See, Barry? Actions have consequences.
Traveling in time and changing a crucial point in one’s life has catastrophic consequences. Did you really expect that things would be alright after you saved your mother when she was supposed to die? Really?
Apparently you did, because you lived three blissful months with your parents. And hey, I get it. I really understand, Barry, on a personal level, what you were feeling and why you would want to change that specific moment in time; but guess what, the world does not revolve around you, kid. It really doesn’t.
So you were happy for three months. You had your family together, you were enjoying having your parents again and you even worked up the courage to ask Iris out – even though, in this timeline, your paths never really crossed. Things were awesome. Despite Eobard Thawne’s warning that changing history would have catastrophic consequences and you would – one day soon – come back crawling to him, begging him to go back in time and kill your mother again, you didn’t listen. You never listen, Barry.
Have you ever heard of the ripple effect?
Yeah. That’s what happened. You changed one thing – just one tiny little thing in the grand scheme of things – but it affected the lives of so many people.
The West family, for instance. Iris doesn’t talk to her dad – god knows why – and that has affected Joe on such a deep level, that he’s turned to alcohol and he is hanging onto his job by a thread. Apparently, Wally doesn’t talk to him either, so you know, things just get better and better for him.
On the other hand, Wally is a speedster and that could be pretty cool – in theory. But what really happens is that he is a completely unprepared kid with super powers, thinking he can take on the world all by himself. Getting killed was predictable, however entertaining watching how cocky he was as a kid superhero was. But he wasn’t ready, Barry, because you were supposed to be the Flash. Not him. So Iris and Joe don’t talk and Wally nearly got killed – maybe he even died, considering the state he was in when we last saw him in that timeline.
So there you go. Family destroyed. You had your happy ending, but at the cost of theirs.
Now let’s move on to Cisco. Hey, I love Cisco in whatever timeline he is. Even as a cocky, pompous jerk, he is still awesome. But look what happened, Barry. Cisco – our Cisco – became this insufferable, rich guy who values money more than people. Despite his amazing one liners (and god, I missed those!), he became a completely different person and, you know what? We probably would not like him very much in the long run. Because he was not our Cisco anymore. Not that happy-go-lucky, funny, incredibly loyal and selfless guy we all know and love.
Another life completely and irrevocably changed because you didn’t think things through before you decided to alter an entire timeline.
Caitlin was probably the least drastic change out of everyone. So she’s a pediatric eye doctor. She apparently lost all that bravery and the ability to think on her feet in a time of crisis, but hey, at least her life didn’t get completely ruined.
But it took Wally getting mortally injured by the Rival for you to finally see the extent of the mess you made. It took your memories being deleted from your mind for you to finally take action and – just like Thawne had predicted – you came crawling back to him, begging for him to kill your mom. So, see, Barry? Did it really have to get to this point?
It didn’t. It really didn’t. So Thawne went back in time with you so he could kill your mom again, and then he brought you back to the present. But it was too late. You saved Wally, but you couldn’t save Joe and Iris’ relationship. Whatever happened there, it stuck to this new timeline because, yeah, you created a third one. Way to go, Barry!
But I guess now you’re stuck with it.
This is probably just the beginning. Who knows what other changes your little trip to the past caused? Because, Barry, actions have consequences. Traveling in time can have serious repercussions.
And remember, next time? Think before you act, will you?
I hope you’ve learned your lesson.
An all new episode of THE FLASH airs next Tuesday, October 11, at 8/7c on The CW.