Previous Post An interesting point you make here, and connected to something that has had me puzzled about the series' origins... I suggest that the key point to bear in mind with this question is that the Reverse-Flash/Harrison Wells we meet in series 1 had altered the timeline by unintentionally killing Barry's mother, he was later revealed to be targeting the young Barry himself rather than his parents. To his surrise this events repercussions immediately broke his connection to the Speedforce, for some reason likely connected to Barry's now interrupted history, and he therefore had to play a long game and wait until Barry grew older. That he has to arrange an 'accident' to restore Barry's powers, and therefore Thawne/Wlls' own link to the speedforce, suggested to me that he had to do it this way as whatever Barry's original origin was was made void by Thawne's murderous assault on Barry and his parents. We learn sometime later in the first deason that Barry and his friends have deduced they are living in an altered timeline, but the point has never been explored, as the Barry that Thawne originally travelled back in time to kill theoretically ceased to exist the moment Thawne killed his mother and altered the timeline. What the original timeline was like we can only wonder. It would have almost certainly had a much more capable and confident Flash, there must have been villains and threats that came with it, and of course that Flash dissapears in a great crisis some ten or so years from now...

Barry's death in the COIE is what causes the Speed Force to come into existence. In a way the Speed Force IS Barry. When RF killed Nora he stopped Barry from becoming the Flash and this caused the Speed Force to cease to exist.

We can assume RF kept his memories like Barry did at Flashpoint or perhaps Gideon kept him safe. Probably using Gideon RF learns that Barry isn't around in the COIE and gives Barry back his powers.

This brings the SpeedForce back into action but as RF was linked to the orginal version of the Speed Force he has difficulty reconnecting to it.

I know there are bugs in my hypothesis but that's how I see it playing out.