The Flash – Dead Man Running

By starrymag | October 29, 2019

By: Malasha Parker

 

 

Some of Romero’s (Shawn Stewart) men are stealing out of crates in a warehouse when they see a destroyed crate and the lights flicker off. While they’re searching for whoever is in the building Romero attacks them with black eyes and black blood seeping from him. 

 

Barry (Grant Gustin) and Iris (Candice Patton) tell Cisco (Carlos Valdes), Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) and Killer Frost (Danielle Panabaker) about the impending Crisis that has now moved to December 10, 2019. They tell them about his trip to the future and how he saw the antimatter sweeping over the earth. Ralph and Cisco say that they need to immediately get on this, but Iris mentions that they need to wait and come back with clear minds. Frost angrily throws an icicle into the wall while Barry tells Iris that he has to prepare them to go on without him. He’s starting with Frost. 

 

Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) take Ralph to see his mom Debbie Dibny (Amy Pietz), who has been arrested for robbing a pawn shop. Apparently, his mom has a colorful past so she tries to plead her case. She eventually says that she wasn’t at the shop at that time because she was at The Cleaner’s Royale on Oak. Ralph mentions how the last time he was there it was when she was with an old boyfriend who died. They’re going to try to get an alibi from someone there. 

 

Barry and Frost go to the warehouse crime scene. They can’t find enough body parts to figure out who did the damage. Frost tries to dismiss it by saying it was an animal, but Barry quickly disagrees. Barry sees the bloody substance and says he’ll analyze it. Frost says that there isn’t any ammo in the guns and Barry asks who would kill for dark matter. Frost realizes she knows who would. 

 

Ramsey’s (Sendhil Ramamurthy) icing his head when Frost comes from behind him with an icicle to his throat. She asks him what he did when Barry runs into the room yelling at Frost to let him go. She does and Rosso turns around shocked that Caitlin is Killer Frost. Barry tells him about their investigation and Rosso tells them that someone broke into his lab after Barry notices the mess in the room. Rosso lies and says that someone broke in. Barry finds the same substance that he did at the crime scene and informs Rosso that the same meta may have broken into his lab. Frost says that the guy they’re looking for stole dark matter. Rosso quickly admits that he had some dark matter there but he got it from an old college friend named Ted Kord. Russo offers his assistance as a blood specialist. Frost is reluctant, but Barry wants help. He gets a phone call about another lab break-in. 

 

Allegra (Kayla Compton) comes into the Citizen telling Iris about a break-in a McCullough Tech the night before. She shows Iris a picture with Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) on it. Iris tells her she will take it from there and that she wants Allegra to get some quotes on a mayor story. Allegra reluctantly leaves. 

 

The three head to the Cleaners to meet the owner. He vouches and says that Debbie was there. He decides to give them the footage for five thousand dollars because he doesn’t work with cops. At first they’re discouraged, but Ralph says they might be able to win the money.

 

Ramsey talks to Frost but as Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker). He says that wants to explain himself and that he didn’t want to go behind his back, but he had to because she wouldn’t help him. He’s frustrated that she didn’t tell him that she was a meta. Barry informs them that Romero’s DNA was confirmed to be the meta and Caitlin tells them that he’s one of the biggest gun criminals in Central City. He went to his own place to get the guns because he knew he’d find the most dark matter there. Barry gets another alert saying someone broke into Mercury Labs.

 

We see Romero stealing more dark matter and inserting it into his wound. The Flash and Frost race down there but when they go to attack The Flash gets thrown into a machine. Frost takes the opportunity to black Romero with ice and he gets thrown out the window into traffic. Leaving Barry with a stunned and disapproving look. 

 

Frost is smiling down at where Romero was thrown out the window as Barry starts yelling at her about how they’re not supposed to be killing metas but catching them. She quickly says that Romero got up and walked away so it’s not a big deal, but she didn’t know if he would do that before she threw him out the window and that’s the issue. She let his anger get the better of her again. Barry’s aggravated because he doesn’t have much time to prepare her to handle these things alone. 

 

Debbie and Cecile gamble and distract the other men while Ralph steals the security footage. He gets it easily and they leave without a problem.

 

Barry joins Ramsey in his lab asking if he’s found anything helpful. Apparently, the more dark matter he absorbs, the less human he gets. He’s using the dark matter to stay alive. Ramsey persuades Barry to let him help with more of the issue.

 

Iris and Cisco are tracking the new Wells in an alleyway. They see the Wells come down on a line. Cisco tries to introduce them, but Wells quickly pushes him up against the wall accusing him of trying to steal a jewel. His watch starts to go off and he moves towards Iris. He asks her name and right after Iris tells him what it is she tases him to the ground. 

 

Ralph is looking through the security footage when he finds his mom outside with a man that she says died months ago. She’s been lying about her boyfriend’s death. At least his mom has an alibi. Ralph is stuck on her mom lying because he grew relationships with these people. He asks about his father, but that story was actually true. He’s so upset that he demands she leave. 

 

Barry shows Ramsey the dark matter that they have at S.T.A.R. Labs. Ramsey says that he has a way to splice the genes so that Romero won’t die and they can arrest him. He needs another device to do his work so he asks Barry to get it. When Barry leaves he starts gathering all the cases of dark matter. But, because Barry was already suspicious of him, he catches him and tells him as much. Barry says he knows a desperate man when he sees one, but Ramsey won’t put them back. He says he’s desperate and reveals to Barry that he also had HLH. Ramsey stresses his pain, but Barry tells him that it takes more to accept fighting death. Ramsey realizes that Barry is also on the verge of dying, but Barry wants to take another approach. Barry asks him to prove that he wants to stop Romero, but he has to help him and then get out of his lab. Ramsey asks him where he gets his strength and Barry says from the people he loves. Ramsey thinks it must have been hard to tell them. Barry gets a forlorn look on his face.  

 

Barry’s running full force thinking about what Ramsey asked him and how he hasn’t told his friends everything about December 10th. He stops when he realizes something.

 

Iris is standing over a passed out Wells when we learn that his full name is Harrison “Nash” Wells. He startles awake scaring Iris and Cisco. They introduce themselves again when Wells starts putting his watch towards them. He says he’s looking for eternium– a multiversal element that he’s currently reading off of Iris, but it was stronger in the alley. Cisco starts asking what it is and Wells tries to leave so that he can go find what he came for. Cisco attempts to tell him that he can’t leave and holds his belt away from him, but Wells opens a pocket on the belt already on him. It’s blasts smoke and he disappears. When the smoke clears Allegra knocks on the window outside. Iris goes to speak with her. 

 

Allegra tells Iris that she finished the mayor story, but she quits because she doesn’t like being lied to. Iris tries to tell her that she doesn’t understand and she just can’t tell her the truth about Harrison Wells. Allegra tells her that telling the truth is a part of their job. She tells Iris she’ll see her tomorrow. 

 

Frost is angrily practicing her fighting skills when Barry walks in. He tells her to try to hit a real target because she thinks she fights better angry. Barry says for her to just admit what’s really bothering her. She asserts that she doesn’t want to die when she’s only just begun living. Barry says there is always going to be a crisis so she can’t let the threat of losing tomorrow let her ruin the rest of today. She decides she wants to spend the rest of today catching Romero. 

 

Ramsey is studying the blood when he hears something. The vent has been opened and blood is on it. Romero attacks him, but when Ramsey tells him to stop he does. He starts to hunch over and Romero mimics him. Ramsey learns that everything he does Romero also does. Barry walks in but when Romero sees him Barry holds up the dark matter to get him to chase after him. He leads him into a pipeline cell that he breaks out of. Frost determines that if they overfill him with dark matter he’ll overdose. Barry inserts it in him and his body explodes in a black goo all over them. Barry thanks Ramsey for his help before he leaves. 

 

Debbie visits Ralph’s office. She tells him that when his father left she didn’t know how to tell him but when she did he became mad. So, when she started breaking up with her other boyfriends she tried to protect him. He gives her a book of Ralph that has steps to being open to love. She doesn’t think she’s cut out for joy, but she wants Ralph to go find that kind of love. 

 

Ramsey thinks he’s found an effective cure for HLH. The dark matter infused with healthy blood cells will create an even stronger biological substance. He moves his head and the blood from Romero inside the tube moves with him. He says he’s going to start human trials and throws the blood at the wall. He puts his hand up and the blood moves towards him and into his body. 

 

Iris, Cisco and Ralph join Barry and Frost at her birthday party that’s being thrown at S.T.A.R. Labs. They dance and party for a little bit. Frost finds Barry on the balcony and tells him that whenever he talks about life after Crisis he never talks about himself. He says he doesn’t know how he’s going to tell him, but Iris joins them. She says, “Try with me by your side.” Keeping the secret hasn’t felt right and she thinks they should tell them together. They bring out Ralph and Cisco and tell them that Barry has to be the one that dies in Crisis and none of them can try to save him.

 

Wells is back in the alleyway that Iris and Cisco found him in. His watch sends him into the sewer and he looks down into it finding what he was looking for.