s02e1
barry dreams of teamwork, but he’s pushing his teammates away; it’s eobard in his dream who says “i believe you’re ready to do all of this on your own”
“you’re the hero, barry” that’s just embarrassing
“justice...failed”; “there’s only one thing i can do now, i run”
part of the problem barry is having has to do with what he knows/understands the events of the singularity, and how the public believes/how it’s being reported. we transition from him saying he doesn’t deserve the keys of the city to the news being played at ccpd (the former eddie’s place of work--and yes i did use former in the right place) with the newscaster saying the flash saved the city. who controls the flash’s story, his public image? iris. so did she write about the singularity? did she write that the flash saved central city? did she mention eddie in any of her articles? “technically, as members of team flash we should all be getting keys” 👀 👀
IRIS IN WHIIIIIIIIIIITE. BECAUSE SHE’S AN ANGEL DESCENDED FROM THE HEAVENS. 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭
“you’re not getting a badge, mr. ramon” i’m sorry, but cisco wants some kind of recognition for the work he does. you don’t go to work for harrison wells and star labs without having ridiculous amounts of drive and ambition. even though barry disbanded his team, cisco finds a way to keep working with metas.
“i’m just trying to put it all back exactly how it was before the--” barry and his not understanding that things can’t go back to how they used to be before trauma, etc.
when she wants to write something about the flash rebuilding cc barry says, “don’t please”... so has iris been writing about the flash? is she the one who wrote about the singularity?
“you should know that better than anyone”...hmm...there’s some kind of fluid dichotomy between barry and the flash that both barry and iris observe, i think. they neither of them mention eddie’s name here, but barry is clearly referring to him. so heroism: “i just wanted to be your hero, iris/you are/~i’m not the one who saved cc~/cc believes in the flash and so do i” ... something going on here between building the myth of a hero and the actual reality of the work that goes into being a hero/what a hero is. i remember back when i initially watched this is said something along the lines of the flash not solely belonging to barry, but to the whole team--a collective identity that they build together (and i believe iris’s later words support this)--and if the show were to do more with iris’s storyline, one way they could sell this is through her articles--cause she would write about the flash, but she would never mention cisco and her dad and cait and wells and star labs shenanigans would she?
“i’ve got to try” but his trying wasn’t enough (contrast to the end of this season when he’s confident and what he does is enough to save the day, but he still feels like shit. barry doesn’t need superpowers, he needs a therapist.)
lol barry thinks he’s responsible for both iris’s and cait’s partners’ deaths
iris as The Voice of Reason: - “central city believes in the flash, and so do i” - “barry can’t do this alone anymore. ... let’s not let him. if you keep getting no for an answer, stop asking questions.” - “barry, every one in this room cares about you. but we also care about this city. we all want to make a difference, and that means fighting meta humans, and that means working with the flash. you can’t deny us that. not anymore.”
cisco’s the first one to spot cait 👀. they coulda gone with this and instead they had cait in an abusive relationship all year. (also cisco’s shirt has lightning bolts on it.)
he’s so...slim... 😏 ... lemme keep quiet
if carlos valdes weren’t playing cisco, cisco would 150% less cool than he is
guys, when barry disbanded “team flash” do you know who “team flash” became? iris, cisco, and joe. they’re the ones who kept things running when barry went lone wolf.
“i’ve been really busy with police work” *gestures vaguely* ...mmhmm
i think barry doesn’t want them physically in star labs because he knows he owns it now, but they probably don’t. like it’s His Responsibility now, and not just a place where they all are.
so mostly what i’ve seen said about 2a is that barry treats iris like shit and pushes her away while she gets a little bit with her mom and wally and serves as an emotional soundboard for him. ...but what if we flip it around and look at things from iris’s pov (even though the show rarely gives her one?). maybe 2a, at least on the her x barry front, can be seen as her watching her best friend slip away from her even farther, even though she now knows his secret. ironic. so 2a maybe could be seen as her enacting (again) “help me save my friend,” only now she doesn’t have the flash to ask for help, now she has to do it on her own. hmmmm...to think more about.
“he said you were some kind of big hero, but you don’t seem worthy of him or this city.” zoom is also interested in the myth of a superhero, in how a “hero” is made/perceived/received by the public.
“iris’s mac n cheese is your favorite.” cute. almost cute enough for me to overlook joe having a 12 year old (girl) cook dinner. i feel...some kind of way...about the emotional work joe asks of iris. but he does a lot of emotional work, too.
“it’s ok to be sad. you can be sad, barry. your parents will understand if you’re not strong all the time.” anger =/=strength #joewestswordsofwisdom
“iris is right” the end
“stop with this hogging all the blame and regret” aka they’re all going through shit
“you better than anyone know” to cait, he says. and he also said the same to iris. #whatisthetruth
“i’m not the thing you hate. ... you’ll never be truly happy barry allen.”
so eobard confesses and barry gets the “justice” he always wanted. so when he goes back in time at the end of the season--is it not about justice anymore?
atom smasher has an apartment. does iris? lolllllll
welp, team flash just killed their first meta of the season!
“he promised he’d take me home” eobard just wanted to go home
i’m screaming. this ep ends with them all raising their glasses and saying “forward” and the season ends with barry going back in time