The Flash Introduces Multiple Nash Wells Twists in “Love Is a Battlefield”

Thanks to the events of “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” things have been a little unsettled on The Flash and a significant part of that has involved Nash Wells. The latest of the multiverse’s version of Harrison Wells doppelgangers, Nash has been a bit of a mystery since his arrival before “Crisis” and a bit of a well, pariah, since “Crisis” as he’s the one responsible for unleashing the Anti-Monitor. But there’s also been the sore spot that is the fate of Team Flash’s beloved Harry Wells and daughter Jesse who appear to have perished — and not returned — when Earth-2 was destroyed by the Anti-Matter wave. Tonight’s episode of The Flash, however, threw a wild curveball into the overall Wells situation on The CW series, offering up a bigger mystery about Nash and, perhaps, other versions of Harrison Wells.

Spoilers for tonight’s episode of The Flash, “Love is a Battlefield” below.

Last week’s midseason premiere of The Flash saw Nash sort of awkwardly trying to engage with Allegra. It was very much in keeping with the strange, detached-but-invested approach we saw from him prior to “Crisis” when it was clear that Allegra reminded him of someone from his own world. Last week, we got further confirmation of that when Nash pulled a photo of himself with a young woman who looked just like Allegra, presumably from his own world. It sent fans into wondering if perhaps, there was a version of Allegra from another Earth that was his daughter and now, in the face of there no longer being a multiverse, Nash feels a paternal connection to Allegra.

Tonight, that idea was confirmed. Near the end of the episode, Killer Frost and Nash talk and he reveals that the Allegra of his Earth was his daughter. Frost offers to be there anytime he wants to talk before they part ways. However, when Nash looks across the room after their chat, he briefly sees another version of himself — an alternate Wells that looks an awful lot like Harry Wells. Or, maybe even, the first Harrison Wells we were introduced to — Eobard Thawne as Harrison Wells, aka Reverse Flash.

This other Wells disappeared in a blink but it opens up all sorts of questions. As we’ve seen on other Arrowverse shows, there are some doppelgangers still around. We’re specifically thinking about Batwoman with its Alice/Beth situation. It’s possible that there is a surviving Wells somewhere on Earth-Prime. It’s also possible that this could all be some wild hallucination on Nash’s part. After all, he was forced to watch worlds die in “Crisis”. Who knows what he saw?

The only thing we know for sure about tonight’s big Wells twist is that it’s all part of what showrunner Eric Wallace previously teased is going to be a very big storyline.

“You’re going to find out the answer to that in the second episode,” Wallace said when asked about the connection between Nash and Allegra. “That’s a very big storyline: Who is in that photograph? What does that photograph mean to everyone? And how does it affect Team Flash?”

It’s also something that may tie into the larger consequences of “Crisis”.

“One would think the true fallout of ‘Crisis’ is the death of Oliver Queen and not having your mentor — you know, Obi-Wan is gone, Luke must rise up, become a hero — and that happens, don’t get me wrong, but that’s not the real fallout of ‘Crisis,’” Wallace said in a recent interview. “The real fallout of ‘Crisis’ has yet to be seen. That is the heart of our story, and that is the heart of what is going to lead Barry on a very emotional journey that he is not prepared for. That’s one of the things having Keiynan back as Kid Flash does for us: [It] directly addresses — because Keiynan will be in one of our episodes in ‘Graphic Novel #2’ — [and] is to help Barry deal with the real fallout of ‘Crisis.’”

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