The Flash Recap With Spoilers: Barry Prepares for Crisis in “A Flash of the Lightning”

The Flash‘s sixth season is officially underway, and this week’s episode dropped a doozy of details for where the show is headed next. Now that Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin) has learned of his fate in the coming “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, it’s safe to say that things will never quite be the same. Here’s what you need to know about this week’s episode of The Flash, “A Flash of the Lightning”. Obviously, spoilers for the episode below! Only look if you want to know!

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The episode opens with Barry and Iris discussing The Monitor’s warning, which Iris doesn’t think is entirely set in stone. Barry decides that he’s going to try to see the “Crisis” for himself, and travels forward to the day after he’s supposed to die — December 11th. He attempts to run, but is hit with antimatter that injures his leg. Gideon suggests that he visit Jay Garrick, who is an expert in anti-matter. Barry travels to Earth-3, where Jay reveals that he’s been tracking readings of anti-matter all across the multiverse and that he might have technology that Barry can use to bypass it. He also introduces Barry to his wife, Joan — who is a doppelganger of Barry’s mother.

They hook Barry up to the technology, and he is able to see thousands of potential timelines for the coming “Crisis” – all of which involve Team Flash dying in some way. Barry passes out, waking up later to find that his nervous system has been temporarily injured. Barry remembers all of the potential futures that he saw, and realizes that The Monitor was right. Barry asks to be near Iris, and Jay and Joan deliver him back to Earth-1. Iris suggests that they find a way to remove the anti-matter from Earth-1, but Barry says he knows he has to die.

Joe visits Barry, who tells him about the coming “Crisis”. Joe tells him that dying won’t mean that he’s giving up — it will mean that he protected those around him.

Later, Jay and Joan say their goodbyes to Barry and Iris before leaving back to Earth-3. Barry and Iris embrace, and he reveals that he’s accepted the fact that he’s going to die in “Crisis”, and needs to prepare the team for what’s next.

Other tidbits from the episode include:

• Cisco injects Killer Frost with some of Ray Palmer’s nanites, which allow her to pass for a normal human. Ralph takes her to an art show, which she initially finds overrated. Later, Cisco chastizes Caitlin for not watching Chester’s vitals, but then finds out that she’s trying to express herself through drawing. She then buys several pieces of art to hang in STAR Labs.
• Joe and Cecile review a new case — for a metahuman named Allegra Garcia, who can steal cars through her ability to manipulate electromagnetic waves. Cecile prosecutes Allegra for the murder of a man, but she reads her mind and decides to give her a lighter sentence. Cecile believes that Allegra is innocent, and asks Ralph, Iris, and Camila for help in finding evidence. Iris, Ralph, and Joe visit Allegra, who shoots Ralph with her powers and burns him with ultraviolet radiation.
• Joe interrogates Allegra, who reveals that she’s trying to start her life over as a reporter. She later tells Cecile how trapped she feels by her powers, and Cecile reveals that she’s a metahuman as well. Allegra reveals that her cousin, Esperanza, seemingly died in the Star Labs explosion — but she might still be alive, and the person who is actually committing these crimes. Ralph finds her file, and discovers that she was taken by a secret organization after the explosion.
• Esperanza suddenly attacks the CCPD station, in an attempt to find Allegra. Barry arrives, despite still recovering from his injuries, and fights her. Later, Cecile tells Joe that she’s going to become a metahuman defense attorney. Cecile later gets Allegra a job as an intern at The Central City Citizen.
• Ramsey Rosso meets with another dark matter dealer and accidentally uses his powers on him. He later performs experiments on a corpse — which quickly reanimates and attacks him.

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The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.