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Plot
Barry and Chester think they've found a way to stop the Cold-Fusion Killer once and for all, but Caitlin may endanger everything when she enacts her own plan, believing the "Black Flame" to be a resurrected Ronnie Raymond.
Influences
Green Lantern: Blackest Night (character of Deathstorm and references to raising the dead.) and Ghostbusters (the Cold Fusion trap resembles the ghost traps)
Goofs
Virtually every character in the show is out of character in this episode. Caitlin, usually the cool, emotionless voice of reason, is pushed to make a leap of faith based on a hunch. Barry, ever the optimist who believes in the power of love, says they can't take the chance Caitlin is wrong in trying to resurrect Ronnie. And every single person who said the sanctity of life prevented them from letting Thawne die six episodes earlier is suddenly all in favor killing Ronnie to prevent further deaths.
Cecile claims she is sure the Blackfire Killer is Ronnie after making mental contact with him. It's unclear how, given that she didn't know Ronnie.
Why did Sue come back to Central City to deliver the news of Iris' disappearance in person? Even allowing that her phone had blipped out of existence, it's not like she couldn't access another phone and call STAR Labs or the Central City Citizen to get a message to Barry.
Performances
Danielle Panabaker and Robbie Amell have real chemistry in the flashback scenes showing Caitlin and Ronnie's romance. It's a real shame they didn't get to work together more in the earlier seasons of The Flash and their courtship here makes the reveal at the end all the sadder.
Artistry
The design for Deathstorm is nice.
Flash Facts
The Cold Fusion Killer/Black Flame of earlier episodes is revealed to be an entity called Deathstorm. Originally making his first official appearance in Brightest Day #10 in November 2010, Deathstorm was born of a fusion of the Firestorm Matrix and the power of the Black Lantern Corps following Ronnie Raymond's resurrection as a Black Lantern during the Blackest Night event.
The Arrowverse version of Deathstorm seems to have been born as a result of Ronnie Raymond's death. However, it is unclear just what the source of his power is.
Allegra name drops the Blackest Night event, in which the Green Lantern villain Nekkron attempted to take over the universe with an army of the undead. This seems to be teased when Allegra discusses the potential of the Firestorm splicer to resurrected the dead if used improperly.
Technobabble
Chester encodes the Cold Fusion Sphere with Frost and Dr. Tannhauser's cryokinetic RNA signatures. This will enable them to use it to track the Blackfire Killer without risking their lives.
Using the data on the Blackfire Killer gathered from it's brief time within the NCCU, Caitlin determines that the cold fusion radiation readings are 10-to-the-negative 28 watts, aka Hawking radiation. This kind of radiation is only found within a singularity.
The first law of thermodynamics dictates that matter cannot be created or destroyed, only changed. Caitlin theorizes that the pressure from when the horizons of the singularity merged broke down Ronnie's body into pure thermodynamic energy.
When a human body dies, the brain becomes flooded with ACTH - the same hormone the human brain creates when it experiences grief. Caitlin guesses this gave him an attraction to the same hormone, which is why he's been seeking to merge with grieving people and killing them in the process.
Chester says they can combine the Quantum Splicer that created Firestorm with Eva McCulloch's R-CEM chips to grow a new body for Robbie.
The Quantum Splicer works by bombarding the user's atoms with energy to create fission, but it requires the participant to be willing. If the user rejects the splicer, their atomic structure would become unstable, resulting in an endothermic explosion.
Chester determines that once they trap the Black Fire Killer in the Cold Fusion Sphere, they can kill him by removing the oxidizing agents.
Apart from an occasional irregularity in his amygdala function, Ronnie seems to be perfectly fine according to this post-resurrection physical.
Dialogue Triumphs
(Caitlin reveals that she planned to propose to Ronnie.)
Ronnie: Whoa, whoa, whoa, you were gonna propose?
Caitlin: Yes. Because I love you so much, Ronnie Raymond, it freaks me out. But everything is ruined now.
Ronnie: No, no, no, no, it's not ruined, okay? I know you wanted to go to that bed and breakfast where we first fell in love, but maybe we need to stop trying to recreate the past and focus on the future, okay? Because when I look at you, I see forever, and I want forever to start right now.
Frost: I'm really worried, Catie.
Caitlin: Then why won't you help me?
Frost: Not about Ronnie, about you. Look, when Ronnie died, you and me weren't even you and me. I was still in your subconscious. But even then, I could feel your pain the moment you realized he was gone. And that night when you went to bed, and every night after that. But as bad as that was, watching you pull away from everyone who loves you was even worse, and it's happening again.
Caitlin: I'm sorry you felt all that pain. But did you feel anything else?
Frost: I remember how happy you were before he died. Which is why I got this.
(Frost holds up the Quantum Splicer.)
Caitlin: What about Barry?
Frost: Sure, Barry's family, but you're blood, and I will always have your back. (sighs) But you got to promise me something, all right? You will never shut yourself off from me or the rest of the team, all right?
Caitlin: I promise. And, Frost... Thank you.
Frost: You got it.
Continuity
The episode opens with a flashback to 2012, showing how Caitlin and Ronnie met. She mistook him for a plumber when he came down to the medical lab at STAR Labs seeking treatment for a second degree burn while fitting a high-pressure coil.
Caitlin and Ronnie bonded over a shared love of kit building, with Ronnie saying his job is basically him playing with LEGOs of steel and concrete.
In the present, the Blackfire Killer appears to Caitlin and tells her that she can save him. When asked how, he says "memories in the snow."
Picking up from her last scene in 810, Tinya becomes upset, thinking that Iris just killed her mother and runs off.
Iris passes out while having a time sickness seizure.
Sue tries to call Barry, but her phone disappears in a puff of green Still Force particles.
Joe and Cecile went through Captain Kramer's files and found three people who died in a fire of undetermined origin within the past six months. They are Colin Smith, Megan Landa and Veronica Binning.
Running on the theory that the Blackfire Killer feeds on grief, Joe determined that Megan and Colin both recently lost a parent and Veronica lost her sister as a child.
Caitlin determines that she is the common link between all the Blackfire Killings and tells Team Flash about her encounter with the killer and her belief that it is Ronnie Raymond resurrected somehow.
Caitlin says Parker Stefano, the third Blackfire Killing victim from 809, was her yoga instructor. The first two victims from 808, Stan Mullen and Donna Winters, were working at O'Shaughnessy during Caitlin and Frost's double date in 807.
Caitlin says the three latest victims attended a bio-chem conference where they were all panelists on an Applied Sciences lecture.
Barry points out that they know the Blackfire Killer is telepathic and can read minds after its encounter with Chester in 809.
Caitlin refers to the events of 201 and points out that Ronnie died in a singularity, which is consistent with the energy put out by the Black Fire Killer.
Barry urges Caitlin to take it slow and give him time to double-check the radiation data. She agrees to let him work on it while she talks to her boyfriend, Marcus, about what is going on.
Caitlin tells Marcus that she works with The Flash and that she thinks her husband has come back from the dead.
Marcus cuts Caitlin off before she can give him the break-up speech and quotes Plato before leaving her.
Frost talks to Barry about what's going on, as they both independently decide to prepare the Cold Fusion Sphere.
Frost says she wants to believe Caitlin, but she shares Barry's concerns about why, if the Black Fire Killer is Ronnie, it's just now coming back.
The events of 810 are confirmed to have taken place one day earlier.
Frost points out Barry's hypocrisy for being reluctant to trust Caitlin's hunch, pointing out that he'd be all on-board for taking a chance if it was Iris' life in danger.
Allegra tells Chester that he should sell merch for his streaming series.
Allegra is shocked to find out Chester is sharing the specs for the Quantum Splicer on his show.
Chester defends his actions, saying that science is all about sharing and cooperation. He points to one follower, WookieLover77, who is using his drone design to deliver supplies to refugees in starving countries.
Allegra says there is a lot of difference between a drone and a quantum splicer and that it isn't worth the risk if someone less ethical than Chester used that technology to raise the dead.
Allegra refers to her cousin's death and says that death is a part of life and should not be experimented with, referring to death as "noche mas negra," - the blackest night.
Chester finally agrees to keep the splicer specs off-line.
As Cecile arrives in STAR Labs, the lights around her begin flickering and she feels great pain as the Blackfire Killer speaks to her and asks where Caitlin is.
Cecile says that she believes the Blackfire Killer is Ronnie, but that he is in great pain and begging to be set free.
Barry tells Caitlin they can't go through with her plan and should try to end Ronnie's suffering rather than try to bring him back to life. He justifies this decision by referring to the events of 301 and the problems caused by Flashpoint and by his inability to cope with his father's death.
Caitlin points out Barry's hypocrisy and recalls all the times Team Flash moved Heaven and Earth to try and save Iris over a lot less evidence than she has.
Caitlin says that if Barry and the rest of the team won't help her, she will work on her own.
In a flashback to 2013, Caitlin and Ronnie plan to celebrate their one year anniversary with a trip to Mapleville, to the bed and breakfast they went to on their first weekend together as a couple.
Ronnie apparently was forced to stay up all night with Cisco waiting in line to get the new Call of Duty game.
Tinya attacks Iris at her hotel room and seems to phase her out of existence.
When Sue asks what Tinya did, Tinya says Sue will find out if she ever tries to come after her again.
After talking with Cecile, Barry decides to use the Cold Fusion Sphere to trap the Black Fire Killer.
Frost offers to talk to Caitlin about what the team has decided.
In the flashback to 2013, it is revealed that Ronnie and Caitlin got stuck in the snow near Piedmont State Park on the way to Mapleville. Caitlin reveals that she was going to propose to Ronnie. Ronnie, in turn, reveals that he was going to propose to her and he already had the ring picked out.
Frost steals the Quantum Splicer and gives it to Caitlin.
Caitlin remembers where Ronnie proposed and guesses that is where he was talking about "Memories in the snow."
A group of campers is attacked by black fire in Piedmont State Park while telling ghost stories.
Allegra creates a light path to guide the civilians to safety.
Frost freezes the Cold Fusion Sphere before Barry can use it.
Caitlin uses the Quantum Splicer and seemingly restores Ronnie to normal.
Barry admits that he was wrong and says he should have believed in Caitlin and Ronnie.
Caitlin says she thinks the rest of the team who never met Ronnie will like him.
Ronnie reportedly played Dungeons and Dragons in college.
Cecile doesn't understand why her powers were so off-the-mark when it came to Ronnie.
Barry goes home, where Sue is waiting for him and tells him that Iris disappeared.
Caitlin discovers Ronnie has gotten out of his hospital bed. As she looks for him, the lights go out.
When she finds Ronnie, he transforms into a man of black fire and introduces himself as Deathstorm.
Deathstorm confirms that Ronnie is dead and that he was born when he died.
Location
Central City - 2012
Central City - 2013
Coast City - 2022
The Fridge Factor
Caitlin is made to look unreasonable and overemotional throughout the episode, culminating in the reveal that she's responsible for making Deathstorm more powerful than ever.
The Boomerang Factor
Honestly, it's weird that it took them three weeks to figure out Caitlin was the link between all the Cold Fusion killings and that was somehow because nobody told Caitlin about all the victims until now, despite her working on the case for a week!
The Bottom Line
If the writers aren't intentionally trying to make the audience hate Caitlin's character at this point, I'd be shocked. As it is, this episode is a prime example of bending your characters to suit the story you want to tell rather than the other way around. The only thing that redeems it is how cute Caitlin and Ronnie are together and how well the performances make us want to root for them. It is also gratifying to see Caitlin and Frost call Barry out on his BS, even though it turns out he was right all along.
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