Barry has been taken over by Bloodwork – the battle for his soul apparently lost. Now, nothing can stop Dr. Ramsey Rosso from unleashing his “cure” for death on all of Central City. It’s a dark time for Team Flash, even as they prepare for the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths. This is “The Temptation of Barry Allen” Part 2, the mid-season finale for THE FLASH. Yes, I know we are going to Crisis next week, but for all intents and purposes THIS is the mid-season stop for the regular continuity. Wanna know what happens next? Follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

First, an apology (seems like I’m making those a lot lately). On my way home from an American Thanksgiving visit with family I fell ill. My voice sounds like Bloodwork’s right now, even without the special effects, and sitting up for long periods of time isn’t fun right now, but I will be better soon. Thanks for your patience.

Let’s hit the main storyline first:

• Barry is now under Rosso’s control. Cisco has activated the Babel Protocols, placing a shield around S.T.A.R. Labs that even Barry can’t get through.
• Cisco want to use an experimental Photon Emitter on both Rosso and Flash, over Iris’ objections. He tries the device on Rosso but is stopped by the Dark Flash.
• Iris agrees to meet Barry at their apartment, using the extrapolator to breach there. This goes badly as well, no luck in bringing Barry back.
• Just as all looks lost, Cisco and Iris realize that Barry had just sent messages to them directly through Rosso himself! Somehow, Barry is still in there and he has a plan.
• That plan involves letting Rosso and Flash in to S.T.A.R. Labs. Rosso places a droplet of the blood goo in the particle accelerator, planning to use it to spread this infection all over the city.
• One of Barry’s messages, “Let the light in”, gives Cisco the idea on how to stop this plan. If Allegra uses her UV powers, she can stop this whole plan from happening.
• In spite of her self doubts, Allegra comes through. The resulting UV wave spreads throughout the city, freeing the “Blood brothers” from Rosso’s control.
• Rosso himself is still powered up and ready to battle a recovering Flash. But, Barry reveals what he has been doing all this time. He used the connection with Bloodwork to delve into Ramsey’s own doubts. He projects Rosso’s deceased mother to talk with her son about what he is doing. That gives Barry the chance to capture Rosso, and take him to the containment device at S.T.A.R. Labs that previously held Black Hole.
• Rosso is shipped off to A.R.G.U.S. off camera, and the team has a very touching scene as they get ready for the Crisis to begin. At midnight, the skies turn red. The Crisis is here!

I’ll just hit one of the side stories here. Nash Wells is still in that tunnel, but now he is speaking with the disembodied voice of the Monitor. They are interrupted by the Blood brothers’ attack, which continues throughout the episode. As the attack ends, Nash realizes that he has been wrong about the Monitor all along and agrees to follow him. The portal opens, swallowing him up in a blast of light. The birth of Pariah? Probably, but we will have to wait for the Crisis episodes to know for sure.

NOTES:

• This was one of the best mid-season finales in the series so far. Bloodwork was a terrific big bad, but the timing was right to wrap up this arc and prepare for the crossover.
• There was just the right amount of action vs. emotion, with some of the best acting I’ve seen so far. Grant Gustin was downright creepy as Dark Flash, and at some of his best when back to being just Barry.
• Cisco seems to have a little Bruce Wayne in him, preparing S.T.A.R. Labs for a Barry who turns bad. Babel Protocols, indeed!
• Allegra and Killer Frost both realized their ability to be true heroes, just in time to hopefully contribute to saving the multiverse. Even if they play lesser roles in the Crisis, we have some great members of Team Flash here, even though Caitlin was allowed to spend those last few moments with the team before the Crisis hit.

SUMMARY:

This was what a mid-season finale should be. Terrific all the way around. I’ll give this a 10/10. Of course, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!

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