When the end of March rolled around during both of The Flash's previous seasons, audiences were already aware of the big villains' real identities and their ruthless schemes, though we were curious about Zoom's Man in the Mask last year. Season 3 opted for something different with Savitar, whose human origin (assuming it's that) is still a huge mystery both to Team Flash and to viewers. The cast and crew have teased it as an unpredictable reveal, whenever it happens, but star Grant Gustin teases that knowledge might not be power in this situation.
It is a very different and jarring kind of reveal. I can't really tease much other than it's going to be the hardest big bad to take down or even come up with a way to take down. It creates problems for us when we find out his true identity.
Aye, there's the rub. In figuring out who Savitar really is beneath all that metallic gear, Barry and the others might think they're finding a solution, when they're just latching onto another set of identity-based problems. That's super interesting and could offer a unique storytelling path to form. Finding out that "Jay Garrick" was really Zoom in Season 2 didn't really change how Barry & Co. decided to go after him, just like nothing really changed for them once they found out that their Dr. Wells was really Eobard Thawne. Those reveals made the characters do a lot of regretting and self-judging, but it didn't alter their road to justice.
But apparently that'll be different with Savitar. So far, Barry hasn't really been trying to "stop" Season 3's big bad, but rather stopping Iris' death by Savitar, and the show seems to have set it up that the main way to defeat the villain is by trapping him within the Speed Force, which some version of Flash had done to Savitar initially. So how would finding out the speed god's secret identity affect that approach? Is it someone that Barry wouldn't want to banish to an eternity of horrible memories?
We have our guesses as for who Savitar can be, but the biggest and most game-changing pick would be Barry Allen himself, or even Iris somehow. (Candice Patton also told THR that she was shocked by the answer, so I'm keeping her in the lineup.) Barry already watched his father die by a villain's hands, and is living with the future memory of Iris getting shanked, so it's hard to picture Barry having any other driving mantra beyond "destroy that metal piece of shit."But if it's another version of himself under there, or if it's some version of his truest love, then present-day Barry isn't going to know what the hell to do. With himself.
The Flash airs Tuesday nights on The CW at 8:00 p.m. ET, but don't expect to see beneath the Savitar mask soon. While waiting, head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer TV guide to see all the new and returning shows on the way.
