Team Flash took a major hit on The Flash Season 3 Episode 15  "The Wrath of Savitar."

It might be more accurate to say they took several blows, including one they may never recover from, now that Savitar is back in Central City.

After weeks of looming on the sidelines, the big bad delivered a knockout punch no one saw coming.

I'm sure I wasn't the only one who found the opening sequence jarring.

When we left off on The Flash Season 3 Episode 14, Barry was proposing to Iris, and Wally saw Savitar as he went to get ice cream. Suddenly, Barry, Wally, and Jesse were training like nothing happened.

My first thought was dream sequence. Because I didn't think there was any way we would be deprived of seeing Iris' answer to Barry's proposal in real time.

Except that's exactly what happened. 

Instead, we were treated to Barry and Iris telling their friends and family. Still a lovely, beautiful moment. Especially when Barry asked Cisco to be his best man.

But why didn't we get to see Iris' answer? Or the kiss they no doubt shared with tears in their eyes? That's the kind of moment shippers wan to relive on an endless loop.

The fact that we didn't get to see it should have been the first red flag that something bad was going to happen.

Joe: I wanted to be sure you heard what I said in there. I couldn't be happier.
Barry: Okay. Great.
Joe: Why didn't you ask my permission? I told you the story of me asking Francine's dad's permission like 100 times.
Barry: [laughing} At least. Yeah. That's a great story.
Joe: But you missed the point?

• Permalink: But you missed the point?

Thanks to Wally, Iris questioned whether Barry proposed to her out of love or because he thought it was a good way to change the future.

And this is the part where we all hid behind our hands and screamed into them.

The truth is, neither Barry nor Iris is wrong. There's no question Barry loves her more than life itself, and he will do everything he can to save her.

He sped up his proposal timeline, but no one doubted he would propose to Iris one day. 

Except now Iris believes it's tainted. And she's not wrong. No one wants to start their life together based on fear.

I don't blame her for being mad. She's been amazingly strong throughout everything that's happened. It had to hurt to know that even if Barry meant well, he had an ulterior motive for proposing when he did.

She hurt him when she took the ring off. But when this Savitar nightmare is over, and Barry asks her again to be his wife, it'll mean even more to both of them the second time.

And fans won't have to riot as long as we get to see the beautiful moment play out in its entirety.

Caitlin and Julian's developing romance faced problems, too.

I've said before that I wanted to see this one develop slowly. I like the awkwardness between Julian and Caitlin as they try to find their way, and figure out how they feel.

The biggest issue is they're both doubting themselves. Julian's afraid Savitar might still have a hold on him, and Caitlin worries that she'll turn into Killer Frost at any moment.

Caitlin: It's not you.
Julian: It's impossible to tell. Savitar could be controlling me and none of us would know about it. None of us. Not even me.
Caitlin: But this time we know who it is.
Julian: How?
Caitlin: Because. I'm the one who betrayed everyone.

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Unfortunately, Caitlin made a particularly bad choice when she decided to keep a piece of the philosopher's stone.

It's hard to be mad at her because she means well. She wants to get rid of her powers so she doesn't hurt anyone else. That's noble.

But being secretive is the wrong way to go about it. This is the mistake members of Team Flash continually make. They keep trying to do things alone.

Now Julian thinks she was using him all along.

I don't think that's the case. As much as I enjoy the idea of this ship, it's also not the main problem right now.

Thanks to Julian's connection to Savitar, Team Flash learned two important things about the villain: he needed the rest of the stone, and he was trapped in the speed force.

Caitlin having the stone made for a nice twist, or would have, if she didn't look so guilty the entire time Savitar spoke through Julian.

But the speed force twist was perfect. 

Of course that's where Barry trapped him. And it probably should have occurred to him sooner since that's also where he threw the stone to get rid of it.

But that's what makes it a fun twist. It makes all the sense in the world without being painfully obvious.

Like the fact that Wally would run off on his own to try and take on Savitar rather than turn to Barry for help.

Like Caitlin, Wally should know better than to try and keep secrets. On the other hand, it's easy to understand what he's thinking.

There's more friction than ever between Barry and Wally. They're each busy blaming themselves as they worry about what will happen to Iris.

Wally was the one to pay the price.

Cisco: No way. I'm not going to vibe you there for you to watch your sister die.
H.R.: This is to help Wallace! To help him see what happens so he knows what to do in the moment.
Wally: Come on, Cisco, please. If Savitar's coming back and I'm the only one that can save Iris, I have to do everything I can to make sure that happens.
Cisco: And you're sure you want to do that? Because this is not something that you can unsee, Wally.
Wally: If this is going to help me save my sister, yeah, I have to see it. Please.

• Permalink: If this is going to help me save my sister, yeah, I have to see it. Please.

He fulfilled the next part of Savitar's prophecy: he's suffering a fate worse than death now that he's taken Savitar's place in the speed force.

It hurt to watch Joe and Iris suffering. It hurt to see Barry feeling like a failure again. It hurt to see Team Flash watching helplessly.

But we have to believe Barry will find a way to bring Wally back AND save Iris in the end.

One question remains: will someone else die in her place to fulfill the final piece of the propechy?

Share your thoughts with us! Did you enjoy "The Wrath of Savitar?" Were you surprised to see Wally fall? Do you think Iris made the right decision?

Remember, you can watch The Flash online anytime!

Mandy Treccia was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in September 2017. Follow her on Twitter.