks him to trust her to do the same for him.
Falling even harder for her, Julian gives her a quick kiss and tells her he wanted to do that just in case she changes her mind. Julian is hooked up to the machine and within seconds Savitar’s voice (Tobin Bell) comes through telling them all to bow before their god. Barry’s not impressed, telling him to quit with the religious stuff and asking why they are enemies. Savitar reveals they’re enemies because they had to be. Savitar claims he – not Zoom or Thawne – is Barry’s greatest enemy and that he’s very close to escaping from where Barry imprisoned him. Joe asks what they ever did to him and he yells they took everything away from him in the future. Barry tells him they got rid of the Philosopher’s Stone and Savitar responds with a mocking, “Did you?”
No one notices when Barry brought up the Philosopher’s Stone Caitlin became tense. As Barry starts to pull the plug on the conversation, Savitar tells him that he has suffered his whole life, losing first his mother and then his father, but he promises the loss he will go through this time he will never recover from. As Barry pulls the plug, Julian comes back freed of Savitar’s control and asks, “So, good chat?”
Team Flash decide to look up Savitar’s follower who Caitlin visited when she was becoming Killer Frost. Barry tracks them and sees a handful of followers with the box he threw into the Speed Force which held the stone. He knocks them out and takes the now-empty box back to S.T.A.R. Labs.
Cisco and Julian confirm it’s not a replica but the actual box. Barry brings up how Savitar spoke when he said they got rid of the stone almost as though they hadn’t somehow. Caitlin quickly says to Barry, “You did. You threw it into the Speed Force. It’s gone.” (It’s so obvious she’s hiding something. How Barry and Cisco don’t pick up on it is a wonder.)
Meanwhile, Wally is training with H.R. and is not doing well at all. He’s let fear and doubt enter and is scared he won’t be fast enough to save Iris. When things look bleak, H.R. and Wally come up with the idea to have Cisco vibe Wally to the night Iris dies so he might be able to learn something to help him save his sister. Cisco doesn’t want to do it but finally gives in and vibes Wally and himself to that night. Wally witnesses Iris’ murder and is upset, becoming even more upset when he sees she’s not wearing the ring. Cisco brings them out of the vibe and Wally rushes off to confront Barry. He tells Barry what he saw in front of everyone and Iris realizes Barry in part proposed to her in order to change the future. Upset, she walks off telling Barry she needs time to be alone and think.
Julian enters the medical bay looking for Caitlin who’s looking deeply concerned. Julian tells her he’s worried he might be the Judas to Team Flash, and Caitlin reveals it’s not him but she knows who it is. She walks over and pulls out a small piece of the stone, showing it to Julian. Caitlin admits she’s the one who betrayed everyone.
Caitlin tells Cisco, H.R., and Barry she was hoping to find a way to use it to get rid of her powers. Cisco asks if she did and she says she never figured out how to get it to work. Barry decides to talk to Savitar again to see if they can pinpoint his location. Once again poor Julian doesn’t want to go through it, but finally agrees and tells them he’ll see them downstairs.
Caitlin heads after him, apologizing again. She confesses should have told him, but Julian is not in the mood to hear it. He tells Caitlin he can’t believe she would save part of the stone after what Savitar did to him with it. Caitlin says she’s desperate to get rid of her powers and that out of everyone she thought he would understand. Julian says he sees now that she only wanted him to join the team to help her with her powers. She insists that’s not the only reason, but he doesn’t believe her. (C’mon, Julian, give Cait a break. She feels terrible about it!)
Back at their apartment, Iris is thinking about what she’s learned and Joe stops by to console her. He basically throws Barry under the bus saying their love has to be simple and pure or it won’t work. (It’s obvious Joe isn’t ready for Iris and Barry to marry yet which is why he reacted the way he did earlier.)
Poor Julian goes under again and Savitar speaks, taunting Barry and telling him soon he’ll be free. They pull the plug and Cisco says he has a fix on him but that it doesn’t make sense. It shows he’s all around Central City. Barry receives a message from Iris and takes off to talk to her.
Alone together at their apartment, Barry listens to Iris explain she wants to be his wife, not someone The Flash has to save. By proposing the way he did, he’s tainted their relationship. As she continues on, Barry has an epiphany.
Jesse checks in on Wally at the West home and tries to make him see he’s being a real jerk to Barry, reminding him they all need to work together to stop Savitar. Just as Wally is beginning to feel a little better, he sees his mother. She tells him how proud she is of him and how brave he’s been but he needs to stop now because it’s too dangerous. Wally explains he has to save Iris while Jesse tells Wally he’s freaking her out as he’s talking to no one. Wally’s mom tells him he’s not fast enough and he realizes it’s not his mom but Savitar messing with him again. Savitar laughs and reveals himself, telling Wally he has what he needs to escape and he will soon kill Iris and everyone else. Wally takes off to get the rest of the stone to throw it into the Speed Force, instructing Jesse to stay put.
Barry arrives at S.T.A.R. Labs and informs Team Flash he knows where Savitar is trapped and why Cisco’s readings have him all over the city. “He’s trapped in the Speed Force,” says Barry. H.R. realizes that’s why he only appears for a few seconds and then disappears again. He’s being pulled back into the Speed Force and that’s why only Speedsters can see him. When Barry threw the Philosopher’s Stone into the Speed Force, he accidentally gave Savitar the key to his freedom. However, because he doesn’t have the whole thing he couldn’t escape. (Yeah! Caitlin didn’t betray the group; she actually saved them.)
Jesse arrives to spill the beans on Wally and Savitar, and they realize he’s going after the piece of the stone. They rush to where it was kept and it’s gone. (Seriously, Team Flash left it out in the open where anyone could get it knowing Savitar needs it in order to escape his prison?!! Is anybody thinking here?!)
Wally’s trying to open a portal to throw the stone into the Speed Force but can’t go fast enough. Savitar appears and taunts him, making him angry enough so he’s able to open the portal. He hurls the stone which causes a back-blast and Wally starts getting sucked into the portal. Barry arrives after Team Flash received an alert of the portal opening just in time to witness Wally screaming for Barry to help him while he’s getting sucked into the portal. A few seconds later it reopens and Savitar pulls himself out, yelling, “I’m free!”
Savitar tells Barry he got the idea to make Wally a speedster and groom him to take his place when Barry created Flashpoint. Savitar confirms Wally has now taken his place as a prisoner in the Speed Force. Furious, Barry attacks Savitar. The two fight and Savitar stabs Barry in the chest with his blade. Barry uses his vibrating arm to break off the blade and part of Savitar’s arm, sending him running.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry’s in pain and the team holds him down as Caitlin says she has to pull it out but can’t give him anything for the pain because with his powers he’ll burn through it too quickly, making it useless. Barry tells her to pull it out and she does, but he passes out from the pain. Barry wakes up a few minutes later to find everyone gathered around him. He apologizes to Joe, but Joe doesn’t blame him. Joe says it’s not his fault but he can’t lose Wally. Iris touches his hand to let him see she’s no longer wearing the engagement ring and slowly walks away. Jesse’s crying and H.R. tries to comfort her and ends up just hugging her. Cisco, holding Savitar’s blade, says he’s going to go work on it to see what he can discover. And Julian tells Barry he’ll see him soon when he’s up.
The last scene is one between Caitlin and Barry. “I’m sorry, I never should have…I was afraid,” says Caitlin. “I know. Fear makes us do a lot of things that we shouldn’t,” replies Barry as he looks at her with forgiveness and she nods. “My fear is the reason for all of this,” says the wounded Scarlet Speedster.
The Flash Season 3 Episode 15 Review:
Suspenseful, tragic, and at times frustrating, episode 15 titled “The Wrath of Savitar” brings Team Flash to its worst state so far this season, with Barry, Wally, and Caitlin all helping to bring about Savitar’s freedom by giving into their own personal fears and by keeping secrets from the Team. The episode was packed with strong performances, in particular by Tom Felton as Julian who wants to truly be a part of Team Flash and also get closer to Caitlin but feels betrayed by her when he discovers her secret about having a piece of the stone. Another noteworthy performance was delivered by Jesse L. Martin as the surprised and reluctant Joe West who’s not ready to hand off his daughter to Barry just yet and devastated as he loses his son to the Speed Force.
The most emotional, powerful scene in the episode is the final one. Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin holds back tears and with a weak quiver in her voice apologizes to Barry, still blaming herself for what happened to Wally. Grant Gustin as Barry gives her a forgiving look and once again takes the blame and puts it on himself. It’s the amazing chemistry between Gustin and Panabaker that helps fuel their scenes with so much emotion and heartache. These two have never had a false or forced moment since the show began.
With Wally trapped in the Speed Force, Savitar on the loose in Central City, and Team Flash having trust issues with each other, here’s hoping Barry will find a way to save Wally, Iris, and Caitlin from the horrors Savitar has planned for them.
GRADE: B+
