Through the course of season 3 Team Flash has spent a lot of time trying to figure out who Savitar is behind his mask. For even longer though the main team of The Flash has been trying to figure out how to defeat Savitar. Thanks to a trip to the future, Barry and the gang finally appear to have both the means and method to take down the villain.
Thanks to new addition Tracy, Team Flash is preparing to use the Speed Force to trap Savitar forever. It’s an interesting solution as it does seem to based, at least partially, in some real science. But there is a far more compelling solution to the Savitar problem staring The Flash in the face. It should be Killer Frost who is integral to causing Savitar’s demise.
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Cold as Ice
It has been confirmed that Savitar is a future version of Barry Allen. This doesn’t feel nearly as intimate as it should. For starters Savitar really isn’t future Barry. Savitar is a time remnant that Future Barry created who felt shunned because he wasn’t the real Barry Allen. It’s a sympathetic backstory and really makes the audience think about the time remnant Barry created and sacrificed in season 2. Savitar doesn’t offer much in the way of insight to Barry’s character and he should. Barry isn’t fighting a future version of himself gone insane and villainous. He is fighting a clone of a future version of himself which doesn’t nearly have as much a punch as a Barry vs. Barry conflict should.
All hope is not completely lost, however, as Killer Frost is still firmly on Team Savitar. All the personal and emotional stakes that the Savitar conflict lacks, the Killer Frost interactions are dripping with in every scene. The Flash didn’t handle Caitlin’s transformation to Killer Frost in the best manner and the fact that the show introduced them as two separate identities was less than ideal. Now that Killer Frost is around and working with Savitar, every time she comes up against Team Flash the fighting is wrought with emotion. Killer Frost isn’t holding back and we know from the future that she can freeze and destroy Cisco’s hands and powers. At the same time she is still Caitlin buried underneath. The Flash isn’t the first TV show to have a villain with the face of a friend but it is using the trope very effectively. Every scene with Killer Frost is a struggle to stop her and save her.
As of the most recent episode, “Cause and Effect,” The Flash wisely backpedaled a bit on their Killer Frost mythology. The two entities of Caitlin and Killer Frost aren’t as separate as they have seemed. Killer Frost was noticeably shaken by her time “working” with Team Flash and the connections that she shares with them. It is on this string that The Flash should keep pulling and, to completely mix metaphors, be the first block to fall in the dominoes of Savitar’s defeat.
Bringing It Home
Tracy is a fine addition to Team Flash but it does feel rather lazy that she is the catalyst to bringing down Savitar. She was not hinted at existing at all before “The Once and Future Flash” and now she is the solution to all problems. The back-up plan of Wally or Barry just becoming fast enough to stop Savitar is also pretty lazy. The Flash has gone through the process of the heroes getting faster to defeat the speedster villain and it is incredibly stale. Killer Frost, though, is completely new.
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The Savitar showdown needs to be more than the threat of Iris dying. While there is nothing wrong with the potential of Iris’ death being the reason the group bands together, The Flash has really explored every angle. Candice Patton and Grant Gustin have done a wonderful job emoting Barry and Iris confronting the possibility but there is only so much the two of them can do. Meanwhile the tragedy of Killer Frost is present but sort of shunted to the sidelines. This could be lazy writing by The Flash but hopefully it is more intentional and the show is paving the way for a big surprise. Killer Frost is the one who defeats Savitar, not Tracy, not Wally and not even Barry.
Whether it is Caitlin wrestling control of Killer Frost enough to literally stop Savitar in his tracks or Killer Frost coming to her senses and sacrificing herself to save Iris, Killer Frost should save the day for season 3. It would be heartbreaking, especially if Caitlin dies, but it could also be a perfect, and surprising, way to end season 3. Caitlin has been far too passive in her journey from mild-mannered scientist to homicidal-ish supervillain. The best way to bring Caitlin’s arc and the season to a close is if she finally takes some action and saves the day precisely when all her friends have given up hope of saving her or themselves.
But what do you think? Should Killer Frost be the reason Savitar is defeated? Will Killer Frost be the reason Savitar is defeated? Is The Flash focusing enough on her transformation? Do you think Tracy’s Speed Force plan will work?
The Flash season 3 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW. Want more news? Like our Flash Facebook page!
(Image courtesy of The CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
