Get ready for The Flash Family Adventure in part one of the season seven finale. In “Heart of the Matter, Part 1,” Barry (Grant Gustin) and Iris’ (Candice Patton) future kids, Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) and Bart (Jordan Fisher), join the team to stop the Godspeed War.
The Godspeed War spilled over into Central City, causing a panic. The attacks come in waves, but those waves are happening too often. Barry and the team are running out of speed and science trying to stop the speedsters. They’re only ace in their deck is August Heart (Karan Oberoi), the original Godspeed. He has amnesia and has no idea that he’s a monster.
There is one tiny problem. Iris is phasing in and out of reality. No one knows why. It’s actually really scary. The Still Force, Deon (Christian Magby), took Iris and is using all of his power to keep her stable. Can Barry save Iris and stop the Godspeed War at the same time? Not without some help …
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Nora, aka XS has been showing up in Barry’s dreams lately. She arrived in the past at the end of last week’s episode, with a surprise. Nora brought her baby brother, Bart West-Allen, aka Impulse to meet his dad. Bart is just as upbeat and excitable as Nora is. They both have Iris’ tenacity and Barry’s winning smile.
The kiddos know a thing or two about Godspeed. In the opening sequence, the West-Allen kids actually stop Godspeed, aka August Heart and are ready to take him to jail But then they started a stupid fight and he ran away. Godspeed ran to The Flash Museum and the Allen kids followed. They found him running super fast on a treadmill. A portal opened up and he ran through. And like a true speedster, they ran after him. That’s how they got to the past.
Barry is excited to meet his son, but sad that Iris isn’t there to meet him. He fills them in about August Heart and his amnesia. Chester P. Runk (Brandon McKnight) is super excited to meet the kids but they already know him. He’s the smartest person they know. They also know Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) and Grammy Cecile (Danielle Nicolet)! That’s cute.
Unfortunately, they say they can’t stay. The West-Allen family number one rule is to protect the timeline at any and all costs. But! The Godspeeds recharge in the Speed Force. And as long as this war continues, it’s not safe for any speedster to enter the speed force. That actually makes the kids excited.
Caitlin and Cecile are working together to unlock August’s memories. Chester is working on a device that neutralizes artificially created kinetic energy sources. He just has to charge it with an electromagnetic source … like Allegra’s (Kayla Compton) powers. Great idea, but Allegra is very sad about the death of her cousin. Allegra’s powers aren’t exactly working either. So she can’t charge Chester’s device. Chester can see that something is wrong with Allegra, but she snaps at him everything he tries to get her to talk.
Barry watches his kids with lots of love in his eyes and bonds with them a bit before the next alarm goes off. He asks the kids to go with him to face the Godspeeds, but the Godspeeds are too powerful. Flash decides to run them down until they have to go back to the speed force to recharge. Flash, XS, and Impulse run in different directions, but the Godspeeds only follow Impulse. The Godspeeds call him “the adversary” and chase him down. Flash and XS are able to save Impulse, but Flash knows there’s something his kids are telling him.
Barry demands to know why all the Godspeeds want to kill Bart. At first the kids don’t want to tell him to protect the timeline. Bart admits that Godspeed is his nemesis. He compares the rivalry to Flash and Thawne. This scares Barry and he tries to impress how evil Thawne is. Bart knows how evil Thawne is and acts out at Barry. Nora calms Bart down and they go for a run in the Speed Lab.
Kristen Kramer (Carmen Moore) gives her final report about Creyke. She leaves out the part where he said that she died in an explosion. After the interview is over Joe asks if she left anything out. She says she didn’t, but Joe heard her report. He is more concerned that he can’t get a hold of anyone in Central City. Not even CCPD, so they head back home.
Barry tries to find Wally West, but he’s not reachable. Iris returns to reality after Deon was able to stabilize her until he can find a cure. Barry is about to tell her about Bart and Nora, but she already knows. She was watching from Still Force. Iris is so proud of the kids and can’t wait to meet them. She also knows who Godspeed is to Bart and wants to know what the evil speedster did to her son. They can’t let Bart go out in the field until the war is over.
There is another speedster out there. Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp). Jay i s in Keystone City with his love, Dr. Joan, who looks just like Nora Allen (Michelle Harrison). Jay previously lost his speed, but now it’s back and he’s ready to help the Flash. But the Godspeeds show up and take him hostage before he can start running.
Iris finally gets to hug her babies. The West-Allen family is finally together. But the joy doesn’t last long. Barry and Iris tell Bart that he can’t go out and play. Bart gets angry and Nora runs after him. She finds him at Grandpa Joe’s. Bart feels like everyone is against him. He feels like he’s the only one who can’t stop Godspeed. Godspeed killed Uncle Jay in front of him. Bart has to avenge the only person who understood him. Nora uses Jay’s words against Bart. She asks Bart what Uncle Jay would want him to do if he saw what they were up against. Bart knows Jay would tell him to sit this one out. Nora promises to stop Godspeed for Bart and Jay.
Caitlin shows August the treadmill and he recognizes it. He tries to touch the machine and it shocks him but he doesn’t remember anything. He’s afraid he had a breakdown. Maybe he has a family and needs to get back to them. He just wants to know who he is.
Chester tries again to reach out to Allegra but the villain alarm goes off. Barry rushes in, needing Chester’s device, but the battery is not charged. The device can run on kinetic energy so Barry powers it up with his lightning. He takes the device and runs to meet XS. XS is running through Central City with the Godspeeds on her tail.
XS leads them to the device and as soon as she is next to Barry he activates the device. A blast of lightning hits the Godspeeds and they fall down. But they aren’t down for long. The Godspeeds get back up and attack XS, knocking her out. Barry gets a full blast of Godspeed power but he’s more concerned about XS. He steps in front of the Godspeed speed absorption ray and can barely stand. Frost shows up and saves the day, before Barry falls to the ground.
Everyone is okay, but everyone is confused as to why the device didn’t work. It’s because Barry charged the battery instead of Allegra. The bolt of energy gave the Godspeeds the equivalent of five billion nanometers of energy. Until Chester can get the device working, they need more speedsters. Bart appears out of nowhere, ready to fight, but Mom and Dad say NO! That goes for Nora too. Barry puts his foot down. It’s too dangerous for either of his kids to go up against the Godspeeds. No matter how much they whine and complain. Iris agrees with him. (That was such a weird conversation.) They even go as far as threatening to put the kids in the pipeline if they don’t obey.
Chester figured out the problem with Allegra’s powers. She’s not emitting microwaves anymore. She’s emitting ultraviolet rays, which comes from negative emotions. As much as she says nothing is wrong, Chester knows there is. Allegra finally tells Chester about Esperanza. She feels like she let her cousin down and now she’s letting down the team. She runs away before Chester can console her.
Barry and Iris talk about parenting. It’s harder with two kids, but two speedster kids are a handful. Barry knew they would have hard lives, but he never thought they would have a Thawne of their own. He says there’s a curse on their family, like their legacy is tragic. Barry’s fight with his own Thawne isn’t over. Their fight started with his mom’s death. Barry thinks this Godspeed may have killed someone Bart loved. It’s a cycle and they have to break it to save their family’s future. If they stop the Godspeed now, August Heart will never get his powers back.
The Godspeeds send a message to Flash. They say to turn Bart over or the one he loves will die. They tell Flash that they have Jay Garrick. Iris calls Joan and she confirms that the Godspeeds too him. Chester tracks down the Godspeeds to Zauriel Cathedral. Bart takes off to save Jay. Nora tried to stop him, but he ran too fast. She tells Dad that Godspeed knew taking Jay would trigger Bart. They have to save him.
Impulse arrives at the Cathedral and only finds Jay’s helmet. He says he won’t let it happen again. The Godspeeds appear with a beaten Jay. Just like his name, Impulse attacks Godspeed without thinking. Godspeed is ready for him though.Flash and XS arrive at the cathedral and hear Impulse screaming in pain. They go inside and find the Godspeed draining Impulse’s speed. Nora yells for them to come after her to distract the other Godspeeds so Flash can save Impulse. Godspeed attacks Flash, but Flash phases through the power draining blast and runs through Godspeed. Godspeed falls to the ground, releasing Impulse, but he’s unconscious.
Jay wakes up and jumps up to help Bart. XS returns and the Godspeeds are right behind her. They surround Flash, Jay and the kids. Things don’t look good until Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) appears and blasts the Godspeeds with an entropy trap. The speedsters are able to get away.
Bart is unresponsive. His speed healing is the only thing keeping him alive, but it’s not healing him. The reunion with Cisco is short lived. More Godspeeds are on their way and they haven’t figured out a way to stop them. Chester goes back to working on his device while the team brainstorms about what to do. Barry says they have August Heart. If they can figure out why the war started, maybe they can stop it. Heart would know.
Barry gets the idea to go inside Heart’s mind using a neural hyper-collider and trying to unlock what happened. They will also need Cecile’s help to get in Heart’s head. Cisco and Frost will protect the City while Barry does this.
Joe asks Kristen about her report. She says she let Adam haunt her for too long. Now she can move forward. They enter Central City and see that everyone is trying to get out of town. A car tries to drive down the wrong lane, almost hitting Joe and Kristen. The Godspeeds show up and continue fighting on top of Kristen’s car.
Jay and Chester set up Barry and Heart. Iris warns Barry, saying the real August Heart is locked inside of his mind. Cecile assures August that she will be there to protect him. Barry tells August that he doesn’t have to do this , but August says he needs to know who he is. Even if it’s something he might despise.
They activate the hyper-collider. Cecile’s eyes glow rainbow colors as she guides Barry into August’s mind. Once inside, Barry finds the cathedral and goes in. The real August Heart is there in a Godspeed suit. He’s been waiting for the Flash for some time. August knows Barry has a lot of questions to which he has all of the answers. He says it’s going to be so much fun.
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News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
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