Algo de Cine

“I believe in communism… Rom-communism.”

YOU’VE GOT MAIL (1998) WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (1989) PRETTY WOMAN (1990) JERRY MAGUIRE (1996) NOTTING HILL (1999) THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) THE PARENT TRAP (1998) LOVE, ACTUALLY (2003) SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993)

For the sake of future reference and clearing up any confusion, I thought I’d list the known timelines on The Flash, namely as they relate to that fateful night in October of 2000. Here goes.

Timeline Zero (Pre-Show)

Nothing happens in this one. None of the time traveling from Barry Allen or Eobard Thawne affects the year 2000 in any measurable way. Barry grows up with both parents and presumably marries Iris by 2024, as indicated by the future newspaper (blech).

Timeline One (Season One)

This is the timeline The Flash and the rest of the Arrowverse, including Arrow itself, started in. Eobard comes back from the future, specifically the year 2024, after fighting the Flash and arrives in 2000, intent on killing little Barry. Future Flash gives chase, they fight in the Allen house, then Future Flash gets little Barry out of there. Eobard stabs Nora in his rage and flees, only to find he’s now stranded in the past. Future Flash is not seen again after he leaves little Barry in the street; it can be presumed that he was erased, his existence reduced to that of a time remnant, since his child self can no longer grow up with both parents. The future newspaper is unchanged despite Eobard’s petty interference in his archenemy’s life.

Timeline Two (Season Two)

This timeline differs little from Timeline One – Future Flash chases the Reverse-Flash back to 2000 and they fight – with one small but crucial exception. Barry from May 2015, the end of Season One, arrives and witnesses Future Flash fighting Eobard. Future Flash spots him and silently warns him not to intervene, then gets little Barry out of there. Season One Barry tearfully heeds his warning and lets Eobard kill Nora and leave none the wiser, then says goodbye to her before returning to his own time. Again, Future Flash is presumed to have faded from existence upon Nora’s death. More telling, however, is that after Eobard is erased by Eddie Thawne’s suicide in 2015, the future newspaper disappears from its display in the time vault, as revealed by Barry in Season Three, indicating that the future is well and truly up for grabs now.

Timeline Three (Flashpoint)

This is where things get crazy. After Future Flash has chased Eobard back to 2000, fought him off long enough to get little Barry out of there, and warned Season One Barry to do nothing, Barry from May 2016, the end of Season Two, arrives. He waits for Future Flash to leave, then tackles Eobard just before he can stab Nora and beats him out cold. Season One Barry opens the door, expecting his mom to be dead, only to see Season Two Barry has saved her, then smiles as he vanishes, now just a time remnant. Season Two Barry assures Nora that she’s safe, then grabs Eobard and carries him off to 2016. While Future Flash isn’t shown afterward, it’s possible that Season Two Barry’s intervention kept him from being erased outright and he managed to escape into the Speed Force, bound for 2024.

Timeline Four (Season Three)

Barry never traveled back in time, but succeeded in stopping the tidal wave, only to receive word that Cisco was killed by Wells/Reverse Flash.

And when you love someone, you work it out! You don’t just throw it away. You have to be careful with it. You might never get it again.