Will 'The Flash' Have A Happy Family Reunion?

Barry Allen has one goal: he wants to save his mom. For anyone else, it might seem like an impossible task considering the fact that she was killed some 20 years ago and his dad was sent to jail for her murder. But this is Barry Allen we're talking about. He's no longer a scared, young kid, and he's also no longer just a forensic scientist at the Central City Police Department. Now, Barry Allen is the Flash. With the season finale of The Flash happening Tuesday night, will Barry finally succeed in saving his mom? Either way, I'm still going to cry at last twice during The Flash episode "Fast Enough," and I doubt I'll be the only one.

Way back when Barry was a wee little lad — before the lightning strike, before Harrison Wells, before he could run really fast — he saw his mother murdered and his father arrested. Barry's blamed himself ever since. Now he knows a little bit more about what really happened that night. He knows that the red and yellow streaks he saw were really him and Eobard Thawne (aka Reverse Flash) running fast. Now in the future, Barry thinks he can save his mom by running fast again.

He's gone back in time once before, so why shouldn't he be able to do it again? That's his plan, to go back in time and save his mom. I truly want to believe that Barry can do it. I want Barry to be reunited with his family once again, mom and dad and everything. To state for the record for the millionth time, The Flash makes me cry. So thinking about Barry hugging his mom and his dad at the same time as an adult causes me to well up a little bit — if I see it happen on TV I'm basically a goner. So yes, of course the soft spot in my heart wants to see Barry's work pay off. I want to see him save his mom.

If Barry can figure out how to run "fast enough" (get it?), I think he can save his mom. But I also need to accept that it might not happen. The Flash is doing a great job of handling its time travel aspect, and remember what Harrison Wells said to Barry the first time he accidentally ran to the past? He explained that Barry could try all he wants to change the future, but eventually the timeline would correct itself. So even if Barry could go back in time, save his mom, and live out a happy life with her afterwards, everything still might catch up with him. His mom's fate might already be sealed, so even if he saves her, it still might not be enough. Poor Nora Allen might always be doomed to die, no matter what past or present Barry is in.

From the promo for "Fast Enough" it looks like Barry succeeds at going back in time, and does meet up with his mom again (and in case you're wondering, yes, I'm crying at this promo). Watch the emotional preview below.

So yes, Barry interacts his mom, but whether or not he saves her is still the big question. Part of me thinks that this episode is building up to introduce elements from DC Comic s' Flashpoint , which presents one of those "alternate realities." In Flashpoint, Barry one day wakes up and learns that his mother is still alive. I think that in The Flash season finale, Barry will go back in time, get his mom the medical attention she needs, and then wake up the next day to find her alive in an alternate reality. I could totally see the series using the plotline from Flashpoint for either half or all of Season 2, before it returns to the status quo of the show I already know and love.

So does Barry save her? I believe that in some way, yes, he will. How long their reunion will last though, I'm not sure. And as if I needed another reason to have a giant tissue box ready when I watch The Flash, Grant Gustin hasn't exactly been reassuring.

Image: Diyah Pera/The CW