One thing about this show is that it models a lot of healthy relationships. None of them are perfect, of course, but Barry has a lot of people he can go to. He has a lot of people that care about him, and they care about him enough to call him out when he's made a mistake.

At the beginning of season two, Barry tries to isolate himself because he feels responsible for some severe things from season one. And his friends honor his wishes and keep away ... for a while. But they soon realize he's not going to forgive himself, so they need to be there for him. Even if it means doing what he doesn't necessarily want.


That's another big one. Barry takes the full responsibility of everything that happens that's connected to him. People die? It's his fault. A building is destroyed? All his doing. And he's constantly beating himself up about if only I was better and if only I was faster then, of course, none of this would have happened.


Barry is really good about sharing stuff with those who he loves and those who love him. When he gets down or feels ultra responsible, he tries to shoulder it all on himself. But that never lasts very long before he's going to Joe or Iris or Wells, asking for advice.

One of the devil's favorite tactics is to isolate you. He wants to make you feel alone and vulnerable. And if you don't hold onto your friends, if you don't reach out and open yourself up to them, his attack will succeed.

Don't let that be the case.


Barry is far from perfect. He makes a lot of mistakes, some of which result in very serious consequences. But there's a turning point in the series when he finally realizes, yes, I messed up. Yes, this was my fault. Yes, I could have done better. But I didn't. I messed things up this time, and there's nothing I can do about it. But I can change the future. I can put all my energy from being upset about this to making an effort towards that never happening again. Then I'll actually make a difference.

I don't know about you guys, but that really hit home with me. Watching him let go of the guilt ... he wasn't blameless, but he was able to let the guilt go. He was able to free himself from that heavy burden, with the help of his friends.

We mess up. We make mistakes. But Jesus has given us the chance to let go of all of that. We can move on. We can move forward.

We just have to let go.


I know this isn't really writing related, but I hope you enjoyed this post all the same! If you want something that is writing related and written by yours truly, go check out my guest post on the lovely Savannah's blog! You should totally check out all she's got going on over there. It's awesome!

Have you ever watched The Flash? What do you think of Barry Allen, and what have you learned from him? Are there any other characters in fiction that you've deeply connected with?