While Barry Allen, played by Grant Gustin, as The Flash already knows that he could run so fast that he could actually travel in time, he never tinkered with the idea of doing it because he wanted to alter the present by correcting the wrongs of the past.
Since Season 1, Barry only managed to break the time barrier twice. The first one was by accident when he was chasing the Reverse-Flash while the second one was during the crossover episode with “Arrow” in the current second season.
The second time-travel of The Flash was intentional as he needed to alter the present when immortal Vandal Savage was able to defeat both him and Oliver Queen a.k.a. the Green Arrow during their confrontation.
So when Barry and Team Flash and Team Arrow got the opportunity to face off again with Savage, without everybody knowing that it was already the second sighting for him, he knew what to do and they were able to overcome Savage.
Revisiting the concept
“The Flash” revisited once again the time-travel concept during its latest episode that was aired on The CW on March 30. This time, Barry made use of time travel to rectify the present, which seems to have gone all wrong.
Entitled “Flash Back,” Barry went back in time for his own purposes to make everything right. He was able to change a few things but the only thing that appears to be altered in the present is Hartley, played by Andy Mientus, becoming a good guy now.
But he had to face a new threat in the Time Wraiths, which are scary looking Dementor things that attack those who abuse the time force. They are like the guardians of time, notes the Den of Geek.
Barry wanted to get faster so he thought that the only way it can happen is for him to learn from one of the two people who are faster than him. The first one is Zoom, which is not possible because the villain is on Earth 2 and facing off with him means risking his life as well. The second one is Eobard Thawne or the Reverse-Flash himself.
He knew he could pull it off with Eobard Thawne since the man was disguised as Harrison Wells and he also deals with him a lot before the big reveal during the Season 1 finale.
Just like the time travel he did during the early part of Season 2, Barry travelled again in time without tipping off his STAR Labs team.
Critics believe that the Season 2 Barry going back to Season 1 plotline was quite excellent and executed brilliantly. It was a delight for fans to see Eddie Thawne once again and Barry acting as a concerned brother to Iris.
It was also a joy to see Barry fighting himself immediately after he travels back and it was only Cisco Ramon of the past who realized what was going on. It was also quite satisfying to see the present-day Barry interacting with the past Harrison Wells, looking into the eyes of the enemy before his enemy betrayed him.
Episode 17 of “The Flash” is one of those sweet spots episodes of the show, playing with time for big dramatic and emotional effect.
Crossover with ‘Gotham’
With the release to theaters of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” last week, the DC Extended Universe in the movies has begun. As far as the DC multiverse on the small screen is concerned, it has been growing since the release of “Arrow” on The CW in 2012.