u/AmaterasuWolf21

This is a very common complaint of S2, where Barry already had his growth from that night in S1, and going back is making the character repeat the mistakes he has already learned the lesson for. This is not entirely wrong, but I believe these are two entirely different scenarios, and why it’s okay as a character choice.

Barry had been grieving his mother’s death for nearly 10 years; it never left him, and he was still affected by it, but that’s still a lot of time to get used to life without your mother, unlike his father who he could still visit from time to time and get advice from, but this doesn’t matter, he still wanted to save her, right?

Well, the events of S1 as the Flash make that choice much more complicated.

He finds out his mother's killer is his mentor and has been training him so he can save his mother, ultimately giving him the win. He also finds out that a version of himself was already in the past, so he assumes he’s already set up for failure. Later, everybody in his present life gives him a tearful goodbye despite their support, and to top it all off, once he goes back in time, he sees a version of himself that straight up says not to do it.

At that point, the choice isn’t as easy as it would have been had it been given to a pre-Flash Barry; his final words of comfort for Nora are “Dad, and I are both okay.”

So fast forward to near the end of S2, and none of that dilemma is present; Henry’s death isn’t part of some grand plan of the villain, it’s just to hurt him. His father being out of prison was the true closure to that night, and it was taken away for nothing.

Not only that, but as a twist of the knife, he’s forced to see Jay Garrick, who is Henry’s doppelganger, and he can’t do anything about it.

Finally, when he makes his choice of going back, he doesn’t consult with anyone who could have given words of support or another goodbye, and unlike S1, where he slowly approached the living room, this time he just zooms in to save Nora with no pause that would give future Barry a chance to stop him.

Why not go back to where Zoom killed Henry then? Why go back all the way to the year 2000? The answer is that Barry never really left that night; he doesn’t save his mom in S1 because of what I’ve said; he restores Flashpoint because of the consequences (it was a need, not want), in S5 he says that he thinks about saving them every day, and it’s only until S9 where he gets full closure for both of them.

So, no, I don’t think it was a regression; it was a simple fact of circumstances that shaped the decision and the mental state of Barry in both moments

This is a very common complaint of S2, where Barry already had his growth from that night in S1, and going back is making the character repeat the mistakes he has already learned the lesson for. This is not entirely wrong, but I believe these are two entirely different scenarios, and why it’s okay as a character choice.

Barry had been grieving his mother’s death for nearly 10 years; it never left him, and he was still affected by it, but that’s still a lot of time to get used to life without your mother, unlike his father who he could still visit from time to time and get advice from, but this doesn’t matter, he still wanted to save her, right?

Well, the events of S1 as the Flash make that choice much more complicated.

He finds out his mother's killer is his mentor and has been training him so he can save his mother, ultimately giving him the win. He also finds out that a version of himself was already in the past, so he assumes he’s already set up for failure. Later, everybody in his present life gives him a tearful goodbye despite their support, and to top it all off, once he goes back in time, he sees a version of himself that straight up says not to do it.

At that point, the choice isn’t as easy as it would have been had it been given to a pre-Flash Barry; his final words of comfort for Nora are “Dad, and I are both okay.”

So fast forward to near the end of S2, and none of that dilemma is present; Henry’s death isn’t part of some grand plan of the villain, it’s just to hurt him. His father being out of prison was the true closure to that night, and it was taken away for nothing.

Not only that, but as a twist of the knife, he’s forced to see Jay Garrick, who is Henry’s doppelganger, and he can’t do anything about it.

Finally, when he makes his choice of going back, he doesn’t consult with anyone who could have given words of support or another goodbye, and unlike S1, where he slowly approached the living room, this time he just zooms in to save Nora with no pause that would give future Barry a chance to stop him.

Why not go back to where Zoom killed Henry then? Why go back all the way to the year 2000? The answer is that Barry never really left that night; he doesn’t save his mom in S1 because of what I’ve said; he restores Flashpoint because of the consequences (it was a need, not want), in S5 he says that he thinks about saving them every day, and it’s only until S9 where he gets full closure for both of them.

So, no, I don’t think it was a regression; it was a simple fact of circumstances that shaped the decision and the mental state of Barry in both moments

Exactly what it says, I have trouble reading on screen, which aucks because there are so many comics and fanfics and books I wanna read, and unlike comics and books, I can't take them off the screen

In fact, I have one(1) fanfic physically printed but I can't do that always, any advice?