Even before this week’s episode of The Flash aired, fans of the long running The CW series had some major questions. Thanks to the preview for the episode, “The Man in the Yellow Suit”, viewers knew that the episode would see the return of Eobard Thawne but not the version they’ve come to know as played by Tom Cavanagh. Instead, Barry (Grant Gustin) would be face to face with the original version of Eobard Thawne (played by Matt Letscher) something that would seem to be impossible. However, almost nothing is impossible in the Arrowverse. Here’s how the episode explained the curious case of two Thawnes.
Warning: spoilers for this week’s episode of The Flash, “The Man in the Yellow Tie”, below.
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In the episode, after a training encounter with Meena Dhawal (Kausar Mohammed) as The Flash leaves Barry with some questions about her artificial speed, he pays her a visit at Fast Track lab to check things out and that’s when she introduces him to her partner — Dr. Eobard Thawne (Letscher). But while Barry recognizes him, Eobard does not and insists he’s not evil. In fact, Eobard doesn’t seem to know what Barry is talking about. This prompts Barry to race back to Lian Yu to check that Thawne (Cavanagh) is still in his cell.
Thawne is indeed still imprisoned and without powers and soon enough, they figure out the likely explanation for who Eobard is. When Thawne was nearly erased from existence in Armageddon, so was his past, thus making him a man with no past. This Eobard working at Fast Track, then, is from another timeline and seemingly hasn’t yet turned evil the way Thawne did.
As for why this Eobard hasn’t gone full Reverse Flash, it turns out it’s a matter of love. This Eobard — who apparently has a form of amnesia that leaves his memory spotty, though he knows he badly wants to be a speedster — falls in love with Meena but gives up his chance to become a speedster when her heart condition sends her into cardiac arrest. He uses his machine, the BLOC, to shock her heart, bringing her back to him and making her a speedster instead of him.
Eobard’s sacrifice of his speedster plans is a significant development as it shows that this iteration of the legendary Flash antagonist can care about more than just himself and proves that he’s a good man — something that he proves when Meena is corrupted by the Negative Speed Force, and he uses his love for her to bring her back to the side of good. It’s enough for The Flash to accept that even Eobard Thawne — at least this version can change, and the episode offers confirmation that he’s right. Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) sends a video message explaining that the Legends had encountered Eobard guarding a fixed point in history, having learned his lessons and changed his ways. He died, sacrificing himself to help the Legends and it would seem that, as a reward, he was given another chance to do better in life.
Of course, while this Eobard gets a redemption, Thawne on the other hand may be about to become a major problem yet again. After helping John Diggle open the mysterious box that he encountered in the Arrow finale — Deon is able to locate the “man with no past”. Deon arrives in Thawne’s cell at the end of the episode, telling him it’s time to fulfill his destiny.
The Flash airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
