WARNING: This article contains potential SPOILERS for The Flash
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Good news fans, The Flash is BACK! The bad news is he's speaking insane nonsense... while revealing the future of The CW show's future. The meaning is hard to make out in between Barry's unhinged rambling, confusion, and obsessive doodling of mysterious equations or symbols. So we're here to explain to fans of The Flash exactly what Barry Allen was really saying and meaning in his string of disconnected dialogue. And if some of those lines sounded familiar... they should.
While a third of Barry Allen's ramblings speak to episodes that have already aired, and a third speaks of some cosmic mystery that the showrunners won't reveal just yet, the final third does reveal some potential spoilers for Barry Allen's future. There's no way to confirm that these comic book stories, events, and spinoffs will actually be adapted to The CW's Arrowverse, but just in case...
Those averse to SPOILERS can stop reading now. You have been warned.
RELATED: Flash Season Premiere Drops Major Arrow SPOILER
Repeated Lines From Past Episodes
As mentioned above, there's a good amount of dialogues pulled from Barry's past, showing that the Speed Force's mastery over time and space goes forwards and backwards (in Barry's case, there's painful trauma and memories in both directions, based on his reaction).
"Nora shouldn't be here." We can't pin down the exact source of this line, which begins Barry's rant. But it's most clearly a reference to his mother, Nora Allen. Specifically, his recognition that her death should have been final, despite him undoing it (only to redo it) in the alternate timeline now referred to as "Flashpoint."
"You said this city was safe, that there was no residual danger." This line comes straight from the pilot episode of The Flash, after Barry realizes that his powers are the first clue of a larger mystery - one that began the night of the particle accelerator explosion. After discovering that the bank robber terrorizing Central City also had superpowers, Barry sought out the S.T.A.R. Labs team and hurled this accusation at them - resulting in the true reveal of the new breed of metahumans,
"I doubt restraint is how you got to be the man you are today." Yet another reference to the late Harrison Wells-- or the late Eobard Thawne, to be more exact. This line comes from the second episode the series, when Wells cautioned restraint, and Barry was still considering his mentor a goodhearted, genius, if somewhat unemotional authority figure. Oh, how things have changed.
A few small sentences are sprinkled in here and there, most of which viewers may be able to distinguish as referencing early episodes or chapters of Barry's life (his defense of his father, for instance). There's his comment to Oliver on the rooftop in his pilot episode, and comforting his dying mother by telling her that "Dad and I are both okay."
But enough about the PAST... let's get to the FUTURE.
"Your Honor, I'm Innocent... I Didn't Kill Anyone!"
It's the first line of Barry's rambling that is designed to clue the comic book fans into what's likely going on - and more importantly, what knowledge Barry has gained from his time inside the Speed Force. Mistaking Cecile for a judge, apparently, Barry pleads his innocence, claiming that he didn't commit an unknown murder. It makes sense for all viewers, since Barry Allen is most certainly not the murdering kind... except he did kill a Reverse-Flash in his original comic run. He was put on trial for the crime. He pleaded his case. And was ultimately found guilty.
These few words are all the die-hard fans need to hear to know that it's almost certainly this "Trial of The Flash" storyline being alluded to, and it's not even that much of a surprise. When Barry first made his trip through a Speed Force tunnel, he glimpsed a number of different realities, times, and places. Those included a Legion of Superheroes ring that would later appear in Supergirl, the adult son of John Diggle in a future of Arrow (shown in Legends of Tomorrow), the original Flash TV show, and yes, Barry Allen behind bars at Iron Heights Prison.
So, another tease of the criminal charges that will put Barry behind bars... is this merely another nod of a potential future for our hero, or a hint from the writers that this really is where Barry's story will head?
"We're Gonna Need More Diapers."
Most of Barry's lines are muttered with varying degrees of distress, anger, confusion, or desperation. But only one is delivered with Barry grinning ear to ear, after he's awakened at S.T.A.R. Labs and allowed to continue his doodling under Iris West's watch. Seeing Barry actually happy again is a brief reprieve from his overall trauma and confusion, but it's the line he delivers that is guaranteed to melt the hearts of every Flash fan: "...we're gonna need more diapers. [Laughs]"
It's easy to read his joy in the moment as a manic episode (since he's inside of one extended mental crisis for most of the runtime). But it's actually a sign that Barry Allen has glimpsed his own future: a future in which he and Iris West start a family by having not one, but two children. Twins, in fact. And before either Barry or Iris will give them their names - Don and Dawn - it makes sense for the permanently charming Barry Allen to remark to his wife that the unexpected arrival of twins will mean "more diapers."
Like the prison time or murder trial, fans are free to wonder if this is a playful nod from the writers to the fans - clear messages that confirm Barry has seen beyond his own time and reality - or a legitimate hint at storylines to come on the show. If they do, it may not be for a while, since it's hard to imagine a version of Central City peaceful enough for Barry and Iris to build a stable life within, let alone start a family.
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Those are our best interpretations of Barry Allen's rambling, barring the obvious "stars melting" he mentions before losing the idea to nonsense rhymes that not even Barry seems to understand. What do you think of our theory? If you have your own insights to offer, please leave them in the comments!