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"The Once and Future Flash" is the nineteenth episode of the third season of the American television series The Flash, based on the DC Comics character Barry Allen / Flash, a costumed superhero crime-fighter with the power to move at superhuman speeds, and follows Barry, a crime scene investigator who gains super-human speed, which he uses to fight criminals, including others who have also gained superhuman abilities. It is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the television series Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow. The episode was written by Carina Adly MacKenzie and directed by Tom Cavanagh.

Grant Gustin portrays Barry Allen / Flash, and is joined by series regulars Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Tom Cavanagh, Jesse L. Martin, and Keiynan Lonsdale, with recurring cast member Tom Felton. Cavanagh made his directorial debut on the show with the episode, which sees Barry travel to 2024 to find out the identity of Savitar in order to save Iris. He encounters future versions of Team Flash, who have become completely different people following Iris' death. The episode also explores Killer Frost after her transformation in the previous episode.

"The Once and Future Flash" originally aired on The CW on April 25, 2017, and was watched by 2.67 million viewers according to Nielsen Media Research. The episode received a positive critical response.

Plot
While Team Flash must now deal with an escaped Killer Frost, Barry Allen travels to 2024 in order to find out Savitar's identity in the hopes of saving Iris West. Upon his arrival in 2024, Barry learns from Cisco Ramon that future Barry disbanded Team Flash after Iris' death and much has changed: Cisco lost his vibe powers after Killer Frost shattered his hands, H.R. became a successful sci-fi romance novelist, Julian Albert works at Iron Heights tending to Killer Frost, Wally West is in a catatonic state after Savitar shattered his spine, Joe West is depressed and bitter since Barry broke his promise to Iris to always be there for Joe if she died, and the future Barry has become a recluse hiding in the remnants of S.T.A.R. Labs. In his absence, Sam Scudder and Rosalind Dillon have taken over Central City. Barry fails to learn Savitar's identity from Future Barry and Killer Frost, who allied with Savitar after her powers returned.

Cisco secretly uses a device to prevent Barry from returning to the past, hoping he will put things right. Understanding his role in what happened, Barry rounds up Julian, Joe and H.R. and apologizes to them for breaking his promise and explains that Iris wouldn't have wanted them to stop being a family, effectively reuniting Team Flash in the future. Scudder and Dillon later overwhelm Barry with their powers, but Future Barry, having overheard Barry, uses Cisco's device to negate the villains' abilities and helps Barry capture them.

Future Barry gives Barry information for a speed force trap and tells him to find a physicist named Tracy Brand, who developed the trap four years after Iris' death. In the present, Killer Frost meets with Savitar, who offers her the chance to eliminate Caitlin Snow forever. She is reluctant until Savitar steps out of his suit and reveals his identity to her.

Development
In March 2017, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg announced that the nineteenth episode of the third season was titled "The Once and Future Flash", explaining that "Barry decides that the only way he can find out what he needs to know is in the future." Earlier that month, Danielle Panabaker revealed that Tom Cavanagh was directing an episode of the season, with Cavanagh later confirmed to be directing the nineteenth episode of the season, in his directorial debut on the show, and Carina Adly MacKenzie writing the script. Discussing Killer Frost after the previous episode, executive producer Aaron Helbing said, "She's a very, very formidable adversary" with "knowledge of everybody because she's been friends with them, so she's really going toward the dark side and we're going for it." Helbing also confirmed that the vision with Killer Frost and Vibe squaring off, seen in the episode "Shade", would occur before the end of the season.


 * https://www.tvinsider.com/172560/tom-cavanagh-the-flash-directing/
 * http://tvline.com/2017/04/20/the-flash-season-3-episode-19-preview-future-barry/
 * http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/the-flash-tom-cavanagh-directing-barry-allen-savitar-1202395034/
 * http://www.eonline.com/ca/news/846029/the-flash-s-tom-cavanagh-spills-on-directing-his-costars-creating-the-look-of-barry-s-dark-future
 * https://www.accesshollywood.com/articles/tom-cavanagh-talks-directing-flash/
 * http://vancouversun.com/entertainment/celebrity/tom-cavanagh-no-flash-in-the-pan-director

Casting
Main cast members Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Keiynan Lonsdale, Tom Cavanagh and Jesse L. Martin all appear in the episode as Barry Allen / Flash, Iris West, Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost, Cisco Ramon / Vibe, Wally West / Kid Flash, H.R. Wells, and Joe West, respectively. In addition, Tom Felton guest stars as Julian Albert. Gustin, Panabaker, Valdes, Lonsdale, Cavanagh, Martin, and Felton also portray future versions of their character' from 2024. Grey Damon and Ashley Rickards reprise their roles as Sam Scudder / Mirror Master and Rosalind "Rosa" Dillon, respectively, from earlier in the season.

Costume
In early February 2017, Gustin teased getting a new suit, after having expressed a desire for Barry to get a new suit back in December 2016. The trailer for the episode, which aired on The CW after "Abra Kadabra", reveals what seems like a future version of Barry wearing a new costume. Although not drastically different from the current suit Barry wears, the new costume worn by Barry from 2024 features a more maroon color scheme, with the addition of golden lightning bolt streaks to the belt and sleeves, and gauntlet trims.

Filming

 * http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/the-flash-season-4-lighter-cw-comic-con-1202503800/

Ratings
In the United States the episode received a 1.0/4 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 1.0 percent of all households, and 4 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. It was watched by 2.67 million viewers. The episode improved 12% and 11% in viewership and the 18–49 rating, respectively, from the previous episode, "Abra Kadabra".


 * 66th: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2017/05/02/nielsen-tv-ratings/101198000/

Critical response
Jesse Schedeen of IGN scored the episode 8.5 out of 10, calling it "a surprisingly enjoyable addition to this season" and felt "a newfound sense of hope and optimism despite the lingering threat posed by Savitar", which is exactly what the show needs as it approaches the final battle with the God of Speed. Schedeen was impressed with the Future Barry's upgraded suit, which "[shifted] away from the fabric-y approach to superhero costumes and towards [a] sleeker, more movie-quality fare". He also praised Valdes' portrayal of his future self, with the episode demonstrating "the enduring bond between Cisco and Barry".


 * B: http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/flash-meets-his-future-self-darkest-timeline-254236
 * 5/5: http://collider.com/the-flash-recap-the-once-and-future-flash/
 * B: http://ew.com/recap/the-flash-season-3-episode-19/
 * 4/5: http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/the-flash/264191/the-flash-season-3-episode-19-review-the-once-and-future-flash
 * http://www.polygon.com/2017/4/26/15433226/the-flash-season-3-episode-19-recap
 * A: http://heroichollywood.com/flash-future-flash-review/6/
 * 3/5: http://www.vulture.com/2017/04/the-flash-recap-season-3-episode-19.html
 * 4.7/5: http://www.tvovermind.com/the-flash/flash-season-3-episode-19-review-future-flash
 * http://www.tvguide.com/news/the-flash-recap-once-future/