3.2 Paradox While I didn’t necessarily have a problem with it, one main complaint from fans following the premiere was how short-lived Flashpoint turned out to be. All that hype for one week of story? Well here we get some permanent consequences, which act as much as an emotional catalyst as they do an excuse for the writers to speed up a few plotlines (cough Killer Frost cough) that have been teased earlier. But as far as Barry knows at the beginning of the episode, the only thing different is that Iris and Joe aren’t speaking. We learn later that it’s because of the secrets Joe had been keeping from Iris about her mother, which in this timeline she hasn’t forgiven him for. He’s telling all of this to Felicity, an outsider to the mayhem he has wrought. I love these kinds of casual crossovers, with one or two characters interacting just because those two people would, in real life, go to each other in moments of crisis. It takes a massive amount of manoeuvring and scheduling for something like this to happen, and some of that shows in the episode eight blockbusters. But episodes like Paradox, which just put Felicity in a scene with Barry because they’re friends, feel effortless. I praised the first episode for leaning into the idea of Barry as a villain in his own story, so I’m glad that wasn’t undone here. Some things can be fixed, sure, but how are we supposed to feel about Diggle’s child being erased from existence because of one rash decision? Is he going to even find out? Barry’s trip to the 90s is the best use of John Wesley Shipp since Henry Allen’s prison days, and I’m glad we finally got to spend some real time with his take on Jay Garrick. As well as tying up loose ends, Paradox sets up some important players for the rest of the season. The first and most notable is Tom Felton’s Julian Albert – metahuman expert and lab partner to Barry unique to this timeline. He’s really great, and set up here as a potential foil to Barry who isn’t necessarily in the wrong. I have a feeling that this is what Eddie was in some early drafts of season one, and I’m excited to see what becomes of him. Then there’s our villain, thankfully not another speedster. Alchemy, teased at the end of last week’s episode, is going to be the one handing out powers from the other timeline. Among other things, that means Kid Flash can’t be too far off. We finish on a recreation of the Barry and Iris kiss, demonstrating that a lot of things that have changed in this third timeline can be put back with a narrative handwave. Let’s just rejoice in the fact that we don’t have to go through any more will they/won’t they from those two. Read Caroline’s review of the previous episode, Flashpoint, here.
