Forgotten what happened in The Flash season 3?
Let our recap bring you back up to speed ahead of season 4…
Warning: contains spoilers for The Flash season 3 (well, obviously).
The Flashseason 3 was a bit of a confusing one.
Between all the timeline alterations and villain reveals, it was a lot to take in.
At one point, Eobard yells, Whos the villain now, Flash?!
Prescient words, indeed.
He gets crime-fighting assistance from his sister, Candice Pattons Iris.
Jesse Martins Joe is drinking a lot and getting in trouble at work.
Barrys memories of the original timeline begin to fade, as the new reality begins to become permanent.
Barry believes that this will turn everything back to normal, but hes very wrong about that.
Barrys attempt at correcting the timeline didnt work out as hed hoped.
Plus, Joe and Iris are not talking.
Essentially, this new corrected timeline sucks.
Barry defeats the repowered Clarris, who is then killed in his cell by the metallic speedster Savitar.
Jesse reveals that she gained speedster powers from the dark matter explosion at the end of season 2.
Harry decides to support Jesses superhero career, and Jesse gets her own speedster costume as a result.
Barry ends up trapped in a mirror, and Caitlin secretly uses her ice powers to get him out.
Harry returns to his own Earth, and the gang recruits Earth-19s H.R.
Wells as his replacement on the team.
In his first adventure with Team Flash, the gang goes up against a giant hologram of Godzilla-like monster.
This experience causes Barry and Julian to put aside their differences, somewhat.
Meanwhile, Caitlin reveals her ice powers to Cisco.
Barry, later in the episode, explains to Caitlin that her new powers have manifested thanks to Flashpoint.
Barry and Joe follow Wally with a SWAT team, and they do their best to confront Alchemy.
However, Savitar shows up, enacting his first proper confrontation with the team.
(Savitar and Alchemy are both voiced by Tobin Bell, fact fans!)
Kevin Smith directed episode 7 of the season.
Caitlin and Cisco showed up and attacked Savitar, and the villain fled.
Meanwhile, Joe breaks Wally out of his cocoon.
Wally now has speedster powers, but they arent particularly stable.
Caitlins personality re-emerges, and it becomes apparent that Wally needs treatment.
She concocts a serum to stabilise him.
Barry agrees to this.
Then, Team Flash takes part in the huge Invasion crossover event withArrow,SupergirlandLegends Of Tomorrow.
In these episodes, everyone learns about Flashpoint.
After the crossover comes the important Rachel-Talalay-directed episodeThe Present.
In this one, Barry works with Jay to track down and defeat Alchemy.
They put the important McGuffin known as the Philosophers Stone back into its box, which makes Savitar disappear.
This stone allows Savitar to take a physical form.
Since locating it, Julian has experienced blackouts, during which time hes acted as Savitars lackey, Alchemy.
Caitlin intervenes and Savitars precious stone stays inside the box.
Team Flash finds a way to use Julian to communicate with Savitar.
Tobin Bells voice comes out of Tom Feltons mouth.
Savitar also explains that he is imprisoned because of Barry.
He also utters an important-later-on line of dialogue: I am the future, Flash.
(That comma, as it turns out, is very much optional.)
They succeed in doing this, but Barry is thrown forward in time as a result.
Barry returns to the present.
Julian is no longer under Savitars control.
Wally gets a Kid Flash costume.
Barry gets his job back.
If they can change small details like this, perhaps they can stop Iris from dying.
Kid Flash gets the credit, instead of The Flash.
back to his original Earth to face trial and execution.
(It turns out that inter-dimensional travel is illegal on Earth-19.)
Gypsy has similar powers to Cisco, and the two strike up something of a rapport.
Cisco ends up winning, but he stops short of killing Gypsy.
is allowed to live, but he can never return to his original Earth.
Barry comes up with the idea of training up Wally to defeat Savitar.
In the future, it was obvious that Barry wasnt fast enough to stop the stabbing.
Perhaps Wally could be.
Grodd wants Barrys help to usurp gorilla overlord known as Solovar.
There is a big CGI fight in an arena, which Barry wins.
However, Grodd doesnt keep up his end of the bargain.
Instead, he keeps Team Flash hostage and plans an attack on Earth-1.
Barry fakes his own death so you can be removed from the cage.
This barmy plan succeeds, and the gang escapes back to Earth-1.
Grodd tries to mind-control an army general into bombing the city, but Barry stop this plan.
This plan works, and ARGUS takes Grodd away.
With the full stone, Savitar would be able to escape.
Barry and Savitar have a brief scuffle.
Savitar taunts Barry about Iris upcoming death.
Barry chops off of one of Savitars metal arm blade thingies.
Barry heads into the Speed Force in the next episode, opening the door to manifold cameos.
Ultimately, John Wesley Shipps Jay Garrick volunteers to take Wallys place in the Speed Force prison.
In the future Barry glimpsed, Iris wasnt wearing a wedding ring.
The pair decides to spend some time apart following this revelation.
This sends Barry into a pretty dark place… Barry proposes to Iris again, and she accepts again.
With his love life sorted out, Barry continues his superhero work.
Kadabra offers to reveal Savitars identity to Team Flash in exchange for his freedom.
Gypsy, who has also being pursuing Kadabra, rejects this idea.
But Joe is desperate to save Iris from her fast-approaching death, so he sets Kadabra free.
The gang succeeds in stopping him, but Caitlin is wounded in the process.
Caitlin refuses to let her Killer Frost persona free, even though that could save her life.
Keeping with Caitlins wishes, Julian attempts to perform life-saving surgery on her.
Julian fails, so he removes Caitlins power-suppressing necklace and allows Killer Frost to emerge.
Her injuries heal rapidly, but Killer Frost gets violent and makes good her escape.
He heads to 2024, hoping to gain some answers and advice from the future iteration of Team Flash.
Future-Barry shows up at a vital moment, using a machine from future-Cisco to save the day.
However, future-Barry does tell present-Barry to seek out Tracy Brand (played by Anne Dudek).
Meanwhile, in the present, Killer Frost meets Savitar.
Work begins on the Speed Force trap, and romantic feelings blossom between H.R.
Killer Frosts evil plan fails, and she loses a fight to Cisco.
Cecile is saved, and Joe reveals Barry and Wallys superhero secrets to her.
Savitar rescues Killer Frost.
Barry has a eureka moment, and confronts Savitar.
Particularly skilled speedsters can create Time Remnants of themselves.
Thats why he always anticipates Barrys tactics because theyre already in his head as memories.
This backfires, and Barry cant remember anything.
Cisco ultimately undoes the process, and Savitar carries on knowing everything that Barry knows.
Theres just one hitch, though: the trap requires a power source greater than the sun.
Lyla ends up letting them have it.
The Speed Force trap is now named the Speed Force bazooka, and it is fully operational.
However, the Speed Force bazooka turns out to be completely useless.
Wallys chances of intervening are nullified when Savitar breaks one of his legs.
And Cisco is busy fighting Killer Frost, negating a sudden sci-fi solution being found.
Iris was safe on a rooftop disguised as H.R., while H.R.
died on the ground disguised as Iris.
Everyone including his newfound love interest Tracy was sad to see H.R.
made the sacrifice play, and he saved the day when Barry couldnt.
Barry had no knowledge of H.R.s secret plan, so Savitar too was oblivious.
And now that Iris hasnt died, Barry wont be driven to create Time Remnants of himself.
Therefore, Savitar will never be born.
Gypsy intervenes and saves him.
Killer Frost freezes Black Flash.
Savitar then attempts to complete his original survival plan, using the modified Speed Force bazooka.
Freed by Ciscos Speed Force skeleton key, Jay Garrick appears!
Along with Barry and Wally (his leg is now fine), Jay helps to battle Savitar.
Meanwhile, Cisco and Gypsy engage Killer Frost, and Cisco has a chance to kill her.
Barry phases into Savitars suit and destroys it.
He refuses to give into the pain and kill Savitar.
Instead, he knocks Savitar out and leaves him on the ground.
Savitar gets up moments later, but Iris puts a bullet in his back.
Savitar slumps over, dies, and flickers out of existence.
Barry volunteered himself, and the Speed Force took the form of his mother to beckon him in.
Barry called this imprisonment his penance and his redemption, following his Flashpoint mistakes.
Barry said his emotional goodbyes to everyone, and he stepped into the Speed Force…
