Say it isn’t so! The Flash, “The Last Temptation of Barry Allen, Part 2” continues from last week. Barry (Grant Gustin) chose to join Ramsey, aka Bloodwork (Sendhil Ramamurthy) in his crusade to ‘cure’ Central City. Is this the test Team Flash needed to truly be ready for Crisis? Or have we really lost Barry Allen, The Flash?
Why are you putting us through this when the Crisis begins in a few hours!?
CHAOS ENSUES
Barry bursted out of STAR Labs after disabling their computers and leaving Team Flash unconscious. As soon as the team wakes up, Cisco (Carlos Valdes) activates the Babel Protocol, putting up a forcefield over STAR Labs. He created the Babel Protocol just in case Flash ever went dark. Iris (Candice Patton) doesn’t understand why Barry would choose to join Ramsey. Frost (Danielle Panabaker) says he chose eternal life over dying in Crisis. Cisco says Ramsey is using Barry as part of a larger plan.
Frost finds a police scanner that transmits in analog so they can hear what’s going on outside of the lab. Cisco says not to count them out of the fight yet. He introduces them to his latest creation. A photon emitter that emits enough photon radiation that could be strong enough to destroy Ramsey’s sentient infection.
If Cisco can get close enough to blast him, Ramsey will return to his human form. He will still have HLH, but he won’t be the gooey monster that he’s become. Everyone else would go back to normal as well. Ramsey is the only one who can create his blood brothers so they have to blast him first, then Dark Flash. Iris has an issue with Cisco blasting her husband with radiation. Especially since Cisco hasn’t tested the gun. But it’s the only plan they have. Iris is afraid it could kill Barry.
Frost gets a transmission over the police radio. Ramsey has started spreading his infection city-wide. That’s why he took down communications. He needs his victims to be afraid before he attacks them.
LIGHTS OUT
Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) is at the Citizen when she gets a strange feeling. Kamilla (Victoria Park) comes in and says her wifi is down. The lights go out, and they see someone walk by the office window. Kamilla goes out to see who it is and it’s one of Ramsey’s zombies. Cecile pulls her back in the office and tells her they are in danger. They need to get out of the building.
Kamilla is calm and cool and still trying to get a cell phone signal. Cecile feels the fears of the city. Kamilla tries to calm her down. She says Cecile is feeling what the zombies are feeling. Cecile is a zombie detector and their way out of the building.
Cecile and Kamilla attempt to leave the office. She feels the blood zombies and gets scared. She hides every time she feels them near. The zombies don’t see Cecile and Kamilla until they get close to an exit. They see a zombie shadow on the door and hide in another room. The nearest zombie finds them and the ladies run down the hall. They get through a door and use a metal bar to block the door.
FALSE PRETENSES
Back at STAR Labs, the team listens as the city falls apart. Barry contacts Iris on the radio and asks her to meet him where she said yes. She grabs a tachyon device, but Cisco stops her. He reminds her that this isn’t Barry, it’s the Dark One. Iris has hope that Barry is still alive in there. It could be a trap, they just don’t know. Cisco says if he uses the emitter on Ramsey, he gets to come back and try something else. If Iris goes out there and that’s not Barry, she could be infected or worse. He asks for the tachyon device back. Iris says ‘in sickness and in health’ and leaves the lab.
The Dark One is waiting for her in their apartment. She asks if it’s really Barry. He answers yes, but so much more. His Darkness turns to face her, but it’s Ramsey’s voice talking to her. He is connected to everyone who accept his gift. Ramsey tells Iris to join him because Barry would have wanted her to. Iris says he’s not saving lives, he destroying beauty.
Iris talks to Barry, saying that’s not how their story ends. She asks Barry to come home to her. The Darkness grabs Iris’ arm and asks why would he return to her. She was ready to accept Barry’s death as inevitable. Iris pulls her hand away. The Dark One is vibrating ready to phase into her heart. He lowers his hand and says it’s not over.
THE SAD TRUTH OF IT ALL
Iris is sad when she returns to the lab and Cisco feels bad for her. She wants to try again, not ready to give up on Barry. Cisco says they aren’t giving up. They have to stop both Bloodwork and the Dark Oneto save him. The only way to do that is with the photon emitter. Iris reminds him that the gun is untested. Cisco didn’t have time to test it, it’s not even complete.
This is what Barry has been preparing them for. Iris says he was preparing them to lose Barry while he was trying to save the world, not destroy it. Cisco says it doesn’t matter because they were going to lose him anyway. This is the true moment he prepared them for.
Iris says they still have four hours left until Crisis. She’s not going to let Ramsey rob her of that time with her husband. Cisco says they aren’t giving up because there’s nothing to give up on. Barry is gone. He was always going to die. Even if the emitter works, nothing will change that. The emitter is almost ready. A single tear falls down Iris’ face
UNLIKELY HERO
Joe (Jesse L. Martin) is in the streets of Central City, trying to regain control of the chaos without killing anyone. Ramsey shows up, saying he plans to transform the city by dawn and Joe can’t stop him. Joe tells Ramsey to stand down. That’s not Ramsey though…his name is Bloodwork and he’s not alone. The Flash runs in with Bloodwork’s next victim. Joe is shocked to see the darker side of Barry.
Joe tries talking to Flash, saying they will fix it whatever happened to him. Flash says it’s humanity that needs fixing. Frost shows up and warns Joe that the Flash isn’t Barry anymore. She says they will stop Ramsey, but he’s confident he has already cured death. Just not for her. Bloodwork tells his Blood Brothers and Sisters to attack Frost and Joe. More of his zombies show up, surrounding the heroes. Flash runs away and the city goes dark.
Frost and Joe start fighting off the zombies but there are too many. A zombies stabs Joe in the back with her fingernails. Joe bends over in pain, giving Frost the opportunity to clap her hands and create an ice bomb. One of the zombies stands up to attack, but Allegra (Kayla Compton) comes in and hits her with a pipe. Joe is hurt pretty bad so Frost opens up a breach and they leave the scene.
THE MASTER PLAN
Bloodwork is making more zombies when Cisco arrives and blasts him with the photon emitter. Dark Flash runs in and pushes Cisco, causing him to drop the gun and it breaks. Bloodwork prepares to infect Cisco, but changes his mind. He says he needs Cisco for another purpose. His master plan is to use the particle accelerator to spread his cure. He save the city thanks to Cisco. He yells at Iris, saying he’s coming home.
Cisco returns to the lab and he watches footage of Barry before he ran out of the lab as the darker version of Barry Allen. Barry hacked the particle accelerator for Bloodwork. If Bloodwork drops a tiny bit of blood into the accelerator and it explodes, the infection will go airborne.
Frost and Allegra arrive with Joe. Caitlin returns and says she doesn’t have the equipment she needs to close Joe’s wounds. Frost does though, but she’s afraid. Caitlin tells her to count to three and do it anyway, because that’s what heroes do. They count together and Frost reappears, freezing Joe’s wounds and stopping the bleeding.
TUNNEL OF DOOM
In the tunnels, Nash Wells (Tom Cavanagh) approaches the door that he found and hears a voice call out to him. He thinks it’s Mar Novu, The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) talking to him. The voice says all will be revealed if Nash shows his allegiance and bows. And then all that Nash desires will be his. Nash demands that Novu let him in. He’s chased Novu through time and space. He says a wall won’t stop him. The power goes out. Nash thinks it’s Novu, so he grabs a light to continue his journey. He turns around and a Bloodwork zombie growls at him.
Nash fights off the zombie enough to get to his bag. He as a device that emits a high pitch sound that makes the zombie run away. The device stops and more than one zombie returns.
NO i IN TEAM
Iris and Cisco realize they aren’t working together as a team. But it’s not too late. Iris says Barry chose him for a reason and not to doubt himself. Cisco remembers Ramsey saying he picked the right guy. Barry said those same words when Barry picked him as a team leader. And Ramsey could have infected Cisco, but he changed his mind at the last minute. Iris says she told Barry to come home to her. Ramsey said he’s coming home. What if Barry is still alive inside Dark Flash? And he’s telling them how to defeat Ramsey.
Darth Flash and Bloodwork arrive at STAR Labs. Bloodwork says he’s there to fulfill his destiny. Darth addresses Iris and Cisco directly, telling them to let the light in. Cisco knows exactly what Barry’s plan is. The lower the forcefield to let them in. Bloodwork tells his zombies to kill those who rejected his life blood.
Cisco tells Allegra to go to the pipeline. The plan is for Allegra to hit everyone in Central City with a UV light. It’s the cure they were looking for. Allegra is scared, but Cisco says he will walk her through it. She looks to Frost and Frost nods back at her with confidence.
LETTING IN THE LIGHT
Darth activates the STAR Labs intercoms, so Blood work addresses his enemies. He says it’s time for them to die since they won’t accept his gift of life. He reminds them that he has control of Flash. So he has all of Barry’s access to STAR labs to achieve his goal.
Dark Flash takes Bloodwork to the pipeline. Bloodwork puts a drop of blood into a petri dish and asks for Cisco and Iris. His life blood starts flowing through the Speed Lab. Bloodwork tells the Dark One to get Cisco and Iris. Once there, Bloodwork tells them that his life blood will race through the speed lab and collide with the particle accelerator. The energy released with then cure the entire city.
He tells Flash to kill Iris, but Flash is having a hard time obeying. Iris says she trusts Barry, making it more difficult for Barry to kill her. Bloodwork pulls the Dark One to him, saying he wants to execute Bloodwork’s will. Barry obeys, but that distraction was long enough for Iris to grab a laser gun and shoot Bloodwork a couple of times. Barry falls too, fighting to keep control of the Flash from Barry.
Cisco watches Bloodwork’s lifeblood race to collide with the particle accelerator. Allegra joins them and Cisco tells her to blast the particle with all of her UV light when he opens the door. Allegra pushes out all of her UV light.
THE CURE
The UV light blasts through the lab, turning the zombies back to regular people. It spills over into the streets of Central City, where Kamilla and Cecile are running for their lives. The zombies stop chasing them. And then the light goes through the tunnels, saving Nash and curing the zombies who attacked him. Nash looks at the door, thinking Mar Novu saved him.
Dark Flash was the first to be blasted by the UV light. Iris kneels by his side to check on him. When Flash opens his eyes, they are still dark, but quickly return to normal. Barry is back! But Ramsey disappeared. The Flash runs after Ramsey.
THE REAL HERO
Ramsey attacks a security guard, saying his will won’t be denied. Flash saves the guard and confronts Ramsey. Ramsey doesn’t control the him anymore and he won’t let him hurt anyone else. Ramsey says he was trying to save people. He thinks he’s the real hero, not the Flash.
Ramsey turns into a giant blood monster. Flash races around him, hitting him with a lighting bolt and knocking him out. Flash calls for Cisco. The communication and satellite are back online. He asks if they have anything that will hold Ramsey. They know from their experience with Mitch Romero that the pipeline won’t contain him. Iris suggests they use the MAC. It held Chester’s blackhole energy. Sounds like a plan, but Bloodwork gets a hit on Flash, knocking him down.
Bloodwork pins Flash to a car and prepares to kill him. He asks if Barry has any last words. Flash says he just wanted to enjoy the time he has left. A woman appears and says she did to. It’s Ramsey’s mother, Dr. Rachel Rosso (Meera Simhan).
MEANT FOR GOOD
Ramsey is confused as to how his mother is standing before him. She says he was meant to heal people, but instead he’s become an angel of destruction. Ramsey knows it’s not real and it’s not. When Ramsey infected Barry and took over his mind, it allowed Barry into Ramsey’s mind as well. Ramsey used Nora West in Barry’s dreams. Now Barry is returning the favor.
Barry says he would give anything for one more day with his mom. He’s giving Ramsey that chance, so Ramsey should listen to her. Rachel Rosso says Ramsey desperately wanted to save her. Now she wants to save him from himself. He says he wants to help everyone.
Flash breaks loose. He grabs Ramsey and runs to STAR Labs. Flash puts Ramsey in the MAC. Ramsey vows to escape his prison. The containment is holding. ARGUS takes Ramsey away. They beat Bloodwork, just in time for the Crisis to begin. All of Ramsey’s victims are infection free.
Iris asks Barry what it was like being Dark Flash. He says he knew what was happening but he couldn’t stop it. It took everything he had not to hurt them. As time went on, he could feel Ramsey doubting himself. He thanks Allegra for saving the city. She thanks him for the same and Frost for helping her.
Frost is talking to Caitlin in the med lab. She says thanks for believing in her when she didn’t believe in herself. Frost tells Caitlin to take over so she can be with the team before the Crisis comes.
ALMOST MIDNIGHT
The team sits in silence. Barry breaks the silence, trying to give Joe his watch. He says this way, Joe will always have a piece of him with him. Joe tells him to keep it. No one is going anywhere yet.
Cecile tells them something that HR Wells said. “Barry Allen’s superpower isn’t speed, it’s hope. It’s hope and that kid has endless reservoir of it.” She says whatever is about to happen, the world is a better place for having Barry in it.
Caitlin says Barry saved her life when she lost faith in everything. Cisco remembers the old days when it was just them against the bad guys. Before doppelgangers, flash time or any kind of time travel. Iris says she likes time travel. She tells Barry that she travelled to the moment when they had their first kiss. Barry asks why she did that. Iris says when you’re filled with sadness, happy thoughts are what get you through the day. And what’s happier than getting that first kiss.
Iris says their love story never ends, not even through Crisis. Barry says it’s inevitable. For Iris, if he vanishes, or worse, she will be there with him. The only thing more inevitable than Crisis is them. Barry address the group saying whatever is in store, it won’t change what they mean to each other. It won’t erase what’s in their hearts. As long as they hold on to that, they’ve beaten Crisis before it begins.
MIDNIGHT
A read hue falls over Central City at the stroke of midnight. Barry and Iris face each other, ready for what’s next.
In the tunnels, Nash says for so many years, he travelled across worlds…across the Multiverse to do one thing…kill Mar Novu. And now, Novu saves Nash’s life. The voice tells him to submit and begin his life anew. Nash asks him to show him the way, but he already knows what to do. He touches the symbols on the wall in a some kind of pattern. Everything shuts down. A burst of light emerges from the door, consuming Nash. The door closes.
The Crisis has begun.
RELATED: Catch Up on THE FLASH Season 6 Here!
THOUGHTS
Of course Barry Allen was still in there, trying to find a way to defeat Ramsey/Bloodwork. I’m sure in Barry’s mind…literally…he felt the only way to defeat Ramsey was to join him and use his own mind against him. Smart Barry, Smart.
And it was a good test for Team Flash to see how well they work together under the new leader, Cisco. Cisco did a good job, but in a real Crisis, the team would have failed. They still needed Barry to win. Proving they aren’t ready.
The Crisis has begun. Monday night, we get to see the beginning of the end for Barry Allen. Or wait. The Flash. The Monitor’s words were, the Flash has to die to save billions. With the worlds colliding, there will be more than one Flash. Just a thought…
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
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