Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Flash Season 7, Episode 2, “The Speed of Thought.” Read at your own risk!
The latest episode of The CW’s The Flash ended with Barry making a surprising decision concerning the Mirrorverse after discovering that he and Team Flash could save either Iris or Kamilla and Singh, but not all three. Due to his new power of speed-thinking, mixed with the artificial Speed Force, Barry’s emotions were almost no more. Since Iris knew more about Eva McCulloch, though, it was the logical decision to save her, though when he opened the portal, Iris wasn't all that willing to go, as Kamilla and Singh were injured. And as you would expect, there are going to be some repercussions.
Grant Gustin spoke to TVLine about Barry’s decision and how different the more thought-filled hero was with the team up until the point when he sees his loving wife and crime-stopping partner Iris is injured. Gustin explained:
I mean, Barry kind of immediately snaps back to reality. He just spent the last day or so completely lacking empathy and not being the Barry we know. He really turns into 'Spock Flash,' as I was thinking of it when he is working at the computer. He was functioning without any type of feeling. And when he sees Iris there convulsing, and the rest of the team incapacitated, it snaps him back to reality and he realizes what he’s done and the fallout there is going to be. In this moment, he thinks he has killed his wife.
At the beginning of the episode, Barry couldn't help but blame himself for the Mirror Mistress getting as far as she has, saying that if he could have just seen through Mirror Iris, none of this would be happening. This definitely isn’t the first time Barry's enemies have used his heart as a weapon against him, which he is firmly aware of, but he wants Eva to be the last one to do so. The Artificial Speed Force ultimately took him over, making him the complete opposite of who he is, and Grant Gustin says that Barry will take that realization pretty hard:
I think it’s going to be the hardest on Barry, because he feels like 'I did this,' and he is expecting the team to kind of have ill will and turn on him. But Team Flash is a family, and they have his back. They help him remember that it wasn’t him, he wasn’t thinking clearly, and not to beat himself up too much. The ASF had taken over his mind, and it ultimately wasn’t his own doing… even though it really was. [Chuckles]
So Iris is officially out of the Mirrorverse, but Kamilla and Singh are still trapped. In next week's episode, Barry will most likely be experiencing the consequences of his actions, even if it wasn’t completely on him. It'll will be interesting to watch how things play out, so be sure to watch when The Flash airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
