The Flash Season 9 Episode 12 Review: A New World, Part Three
The Flash Season 9 Episode 12, “A New World, Part Three,” is exciting, emotional, and confusing. With the constant maneuvering between the past, present, and future, it isn’t easy to understand what is happening in which landscape.
Now that we are three chapters into this four-part finale, things begin to click into place. Eddie’s resurrection is revealed to be a sinister device of the Negative Speedforce, and we get to see what the future version of Team Flash may look like.
Let’s start with Eddie’s side of the story.
Understandably, Eddie is one confused individual. He was dead, but now he’s alive. Years ago he made a sacrifice and it doesn’t even appear it has paid off — what a bummer.
This is enough to give anybody an identity crisis.
Look, I get it. If I sacrificed everything for the ones I love just for them to move on without me, I’d be a bit miffed too. I mean come on, Barry has a statue — at least Eddie could have gotten a plaque.
A real sense of envy bogs him down. Barry not only got the girl but he also got his entire family. That’s truly a kick in the pants.
Surprisingly, Eddie shows himself to be a better man than me by fighting these bitter emotions. I’m not sure I could do that even without a sinister voice calling my name. Bravo for trying to be the bigger man.
This envy slowly morphs into regret —envy’s even uglier brother. I know this emotion well.
If I did this instead, I’d be in a whole different situation. If I said this, there’s no way my boss would have turned me down for that promotion. Yada, yada, yada.
These voices in our heads are very powerful, but in real life, we can’t very often change our circumstances by reliving the past. The best thing is to learn from it and move on.
We are all lucky that we don’t get the kind of second chance that Eddie is offered. I believe most of us would probably choose the dark side.
Nora: The most powerful form of hate is by corrupting love.
Eddie’s narrative is interesting, to say the least, you can’t help but feel sorry for the man. Unfortunately, Rick Cosnett’s uneven acting takes away from some of the more emotional moments.
In several scenes Cosnett’s acting is spot on, but as the evil tries to take hold, he starts to become a bit over the top bringing us to the levels of 1980s supervillains. While this may work in other contexts, it takes us away from the emotional journey he is on. If he dials it back to maybe a 6, I believe some scenes would work better.
While this part of the story works well enough, it feels convoluted because of all the time jumping. Scenes from the past, present, and future are constantly being shown leaving us confused and annoyed.
Portions of Eddie’s past life are often shown, and we have to struggle to remember if they really happened or not. While we contemplate it, we are blasted into the future where the current timeline’s Flash is having a discussion with Iris. Geez, my head is spinning!
Seriously, what the heck is going on? All I’m asking for is something cohesive — this isn’t 12 Monkeys, after all.
As I said in past reviews, if a portion of these plotlines were dispersed throughout the season, I think everything could work a little bit better. Doing this could have also given us a better connection to the villain allowing us to slowly absorb his pain.
While these scenes don’t destroy the episode, they definitely knock it down a few notches.
The glimpse we get into the future version of Team Flash is a little underwhelming as well. Chester and Allegra are married, and Cecile is still living apart from Joe. The only somewhat exciting part is Nora leading the team in Barry’s absence.
I would have preferred something similar to the final episode of Stargirl. There we were able to see upgraded heroes, foes turned friends, and new additions to the team. I hope this is something they include in the final moments of next week’s episode right before the credits roll.
As the episode ends, I feel myself excited to see how things roll out. Will Eddie fully embrace the Negative Speedforce? Will Cisco make a final cameo? How will the Arrowverse end?
Overall, The CW isn’t known for giving the most satisfying of endings. The Flash alone is known for ridiculous moments like the defeat of Savitar and a double wedding with Oliver and Felicity. So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a least a little excitement and a shed tear or two.
What did you think of this episode of The Flash? Are you excited for the finale? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Flash airs Wednesday at 8/7c on The CW.
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Charles E Henning
Charles E. Henning lives in a quaint town of Illinois with his ever-loving wife since 1998. He is new to writing reviews, but has over thirty years of fictitious writing for his own personal fulfillment. His interests range from science fiction to character-based dramas, but he is a sucker for anyone in a cape.