Plot
When the latest attempt to restore Barry's speed fails, Nash proposes a dangerous plan. Meanwhile, Iris comes to a startling realization in the Mirror World, as Cecile has a disturbing encounter with The Top.
Influences
The Flash comics of Joshua Williamson (The Black Hole organization, mention of Meena Dhawan.) and the Geoff Johns (The Top's new power set.)
Goofs
The retcon that Mirror Master has always been a mirror clone created by Mirror Mistress and the retcon that The Top was always the brains of their operation are not explained very well.
Iris' apparent transformation/death in the final scene of 619 amounts to nothing, as this episode opens with her perfectly fine apart from continuing to hallucinate and suffering from migraines.
Why did Joseph Carver save a video file that proved his story about his wife dying and being replaced with an evil mirror duplicate on a portable hard drive in a file labeled FOR EVA and not ever show it to any of the authorities he was asking for help who had no reason to trust him last season? (There was no reason since Barry just unquestioningly agreed to help him.)
Given that Black Hole is meant to be a secret group, why do their jets have the group logo painted on them?
Performances
Grant Gustin does a fine job impersonating the various versions of Harrison Wells.
The scenes of Nash coming to terms with his death and the roll-call of Wells saying goodbye are a brilliant swan-song for Tom Cavanagh and would be a worthy end for his tenure on the show if, indeed, we thought he truly were done with The Flash.
Flash Facts
As the episode opens, Chester is reading a physics textbook by Dr. Meena Dhawan. This is a nod to a character from The Flash comics of Joshua Williamson, who was briefly a love interest and ally of Barry Allen, before becoming taken over by the Negative Speed Force and becoming the Negative Flash.
The first fight between Barry and Mirror Mistress as the episode opens begins at 2nd Street and Walczak. This is likely a nod to The Flash writer Katherine Walczak. It then moves to 3rd Street and Certo, which is likely a reference to The Flash writer Lauren Certo.
This is the first episode to feature a new title card sequence which includes Allegra and Chester as part of the team. Ralph Dibny is notably absent from the new sequence.
The map of Central Ctiy which Barry uses to chart the Black Hole hideouts Eva hit mentions several districts from The Flash comics. These include Leawood, City Center, University Town, Westminster, Petersburg, Englewood, New Brighton and Lawrence Hills. The general layout of the map also roughly resembles the map of the city featured in the 1990 Atlas of the DC Universe, save that the Arrowverse version of the city has a large river bisecting the city in a North-South direction, just to the west of City Center.
The new Harrison Wells variant introduced in this episode, Harrison Orson Wells, is a clear tribute to legendary actor/producer/director Orson Wells.
The Top's new empathic power set is taken from the Geoff Johns run on The Flash, where the original Top, Roscoe Dillon, had his power set changed to develop "mind over matter" telepathic abilities which he used to change the personalities of the other Rogues, pushing them to reform. For Rosa Dillon, this translates into empathic powers like those of Cecile Horton.
Sherloque makes reference to a villain known as the King Tut Killer of Earth-66. This seems to be a nod to King Tut - a Batman villain from the 1966 Batman show., who apparently became murderous despite the villains of that universe being relatively non-lethal.
Allegra starts calling Chester Chuck for short. This is a reference to the Chunk nickname Chester was originally given in The Flash comics, where he was a fat guy whose power was generating black holes.
Technobabble
Barry's costume now has a nanotech hood that covers his face with a touch.
The fusion sphere powers the Artificial Speed Force. It absorbs whatever touches it while it is active, so it should not be touched while it is turned on, as it fuses the atoms of whatever touches it, bringing about complete molecular degeneration. (An important safety tip Nash relates to Chester.)
Multiversal particles made of synaptic energy, taken from every version of Harrison Wells in the multiverse, exist within Nash Wells. These particles could be used as a power source for the Artificial Speed Force but an organic receptor is required to contain them long enough for the fusion sphere to absorb them, due to the volatile nature of the particles.
Multiversal particles oscillate at certain frequencies of light. Nash theorizes that Allegra can use her powers to transfer the particles from him and into the fusion sphere.
Chester uses the Mobile Gideon to confirm that an abundance of multiversal particles inside Barry's mind are causing his cerebral cortex to overload.
Chester says he can build a particle magnet that can contain the particles long enough to charge the fusion sphere so Nash doesn't have to die.
Chester fashions a vest covered with ionic circuits which can contain the multiversal particles as Allegra shifts them from Barry back into Nash.
Dialogue Triumphs
(Nash, Allegra and Chester are watching Barry stir, after he was zapped by the multiversal particles. He groans and they all sigh in relief... until he starts speaking with a French accent.)
Barry/Sherloque: Hello. Qu'est Ce qui Se passe? What are you all doing?
Chester: Uh, since when do you speak French?
Barry/Sherloque: Since always, no?
Allegra: Why is he talking funny?
Nash I think when the particles left the Fusion Sphere, they transferred to Barry Allen.
Chester: So all the brainwaves of all the Wellses who've ever lived...?
Barry/Sherloque: Are inside Monsieur Allen's mind!
(Harry Wells has taken over Barry's body.)
Barry/Harry: What happened to the J.V. squad?
(Nash grunts dismissively.).
Barry/Harry: Why are you moping around here instead of helping them?
Nash: Oh, they don't want my help.
Barry/Harry: Right?
Nash: Mm. Frankly, I don't blame them.
Barry/Harry: Garcia found out the truth?
Nash: Yeah. You know what Cisco said after Crisis? He said, "An infinite number of Harrison Wells, and we're stuck with the one who killed the Multiverse." And every day I ask myself, why? Why am I the one left standing?
Barry/Harry: So who should've gotten the slot? One of us bozos?
Nash: (sighs) You're not bozos. I only called you that because I find the Wells very annoying... Present company excluded. But you know what you are? You're a daily reminder that even though we may all look the same, we're not the same. Because you're all good men. And I'm... I'm not.
Barry/Harry: So you're a selfish jerk. You think that I wasn't? That we all weren't? Hell, when I met this team, I was working for Zoom. H.R. lied. Sherloque... kept secrets. We all came here broken men. Thanks to Team Flash, eventually we learned to be better. That's why I believe in you, Nash. There's a good man in there somewhere. You just need to dig him up, let him breathe.
Barry: Nash, please. I can't let anyone else die for me. I've already lost so many people.
Nash: Do you know what I feel right now, Allen? Pride. Honor. It's been so long since I felt those things. And it's not just me. The Council feels it, too. And we've made our decision. We're doing this, Allen. (groans) Is it charging?
(Chester runs to the controls to check.)
Chester: Yeah, the Fusion Sphere is charging.
Barry: How can I be the Flash without a Wells on this team?
HR Wells: Hey, B.A. How's it going? (chuckles then sees Barry is tearing up)You're so fast. No, no, no. B.A., don't be upset. This... this is not goodbye. It's just... till our next communion.
(HR Wells grunts and another Halo appears. This time when it dissipates his expression is cool and dispassionate. When he speaks, he has a French accent. It is Sherloque.)
Sherloque Wells: Not great, hmm? Our current situation, huh? But... it will be.
(Sherloque grunts and the halo appears again. This time when it dissipates, Wells refuses to meet Barry's gaze and speaks in a sarcastic growl. It's Harry Wells.)
Harry: Allen... you know, when I came to your stupid Earth... (chuckles) With its good burgers... I was a broken man... Lost, angry, blah, blah, blah, and you showed me... how to be a better person. And I'll always be grateful for our friendship. Now... (sighs) Run. Barry... run!
Continuity
Barry has been kept in cryogenic suspension as much as possible to preserve what Speed Force energy he has left. As the episode opens, he is down to 1%.
Barry is awoken when Chester detects a fractal anomaly at 2nd Street and Walczak. She is quickly detected moving to 3rd Street and Certo.
Mirror Mistress confirms that her fractal photons move at the speed of light.
Mirror Mistress attacks a warehouse on 199th street that is a hideout of Mirror Master (Sam Scudder) and The Top. They last appeared in an alternate future in 319.
Mirror Mistress seemingly kills Sam Scudder, but reveals to a stunned Top that he was one of her fractal duplicates - the first one she created.
Barry is knocked out and arrives at the warehouse to find The Top in shock next to the shattered remains of her boyfriend.
Iris hallucinates a "take out world tour" dinner date with Barry that includes Big Belly Burger, a hot dog chain with a bag labeled "I LOVE GOTHAM," coq au vin from Paris, sashimi from the Arctic and the funnel cake from the Kansas State Fair. This last item was apparently recommended by Superman.
According to Barry, Eva hit nine sites the previous evening and was gone before he could get to them each time.
Sam Scudder and The Top were apparently working for Black Hole and one of their pins was among Scudder's remains.
The Top and Mirror Master reportedly broke out of Iron Heights sometime within the past year.
Ralph Dibny is in hiding with Sue Dearborn, having gone deep off the grid after being framed for the murder of Joseph Carver.
Caitlin is still in the Arctic with her mother, having left for a while in 619.
Cisco is still in Atlantis, after leaving to get a part for the perpetual motion machine he thinks he can use to open a path to the Mirrorverse in 618.
Cecile takes up The Top's defense, in the hopes that she can get her to tell her where the Black Hole tech she and Sam Scudder were moving is.
Chester and Nash connect a fusion sphere to the Artificial Speed Force. This leads them only needing to find a fuel source to power the ASF.
Another new Wells variant is introduced: Harrison Orson Wells, who was a legendary film and stage director, actor and producer on his Earth.
The Council of Wells solved the problem of how to power the ASF. This information is conveyed to Nash by Harry, HR, Sherloque and Harrison Orson Wells.
The synaptic energy of all the Wells can be used to power the ASF, but Nash has to die in order for it to work. Naturally, he's less than thrilled about this plan and tries to think of an alternative.
Iris is confronted by another version of herself in the Mirrorverse, as she thinks to try and use a laptop in her apartment to send a message to Kamila. This Iris is wearing the same dress Iris wore while working as a barista in the first episode.
Mirror Mistress discovers a video file labeled FOR EVA on a portable hard drive in Joseph Carver's office. She almost opens it, but then closes the file before she can do so, as she remembers Joseph Carver telling her that she was not his wife and that his wife died six years earlier in 619.
According to The Top, Mirror Master handled all the details of their business dealings with Black Hole. Cecile detects that this is a lie.
The Top's record shows that she ran a psychotropic drug ring while in Iron Heights.
Cecile determines that The Top wasn't really sad about her past crimes but was projecting a false emotion to her.
The Top reveals that beyond causing other people to experience vertigo, she's a powerful empath who can project emotions onto other people and sense the emotions of other people.
The Top claims that she was the real brains of her gang and that she was made a better offer by Mirror Mistress after Mirror Master got involved with the Black Hole and got in way over his head.
The Top is apparently okay with her boyfriend having been a mirror clone, because she has been given more power and money working for Mirror Mistress then she ever had pretending to be Mirror Master's ditzy girlfriend.
The Top was placed in charge of the next step of Mirror Mistress' plan, but refuses to tell Cecile what it is.
Allegra brings Nash some coffee while he's reading up on organic receptors.
Nash has a revelation about how to power the ASF while talking to Allegra, whom he thinks can use her powers to contain the particles after blasting them out of him with a focused light burst.
Chester points out that multiversal particles are too chaotic to be contained under normal circumstances, but Barry elects to trust Nash.
The particles refuse to be contained and hit Barry when he moves to push Allegra out of the way. This results in the Council of Wells taking control of Barry's body.
Barry manifests Sherloque Wells, HR Wells, Wells the Grey and Harry Wells.
The Barista Iris claims to be a product of Iris pushing her mind too far and snapping.
Iris runs into another version of herself - the one who was killed by Savitar in a potential future. This one taunts her, saying she is insignificant and destined to be a victim.
Chester references 613 and when Grodd and Barry's minds became interlocked to describe what is happening with all the Wells inside his mind. The only thing keeping him alive while this occurs is his speed-healing.
When Chester mentions needing an organic receptor, Allegra recalls what Nash was studying earlier and puts two and two together regarding why he was trying to push her to use his powers instead of sacrificing himself.
Allegra calls Chester Chuck. He later decides that's an okay nickname.
Nash admits that he's afraid he can't be as good as the other Wellses. Harry tells him that none of them were really good men until Team Flash changed them.
Iris meets another version of herself - one who resembles the older Iris of the alternate future of 2049.
Iris realizes the different versions of herself are Eva in disguise trying to break her will.
Cecile projects all her repressed fear on The Top and gets her to confess to planting a bomb on a Black Hole private jet carrying lots of their technology, which will explode over Central City.
Nash sacrifices himself to charge the Artificial Speed Force.
Harry, HR and Sherloque get a chance to say goodbye to Barry before Nash dies.
Barry regains his speed and is able to get the bomb off the Black Hole jet before it explodes.
ARGUS is later able to capture the Black Hole jet once it lands.
Allegra keeps the photo of Nash with her alternate universe self and regrets never really getting to know him.
Barry says that he'll call Caitlin and Cisco and let them know that Nash is dead.
Allegra writes a story about The Flash stopping the bomb.
Iris attempts to send an e-mail to Kamilla and Singh.
Eva watches the file on Carver's drive and sees the real Eva McCulloch die. This causes her to realize that she is a fractal clone as well.
Untelevised Adventures
Mirror Master and The Top escaped from Iron Heights at some point in the past year.
The Bottom Line
A lackluster start to the season, made tolerable only by the scenes centered around Nash Wells and his sacrifice. Yet even those moments are underwhelming, since there's no real emotional resonance with the death being witnessed by Barry and "the JV Squad" with no Cisco to snark at Harry one more time or Joe acknowledging HR's passing. The scenes with Iris are utterly pointless. The scenes with The Top and Eva are confusing and it's greatly disappointing that Eva's motivations have basically been reduced to her being utterly insane and not really human. This Mirrorverse storyline can't end fast enough.
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