The Flash Recap With Spoilers: Bloodwork Is Born in "Dead Man Running"

The clock is ticking until The Flash and the remainder of the Arrowverse shows have to deal with the threat of "Crisis on Infinite Earths". Now that Barry knows his fate might not be too positive - that is, if he wants his friends and family to live - the show has a pretty significant question mark hanging over it. Here's what you need to know about this week's episode, "Dead Man Running".

***

Barry and Iris tell Team Flash about the message from The Monitor, and that the Crisis is definitely coming earlier than they'd thought. They neglect to mention that Barry is set to die in the Crisis.

A group of criminals is attacked by Mitch Romero, their seemingly-dead boss who has been mutated by dark matter (thanks to Ramsey's experiments). Barry and Killer Frost arrive to investigate, and learn that the guns involved in the trafficking ring were charged with dark matter -- leading them back to Ramsey. Frost and Barry confront Ramsey about it, but he denies it, and offers to help them investigate who stole the dark matter.

Ramsey apologizes to Caitlin (through Frost) for stealing the dark matter. Barry then finds information on Romero. They then get word of a break-in at Mercury Labs, and Barry and Frost intervene to fight him. Frost comes close to killing him, which Barry is upset with. Ramsey tries to get Barry to trust him to do experiments on Romero, and Barry reluctantly agrees. They give Ramsey access to dark matter, which Barry uses as a way to learn Ramsey's evil intentions. Ramsey reveals that he also has the same illness as his mother, which is why he is so desperate to find a cure through the dark matter. Ramsey realizes that Barry is marked for death as well, and ultimately returns the dark matter and offers to help.

Barry debates about whether or not to tell Team Flash about his impending death. He then walks in on Frost training, and gets her to admit that she's scared of dying in the Crisis before she even begins to have a life.

Ramsey gets attacked by Romero, who realizes that the two of them are linked in some way. Barry chases Romero into the pipeline and locks him up, but he quickly uses his strength to break out. Frost realizes that Romero's rage is fueled by his dark matter, and she convinces Barry to give him so much that he overdoses and explodes into a goop. Ramsey later heals from his injuries and leaves, telling Barry he'll see him "in the next life."

Ramsey theorizes about using some of Romero's blood to potentially cure his cancer. He lets his body absorb the blood, and the decides he wants more.

Barry decides to throw a birthday party for Frost, and they and the rest of Team Flash celebrate. Caitlin later realizes that Barry is going to die in the Crisis, and he and Iris agree to tell the rest of the team.

Other tidbits from the episode include:

• Ralph gets called to the CCPD office and learns that his mom, Debbie, is guilty of robbing a pawn shop. Ralph tries to prove her innocence, but doesn't succeed. They try to get security footage proving she wasn't there at the time of the robbery, but was at a gambling front. The owner asks for $5,000 in exchange for the footage. Debbie and Cecile play poker, while Ralph uses his powers to break in and steal the footage off of a USB drive. Ralph goes through the footage and finds Marv Perez - a man that she used to date. She reveals that she lied about all of her boyfriends dying after Ralph's father left, but that she did so to protect him from being hurt. They agree to both be more open to love.
• Allegra gives Iris a story for the Citizen about Harrison Wells resurfacing, and potentially robbing McCulloch Industries. Iris and Cisco investigate, and find the newest Wells. He is initially hostile to Cisco, but Iris eventually tases him. Wells - Harrison "Nash" Wells - eventually wakes up, and reveals that he's searching for an artifact containing Eternium. He sneaks away, but Allegra sees that he's there, and questions if Iris is a liar.

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