My name is Barry Allen and I am the fastest man alive.
When I was a child, I saw my mother killed by something impossible.
My father went to prison for her murder.
Then an accident made me the impossible.
To the outside world, I'm an ordinary forensic scientist...
...but secretly, I use my speed to fight crime and find others like me.
And one day, I'll find who killed my mother and get justice for my father.
I am the Flash.
Previously on The Flash:
We trapped Reverse-Flash in the force field.
The containment shouldn't have failed.
- I'm having these dreams. - What happens in the dream?
Wells is the Reverse-Flash, and he kills me.
If this is Dr. Wells, then who have we been working for this whole time?
A completely different person.
- Oh, my God. - What the frak?
"Flash missing, vanishes in crisis."
"After an epic street battle with the Reverse-Flash...
...our city's very own Scarlet Speedster disappeared in an explosion of light."
Barry, look at the date.
"April 25th, 2024."
Guys, when I fought the Reverse-Flash at Christmas...
...he said that we'd be fighting for centuries.
Wait, you can't really think that this is from... the future.
That would mean Dr. Wells, whoever he is, is also...
From the future.
I have to say, I'm really digging the brighter red suit.
And the white on the symbol, that's dope.
Wait a second. Suppose we now change the color on your suit.
Will it be because we got the idea from this picture?
That would mean we're living in a causal nexus.
Wow, this is so trippy. Like "Marty and the Polaroid" trippy.
Not as trippy as the name on the byline.
"Iris West-Allen"?
Maze! tov?
Hebrew, ancient language of the Jewish people.
Uh-uh. What the hell was that?
Is someone here?
Hello?
Good evening, Barry Allen.
Uh...
Hi. You...?
- You know who I am? - Of course.
Barry Allen. Director of Central City Police. CSI Division.
- Director? - I guess you get a promotion.
Also known as the Flash. Founding member of...
- What are you? - I'm Gideon...
...an interactive artificial consciousness.
AI. Sick.
- You know Dr. Wells? - Yes.
Do you know who he really is?
I don't understand the question.
I mean, what is he doing here? Why did he come here?
To kill you.
- Wells is in the building. - How do you know that?
I put a tracker on his wheelchair.
Which, if we're wrong about him and he is paralyzed...
...I'm going to hell for that one.
He's in the Cortex. Ask questions fast.
Why did he kill Nora Allen?
- Because he was angry. - About what?
That you escaped.
- He's on B level. He's coming this way. - What does he want from me?
- For you to be the Flash. - What?
Well, maybe that's why Wells let the particle accelerator explode.
So that you could become the Flash.
Why? I mean, for what reason?
- Guys, we gotta go. He's almost here. - Hurry.
- All right. - Wait a second. Wait.
What if HAL over there tells Wells that we were in here?
That would be bad.
If I can get into its operating system, maybe I can disable its memory core.
Uh, Gideon, can you show us where your operating system is?
Certainly.
Yeah. Nope, that's not gonna happen.
Guys, he's in the corridor.
Uh, Gideon, could you just, like, not tell him that we were here?
Of course. I will accept any command given to me by you.
- Barry. - We gotta get out of here.
Wait, wait. Why would you accept my commands?
Because you created me.
- Good evening, Gideon. - Good evening, Dr. Wells.
Is everything all right?
Everything is fine.
H9)'-
What's the emergency?
Oh, no emergency.
- I just wanted to talk to you. - Thanks.
Without Iris around. Or Barry around.
Or Cisco around. Or Caitlin around.
So in other words, you want to talk to me alone.
- What is it? - Right.
Um, so listen.
With everything going on, investigating Wells and finding out about Barry...
Eddie, you cannot tell Iris about Barry.
This isn't about Barry.
I know the timing might seem off, you know, with everything that's going on.
But I wanna propose to Iris.
And I'd like your blessing.
No.
- Come again? - No.
You do not have my blessing.
That's Barry. We gotta go.
Joe, I only asked as a courtesy. Out of respect.
I don't need your permission.
Really? For three very smart people, that was really stupid.
What if Wells had caught you in that...?
- Time vault. - Thank you.
Okay, I know we've seen a lot this past year, but time travel?
I did it.
- I will do it, I mean. - Excuse me?
One of the two speedsters in Barry's house the night his mother died was Barry.
I mean, the Flash. He was there.
Which means that one day in the future, Barry will travel back in time to that night.
- Okay. - Actually, I wasn't talking about that.
I kind of already time-traveled.
- By accident. - What?
I was running to try and stop a tsunami from hitting the city...
- When was that? - A few weeks ago.
Right before you started getting those dreams.
Oh. You mean the ones where Wells uses his super-speeding hand...
...to shred apart my heart? Those? Yes, right. So...
- What if they're not dreams? - What else could they be?
- Memories. - I'm not following.
What if that day, Cisco found out that Wells is Reverse-Flash, and then Wells killed him...
...but when I ran back a day, I changed the timeline so that never happened?
If it never happened, how can Cisco remember it?
I don't know. I don't know.
I think the important thing is he does.
Guys...
...I think I've got a really bad idea.
Dad, it's been three weeks. You barely eat or sleep.
- You should go home at some point. - Hey, baby.
I'll go home when Barry does.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
Help, my son's coding!
They said he was stable. Barry.
- Oh, my God. - I need the room. Let's go. I need the room.
How can he be seizing? He has no heart rhythm.
- Starting compressions. - Epi, push. Epi.
They can't save him.
But I can.
I know who you are.
You're that scientist that Barry's obsessed with. The one who blew a hole in the city.
Harrison Wells. Interestingly enough, my facility is the very place I'd like to take him.
You're out of your mind.
Not gonna try and convince you with promises, but, detective, give me a chance.
We know what you're capable of. You hurt a lot of people that night.
So those doctors in there, they're good enough?
Best in the city? Best in the country?
Look at them. They have no clue what's going on. They're baffled.
The reason is what's happening inside Barry is a mystery.
They don't have the tools to solve it.
- But you do? - That's right.
Millions of people used to look at my lab, and what did they see?
They saw the future. Well, let me take that technology, let me take that know-how...
...into ensuring that your son actually does have a future.
Detective.
Let me save him.
Then save him.
Charge, 200, paddles.
Joe.
- Joe, are you listening? - Yeah.
We...
We have to access Cisco's memories somehow.
Somewhere in his subconscious is the key.
- The key to what, now? - Getting my dad out of prison.
And how are we going to do that?
We're gonna get Wells to confess to killing my mom.
So this will allow Cisco to see into his dream?
I got the idea from a journal article on lucid-dream therapy.
It can be used to help people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Heh. Traumatized, stressed, check and check.
The theory is it will allow people to enter their dreams and face their fears.
Still working on the talking part.
And you're sure this thing isn't gonna, you know, mess with my brain?
Oh. The amount of electricity required to trigger lucid dreaming is harmless. Probably.
Who's gonna be lucid dreaming?
Um...
With all of the metahumans in Central City, people have been seeing strange things.
Things that they don't understand.
And it's really just a matter of time before psychological issues develop.
And lucid dreaming will help the doctors better understand their fears. Intriguing.
Of course, you still need to guide the patient from the outside, right?
Direct them to specific aspects of that dream.
We're still working on a communications interface.
When we dream, the middle brain lights up with electrical activity...
...whereas the higher brain remains dormant.
Once we find a way to make both parts of the brain active...
...it's just a matter of finding the frequency that will stimulate the language center.
Then the dreamer could speak.
- He could describe his dream. - Exactly.
- Or her dream. It could be used for anyone. - Right, it's not gender-specific.
I would try a frequency of 45 hertz to start.
Thank you, Dr. Wells.
Well, you never cease to impress me, Caitlin.
- Allen. - Hey.
The Owens case. I'm waiting on the fiber evidence and ballistics report.
- Are you on vacation or something? - No, I'm so sorry.
I've been distracted by another case, which is no excuse.
Okay, uh, just get me the reports when you can.
- There's no rush. - All right.
Uh, captain, is everything okay?
Ahh. Yeah, since Rob and I have been planning the, you know, wedding...
...between the florists and the hundreds of kinds of cake filling...
...and who could sit next to who...
- Never get married, Allen. - Right.
- Iris, hey. - Oh! Barry.
- Are you okay? - Yeah. No, yes.
That was just really weird. Captain Singh was nice to me.
Oh, well, he's in a good mood. He's about to get married.
Lucky him. Yeah, I know, it's...
Oh, hey, um, can I talk to you in private? It's kind of work-related.
Okay, yeah, now's not a great time. I'm sorry, I...
- Hi, beautiful. - Hi.
- Barry, can I grab you for a second? - Absolutely, yeah.
Can you call me when you're done? It's really important.
Yeah, yeah.
What's up?
Oh. Uh...
Okay, what did she say? Wait, you still have it, so, duh, you haven't asked her yet.
Or you did ask her and she said...?
- I was gonna propose tonight. - All right.
But I went to Joe to ask for his blessing. He said no.
He did? Repeatedly.
- Weird. - I need you to talk to him, find out why.
- Eddie, I... - Look, I know me asking you like this...
...it's a little awkward. Yeah.
But you know how heartbroken she's gonna be if she finds out that Joe's not on board.
Yeah, yeah, all right. Yeah, I'll talk to him.
- Thanks. I appreciate it so much. - Yeah.
And so will the future Mrs. Thawne.
Iris Thawne. Sounds pretty good, huh?
I have a feeling she's gonna want to hyphenate.
Okay, can we go over this one more time?
Yes. You put the glasses on, fall asleep and start dreaming.
- Not that hard. - Except I'm pretty sure I die in this dream.
If I go back into it, will I die in real life? What are we talking about?
- Inception or Dreamscape? - Here, drink this.
- What, am I 5? - Just drink it.
- Okay, I'll drink it. - You're gonna be fine, Cisco.
Mm. Ah. Wuh.
Okay.
The glasses are emitting a low-level delta wave, which should help you fall asleep.
Okay. I gotta warn you, though, usually it takes me a long time.
I mean, I'm not saying I'm like an insomniac or anything...
Ah.
So that's how you get him to shut up.
He's entering REM. It's working.
Cisco, can you hear me?
You're dreaming, bud.
Okay, I will take Dr. Wells to Jitters so you can do whatever it is you wanna do.
Whoa.
Guys.
This is mad freaky.
Okay, well, um, where are you?
Um...
In the Cortex.
I mean, I know I'm just dreaming that I'm in the Cortex...
...but it feels so real.
What is dream-you doing?
Caitlin just left.
I asked her to take Wells to Jitters.
Why do you want Wells out of the lab?
I think he might have tampered with my work.
I need to check.
Okay.
Okay, I'm walking to the bunker.
Oh, man. I love this shirt.
- I thought the dryer ate it. - Ha, ha.
- Focus, Cisco. - Okay, okay.
All right.
Now I'm running tests on the containment system.
This data...
...doesn't make any sense.
All the super-capacitors, they were all still fully charged.
There's absolutely no reason that the man in yellow should have escaped.
Oh, my God.
It was just a hologram.
He tricked us.
Hello, Cisco.
Oh, God. Wells is here.
Cisco, it's just a dream. He can't hurt you.
You better be right about that.
My name is Eobard Thawne.
Eobard Thawne.
Thawne, like Eddie Thawne?
You killed Nora Allen.
It was never my intention.
Wait, Nora. What about my mom?
- He's confessing. - Cisco.
He... He didn't wanna kill her.
It was you, Barry. He was trying to kill you.
His blood pressure's 200, and his heart rate is 147.
He's losing higher brain function.
You're gonna be okay. It's just a dream. You're gonna be okay.
I have grown quite fond of you, Cisco.
His hand, it's vibrating. He's gonna kill me.
- He's gonna have a stroke. - Get him out.
In many ways...
...you've shown me what it's like...
- Help me. Help me, please. - Cait.
...To have a son. Help me!
No!
You're okay. It was just a dream. You're okay.
Oh, God.
It felt so real.
- Barry? - My mom.
This was my fault.
- Hello. - Where are you?
Barry. Barry, are you there?
Dr. Wells. Yeah, sorry, yeah, it's a bad connection right now.
- Where have you been? - Why? What's going on?
A fire. A huge fire just erupted.
- A fire, where? - New Brighton.
Bradford Tower High-Rise.
I know that building. That's where Captain Singh's fiancé works.
On my way.
We need to lock down this entire area. Now move it, go!
Get those hoses up. Move.
Tell Dispatch we need as many tankers as this city has.
What floor? Twenty-first.
My God, that's where Rob works.
Please, hurry.
Dr. Wells, the sprinklers, they're not working.
I see that. Just get everyone out of there, Barry.
No, I can't. I can't save them all.
Dr. Wells, please, what do I do?
You create a vacuum.
Rotate your arms at super-speed. That will create a wind funnel...
...that will suck the air right out of the room.
- It's making it worse. - Barry, listen to me.
You need to move your arms faster.
I believe in you, Barry.
Rob.
I'm okay. It's okay.
I thought I lost you.
Medic!
Mr. Allen.
Tonight at the fire...
...I saw hesitation, I saw you doubting yourself. Why is that?
I don't know. Uh...
I guess I was afraid I couldn't save everyone.
Right, but if there is anything...
...that I have learned in our time together, Barry, it is that...
...the only thing standing in the way...
...of you achieving every goal that you set for yourself is you.
There is no limit to how strong you will get...
...or how fast you will go.
Everything that you need...
...you already have.
- Thank you, Dr. Wells. - Yeah.
You know...
...I couldn't have done any of this without you.
I feel the same way about you.
It's so strange.
I mean, I look at him now and I know that he killed my mom...
...and he sent my dad to jail...
...but sometimes he's just so kind that, in the moment, I actually like him.
But you never did.
- No. - No.
Well, at least now we know how to trap him.
In Cisco's dream, he confessed to everything.
If we can just re-create those conditions, he'll do it again.
Man, Barr.
Taking down bad guys, pulling confessions...
I'm the cop. I'm supposed to be doing this.
If we're gonna get him to confess, it has to be with someone that he truly trusts.
Someone he'll genuinely let his guard down with.
He thinks of Cisco as a son.
Well, then we need to do a better job protecting him than I did protecting you.
I'm not sure what that means.
Barry, this is all because of me. _No__
I never should've let Wells take you from that hospital. None of this would've happened.
If you hadn't let him take me, I would be dead for sure.
But even then, I knew something wasn't right.
Everything in my gut was telling me not to trust him, but I did...
...because I was so desperate to see you okay.
Joe, this isn't your fault.
It's not your fault.
Look, every bad thing that has happened to us, all of it...
...it was him.
And now he's gonna pay for it.
So Wells set up a fake showdown with a fake opponent who was never really there?
He figured if we saw both of them together, it would prove he wasn't the man in yellow.
This all just keeps getting crazier and crazier.
I just talked to Dr. Wells.
He's attending a lecture downtown, won't be back until 5.
Cisco, when he gets here, work on the trap so he sees you set off the hologram.
Hold on, isn't that in your dream when everything went all...?
"Kali Ma," Temple of Doom, yeah. That definitely happened.
But this time, I'm ready for him.
I originally designed the force field to keep a speedster from getting out.
But I've reversed it. Now it won't let one in.
Back up.
Barry, are you okay?
It works.
Okay. As long as I'm inside, Wells won't be able to get near me.
And I will be in the Cortex watching and recording everything that happens.
As soon as we get the confession we need to free my dad, I'm moving in.
- So, what do I do? - Wells also threatened Iris.
So if something goes wrong here, keep an eye on her until Wells is neutralized.
I'll always keep Iris safe, Joe.
- What? - Come here.
So, urn, Eddie told me what happened...
...that you kiboshed his proposal.
- That was between him and me. - I so agree with that.
And I know that we have a lot going on right now.
And I should be the last person pleading Eddie's case.
But I don't get it, Joe. Why did you say no?
Because if Eddie proposes to Iris, she's gonna get caught up in the moment...
...and the romance, and she's gonna say yes.
What's wrong with that? Again, I don't know why I'm saying this.
One day she'll wake up and realize she married the wrong guy.
But she'll stay anyway because she made a promise.
I don't want that kind of life for her. Or him.
She's got feelings for you, Barry.
She may not know how to deal with those feelings right now, but I know her.
They're there. Always have been.
You know that too.
Speaking of, Iris just sent me a 911 text.
I'll be right back.
Like I said.
- Hey, what's going on? - Look, Barry, I know it's not a good time.
Lately it never seems to be a good time, but I need you to listen to me right now.
Like, really listen to me.
Of course, yeah.
Whatever you need to tell me, I'm listening.
Okay, I mean, I know this is gonna sound really crazy at first.
But everything strange that's been going on in Central City...
...it all goes back to the night that the particle accelerator exploded.
I've gone through every bit of information that I've collected since I started my biog...
...every tip, every rumor, every strange sighting.
Nothing predates the explosion.
Whatever was released into the atmosphere that night...
...I think it changed people, caused them to have powers.
And I think that S.T.A.R. Labs knew about it.
I think the burning man worked there.
And I think that that's how the Flash got his powers too.
- Uh... - So, what do you think?
' 'L
I don't know. I mean, it's interesting.
Yeah, it's interesting. There's just a big hole in your theory.
Um, you know, I was affected by whatever was released by the explosion...
...and I don't have any powers.
- Obviously. - Right, yeah.
Look, I mean, I know that it's really mind-blowing.
- I haven't even talked to Eddie about it yet... - Yeah, you and Eddie. How are, um...?
Everything's okay with you and Eddie?
Uh... Sure, yeah, we're great. Why?
Oh...
Yeah, okay, look, I'm gonna... Let me read over all of this stuff...
...and we'll definitely talk about it later, I promise.
Just... I mean, this is crazy.
Yeah, okay, let me just go through it, and we'll talk later, all right?
Okay.
Hey.
Barry, it's Iris.
I don't know if you can hear me, but I hope you can, because...
...I really, really need you to wake up.
Like the other day...
...Detective Pretty-Boy came into Jitters and he asked me out, and I actually said yes.
See, I do dumb things like that when you're not around.
And the house is really quiet without you there.
I know that the reason that you came to live with us was awful...
...but, Barry...
...you made it a home again.
You made us a family again.
We need you.
I need you.
Hello, Dr. Wells. How was your lecture?
Oh. Boring, tedious.
Platitudinous?
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Um, where...? Where's Cisco?
He is in the bunker.
He thinks he finally figured out what went wrong at Christmas.
You know, when we were trying to catch the Reverse-Flash?
Yes, I remember that night. Well, did he say what he's found?
Nope, just that it was important.
Hmm.
Good for Cisco.
Um...
Okay. Well, maybe I'll wheel on down there, see what he's got.
Okay.
Here he comes.
Hello, Cisco.
You've been busy.
You really are incredibly clever, Cisco.
I've always said it.
You're him.
The Reverse-Flash.
Joe was right this whole time, wasn't he?
Good old Joe.
Joe West had his doubts all along.
Even from that first night in the hospital...
...Joe knew something wasn't right. Cops.
As inconvenient now as they will be in a hundred years.
Come on, Cisco, we need a confession.
You killed Barry's mother.
I want to know why.
It was never my intention to kill Nora.
But from my perspective, she was already dead.
Just happened sooner than it was supposed to.
No, that's not an admission.
Oops.
You're not gonna get away with this.
I'm not gonna get away with it?
Oh, you're smart.
You're smart, Cisco.
But you're not that smart.
Cisco!
No!
He didn't confess.
Cisco, are you okay?
Yeah. I'm never ever gonna sleep ever again, but, yeah, I'm okay.
- He's dead. - He didn't confess.
Joe, this was it. My dad's gonna be in prison forever.
Barry, I'm sorry.
Hey. Uh...
Whoa!
What the hell?
I told you this before.
I am always one step ahead, Flash.
Allow me to reintroduce to you Mr. Hannibal Bates...
...and his incredible ability to transform into any person he touches.
I knew that ability would come in handy.
I did not expect it to come in handy this soon.
You used him. Like you used all of us!
He served a purpose.
Didn't take much convincing, just the simple promise of his freedom.
You ruined my life. All of our lives.
We stood by you after everything that happened.
I can see how this must be difficult for you to understand, but trust me...
...your lives now are so much better because of what I have done for you.
You don't have to hide. We know you're not Wells.
- Just tell us who you are. - A confession will get you nowhere.
You've seen who I am.
You know what I can do.
You wanna kill me, go ahead. I'm not gonna fight you.
But just tell the police what you did. Get my dad out of prison.
I don't want to kill you, Barry. I need you.
And...
I also did not anticipate, as difficult as the past 15 years have been for me...
...how much I would come to love working with you.
With all of you.
And yet that does not change what needs to happen.
Then face me now.
Oh, we will face each other again.
I promise you. Soon.
Very, very soon.
- He's in the time vault. - Barry!
It was all a setup.
We thought we set a trap for him, but he set a trap for us.
Oh, my God.
Iris.
- We have to find Iris. - Why?
Wells has been watching all of us. He has surveillance set up everywhere.
Our homes, my lab at the police station...
Central City Picture News.
Cisco, call me when you have a location.
I am very much enjoying this stroll.
- We needed a good stroll. - Yeah.
Actually, though, would you mind if we park here for a second?
Um...
- Oh, it's my dad. - Could you call him back later?
Sure.
What's going on?
Iris, this week, when I was arrested and it looked bad...
...you never wavered, you never lost faith in me.
Impossible.
And even though we've been through some rough times...
...I've never lost faith in us.
Iris West...
Eddie?
Eddie!
Bad timing, detective.
Stop. Leave him alone.
Iris, no.
I know who you are.
You killed Barry's mom.
But you don't have to hurt anyone else.
Hey, Iris. It's me, it's me.
He took him. The man in yellow. He took Eddie.
- I promise I will find him, okay? - What is happening?
Listen to me. You go home, you don't say anything to anyone.
I swear to you, I will bring him back, all right?
Wait...
Barf)'-
You might as well take that mask off.
I know it's you, Wells, or whoever you really are.
Well, allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Eobard.
Eobard Thawne.
I don't understand.
Why do you have my name?
Why?
Well, because we're family, Eddie.
Funny, I haven't seen you at any reunions or weddings.
That is funny, and the reason for that is because...
...as far as those guest lists are concerned...
...I haven't been born yet.
So that's why you didn't kill me that night at S.T.A.R. Labs.
This whole thing...
...it's been about me? Not a chance.
You, my friend...
...are simply my insurance.
You look so young.
And I could kill you...
...right now...
...so easy.
What I wouldn't have given...
...all those times before to have had you like this.
So helpless.
But fate...
Fate's tricky, isn't it?
I come here to destroy you...
...and then to get home, I have to be the one who creates you.
But I will say...
...it's been an education...
...watching you grow up all these years. Science fairs and soccer games.
No hint, no sign, no trace of the man you will be one day.
For whom I have nothing but hate.
And to be clear...
...nothing is forgiven.
There will be a reckoning.
I promise you, Barry Allen.
And you will die.