Tear Jerker / The Flash (2014)

The tragedy that started it all...

Warning: Spoilers Off applies to Tear Jerker pages. Proceed at your own risk.

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Season 1

Episode 1: Pilot

• The flashback of Barry as a boy coming home and seeing his dad taken away in cuffs, and the police basically ignoring him, except Joe, who gives him a hug when he sees him by his mom's corpse.
• The look of horror and anguish on Iris' face as she rushes to the flat-lining Barry's side in the ER and her agonizing screaming of his name as she is being dragged out.
• Barry's talk with his father, especially when he says he's glad people know of their father/son connection and starts crying.
• Barry's face when he sees Iris with Eddie.

Episode 2: Fastest Man Alive

• The flashback of little Barry running away, only to be stopped by Joe. When they get home, Barry is begging Joe to let him see his dad, but Joe refuses. Barry yells "I hate you!", leaving behind a very distressed Joe.
• The flashback of little Barry visiting his dad in prison. He runs to give him a hug, only to be told gently by a guard that he can't. Barry then begs the guards to let his dad go. Barry admits to his dad that he had to run away to see him, because Joe wouldn't let him go, and that he hates Joe. Henry tells him to not say that, and that he didn't want Barry to see him like this, which is why Joe wouldn't take him. Henry then tells him to be a good boy while Joe looks after him.
• Barry's Ironic Echo of his "You're Not My Father" exclamation. The look on Joe's face, who just moments ago referred to Barry as his own kid, is heartbreaking. He gives Joe a proper heartfelt apology.
• Barry's high-speed confession to Iris. He's aching to tell her everything going on in his life, but has to shut her out of almost all of it.
• Barry tries to stop Danton from killing himself. He grows another hand to force Barry to let go. All because he couldn't avenge his wife.

Episode 3: Things You Can't Outrun

• Ronnie Raymond's Heroic Sacrifice. His last words were "Caitlin, whatever happens..." and he is gone before he could say the expected "I love you."
  Caitlin: I didn't want him to be a hero. I wanted him to be my husband.
• Caitlin almost being triggered every time somebody mentions the particle accelerator until Barry offers to go down to it with her.
• Cisco locking Ronnie in the particle accelerator (at Ronnie's request). To the current day, he still feels guilty because of it. He kept this information to himself and didn't tell Caitlin until he's forced to.
• Joe watching the interrogation tape of Henry. Henry is desperately trying to convince the cops of his innocence, and he's begging Joe to let him go, since they're friends and he knows Henry wouldn't kill his wife.

Episode 4: Going Rogue

• The Flash failing to save an innocent man from Captain Cold's cold ray and blaming himself.

Episode 5: Plastique

• Plastique herself getting a Downer Ending.
• The end of the episode has Barry and Iris deciding not to see each other for a while after not understanding each other.

Episode 6: The Flash is Born

• Though it was told by the man who killed them both, the story of Tess Morgan's death would cause anyone to want to get away from it all and start anew somewhere where nobody knows you.
• Barry's slowly developing Heroic BSoD during the episode after repeatedly being defeated by Girder. He spent his childhood being beaten up by this guy, and when he finally gets the chance to both stand up for himself and stop him, he fails horribly. It really hits home hard for anyone who's ever tried to stand up to a bully, only to fail and get beaten up and humiliated even worse for it like he did.

Episode 7: Power Outage

• Since his appearance on Arrow, we learn that Tockman failed to save his sister, and he wasn't even allowed to have a last visit with her. This caused him to completely lose all his redeeming values and he's now a bitter full-on villain who doesn't care about anyone getting hurt anymore.
• How Farooq became Blackout. The day the Particle Accelerator went online he and his friends decided to watch it from a distance, and what's worse it's implied that the only reason they did so was because Farooq was fascinated by it and insisted. He climbs atop a power substation to get a better look, and that's when the building went up. Farooq sees something is about to go horribly wrong and tells his friends to get away, but when the power surge electrocutes him they run back to save him. The last thing we hear before the cut is their bloodcurdling screams. We later find out that they tried to resuscitate him, but while they were giving him CPR he unconsciously electrocuted them. And when he awakes, he becomes a warped electricity vampire who has no choice but to feed. No wonder he wants Wells' head.
  • The tragedy is highlighted after he dies trying to feed on Barry's power. Cisco laments that he had just thought of a good name for him (Blackout), while Wells bitterly corrects him, saying that he "had a name" and wasn't just another supervillain.
• Girder's death is rather touching, considering what a jerk he was. The fact that he was nice to Barry, and told him to run with his dying breath helped make it more sad.

Episode 8: Flash vs. Arrow

• See Flash vs. Arrow

Episode 9: The Man in the Yellow Suit

• Ronnie, the warm (ba dum tss), happy engineer who sacrificed himself to save thousands of lives, has become an emotional wreck who only answers to Firestorm and refuses to come back to his friends. If that's not heart-wrenching enough, we see Caitlin discover him, try to reconnect, and find out the hard way her fiance is not the man he was.
• Eddie's entire situation in this episode. He spent his time as a child learning how to fight back against bullies, became a respected cop, and even got a good girlfriend. But even with all that experience and hard work, the Reverse-Flash effortlessly intimidates and knocks him away without getting a single scratch in return. The man is completely shaken-up when alone with Joe, and he's left knowing that he owes his life to a man he tried to sic a task force on earlier.
• Barry finally admitting his feelings to Iris, even though it's too late and that she is moving in with Eddie. He freely admits his timing is terrible and he had their whole lives to do it yet didn't, and he says he just couldn't bear lying to her anymore. And the real kicker? After Barry finally says "I love you", Iris cheerfully says that she loves him too, when it's clear it's Eddie she loves, and not Barry. The confession brings her to tears (as she likely realizes that if only she had waited for him for those nine months, he would have confessed after waking up from the coma) and later when Barry forces a smile (again) and says he's happy for her and Eddie moving together she can be spotted looking after the leaving Barry sadly.

Episode 10: Revenge of the Rogues

• In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, when announced that their son Hartley had tried to call them again, Mr Rathaway casually declared that he was not his son anymore while Mrs. Rathaway kept her silence. This became much Harsher in Hindsight when Hartley appeared in person and the reason his parents disowned him was revealed.

Episode 11: The Sound And The Fury

• The idea that Hartley's parents would completely disown him, based on nothing more than his sexual preference. This is especially hard-hitting, as this is a very legitimate concern in real life.
• As much as a spurned lover as Hartley can look in Cisco's introduction scene, his shock at finding that his mentor (probably the only one he's ever had a meaningful bond with, given his No Social Skills and Jerkass personality), for all he knew, has probably replaced him with someone else, who he feels isn't trustworthy or reliable - can hit hard.

Episode 12: Crazy For You

• The pain on Cisco's face as he admits to Team Flash (particularly Caitlin) that he locked Ronnie in the particle accelerator.
• Shawna's completely broken after her boyfriend abandons her.
• When Henry implies he knows Barry is The Flash, Barry denies it. Henry rolls with it but tearfully tells him that if his son was The Flash, he'd tell him to be careful and that he was proud of him.

Episode 13: The Nuclear Man

• Linda breaking up with Barry, since he can't tell her why he keeps bailing, and even though they make up by the episode's end, it's just heartwrenching to see Barry brushed off.
• Barry chewing out Iris since her talk with Linda made her want to break up with Barry. It's the first time we've ever seen Barry upset with Iris (not counting Prism's Hate Plague).
• As the Flash takes Caitlin away from Firestorm just as he goes critical, she was shedding a Sparkling Stream of Tears.

Episode 14: Fallout

• Both Ronnie and Martin manage to reunite with their loved ones. However, they realize that they cannot afford to endanger their fiancee and wife respectively because of their F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. powers. Near the end of the episode, Ronnie and Martin merge together again and head out to Pittsburgh to prevent the military from threatening their partners.

Episode 15: Out of Time

• When Eobard Thawne reveals his true identity, Cisco's face goes from shock, to disbelief, to profound sadness as he finally connects the dots. And he seems to know exactly what's coming to him, too, when Thawne's hand starts vibrating. The sad really hits hard when Thawne talks about how he's grown fond of Cisco, almost viewing him like a son...then puts his hand clean through him.
• We finally meet Captain Singh's fiance when Singh is in the hospital after a metahuman attack, and the poor man's face when he hears Singh is suffering from paralysis and possibly severe brain damage is gut-wrenching. Then we find out that not only will Singh not be able to return to the force, but he may never walk again. The fact that this further spurs Joe, Barry, and Eddie to go after Mardon adds some much-needed heartwarming to the situation, but not nearly enough.
  • There's also the part when Singh's fiance is nearly barred from entering the room because of the "family only" rule at hospitals, something that probably hit hard for a lot of same-sex couples watching since it happens so often in Real Life.
• The episode begins with the audience learning that Cisco has been distancing himself from his family for unknown reasons and has been growing an even stronger father/son bond with Thawne in their off-time together. The episode ends with Cisco learning Thawne's true identity and Thawne breaking Cisco with the truth of who he is and what he has been trying to do. And then Thawne impales Cisco with his vibrating hand after saying "I've grown quite fond of you. And in many ways, you have shown me what it's like to have a son." The pain and sadness on Cisco's face is palpable.

Episode 16: Rogue Time

• A subtle one when Cisco comments that Snart is a good brother too. Snart replies that is debatable.
• Cold forcing Cisco to give up the Flash's secret identity by torturing his brother. Cisco is so shaken that he seriously resolves to leave STAR Labs until Thawne convinces him otherwise.
  • After everything that he went through, including being kidnapped, threatened and beaten, all he can say is that he's sorry. Cisco's shaking when he says "They could have killed me". From his tone and the way he follows with "but they were going to kill my brother," it's clear that Cisco would have died to keep Barry's secret if it was just his own life on the line. And he's sure the others will hate him for what happened.
  • And how Thawne convinces him otherwise would be straight-up heartwarming, but the dark context provided by what happened in the previous timeline makes it heart-wrenching.
• Barry expects that Iris will declare her love for him like in the original timeline, only for her to tell him she's with Eddie and he needs to stop making her the bad guy by rejecting him. Barry is crushed, and when he discusses it with Thawne, Thawne tells him that it took a crisis like the Weather Wizard's tsunami to coax Iris' feelings to the surface.
• Barry realizing the truth about Thawne after vehemently denying it.
• Eddie punching Barry after the latter tries to woo Iris again. What Eddie says next and the way he says it is gutting.
  Eddie: You know what the worst part is, Barry? I thought you and I were friends.

Episode 17: Tricksters

• Seeing Dr. Wells happy with his wife, Tess Morgan, and exhibiting an Adorkable personality, makes it all the more tragic to see him so brutally murdered and have his life usurped by Eobard Thawne. Not to mention having his name and reputation tarnished by the explosion.
• After the Tricksters kidnap Henry to be their hostage, Barry breaks down for the very first time on-screen. Watching it is as hard as it sounds; the events of the 2nd-last episode of Season 2 only making this worse.
  Barry: [to Joe] I can't lose him too...[sobs]
• Seeing the original Barry Allen on the STAR Labs set and talking to the new guy, like he's saying "You did good, kid."
• At first, Henry's line to Caitlin, "I will always accept a hug," comes off as him being a Nice Guy. But the fact is that, given his incarceration in Iron Heights, this is probably the first time in years that he's been touched affectionately.
• As far as we knew at the time, the only time Barry would ever be in his mother's presence as an adult would be when he goes back in time and fails to save her from being murdered.

Episode 18: All Star Team Up

• Despite Iris understanding Eddie's need to keep a secret, their relationship is still strained to the point where she says she'll break it off if he keeps it up.
• Barry tells Caitlin and Cisco about his theory about Thawne. Caitlin naturally dismisses it and asks Cisco to back her up. Cisco then tells them about the dreams he's been having about the old timeline where Thawne kills him.

Episode 19: Who is Harrison Wells?

• Turns out that Iris does care about Eddie when she puts aside the cold shoulder act after finding out that Eddie was arrested for shooting two cops. Barry had to calm the tearful Iris down and assures her that he will find justice for Eddie's potential incarceration.
• Even though it was just a disguise, one can imagine how lonely the real grandmother of Hannibal Bates feels when her only living relative turns out to be a criminal and is put away for life.
• Though he was a horrible person who ruined many people's lives and nearly murdered several others, the horror in Bates' voice when it sinks in that he's spent so much time masquerading as other people that he no longer remembers what he looks like, and that he can't change back to himself, is genuine. The heroes can't even think of anything to say to it, and just shut the door on Bates and his realization.
• Joe, Cisco, and Quentin finding where the Reverse Flash stashed what's left of the body of Harrison Wells. A good man—who would've become a great man—just thrown away and forgotten, with his good name forever ruined by the one who put him there.
• Quentin Lance shares with Joe his current difficulties with his daughter over her having kept a big secret from him for months, which anyone watching Arrow knows is a far more serious situation than this episode really lets on. Joe is brought up cold by this, clearly thinking that he might be seeing his future relationship with Iris if she ever finds out who the Flash is.

Episode 20: The Trap

• The look on Eddie's face is distraught when Joe's refuses to give his blessing for Eddie to propose to Iris. It's even more agonizing when you realize it is tradition for the bride's father to give his daughter away in marriage, thus denying Eddie any chance of holy matrimony.
• During the flashbacks when Barry was still in his coma, just seeing how lost Joe and Iris were without him.

Episode 21: Grodd Lives

• Thawne just had to rub salt into Eddie's wounded ego by listing successful careers his future descendants achieved, only none of them are a police detective and a "failure" forgotten in history like Eddie. Adding insult to injury is that Thawne spoiled the future for Eddie by revealing the 2024 newspaper, with Iris taking up Barry's surname in marriage. Looks like a fate worse than death for Eddie is that he will be a nobody who Did Not Get the Girl.
• The normally hard-nosed Joe is so broken by his experience with Grodd and being made to almost shoot himself that he can't even sit up, all he can do is lie on the ground, sobbing in terror.
• Almost all the interactions between Iris and Barry as she confronts him about being the Flash and not telling her about it. It has to hurt knowing that your best friend has been keeping the biggest part of his life secret from you, and that he's so good at lying to you about it. Then there's Barry, whose devastation when Iris delivers this line is palpable:
  Barry: Iris, I can only imagine how angry you must be right now...
  Iris: I'm not angry, Barry. I'm just disappointed.
  • In a Deleted Scene, we see Barry desolate because he thinks Iris hates him. She doesn't, of course, and Caitlin explains it to him, but it's still sad to see how much he's beating himself up for lying to her for so long.
• Barry and Iris finally admitting, in so many words, that they are in love with each other, but the fact still stands, she loves Eddie, and for the time being, and while Barry understands, nothing can happen until they get him back from the Reverse Flash.

Episode 22: Rogue Air

• Caitlin under the influence of Prism, releasing all her pent-up rage on Cisco, her best friend, for his part in what happened to Ronnie.
• Eddie bowing out of his relationship with Iris, albeit attempting to do so with his pride and dignity intact, realizing that he wasn't the right one for Iris all along, even if she didn't know it yet herself. Still, he was so destroyed by what Thawne had shown him that led him to this realization.
  Eddie: I knew, I always knew...I guess I just thought I could love you enough to change things.

Episode 23: Fast Enough

• The expression Barry makes after Stein pronounces Caitlin and Ronnie husband and wife is shattering.
• During Barry's time journey, we see Caitlin as Killer Frost. And it's very quick, but from the brief look we get at her expression, she doesn't look angry. She looks almost...scared.
• Barry deciding not to save his mom, after his future self silently tells him not to. Made worse when Thawne goes in for the kill and Barry closes the door since he can't bear to watch. And all Nora can do is cry out for her husband and son. Then Barry shows up and takes off his mask to reveal that he and his dad both turn out okay—and that he got a chance to say goodbye. Then Barry watches his mom slowly die and sobs over her corpse.
  • Before that, Henry telling him not to save his mother because it could change things, including Barry, and saying that he's in awe of who Barry is.
  • Consider the point of view of Future Barry. He pauses in the middle fighting the Reverse Flash when he notices his past self waiting for the opportunity to save Nora. Not only does he have to tell his Past-Barry not to do it, he also remembers having been told not to. It has to be hurting as much to tell Past-Barry not to as much as it hurt Past-Barry to have to listen.
• Eddie's death.
  • What really hammers it in is that Eddie was actually finally starting to think of himself as someone worthwhile. Throughout the final episodes of the season, he found out that Barry, not him, would go on to marry Iris. Stein's "coincidence" speech gave him the courage to go Screw Destiny and get back together with Iris, showing that they both genuinely love each other. Everything goes south when he decides to make the ultimate Heroic Sacrifice by killing himself to ensure Thawne would never be born.
    • Easily overlooked, but it should also be noted that by committing suicide to prevent Eobard's birth, Eddie not only erased his wicked and vile descendant's existence, but also that of his son and all his descendants that preceded Eobard. Eobard may have been an evil bastard, but we don't know if the rest of Eddie's descendants were good or not, so while committing suicide may have been the best option to save his friends, Eddie possibly destroyed unintentionally the lives of future relatives who had done nothing to deserve vanishing into nothingness.
  • Joe's and Iris' reaction to Eddie's suicide is worth mentioning as well. Joe can only scream repeatedly in the loudest voice that he can manage (which is amplified by the large particle accelerator chamber), "WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!?" This is in complete contrast to how he blew off Eddie's request for Joe's blessing to marry Iris and his general dislike of Eddie earlier in the season. Iris gets down to the particle accelerator room and she's screaming as well, finally managing to say that she loves him and that he's a hero. Eddie's response?
    Eddie: That's...all I've ever wanted to be...Your hero...
• Cisco is the one person who outright objects to the idea of Barry traveling back in time to save his mom. It's clear as day he really doesn't want to lose Barry and the strong friendship Barry has developed with him and Caitlin.
• Eobard Thawne was so happy that he was going back to his own time, he seemed like he was actually about to cry. Then Barry came back and destroyed the Time Sphere and prevented all that.
  • His final thoughts before he's about to embark are really what puts him into this trope: not plotting to come back or continuing to wreak havoc on Barry's life, but...
    Eobard: Home...
• As Eobard begins being erased from existence...
  Eobard: Cisco...help me...
  • It's kind of hard not to feel bad for Eobard. Even though he's the Big Bad of Season 1, all he ever wanted was to go back home, and now he's erased from existence by the one thing he never expected.
• In a deleted scene, Iris and Joe tearfully discuss how all of the fond memories they made with Barry when he was growing up with them will be gone once he saves his mother. To make it all the more poignant, the scene ends with this:
  Iris: Too bad Barry can't go back in time and save my mom too.
• When Barry goes to confront Eobard in the Pipeline, he asks him why he did everything that led up to the events of the episode. Thawne, a man Barry looked up to, who served as his mentor and friend for most of the series up to now, starts by explaining simply...
  Eobard: Because I hate you.

Season 2

Episode 1: The Man Who Saved Central City

• In the beginning of the episode, seeing both Ronnie and Eddie alive and happy in Barry's daydream before he comes to his senses just hurts.
• Ronnie sacrificing himself in order to erase the singularity is the reason why Team Flash got splintered for 6 months, all because Barry couldn't take the guilt of allowing another person that he cared for die under his watch.
  • The quiet, almost whimper when Stein says Ronnie's name really drove home how heartbreaking this was. The guy's never been shown to be all that emotional, but he somehow manages to make a single word sound devastated.
• The grim attitude that overcomes all of Team Flash, after they intentionally overload Atom Smasher with too much radiation. Yes, he was a murdering psychopath who would have probably killed Barry and more innocent people if they hadn't stopped him when they did, but this is the first time they all worked together to kill someone, instead of just capture them.
• Just when Henry finally cleared his name and got out of jail, Barry assumed that he will spend more time catching up with his father. Instead, Henry insisted that Barry must stay in Central City as the Flash while Henry gets out of town to rebuild his life. Barry could barely hold his sadness as he reluctantly accepts that his father needs time alone to figure things out.

Episode 2: Flash of Two Worlds

• Patty's backstory on why she wants to become a cop and join Joe's Anti-Metahuman Task Force is certainly saddening, as it turns out that her father was murdered by the Mardon Brothers at a bank robbery (prior to the brothers gaining superpowers). Patty's convictions and determination are more than enough to convince Joe to let her become a part of his team.
• Professor Stein: "I suggest we put our heads together and come up with a solution. Not literally of course, those days are over." *Walks away clearly saddened*.

Episode 3: Family of Rogues

• Snart's horrified reaction when his father appears to kill Barry, followed by his giving a quick "Sorry, Barry" as the only thing he can say without arousing suspicion.
  • Even though NOBODY, not even the viewer, could possibly be sad seeing Snart's father go, what makes his death scene pretty tearjerking is the Leonard Snart admitting that even though he hates the Flash for getting in his way, he hates his father more for all he did to him and Lisa when they were children. The look in his eyes, complete with welling tears as he watches his father die, is nothing short of heartbreaking to see.
• In order to gain Team Flash's trust, Lisa reveals a scar on her chest and states that it didn't come from her being a criminal, but rather being Lewis Snart's daughter. Poor girl had to endure parental abuse since the age of 7.
• Joe telling Iris the truth about her mother. He's crying, with Iris breaking down into tears as well, though not as severely.
  • The memory itself. Joe returned home one day to find his wife passed out from an overdose again, and little Iris next to an open flame on the stove. If he had arrived a minute later, Iris could have been seriously injured or worse. No wonder Joe sounds so traumatized. In fact, what prompted him to rush home was that Iris called 911, which went through dispatch and he overheard it on the radio. It's heavily implied that it wasn't the first time it's happened, but the scene he came home to was monumentally worse.

Episode 4: The Fury of Firestorm

• Poor Francine cannot seem to catch a break as not only does her ex-husband and daughter want nothing to do with her, she's also dying from a disease which could end her life within a year. Though Francine made many mistakes, she never stopped regretting the consequences from her drug addiction and abandoning her family.
• Iris having to find out for herself that she has a brother, because her mother wouldn't tell her. Taking it upon herself to keep this a secret from her father, because of how he would feel finding out about a potential son growing up without him. Punctuated by her crying alone in the dark. Barry! You get your butt here and hug her! She needs a good hug!
• Jax's situation before being approached by Team Flash is quite depressing. In the flashback, we get to see the kid with his whole life ahead of him. He was the star of his team, and he clearly couldn't be happier or more proud of himself, only for it all to be gone mere seconds later. Next we see of him, he is scraping out a living as a mechanic and clearly bitter about what happened. It just reinforces how many innocent people Wells screwed over.

Episode 5: The Darkness and the Light

• The team deciding to follow Earth-2 Harrison's plans instead of listening to Jay. Jay is terrified of Zoom and the damage he can cause and wants him away from the team while he sees them blindly following Harrison, the man who created Zoom in the first place.

Episode 6: Enter Zoom

• The Earth 2 Oliver Queen was killed in the wreck of the Queen's Gambit, leading to Robert becoming a vigilante instead. And he apparently went down a rather darker path, having never stopped calling himself "the Hood."
• Barry getting brutally beaten within an inch of his life and crippled by Zoom. Joe became so distraught he threatened to kill Wells if Barry didn't pull through.

Episode 7: Gorilla Warfare

• Grodd's relationship with RF may not be happy with the simple yet tragic line "Father does not ask Father takes".
• Henry recounts the moment how all of his friends lost respect in him after being framed for murdering his wife Nora. It was only through Barry's consistent faith in his father that Henry was willing to accept a prison sentence that he didn't deserve. And by embracing a harsh reality, Henry shows how he can be strong for Barry and returns him the favor by believing in his son's recovery from Zoom's beatings.

Episode 9: Running to Stand Still

• Joe's reaction to having a son he didn't know about. It's as heartbreaking as Iris expected.
• The Flash desperately trying to talk Patty out of killing Mardon.

Episode 10: Potential Energy

• Patty and Barry's relationship ends, largely due to Barry constantly running off to be the Flash and his reluctance to get close to her for fear of what Zoom might do to her.
• The way Wally wants almost nothing to do with Joe or Iris and all the resentment he shows Joe for not being there for him growing up. It obviously hurts Joe to hear all this, and the regret and pain on his face is clear to see.
• Jay is dying without his speed due to an undisclosed illness, and has been hiding it from Team Flash. Caitlin doesn't take it well.

Episode 11: The Reverse-Flash Returns

• Patty begging Barry to reveal his secret, telling him that she'll stay with him in Central City if he does, and her tearful breakdown when he refuses. The fact that they're both aware she already knows the truth anyway makes it even worse.
  • When Patty explains about how she knows that Barry is the Flash, and as a detective, she implies that she thinks herself stupid for not figuring it out sooner. She goes on to also say that she probably didn't do so and that she delayed her move to Midway City because she was so smitten with Barry. She tells him that he doesn't need to feel guarded around her, and that she understands that his reason for being so distant is because his vigilante activities can be dangerous for him and everyone he cares about. She even reaches out to take his hands, as if to try to take him back, but he still puts up a front, letting her know that it's too late.
• Iris' tearful goodbye with her mother. She acknowledges that she doesn't even know her but is devastated to watch her die, and is sad about the fact that she never got to know her mother.
• The anguish on Barry's face when he realizes he has to help the Reverse-Flash escape into the future in order to save Cisco's life, after he finally defeated him in a one-on-one fight.
  • What's worse is that Wells says that the events of this episode, in January 2016, are what cause Eobard Thawne to learn about S.T.A.R. Labs and give him the idea to Kill and Replace Earth-1 Wells—and there's nothing any of them can do to stop it (or else Cisco will die).
• Harry is pretty much hysterical when Cisco is slowly dying.
  • The last time we saw him this emotional is when Cisco revealed Jessie was still alive, then when Zoom brings Jessie to him then takes her away. Just goes to show Harry has come to love "Ramon" like a son. Case in point: he calls him "Cisco."
  Harry: Barry, you need to get Reverse Flash and send him back to the future as quickly as possible.
  Barry: What? Are you - ? I JUST CAUGHT HIM! YOU WANT ME TO LET HIM GO?!
  Harry: KEEPING HIM HERE IS KILLING CISCO!
• A small one, but when Eobard asks Harrison who is, Harrison responds with "No one of consequence." in a tone that sounds genuinely sad.
• The facts behind what drove Eobard to evil are heartbreaking: He was once a fanboy who idolized the Flash, to the point of recreating his lab accident and giving himself the same powers. But upon time-traveling and doing some research he realized he was destined only to be the Flash's greatest enemy, and that fact drove him to insanity to the point of being obsessed with proving he was better. It's not quite enough to make him sympathetic, but you can tell that Eobard was once just a sweet little kid with an idol, and wasn't always a murdering psychopath.
  • More heart-aching is that change led to many people being killed, people close to Barry and the especially the events that led to Season 1. All because Eobard went mad with jealously over the fact that he could never truly be like his hero instead of being a hero in his own right.
    • According to Harry's theory why the Reverse Flash is still alive, pretty much makes Eddie's Heroic Sacrifice null and void

Episode 12: Fast Lane

• Francine is confirmed to have died of her illness offscreen.
• You can almost feel how much Wells is despising himself over the episode for siphoning Barry's speed to give to Zoom, especially after it the boiling point when it ends up sending Iris to the hospital. He fully expected them to just dump him back on his Earth and be done with him.
• Wells gets irritated by Barry and tells him he already has one kid, he doesn't need another. Barry is shown to be bothered by it.
• The look on Joe, Barry, and Wally's faces when Iris is hit by a shard of glass from a falling car.

Episode 13: Welcome to Earth- 2

• Barry talking to the Earth-2 version of his late mother. If you're watching this show from the very beginning, you could imagine how powerful this scene is.
• The fact that Earth-2 Barry and Joe pretty much hate each other. It's jarring enough to see friendly, protective Joe so hostile to the man who on Earth-1 is his son but what really twists the knife is the fact that Earth-2 Barry, who is unlike every other character in that he's just like his Earth-1 version that doesn't have a mean bone in his body, hates him right back, especially since the only character that Earth-1 Barry has ever brought himself to hate is the Reverse-Flash.
• The death of Joe's Earth-2 counterpart.
• The fate of Earth-2 Martin Stein: He is kept in a permanent And I Must Scream situation by Deathstorm. While it is unknown if he was an Asshole Victim and Evil Twin, hearing that happen to a Martin Stein is harsh. Though he does get released to death by Deathstorm's demise.
• Killer Frost's reaction upon seeing Deathstorm's corpse.

Episode 14: Escape from Earth- 2

• Watching the Man In The Iron Mask's frustration and helplessness as first Barry and Jesse misunderstand his message, then having to watch Barry get beaten to a pulp in front of him. It becomes even worse after we learn his identity.
• Just when things were finally going good for Jay, the episode ends with Zoom recapturing him right when the last breach got sealed.

Episode 15: King Shark

• The general downturn of the mood following Jay's supposed death, made worse by Harry coming up with the brilliant suggestion of not talking about it.
  • Caitlin in particular doesn't react well to this, freaking Cisco out...which is doubly worse, because her cold demeanor makes Cisco think she's turning into her Earth-2 counterpart...
    Caitlin: It's not happening again!
• After keeping quiet about the events of the last two episodes, Barry finally gives in and reveals to Joe and Iris everything, in particular Barry-2 and Joe-2's relationship and how Barry indirectly got Joe-2 killed. By the end, Barry is quite clearly forcing himself to spit it out. And even when Joe says that none of that is his fault, Barry still thinks so.
  • It's subtle, but when Barry mentions that "some metas" came by looking for him, he struggles saying it, because the alternative was to say that Caitlin and Ronnie's Earth-2 counterparts were bad guys.
  • Noticeably, Joe (ecstatic to find out he was a lounge singer in Earth-2) immediately becomes upset upon learning this. It was like a switch being thrown: from happy to sad the second Barry revealed their relationship in Earth-2.
  • For Barry, just bringing those horrible memories back is enough to make the poor guy break out into tears yet again.
• Minor among everything else, but there's Wally being jealous of Barry and how Iris and Joe treat him. This is particularly clear when Barry helps out Wally with his paper, and how he keeps unintentionally offending him.
  • Tying into the above scene, after Wally calls Barry out on being a coward for supposedly hiding from King Shark, Iris says that Joe should talk to him...only for Barry to shoot it down.
    Barry: No...It's fine, I get it. (deep sigh) Look, I know you guys love me, but please stop telling Wally all this great stuff about me, start telling him the truth...I'm not perfect...Make mistakes even the Flash can't fix...
• The Stinger confirms what we all dreaded: Zoom turns out to be Jay. Which means that Team Flash yet again trusted a mentor figure that turned out to be a total bastard.

Episode 16: Trajectory

• You can see how painful the look on Team Flash's faces are when they discover Zoom's identity. Caitlin in particular looks on the verge of tears.
• The fact that Barry once again trusted a friend/mentor who turned out to be an evil speedster, despite his efforts, hits him so hard that the only thing he can do is yell out his anger.

Episode 17: Flash Back

• Barry's Opening Narration, show's that once again our Hero is in the midst of blaming himself for trusting the wrong people.
  Barry: (v.o) I let it happen again, I trusted someone I shouldn't have. "Jay Garrick"...Zoom...
• A minor one, but despite Barry altering the timeline, Eddie is still dead.
• Harry sulking over how everything he did to save his daughter from Zoom only drove her away from him.
• Seeing Iris watch Eddie's video message to her is this and heartwarming at the same time.

Episode 18: Vs. Zoom

• Thought you couldn't feel sorry for Zoom. What if you learned that when he was just a child, around the same age when Barry had his own trauma, he witnessed his father murder his mother, then learn that nobody in his family wanted him, forcing him into the foster system? Barry may have had the West's, Hunter had no one.
• Just when Barry is finally able to match Zoom in combat, he managed to use Wally as leverage to get Barry's speed in the end.
• The first time that Zoom takes off his mask in front of all of his former friends and the horrified expressions on their faces, especially Caitlin, who lets out an audible cry. Yeah they all learned the truth, but this is the first time they saw him in person. He proceeds to dig the knife deeper by taunting all of them afterwards.
• "You are no hero. You're a monster." The look on Hunter's face when he hears that from Caitlin, then flashbacks to the death of his mother...

Episode 19: Back to Normal

• Harry completely ripping into Barry about his recent decision.
• Griffin's plight, a teenager that is rapidly aging because of Dark Matter.
  • Griffin does get back to normal, but only in death.
• After watching Zoom kill her doppelgänger, Killer Frost, Caitlin, seemingly on the verge of a tearful breakdown, just up and begs Zoom to take her home.

Episode 20: Rupture

• Zoom, killing Rupture for his failure, and revealing to him in his final moments that he killed Reverb, not Cisco.
• Barry seemingly having died from the second particle explosion, Iris and Henry taking it the hardest!
  Henry: (to Harry) What have you done to my son?
  • Iris' sobbing, after just recently admitting to Barry that she loves him too, just twist the knife even further. Her "Dad, no!" into Joe's shoulder just cements how much Harry screwed up!

Episode 21: The Runaway Dinosaur

• Henry is in full Heroic BSoD mode after Barry's seeming death, and Cisco is in such a state of shock that he can do nothing but pick up the ruined Flash suit.
• The Speed Force (as Henry) leading Barry to Nora's grave site.
• Barry talking to The Speed Force in the form of Nora Allen. At this point, Barry can't help but just emotionally break down.

Episode 22: Invincible

• Barry is Forced to Watch Zoom kill Henry right on the same spot his mother died. All Barry is able to do in response is to scream in despair. And this is after a Hope Spot, in which Henry seems to be moving on with his life by taking an interest in Dr. Tina McGee.
• When Joe calls Wally out on how idiotic it is for him to try and take-on metahuman criminals rampaging through the city, Wally reveals he has some deep-seated self-loathing, blaming and hating himself for his past mistakes and holding himself responsible for Zoom's latest attacks.
• Harry unhesitatingly giving over his protective headphones as soon as his daughter's are shown to be defective. And despite the obvious and excruciating pain he's in from the moment he takes them off, he still keeps his hands on Jesse and keeps reassuring her that it will be okay right up to the moment where he passes out.
  • Also Jesse's reaction to his sacrifice.

Episode 23: The Race of his Life

• Despite defeating Zoom, Barry is so beaten down from losing his father after meeting the real Jay Garrick that he reaches his Despair Event Horizon and goes back to when Eobard Thawne killed Nora Allen. This time, he saves her, trapping himself back in the year 2000, in the process erasing the events of the first two seasons and setting up the Arrowverse's version of Flashpoint.
• When Zoom killed Henry Allen, Barry was stricken with grief as he saw his dad fall to his knees begging him to stay with him as he cried his heart out. This, as mentioned in the example above was one of Barry's reasons for causing the Arrowverse's Flashpoint.
• Even if it was a time-remnant construct of Barry's, there was something about how it sacrificed himself to stop Zoom's plan to destroy the multiverse that tug at a few heart strings. And it looks like the rest of Team Flash feels the same.
• Iris trying to remain her composure as she explains the situation about Joe's abduction and the agreement that The Team made concerning Zoom to Wally.
  Iris: Wally, we all agreed that if we got Zoom off this Earth, we would close all the breaches and we would...(breaths in while trying to remain strong, yet her voice begins to quiver) Never open them again. Under any circumstances.
  Wally: Wh- Why would you do that. NO! No way that's not gonna happen.
  Iris: He made us all agree to it.
  Wally: I didn't agree to it!
  Iris: Wally—
  Wally: (breaking down) Iris, I already lost my mom...If Dad- I-
  (Storms off as Iris can barely watch him walk away)

Season 3

Episode 1: Flashpoint

• Joe is an alcoholic cop, always risking being fired, and has a strained relationship with his kids.
• Barry losing some of his memories of Cisco mid-conversation with him. Made more painful by Barry being aware that he's lost something but not remembering the details.
• Barry realizes he has to set the timeline back to normal by letting his mother die. He goes to see his parents and, without letting them know what's about to happen, lets them know how much he loves them and how wonderful it was to see him again. They simply give him a hug, not grasping what he's about to do as Barry tearfully races to set things right.
• Thawne forcing Barry into asking him to kill Nora to restore the timeline.
  Barry: You know what I need you to do!
  Thawne: Yeah, but I want to hear you say it!
  Barry: (fighting back tears) I need you to kill my mother!
  Thawne: (smirking) With pleasure!
  Barry: I hate you.
  Thawne: And I hate you.
• Nora's second death is even worse than her first. She had a brief Hope Spot before she was brutally murdered by Eobard Thawne, all because the whole world would break if one woman didn't die so her son could be a hero.
• Despite Barry fixing the timeline, his meddling caused a rift between Iris and Joe for reasons unexplained.

Episode 2: Paradox

• Turns out that Cisco and Barry are estranged in the "fixed" timeline because Dante was killed by a drunk driver and Barry refuses to go back in time to save him.
• The horrible realization that Barry's actions affected Team Arrow too. John has a baby boy, John Diggle Jr. and Baby Sara is no more.
  • Even worse? The hellhole that Star City will eventually turn into according to Legends of Tomorrow isn't just a possible future; it's now a more definite future if things continue the course.
• Barry's utterly destroyed reaction when Iris harshly confronts him on his battle with the Rival, and what exactly he did to the timeline, leaving Barry to resort to what he thinks is the only method of fixing everything.
  Iris: (tearing up) You need to tell me what is going on Barry, Right Now! And if you lie to me, this thing between us, can't happen!
  Barry: (unable to look her in the eye) I know, I'm sorry! I did this...All of this. It's my fault and I've been trying to fix it, and there's only one way to do that now...I'm sorry Iris...
  (runs away, back into the Speed-Force, and back in time...)
• The look on Barry's face during Jay's time travel explanation and how he can never truly fix any of his time travel mistakes.
• Barry's heartfelt confession to his teammates how he massively screwed up and is powerless to fix any of it.
• Caitlin developing ice powers, meaning her transformation into Killer Frost now seems all but inevitable.

Episode 3: Magenta

• Frankie has a very hard to watch breakdown because of Julian's blunt and unprofessional interrogation.
• Frankie/Magenta, breaking down in Barry's arms.
• Frankie in general. It can be safely assumed that her life was a nightmare before she got her powers, and we can see that she doesn't really want to hurt anyone. Now she's got Magenta constantly trying to get rid of her, and using her body to do horrible things. The poor girl is fighting for her life inside her own head, and terrified she'll lose every time Magenta takes control.

Episode 4: The New Rogues

• Jesse feeling major guilt for getting Barry trapped in a mirror.
  • Later turns heartwarming when Wally cheers her up, and the two share a genuinely amazing lip-lock.
• Some sad Dramatic Irony as Barry tells Joe that Scudder won't find Leonard Snart because the latter "went on a...trip...with some friends." Barry himself still has no idea that Snart died on that trip.
• Caitlin's begrudging acceptance on becoming Killer Frost. The scene in her bathroom suggests she's goes through this every night.

Episode 5: Monster

• The titular monster just turned out to be a hologram created by a troubled teenager who suffers from bullying at school, and for once wanted to feel strong by inflicting that fear on others. He nearly ends up getting killed by Julian for his trouble.
• We finally see the reason why Julian hates metahumans so much: he's really angry because most of them use their powers for personal benefit and causing harm, and he wishes he could have been one so he could use those powers to make the world a better place.
• Caitlin's gradual transformation into Killer Frost starts spiraling downward rapidly. By the end of the episode, her powers are revealed to be irreversibly transforming her the more she uses them. When she hears this, she looks more terrified then she ever has before.

Episode 6: Shade

• Caitlin finally is forced to reveal her ice powers to the team.
  • She is specifically forced to do so after Cisco vibes a fight between Vibe and Killer Frost, to his horror.
  • After finding out, Barry immediately blames himself.

Episode 7: Killer Frost

• Caitlin has used her powers one time too many, and now she's gone full Killer Frost. She ends up injuring Julian, making her public enemy number one. No matter what action Barry takes, it's clear nothing will be the same anymore.
• Barry tries talking down Caitlin, mentioning how he can help her. What does he get in response?
  Caitlin: ...just like how you helped your mother?
  • And then she proceeds to tear into him over "Flashpoint"...while also telling Cisco (who she knows is watching this over the security cameras) that pre-"Flashpoint", Dante was alive and healthy.
    Barry is the reason your brother is dead!
  • And because of the above reveal, Barry and Cisco are no longer friends and it's unclear if they ever will be again.
• Caitlin/Killer Frost's series of angry rants about how much Barry and Team Flash are all failures, by the end of the one she delivers to them in the pipeline you can see that Cisco's just barely holding back his tears.
• Barry's Catch-22 Dilemma to Caitlin: she's free to go...if she kills him. And, naturally, this snaps her out of "Killer Frost" mode.
• Throughout the episode Joe is terrified at what's happening to his son, who is now encased in an unknown, seemingly alien-like object. He dislikes the rest of Team Flash advising him not to bust Wally out of there, so he ultimately ignores their advice and does it himself after encouraging words from H.R....only to realize he just made things worse and should have listened to them all along! And of course, this is all on top of worrying about Caitlin, like the rest of Team Flash.

Episode 8: Invasion!

See Invasion!

Episode 9: The Present

• Barry accidentally travels through time, but this time to the future. And sees Savitar killing Iris and his future self being unable to do anything about it.
• Cisco being forced to essentially give up what he believes is his only chance to get his brother back. Granted, it's just an illusion, but still...
• While Jay meant well in telling Barry how proud his father would have been of him, you can tell that hearing it was kind of a gut punch to Barry, and that he still isn't over his father's death or the fact that Jay is his father's Alternate Self.
• Julian telling Barry about how his sister Emma's death tore his family apart, which, as if it weren't a tear jerker enough in itself, leads Barry to the conclusion that Savitar exploited Julian's grief to possess him and make him become Alchemy without his knowledge or consent.

Episode 10: Borrowing Problems from the Future

• Julian actually breaking down in tears when he brings up the people he unwillingly killed as Alchemy. For the very first time, we see a character who has been previously cold and stoic show his true face as a very human being.
• As part of the Bad Future, Caitlin has fully transformed into Killer Frost. Caitlin is crushed when she finds out.
  • The fact that Cisco hesitated to tell her is rather sad. Both of them are unhappy at seeing this future event.
• Iris' reaction to being told about her death at the hands of Savitar is heartwrenching to watch.
  • Not to mention Barry telling her about it — the man is in tears the entire time. Both Grant Gustin and Candice Patton sold the scene extremely well.

Episode 11: Dead or Alive

• The desperation in Barry's voice, when asking if Cisco has formulated any ideas to save Iris.
• Iris breaking down, it's not that she's afraid of dying, she's afraid she'll have made no impact on the people around her.

Episode 12: Untouchable

• Joe finally discovering about Iris potentially getting killed in the future by Savitar is heart wrenching to watch, especially since Team Flash has known about about this for weeks. Joe reacted exactly how Iris feared, as he stormed out of STAR Labs in anguish and outrage.
• During the episode's stinger, Jesse is shown to be in a lot of stress when she tells Wally that Grodd has her father.
• Iris writhing in pain after she's been infected by Yorkin and everyone's reaction - Wally and Cisco feel guilty because they didn't call Barry, who can only watch helplessly and try to comfort her as best he can, and Joe, who must be especially distraught after being told that she's going to die in four months.

Episode 13: Attack on Gorilla City

• While being held captive in Gorilla City, Barry, Caitlin, Cisco and Julian are forced to seriously consider killing Cisco to prevent Grodd from exploiting his breach-opening abilities, with Cisco being perfectly willing to go along with this plan to save the others.
  • To a lesser extent, Caitlin being asked to be the one to kill Cisco, even though doing so would involve her using her powers and thus (potentially permanently) becoming Killer Frost.
  Julian: Caitlin, if you kill someone there's no going back. You'll be Killer Frost for the rest of your life.

Episode 14: Attack on Central City

• Barry considers actually killing Grodd, and not just to protect Central City, but for selfish motivations, mainly to alter the timeline to prevent Iris' death.
  • The plea a teary-eyed Iris makes that she would rather die than watch the love of her life poison his soul is absolute shattering.
  • This is followed by Harry's chilling warning to Barry that intentionally taking a life, even a monster's like Grodd, results in a part of you dying, and making it much easier to justify and blur the lines of a person's morality (with him speaking from experience) is very sobering.

Episode 15: The Wraith of Savitar

• The sheer amount of Mind Rape that Wally goes through is absolutely heart-wrenching as Savitar tortures him physically and mentally, whether it be throwing him around or appearing to him as his deceased mother or hearing Savitar put him down by telling him he won't be fast enough to save Iris.
• Wally taking Savitar's place in the Speed Force. While everyone is emotionally devastated at seeing Wally basically being forced into the Speed Force, Joe and Jesse take it the hardest, with Joe trying to muster up everything he has to not collapse crying while holding onto the remains of Wally's suit while Jesse cries her eyes out.
  • HR goes to comfort her even though he's not Harry, and Jesse hugs him just as she would her dad — she's so devastated she needs someone for comfort.
• Iris telling Barry their engagement is off by showing her she's taken off her ring.

Episode 16: Into the Speed Force

• Despite the two having broken off their relationship, Barry and Iris fully are aware that they still love each other, making their separation all the more painful.
• Jay's Heroic Sacrifice, allowing himself to take Wally's place in the Speed Force, acknowledging that he may very well die in there.
• After the latest ordeal, Barry decides to stay with Cisco for a while because he needs space. Made worse by the fact that Iris just told him she wanted to marry him.

Episode 17: Duet

• A shell-shocked Wally still struggling with the PTSD of his time in the Speed Force.
• The musical in itself is actually rather sad, after the Star-Crossed Lovers played by Iris and Mon-El respectively make their pleas to their feuding fathers (Joe, Stein, Merlyn) and the heartfelt rendition of "More I Cannot Wish You," the three deliver to their children, it is not enough to stop the gang war, and Barry and Kara get caught in the crossfire.

Episode 18: Abra Kadabra

• Caitlin has fully transformed into Killer Frost. She had been severely injured earlier in the episode, and in the final minutes, she succumbs to her wound and dies. Cisco, Julian, and HR are all devastated, and Julian panics and rips her necklace off despite her objections earlier in the episode. She comes back, and the wound is healed, and the three men are overjoyed...but they forget to put the necklace back on. Caitlin evaporates into vapor and then reforms with the pale skin and white hair that her Earth-2 counterpart had, showing that Killer Frost has taken over.

Episode 19: The Once and Future Flash

• Barry travels to the future and — to put it lightly — Team Flash is not in a good place:
  • Cisco has lost both of his hands due to an encounter with Killer Frost and is unable to use his powers.
  • Wally is paralyzed and in a catatonic state after going off to face Savitar in a rage after Iris' death.
  • Caitlin is fully Killer Frost and is locked in a cell, having absolutely no empathy for her crimes' victims.
  • Joe is broken over losing his daughter and essentially his son.
  • And future Barry himself, who apparently after finally defeating Savitar is so destroyed by the loss of Iris that he broke up the team and is now a recluse in S.T.A.R. Labs.
• The fact that future Barry broke his promise to Iris to be there for Joe and Wally if he is unable to save her. Something Present Barry calls him out on only for Future Barry to heartbreakingly break down the events that are going to happen to his past self; from being so blinded by wanting to beat Savitar he pushes everyone away and by the time Savitar is finally trapped in the Speed Force the victory is completely hollow because he already won long ago. Barry is dripping with tears by the end and just wants to return to the present at that point.

Episode 20: I Know Who You Are

• Savitar is Future Barry Allen. This means Barry killed all those poor researchers during the search for the Philosopher's Stone, brainwashed Julian into being his vessel, ruined the lives of many innocent people whose only fault was that they were metahumans in the Flashpoint timeline, killed a fellow speedster, killed two platoons of SWAT and police officers, personally brainwashed Caitlin onto her slippery slope of evil, is outright stated to be everything negative behind Flashpoint, KILLED Iris West (it's later revealed that he also sent his friends and adoptive family into deep despair), tricked Wally — his own protégé — into releasing him and getting trapped in the Speed Force, and probably committed many other villainous actions throughout the timeline. Yes, Barry, who is known for his inherent goodness, loves life in general, and has gone into a Heroic BSoD if he let a single person die even by accident. What the hell happened to him that he fell this hard?
  • Not only that, but the fact that present-day Barry is able to correctly guess that Savitar is his future self means that he himself realizes that he has all this horrible potential within him. While Future!Barry was always the most popular theory of who was under Savitar's mask, a very justifiable argument against it would be that someone as sweet and heroic as Barry couldn't possibly have that evil within him, a sentiment very likely shared by Team Flash themselves...but Barry himself implicitly acknowledges that he has this latent evil within him, including the potential to murder the love of his life. It's devastating to think how Barry must feel.

Episode 21: Cause and Effect

• Iris learning that Barry, the love of her life, will become (through a time remnant) Savitar, the monster trying to kill her and torment her family. Upon realizing who Savitar really is, she can only say one thing...
  Iris: That's impossible...
• After Barry (still suffering from amnesia) discovered a picture of his parents, Iris lies to him and says they died peacefully.
  • In order to jump start Barry's brain at the end to get him to restore his memories, he needs to remember a particularly strong memory. The one Iris gives him? The moment she discovered him on the couch crying after his mom died (and he was brought to live with her and Joe). Iris has to admit how his mom really died.
• Cisco sharing his good memories whilst working with Killer Frost is pretty painful. Especially considering it seems to hurt her too.

Episode 22: Infantino Street

• At the beginning, Iris secretly records a message telling Barry her vows to him as husband and wife.
• After H.R. accidentally revealed to Savitar where Iris was, he begins to beat himself up over it, revealing how he acknowledges that he's not as useful as the other members of the team.
• Joe trying to appeal to Savitar/Barry's humanity begging him not to kill his daughter. When Joe calls him by his name, he angrily and coldly yells at him that it's not his name.
• Just the cold disregard Savitar has for Iris. Iris is the love of his life and he feels perfectly comfortable killing her if it means he continues to live on.
• Iris' death full stop. The music that plays as Barry runs to Iris, just like when we saw him view it months earlier, only for Savitar to put his blade through her chest and Barry catches her lifeless body and cradles her.
• Joe is arguably worse as he witnesses his daughter get stabbed through the chest and knowing that it was a version of Barry, his adopted son, that did the deed.
• The fact that Snart has really gained a lot of Character Development and become Friendly Enemies with Barry, but is still Doomed by Canon.
  Snart: There are no strings on me...
• Wally is distraught and guilt-ridden over his inability to stop Savitar from taking Iris, tearfully telling Barry that he let him down. And the fact that Savitar broke his leg leaves him powerless to assist Barry during his own confrontation with Savitar, so he doesn't even have the chance to make up for it.

Episode 23: Finish Line

• Iris is saved...by H.R. using his image inducer to trade places with her, so he's the one who dies instead.
  • Everything about H.R. As he dies, he tells Barry that he did it because he couldn't be a coward and proudly tells Barry that he wasn't a coward. He also tells a devastated Tracy that their story would have been brilliant, but that Tracy will still be brilliant without him.
  • H.R.'s message for Cisco.
  H.R.: Tell Cisco this took strength and he gave it to me.
  • H.R.'s grave has a quote from Mark Twain on it. “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” As he knew he would die, it's very likely that he chose it in advance, and ultimately viewed dying for his friends as the true purpose of his life.
• Killer Frost refusing to take Julian's antidote; she's not Killer Frost anymore but she's not Caitlin anymore either. So she leaves Team Flash and Central City to figure who she is.
• Barry and Iris trying, and failing, to convince Savitar to join Team Flash.
  Savitar: So, how is this gonna work? Where will I live?
  Barry: What do you mean?
  Savitar: Are Wally and I gonna be bunkmates? I am I supposed to just...rejoin Team Flash, fight some Rogues...what kind of life were you thinking I'd lead?
  Barry: I...I hadn't gotten that far yet.
  Savitar: How do we explain me at the wedding? And do I sit bride side, or (scoffs) groom side?
  Barry: Ahh..loo-I mean, we don't have all the answers, you know? We're gonna figure it out together.
  Iris: (nods)
  Savitar: ...No. Not together. (looks at Iris) Love...and hate, they're so close, it's easy to mistake one for the other. You're gonna spend the the rest of your life with him. But I remember...giving you the ring, singing to you, asking you to marry me...(voice cracks) I can't do this.
• After finally saving Iris and defeating Savitar, Barry has to go inside the Speed Force, which has been described as the speedster equivalent of hell, though the Speed Force assures them all it won't be like that for Barry, as penance for Flashpoint leading to a very Bittersweet Ending.
• The very final scene and goodbye between Iris and Barry, which takes the implications of last season's finale between the two and cranks it to a whole new level.
  Iris: This isn't fair! (Begins crying) We were supposed to have our happy ending! I'm ready to be Iris West-Allen!
  Barry: And you always will be. (holding her close) But you need to keep living, keep growing, keeping loving, keep running. For me! Promise me you'll run, Iris!
  Iris: (softly) I promise!
  (They kiss)
  Barry: I gotta go!
  (Iris reluctantly lets go as Barry goes to be with his "mother" who offers him a warm smile, Barry takes one last glance at Iris, then takes Nora's hand and the two walk into the Speedforce, closing behind them as the storm finally ceases. Iris gives a solemn glance to her father, then begins to sob uncontrollably as it finally becomes clear, Barry is gone!)
• Huge one for Savitar (future time remnant Barry) when the Flash confronts him in a garage offering to help him instead of fighting. Given who Savitar is, this whole scene is heartbreaking.
  Barry: Let Cisco and Caitlin go and let us figure out a way to save you.
  Savitar: You really think I'd trust you?
  Barry: You showed up. So you remember me coming here. Did I have any tricks up my sleeve? Was I...was I planning on blindsiding you?
  Savitar: I don't know, Barry. Maybe I get off on watching you grovel.
  Barry: No. I don't think that's it. I think you're hearing me. I'm still in there. Deep down beneath the scars and the pain...That part of you that...must feel so lonely. But it also knows what it's like to have a family. To have friends. You can have all of that back. We can stop hurting each other. I remember when I was six and...um...I begged mom and dad to let me go to the science expo in Midway. And we got a flat tire on that dirt road...no spare...So we were towed to that garage in that tiny little one street town. Of course we were stuck there all day. And we got ice-cream and french fries with gravy in that little diner. And then that night we watched the local fireworks show. It actually turned out to be a great day. That's my favorite memory of mom and dad. What was the name of that town?
  Savitar: (with a pained look on his face) [whispers] Masonville.
  Barry: I'm still in there. Come home.
  

Season 4

Episode 1: The Flash Reborn

• Barry's behavior while suffering from Resurrection Sickness can be hard to watch; he's isolated from his friends and reduced to scribbling pictures all over the walls of S.T.A.R Labs.
• It seemed like Caitlin was back to normal, only for the end to reveal that no, she's not. She has a sort of Jekyll and Hyde relation with Killer Frost. She's still triggered when Caitlin is angry, but Caitlin has enough will-power to hold her back, although she is still living in fear of losing total control.
• Iris' complete loss of hope in the six months since Barry sacrificed himself to the Speed Force. In contrast to her belief last season that Barry would save her, she hasn't allowed herself to mourn, doesn't want to get her hopes up that he's still alive, and won't even sleep in their bed.
  Iris: Barry told me to be strong. I'm being strong.

Episode 2: Mixed Signals

• During their couple therapy session, Iris reveals to Barry that she is angry at him for leaving her behind to go into the Speed Force. The look on Barry's face as he just doesn't know what to say in that moment hits hard. It really shows how much Iris was bottling her emotions inside while he was gone.
  • More specifically, she's angry that he decided to leave without asking and left her to pick up the pieces. It's hard not to tear up when Iris explains that she had to lie that Barry was on sabbatical, pretending that he was coming back when she herself likely knew she'd never see him again, that people around them knew the truth, and their wedding would never happen.
  • While it's a funny moment, it's also somber to hear Barry and Iris recount the people they have lost over their lives including Barry's parents, Iris mom, Ronnie, Eddie, H.R., Laurel, and Snart. As the counselor herself puts it, they've "been through a lot of trauma".

Episode 3: Luck Be a Lady

• Becky Sharpe/Hazard has had very bad luck all her life. She got cheated on and was unjustly fired from her job.
• Jesse breaks up with Wally. How he was waiting for her (with a teddy bear and flowers) makes it sad.
• Wally's not the only one whose heart got broken by her. During the time since returning to Earth-2, Harry had set up a support team much like Team Flash to help in her superheroing — but his Drill Sergeant Nasty attitude alienated him from the rest of the team and Jesse to the point that they voted him off with the implication that it was unanimous. Harry has lost his connection with his daughter, who wants nothing to do with him.
• Harry tells Cisco that he can't go home with the implication that he was essentially banished from his home universe...or it could be interpreted as him saying that without Jesse he has nothing to go home to.
• Iris' desperation to marry Barry before Becky's powers interfere is mostly played for laughs, but the scene becomes a bit more sobering when she brings up all the villains and obstacles they had to face and confides that she's worried that she'll never get another chance.

Episode 4: Elongated Journey Into Night

• Sure Ralph is a Jerkass and planted fake evidence so the police could arrest a guy for murder five years ago. But he didn't do that because of any maliciousness towards the suspect or because he wanted to be treated like a hero. He did it because he was honestly convinced that the guy was the perpetrator and needed to face justice. Even to the present day he still believes the guy was guilty.

Episode 5: Girls' Night Out

• Weeper, just poor Weeper. He was caught in the bus affected by the Dark Matter, and his power of shedding high inducing teardrops make him a commodity on the meta Black Market thus he is chained and beaten by Amunet to produce his tears. Even after Iris and Caitlin free him, he is almost immediately abducted by DeVoe for some nefarious purpose in the future.
• Joe's hesitant to face the future with his new baby due to the fact he is getting older. And Cisco's clip show of Barry's childhood just reminded him of that.
  • Thankfully Barry and Cecile are able to lay his weariness to rest reminding him, they, and Iris, will be there to help.

Episode 6: When Harry Met Harry

• It's supposed to be funny, and it is, but it still is rather pitiful that the only other friendships Harry could make, or even worst stubbornly chose to make, were with other Earth versions of himself.
  • And even then, he almost calls off his so-called Council, due to finding them all infuriating.
  • Cisco points out that Harry hating the others is most likely a reflection is him not actually liking himself very much. Harry barely even argues.
• While Barry and Ralph are trying to apprehend Mina, due to the collateral damage in the battle between The Flash and Black Bison, a little girl is struck and critically injured by collapsing telephone pole, and it all could have been avoided if Ralph had intervened instead of stubbornly choosing to pursue Black Bison. Needless to say he is horrified by his inactivity.

Episode 7: Therefore I Am

• Clifford falling off his wheelchair when he tries to get a book off the shelf, finally snapping and shouting at his wife, who has been nothing but supportive of him since he was struck by ALS.
  • At first, Clifford wanted to use his powers to help people, and not be like the other maniac supers running around and committing crimes. Just what exactly made him so jaded like he is today?
• The reason that Barry is so paranoid about DeVoe? Because he's happy, his friends are safe, Joe and Cecile are having a baby, and he's about to marry the love of his life. He just doesn't want anything to take it away from him. Once you realise that everything the poor guy's been through - watching his mother and then his father die, the Reverse-Flash, Zoom breaking his back, Savitar almost murdering Iris, and then going into the Speed Force, you can't help but feel for him.

Episode 8: Crisis On Earth-X, Part 3

• See Crisis on Earth-X

Episode 9: Don't Run

• The fateful words NO Flash fan every thought they'd hear. Barry Allen is under arrest for the murder of Clifford DeVoe.
• Even after Barry tries to give Marlize a chance to back out of DeVoe's schemes, she ultimately goes along with her husband's plan to frame him for murder.

Episode 10: The Trial of the Flash

• The way the team can barely hold in their disgust when Marlize cries on the stand, knowing her story is a total crock but unable to reveal how.
• The sheer helplessness of the team is gripping. They know Barry is innocent, they know the Thinker is out there but can't prove it without revealing the truth.
• Ralph describing what might happen to Joe if he goes through with his Frame-Up plan. It's a very detailed description but then the audience realizes...this is exactly what Ralph had been through before meeting Team Flash. He doesn't want Joe to suffer like he did. And you can see every word hitting Joe like a brick, for what he almost did and for what Ralph has been through.
• The ending: Barry is found guilty of murder and sent to jail just as the Flash is being honored.

Episode 11: The Elongated Knight Rises

• Barry phasing his hand through the glass so he can hold Iris'.
• It's made more apparent here than in Tricksters that Axel really, really wants someone to care about him. His plan has the end goal of getting the attention of his father, who hasn't bothered to contact him since he escaped prison. He even tries to be chummy with Barry, who wants nothing to do with him for kidnapping his own father. In the end, his mother allows herself to revert to her old personality so she can connect with her son.

Episode 12: Honey, I Shrunk Team Flash

• Despite the team's best efforts, in the end they're unable to force a confession out of Dwarfstar, who simply laughs in their faces.
• Worse still, Barry's decision to use his powers to free Big Sir ends up tipping Wolfe that he's the Flash, and he's transferred to the metahuman wing of the prison. To top it off, the guy is in league with Amunet.

Episode 13: True Colors

• Becky Sharpe was the most benevolent of the metahumans Barry had to release, but she is possessed by DeVoe.
• Related to the above...Becky reaches out to Barry for help, and Barry runs toward her...but because of the power dampener on his leg, he doesn't have his Super-Speed, and he's not fast enough to save her. He's later the Sole Survivor of the horrific battle, and witnesses the piles of corpses around him, something he was powerless to prevent.
• The DeVoe marriage is no longer healthy, since Clifford has been drugging his wife with The Weeper's tears so she doesn't betray him.
  • Earlier, Thinker hears Marlize thinking of a song and it's when they first met. He notes that "it used to always be at the forefront of my thoughts" but now just another note in his mind. It then hits him that she's thinking of it as a deliberate way to keep him from reading her thoughts.

Episode 14: Subject Nine

• Barry walks into the CCPD ready to get back to work...only to get dirty looks from every officer in the place. He's then told to go see Singh. Singh then tells Barry that not everyone believes he's innocent since Central City is a magnet for weird things so facts are relative...and that includes the new mayor. So reluctantly Barry is forced into a indefinite leave of absence. The whole thing is underscored by how Singh calls by Barry by his first name instead of "Allen"; he wants to keep Barry on, but it's out of his hands.
• Harry's relationship with his daughter Jesse has not changed for the better.
• Ralph is hard hit unable to save Izzy as he's shown sitting in his office listening to one of her songs. Given how he claimed to hate country music at the start of the episode, it's more heartbreaking.

Episode 15: Enter Flashtime

• Just watching Barry slowly hit the Despair Event Horizon as he does everything possible to try and save the city only for each idea or plan to fail. Alongside that it is shown that being in Flashtime is taking everything out of him due to him moving in such a fast state but he still tries carry on. When he unfreezes Iris to say what he thinks is goodbye he just looks and sounds so defeated. Luckily his conversation with Iris gives him an idea.
• It's a small thing, but seeing Harry get so choked up when talking about Jesse's mother. Watching the resident Jerk with a Heart of Gold who never goes without the last word fight so hard to keep from breaking down completely hits hard.
• Barry is walking past a frozen Joe, reaching out as if to touch him and talk but just walks by whispering "I'm sorry."
• Jesse runs to her father, touching him but her Speed Force is fading so she just stands there with him as she drops out of it, figuring if she's going to die, it'll be with him.
• Jay is unharmed, but is probably leaving the series altogether.

Episode 16: Run, Iris, Run

• It is heavily implied Harry Wells would become evil because his insecurities and his "ends justify the means" morality would get the worst of him. Cisco is rightfully scared of this outcome.

Episode 17: Null and Annoyed

• Marlize films a video to remember herself that her husband has brainwashed her with the Weeper's tears and erased her memory. Then it is revealed she has done the video on repeated occasions.
• DeVoe created The Weeper to drug his wife. It wasn't planned just when he possessed Dominic, but from the get-go.
• Breacher's weakening is sad. Cisco tries too hard to hide the truth, but fails.

Episode 18: Lose Yourself

• Dibny tells Barry why he's so determined to kill DeVoe.
  Dibny: Aside from my mom, this is the only family I have ever had, and DeVoe cannot have them. They are mine.
• DeVoe steals of the bodies of the remaining bus metas, even Ralph. It's driven home by DeVoe using Ralph's powers to mold his body into his first visage.
  • The death of Ralph in particular hits everyone on the team hard. However Barry probably takes it the worst as he was the one who told Ralph that they would keep him safe and that they could do that without resorting to murder. At the end Barry clears his and Ralph’s things out of Ralph’s office with Iris noting that Barry isn’t even using his super speed.
  • Also, the final words when Barry yells "I'll save you!" and Ralph says "you already did", noting how Barry helped him become a hero.
• Killer Frost is gone after apparently being erased by De Voe. The bitter irony is clear as Caitlin would have relished this once but now feels a major part of herself gone.
• Harry is really him, but he broke the deal with Cisco. His addiction for the thinking cap has made him even ruder than usual. Seeing he break Cisco's ship model shows it.

Episode 19: Fury Rogue

• Harry has to deal with his brain being damaged by the Thinking Cap and the Dark Matter. At some point, he completely loses it while talking to Cisco, lamenting how his intelligence was the only thing that made him useful alongside Barry, Cisco, and the rest of Team Flash, and now everything he knows is starting to slowly fade away from him.
• While Barry at first tries to suppress his grief over Ralph's death, in the end he breaks down in Joe's arms, feeling responsible for it all as he was the one who brought him into the whole thing.
• Marlize thought everything was back to how it was before just because Clifford DeVoe recovered his original likeness. She was proven wrong when he rejects her attempts to please him and even implies Love Is a Weakness.

Episode 20: Therefore She Is

• Cisco and Cynthia break up when neither are happy with Cisco replacing Breacher.
• If Harry is not healed, he will not lose just his scientific knowledge. He will stop being functional altogether. What it's worse, DeVoe intends to do this on everyone that is not himself.
• In a flashback Marlize was developing a water purifier to help a local village in Kenya only for some warlords learned about it and tried to get it, killing many of the villagers including women and children in the process. This tragedy pushed Marlize to help her husband with his plans.
• The relationship between Marlize and Clifford is finally dead.

Episode 22: Think Fast

• Barry is still hurt by Ralph's apparent death.
• Neil Borman was killed when DeVoe shrunk him and made him a battery.

Episode 23: We are the Flash

• Marlize is still heartbroken. Barry and Iris comment that "a part of her will love him".
  • The fact that Ralph says "We found [the good part of] Devoe. He's dead.". And Marlize's face when she hears that.
  • He may have been a villain, but "Goodbye, my love." definitely tugs at the heartstrings, probably because of Kim Engelbrecht's acting.
  • A small but no less painful one when you remember just how badly Clifford's treatment of her affected Marlize: When Joe starts yelling at her, sounding genuinely angry, she could easily say something to defend herself...but she doesn't. She just stands there wide-eyed and silent.
• Harry recovered most of his memories, including popular culture, but his scientific knowledge is still gone. Thus he is not going to be a vigilante nor a scientist anytime soon.
• The bus metas other than Ralph are all Deader than Dead.

Season 5

Episode 1: Nora

• The reveal of why Nora came back to the past. It turns out that in the Red Skies Crisis of 2024, Barry disappears and never returns, which happened while Nora was only an infant, leaving her with only tales, stories, and memorabilia of her father's exploits.
• Nora and Iris' relationship is noticeably cold on Nora’s part, despite Iris' attempts to connect with her. Makes one wonder what happened in the future that Nora is so distant from her mother.
• Barry reveals to Iris the reason he wants to get Nora back to her time so bad is because he just wants the normal experience that comes with being a parent and experience all of her firsts, and Nora being there ahead of time in a way ruins that.
  • This becomes Harsher in Hindsight with the reveal of why Nora came back and suddenly Barry realizes that he's been acting aloof with a daughter who grew up without him. The look on his face as he realizes he's been distant towards someone who just wants to know her dad is especially heartbreaking.

Episode 2: Blocked

• Iris is distraught that Nora wants nothing with her.

Episode 3: The Death of Vibe

• It's revealed that Cicada has a young niece in a coma, presumably due to something involving a meta which is why he wants to wipe them all out. He's instantly made perhaps the most compelling Big Bad of the show so far.

Episode 4: News Flash

• The Reveal of why Nora has been so cold to her mom. It turns out that Future!Iris had a dampening chip placed inside Nora when she was a child to keep her from accessing her powers and that up until six months ago she didn’t know about. Iris is devastated to learn that she would do something like that to her own child even if her reasons were well-intentioned.
  • When Iris tries to apologize about it, Nora is having none of it. The last straw for Nora is hearing Barry supporting Iris' decision. Now Nora wants nothing to do with either parent now. In her eyes, her mother is a failure as a parent...and Barry is trying to step in where, being absent, he no longer has the right too.
• Iris tries her best to bond with Nora, but the latter is flat-out disrespecting her. After the reveal and Nora's refusal to forgive her, Iris can't help but cry.

Episode 8: What's Past is Prologue

• The relationship between Nora and Iris was so terrible that Nora has been manipulated by Eobard Thawne.
• Cicada openly admits that he despises metahumans so much for what happened to his niece Gracie that he wants to wipe them all out. When Flash points out that he's also a metahuman, his response makes it clear that he intends to kill himself to make the world a better place as soon as his mission is complete. For a metahuman racist, it's hard not to feel bad for the guy; his sister and her husband were murdered in a meta attack, and then when his relationship with Grace finally starts looking up, he's left permanently disabled with a lung injury due to the Enlightenment, and the girl he now views as his own child is in a coma from which she might never wake up due to a shard striking her head and causing a brain injury. Doesn't excuse his genocidal agenda towards all metas, but it certainly garners him some sympathy.

Episode 9: Elseworlds, Part 1

• See Elseworlds

Episode 10: Flash and the Furious

• Weather Witch begs Nora for another chance. Nora seemingly agrees, and then turns on Joss. Her pleas are genuinely heartbreaking, as is the defeated expression in her next scene.
  Joss: Would you PLEASE tell them!?

Episode 11: Seeing Red

• Cicada breaking Nora's back. The guilt, worry, and fear on Barry's face is palpable.
• Nora finding out that she's paralyzed and the dark matter in Cicada's dagger that was used to paralyzed her makes it hard for the team to find out when her Healing Factor will kick in.
  • The look on Barry and Iris's faces to see their child so emotionally devastated by the thought she might never be able to walk or use her powers. It's clear that this is their worse fear brought to life.

Episode 12: Memorabilia

• Nora's happy moments with her parents in the opening are heartbreaking after the inevitable Broken Pedestal that will happen.
• Barry and Iris see Nora's memories of her missing her father so much that she hangs out at the Flash Museum to be close to him.
  • They originally witness a false memory of Future!Iris ranting at Nora to never come there again and breaking the Flash action figure in her daughter's hand. Nora subsequently yells, "I hate you!", which clearly breaks Iris' heart both in the present and the future.
  • Crossed over with Heartwarming, the duo eventually witness the real memory of Future!Iris finding Nora at the Flash Museum. Future!Iris picks up the Flash toy, which Nora actually dropped, and hands it to Nora. She comforts her daughter over her father's absence and tells Nora that both she and Barry love her very much. They then hug.
• Iris slowly breaks down in front of Barry, while trying her best to hold herself together to help Nora, when he prods her about her hesitancy to go forward with her newspaper. She reveals that the Central City Citizen was the only title available to register and that she was hoping that maybe avoiding the newspaper might change the future, but that nonetheless all her fears are coming true.

Episode 13: Goldfaced

• After seeing his ex-wives, Sherloque feels terribly after seeing how estranged he is from them.
• The list of patients in need of the organ printer machine is full of children and infants. After seeing this, Ralph can't bring himself to deprive a hospital of it.

Episode 14: Cause and XS

• Nora having to learn the same painful lesson that Barry and The Legends have had to learn about the consequences of time travel.
• Nora's breakdown on not being able to save her friends and family no matter how hard she tries to fix things by reversing time.
  • It's never really touched upon and even Played for Laughs a little near the end, but Nora reversed time a total of 52 times (53, if you count the current one they are in that fixed everything). This means she's watched her friends and family die numerous times. No wonder she nearly becomes an emotional wreck.

Episode 17: Time Bomb

• Just when Orlin is regaining his conscience, his niece kills him. Judging by his demeanor (not being angry, rational about the Gibbons' case file, his heartfelt plea to his niece), it's heavily implied that while Orlin wasn't a great person before Grace came into his life, it wasn't his fault that he became the original Cicada; it was the dark matter infecting him and filling him with rage (much like the dark matter made The Thinker, a once-peaceful, if not overzealous, man who wanted to make the world a better place). Once his powers are removed, he seems to lose all desire to kill and returns to what he was before: Someone who just wanted his little girl to be safe and happy. But it wasn't enough to get through to her future self.
• Team Flash finally finds out about Nora's secret relationship with Thawne and they don't take it well. The icy glare they give her says it all.
  • Cecile is able to tell that Nora has something important she wants to tell the team and Nora is desperately trying to find the courage, only for Sherloque to come in and brutally and callously tell her secret in a way that will turn Team Flash against her, even as she's begging for him to stop.
  • Worse of all is Barry's reaction. He doesn't yell, he doesn't raise his voice. He throws his own daughter into the Pipeline, ignoring her tears and her begging for him to let her out. The episode ends with Nora huddled on the floor and crying her heart out.

Episode 18: Godspeed

• Nora being helpless to stop Godspeed from killing Lia...just like Barry couldn't stop Zoom from killing Henry. It seems speed wasn't the only thing Nora inherited from her father.
• Seeing how losing Barry changed Iris into a cynical and detached woman disillusioned with the Flash's legacy and dismissive of Nora's obsession with the Flash Museum.
• The revelation that Iris did more than install a chip inside Nora; she also instructed the rest of West Family and their circle of close friends to never tell Nora the truth about her heritage. Small wonder Nora spent the first half of the season resenting her mom.
• The fact that Nora only found about her true heritage because of Gideon.
• The video recording of Barry saying how he will always love in Nora is in direct contrast to how he's acting towards Nora now.
• After reading her diary and hearing her story, everyone has forgiven Nora for working with Thawne...except Barry. He just can't forgive her working with Thawne. So, without consulting anybody else, he banishes her back to the future and tells her to not even try to go back. Not to mention that he even disowns her.
  • What makes it worse is that, immediately after this, he goes to see Thawne in Iron Heights, blaming him for taking his daughter from him. Thawne tells Barry that he ordered her to keep it a secret and he shouldn't blame her, and it's still not enough to get Barry to realize he's letting his emotions cloud his judgment. After all these years, Barry Allen's worst enemy is still Barry Allen himself.
• Lia offhandedly mentioned that The Flash wasn't the only one to vanish in the Red Skies Crisis, but all known speedsters as well. This means Iris had to cope with losing her brother Wally as well as her husband.

Episode 19: Snow Pack

• There's something deeply unsettling about how unrepentant Barry is and his downright cold treatment of Nora over one mistake she made. This is in direct contrast to Iris who is not only devastated in losing her daughter, but in shock over how uncharacteristically cold her beloved husband has become. And since Barry won't bring Nora back, Iris decides to do so herself.
  Barry: I can't trust her!
  Iris: I never even got to say goodbye!
  • And Barry is just as hurt by Iris flat-out saying that she didn't have a problem with Nora working with Thawne — the man who killed his mother. It is easily the most emotionally charged fight they've had.
• The entire fight between Barry and Iris is this. Its the biggest spat they have ever had, with them both literally screaming at each other, which just watching one of the most stable and loving relationships in the entire Arrowverse having one of the biggest arguments its ever seen, that ends with both of them storming off in tears is gut wrenching.
  Iris: You took our daughter back to future?
  Barry: I didn’t have any other choice.
  Iris: I? It’s we, Barry! WE! She’s our daughter, not just yours!
  Barry: I know that…
  Iris: But you left her there anyway?!?
  Barry: I can't trust her, Iris! That puts all of us in danger!
  Iris: That’s how you feel Barry! What about asking how I feel?
  Barry: (Shouting) I DIDN'T THINK I HAD TO!!!
  Iris: (scoffs) Of course you didn’t. Of Course You Didn’t, Barry! You always see one way through a problem, and DAMN what I think.
  Barry: Wait, wait! What the hell does that mean?!?
  Iris: You know we have been through so much crap! So much therapy! And you are Still— Still making decisions BASED ON YOUR EMOTIONS!!!
  Barry: (screaming right back at her) CAUSE I’M RIGHT THIS TIME!
  Iris: Flashpoint? Going to the Speedforce and leaving me? WERE YOU RIGHT THOSE TIMES TOO?!?
  Barry: You think I wanted to do this? That this was easy? Seeing Nora looking at me, asking for forgiveness, knowing it might be the last time I ever see her?
  Iris: What about the last time I ever see her Barry? (crying) I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye!
  Barry: DAMNIT IRIS SHE LIED TO US FOR MONTHS!!!
  Iris: AND SHE EXPLAINED WHY!!!
  Barry: (Sobbing) THAT SHE WAS WORKING WITH THAWNE!!! (taking a breath as a tear trickles down his cheek in realization) That doesn’t bother you at all does it?
  Iris: (inhaling sharply) No. It doesn’t.
  Barry: Maybe if he killed your mother right in front of you, you’d feel differently.
  Iris: Maybe you feeling differently, is why we should have made this decision together. She just wanted to meet you Barry, the father she never knew. There was One person who could teach her how to do that. Is it really so hard to understand why she would go to him!?!
  Barry: It doesn’t matter if I understand! Thawne. Is. Manipulating her!
  Iris: He’s on death row, Barry. How is he manipulating her?
  Barry: If this was anybody else you’d back me. But because its Nora, our daughter, the person who finally stopped hating you, you refuse to see how dangerous this is. You talk about about making decisions based on emotion (Coldly) Look in the mirror!
  (Iris is taken aback, and the two glare at each other a long while, before she storms off crying, as Barry watches her, tears streaming down his face too)
• Iris became so angry with Barry's decision that she was contemplating to estrange herself from him. Cecile and Ralph manage to dissuade her from writing a "Dear John" Letter, while Thawne points out to her that she will do what Barry did to Nora if she remains to proceed without him.
• Nora's already fragile emotional state seems to have been shattered by Barry banishing her. When running to use the Negative Speed Force, Nora sees all the suffering she had to bear and embraces it, possibly becoming driven with hate.
• Early on the The Team washing their hands of Sherloque, which understandable on their part, he shows no remorse for once again lying to the team about his suspicions surrounding Nora and his callousness towards her situation and the conflict between Iris and Barry, partially due to his tactlessness, the look of shock on his face when the only friends he's ever had pretty much say they're done with him, which while he brought it on himself, its kind of hard not to pity the man.
  Joe: Nora's gone?!?
  Caitlin: (with a tinge of sadness) Just like that?
  Sherloque: Well, only thing to do, really, because Nora can't be trusted!
  (the others glare at him in a mixture of shock and anger at his cruelty)
  Sherloque: I can deduce from your faces that you're upset, but you understand the truth needed to be exposed.
  Ralph: Yes we understand that; what you don't understand is this is a family. You didn't include anyone in this!
  Sherloque: Look baby giraffe...
  Barry: (chillingly) Sherloque. You've done enough.
  Sherloque: What do you mean? We still have to find Cicada!
  Joe: He said, you've done enough!
  (the others all turn away from him)
  Sherloque: (with a tone of resignation) Yes, well perhaps I did...
  (dejectedly leaves the Cortex)

Episode 20: Gone Rogue

• Ralph admits to Caitlin he doesn't believe love is in his future, despite his plethora of romantic advice, most of it surprisingly insightful.
• Silver Ghost and Weather Witch broke up. And then Joss revealed that she betrayed Raya and killed her or left her for dead, with the implication that Raya's last words were 'I trusted you'.

Episode 22: Legacy

• Nora spent the whole season trying to save Barry from disappearing in the future crisis. Thawne gleefully stomps that hope by saying that Barry is screwed, no matter what the protagonists try to do to change the future.
• Nora is erased from existence, and as a result of Barry destroying Cicada's dagger to save her from Cicada II to boot. Nora had one way out the Negative Speed Force, but chose to not let her identity get consumed by it. The entire sequence where Nora disappears, while wrapped in her parents' arms, is heartbreaking, as is Iris weeping in Barry's arms.
• Iris pleads with Nora to go into the negative speedforce, promising that they would be able to save her and get the negative speedforce out of her, and the intensity of her pleas is utterly heart-wrenching.
  Iris: We can get it out, we can save you. Please, I promise.
  Nora: Mom, you can't.
• Iris breaks down in sobs in the cortex, alone, when she sees Nora's journal, after Nora ceases to exist.

Season 6

Episode 1: Into the Void

• Iris buys Nora's old uniform from a dealer only to lost it in the black hole. Seeing the last evidence Nora existed moves her to tears.
• Barry and Iris have both been coping with Nora's loss by how they can still have a child but know she won't be the same as the daughter they lost.
  • Then the Monitor shows up to say Barry vanishes in just a few months, meaning Nora will never exist at all.

Episode 2: A Flash of the Lightning

• Barry handling the idea he has to die in the Crisis.
• Barry is rocked to find that on Earth-3, Jay is dating Joan Williams...who's a dead ringer for Barry's mom.
• Just the fact that Jay has to use a cane after a career as a speedster hero.

Episode 4: There Will Be Blood

• The entire episode is a giant one, really, with Barry's impending death affecting everyone differently
  • Cisco is so desperate to avoid losing his best friend that he sabotages Barry's attempt to save Ramsey, withholding the cure. Barry is so disappointed and hurt that he actually tells him that he was wrong to consider him as the next leader of Team Flash.
  • Ralph is in a complete vegatative state, refusing to continue his search for Sue Dearborn and bluntly telling Iris to spend more time with her husband while he's still alive.
  • At the end of the episode, Joe and Barry have a heart-to-heart, with Joe finally breaking down in tears, afraid to lose his adopted son and noting how unfair it is.

Episode 5: Kiss Kiss, Breach Breach

• Cynthia/Gypsy dies. We see the absolutely heartbreaking reactions from Cisco as well as her own father. It's telling that while Danny Trejo's performance was mostly comedic in his previous two appearances, that is decidedly not the case here.

Episode 9: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part Three

• See Crisis on Infinite Earths

Episode 10: Marathon

• Cisco feels immense guilt on having given up being Vibe, as he hoped when he heard about Crisis, could have helped save Harry, Jesse, or any other doppelgängers and their families. With the restructuring of the multiverse, they may very well be gone forever, and - the part he finds particularly infuriating - the only known surviving version of Harrison Wells is the one who caused it to begin with.
  Nash: I was the only one trying to stop Crisis!
  Cisco: A crisis you started! Billions of worlds, trillions of people, gone! Like they were never even born!
  Nash: And I paid for it! As Pariah, I paid for it and still managed to help defeat the Anti-Monitor.
  Cisco: Which did nothing for the people who died. Oliver, Harry, Jesse...An infinite number of Harrison Wells...and we're stuck with the one who killed the multiverse.
• Barry comes close to a Heroic BSoD when he realizes that Oliver's last gift was just that. He'd been sustained by the thought that it was a warning, one last mission, one last job...but it really is just Oliver saying farewell.

Episode 13: Grodd Friended Me

• The revelation that in the post-Crisis world, Harley Rathaway somehow was turned into a pure criminal. Barry is honestly baffled as to how the man he last knew as a friend is now an enemy.
• Barry relates one awful change in this reality: He can no longer find his parents' graves as the cemetery they were in vanished. He's been wandering all over Central City and beyond trying in vain to find them just to pay respects.
• Allegra finds the photo of her doppelgänger in Nash's bag and is irate as she thought "someone was finally giving me respect" but now realizes she was just a fill-in for whoever Nash knew.

Episode 14: Death of the Speed Force

• It's bittersweet, but Iris seeing Wally return from the other side of the mirror. She smiles tearfully, excited that her brother seems so happy, but saddened that she can't be there with him. Later, Iris reminisces to Eva about the romantic sentiments Barry expressed to her, which further makes Iris's plight truly heartbreaking.
• Barry has to witness the death of the Speed Force taking the shape of his mother - meaning he has to experience this tragedy all over again! Not it was all due to his own actions, but this was just 5 episodes after witnessing the death of Earth-90 Barry, who bore his father’s face.
• Wally lashing out at Barry for his actions, leaving them both in tears.

Episode 15: The Exorcism of Nash Wells

• It is revealed what became of Allegra's doppelgänger, Maya: She was an orphan Nash took in as his apprentice, and grew to love like a daughter. He taught her his trade and his motto "The prize is everything." During an excavation, Nash let Allegra off her rope on a cliff to get a relic. She tripped, but would not drop the relic to climb back up, and fell into the abyss.

Episode 17: Liberation

• Mirror!Iris showing she was truly her own person, not one of Eva's slaves to ultimately help Barry.
  • Realizing she's about to be destroyed, Mirror!Iris' last words are to tell Barry to save the real version before literally shattering in his arms.
  Mirror Iris: I feel...alive.
• Iris realizes Eva's anger is because, for all her genius, she can't handle the fact that her husband abandoned her and her anger hides how she never stopped loving him despite that.

Episode 19: Success is Assured

• It's sad to see Joseph Carver trying to save Eva long ago but giving up due to the mirrorverse's effects on its inhabitants' minds. To cope with his pain, he assumed she was dead.
  • And it turns out that the real Eva did die in the particle accelerator accident.
• When Allegra uses the ruby on Esperanza, the latter seems to remember being tortured.
• Sue thinks everything is over just to learn Eva pinned the blame of Carver's murder on her.

Season 7

Episode 1: All's Wells that Ends Wells

• In order to power the Artificial Speed Force, Nash sacrifices his own life, killing not only himself but also all of the other Wellses who'd existed inside him.

Episode 4: Central City Strong

• Iris goes to a support group of those who had been trapped in the Mirrorverse. This includes a man sharing how it felt watching his mirror duplicate being with his wife who had no idea which clearly affects her.
  • The episode revolves around Iris trying to deal with her trauma and Barry's own feelings as he admits his treating Iris to vacations around the world is making up for his guilt over not realizing her duplicate wasn't the woman he loved.
• The revelation that Abra did manage to give up his villainous ways, got married, and had a family. But when the Crisis happened, they were erased from existence. For Abra, the loss of this happiness drives him back to destroy Central City as revenge.
• Abra seems finally swayed by Barry's talk to give up his vendetta...and then dies fighting the creature attacking the city.

Episode 14: Rayo De Luz

• Sue reveals that she finally got her family out of the control of Black Hole...only to discover that they had gotten in so deep in the wealth and power that they were no longer the good people Sue had known but as corrupt as their bosses. "I couldn't save them."

Season 8

Episode 2: Armageddon, Part Two

• Barry learns that he is in a timeline where Detective Joe West himself is dead. When Team Flash tells him this, the camera itself becomes blurry and their voices become distorted as Barry struggles to take it in.

Episode 13: Death Falls

• Frost’s death.

Season 9

Episode 10: A New World Part One

• We've all known this day was going to come eventually, but it still pulls on the heartstrings all the same: the day Barry goes back in time, fights with Thawne, and fails to save his mother.
  • After learning that the day he's in is that fateful day, Barry spends the rest of the episode in emotional distress from encountering his parents on their last happy day together.
  • Thawne rubs it in that "he's won". Of course, we and Barry know he hasn't thanks to the time-loop, but it doesn't stop it from hurting Barry.

Episode 12: A New World, Part Three

• Eddie's Big Bad Slippage, as terrifying as it is, is also depressing as the last time we saw Eddie, he died a hero and was a great friend to Team Flash.
  • Barry trying to dissuade Eddie from accepting the crystal causes Eddie to go berserk on him, as this is after he found Barry's and Iris's wedding photo.
    Eddie: No! You listen! The second I died, everyone forgot about me! And you, Barry, the man I sacrificed my life for, you thanked me by stealing my fiancée! But now, I have a chance to change that.
  • Seeing a hallucination of Nora as his daughter drives Eddie to find the Iris of 2049. He shows up at her house and ends his rant by proposing to her. This and a picture of him, Nora-as-a-Thawne, and Iris, is what drives 2049 Iris to reject him, outright saying that she'd end up with Barry no matter what.
  • When Barry sees the Negative Speed Force storm erupt, it's clear he's more disappointed in Eddie than anything.
    Barry: Oh, Eddie. What did you do?

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