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Who Is Harrison Wells? Recap

Barry runs to Coast City to pick up pizza for the others, and then returns home. Joe, Eddie, Cisco, and Caitlin are waiting, but Caitlin says that she isn’t hungry. Joe and Cisco are going to Starling City to investigate the car accident that Harrison was involved in 25 years ago that cost him the life of his fiancée. Caitlin isn’t convinced that Harrison is guilty of anything, but Joe tells her that they have to follow up every possible lead. Cisco asks his co-worker to cover for him while he’s out of town, but Caitlin refuses to lie to her mentor and walks out.

A teller is leaving for the night and asks her go-worker Nina to unlock the door for her. Nina says that she has one more thing to finish up before she goes. Once she’s alone, Nina goes to the safe deposit vault and takes the jewelry out of several boxes.

The next day, the police arrest Nina and Eddie shows her the bank’s surveillance footage. Nina insists that her husband can testify that he was with her during the time of robbery. Once she leaves, Eddie tells Barry what happened and admits that everyone who knows Nina insists that she’s innocent. They figure that a metahuman shapeshifter committed the robbery, just as Iris comes in. Ignoring Eddie, she asks Eddie if he’s seen her father. Eddie speaks up, saying that his partner took a couple of personal days. He asks when Iris is coming home, and she tells him that she will when it feels like home. Once she leaves, Eddie tells Barry that he’s finished lying to Iris about what they’re doing.

At Abbott Jewelers, the jeweler, Dominic, greets a customer who wants to sell some jewelry. Dominic checks the items against a list of stolen goods and calls 911.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry and Caitlin are discussing whether Harrison killed Barry’s mother. Harrison comes in abruptly and overhears them, and Barry brings up the topic of the shapeshifter thief. Caitlin tells Harrison that Cisco is taking off some time to be with his brother, just as Eddie calls from outside the jewelry store and tells Barry that they’ve located the thief. He then follows the man down the street and tackles him, but the man manages to get away. Flash arrives and tells the thief that he can’t escape. The thief touches a passing girl, transforms into her, and slips around a nearby corner into an alleyway. By the time Flash gets there, the thief has made good his escape.

When Barry returns to the lab, Harrison and Caitlin warn him that he can’t risk letting the shapeshifter touch him in case he can take powers or memories. They check similar cases of clearly innocent people framed for robberies, and find a series of them dating back to a month after the explosion. The first one was a bank teller who claimed that his best friend, Hannibal Bates, framed him.

In Starling City, Joe and Cisco go to the precinct house and meet with Quentin. He warns them that there wasn’t much to the car crash, and wonders what they’re trying to find. Joe asks Quentin to take them to the crash scene, just as Laurel arrives. Quentin introduces her to the visitors and Laurel asks Cisco to talk with her privately. Once they’re alone, she tells him that she knows Barry is Flash and Oliver is Arrow... and she’s Black Canary. Cisco says that he loves her... as far as how she beats up criminals. When he wonders why she approached him, Laurel asks him to modify her sister Sara’s sonic device. Cisco immediately agrees.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin reviews all of the reports about Harrison and his culpability in the explosion. She then goes to Harrison’s new apartment. Before he can answer the door, Barry carries her to the city outskirts and warns that she can’t tell Harrison anything. Caitlin refuses to let them ruin her friend’s life, and says that she lost everything after the explosion. Harrison was the only one who stood by her through the aftermath. Barry warns her that if she tells Harrison then Henry will remain in jail. Caitlin objects to Barry using the father card but agrees to wait until Joe and Cisco get back from Starling City.

Barry meets with Eddie and they go to see Hannibal’s grandmother. She tells them that she hasn’t seen Hannibal and doesn’t remember filing a missing-persons until they remind her. Mrs. Bates goes to the kitchen to get them some coffee, but when Barry calls to her, there’s no answer. They realize that she’s slipped out the back and that she’s Hannibal. As Hannibal assumes a new identity and runs off, Barry and Eddie go after him. A police car cuts him off but Hannibal takes the form of Eddie and gets close enough to shoot the two officers. He runs off as Eddie and Barry arrive and call 911.

The next day, Singh meets with DA Cecile and show Eddie the dashboard cam footage of Eddie apparently shooting the two officers. Cecile warns that with the evidence stacked against Eddie, she has no choice but to put him under arrest. Once she leaves, Singh asks Barry what’s going on and he says that he’s trying to come up with an explanation. Iris runs in, desperate to see Eddie. Barry warns her that she can’t but promises to do everything that he can to clear Eddie of the charges.

Quentin takes Joe and Cisco to the accident site, and Cisco scans the area with a sound-wave detector. Joe and Quentin wait and talk about their daughters. Quentin admits that he and Laurel are on the outs because she lied to him and he couldn’t accept her reason why. Joe says that sometimes people life for love, especially when it comes to their family. Before Quentin can respond, Cisco picks up traces of tachyons and calls them over to the spot... and Quentin’s coffee flows upward out of its cup.

As Cecile questions Eddie, Barry comes in and says that the lab report shows that Eddie didn’t fire a gun. However, Cecile points out that isn’t enough to clear Eddie given the security footage. Once she goes, Barry carries Eddie out of the station and tells him to hide for now. Eddie refuses, pointing out that an escape will just incriminate him further. He assures Barry that it’s not the same as when Barry was a child and couldn’t do anything to clear Henry’s name. Eddie is confident that Barry will find Hannibal, and Barry speeds him back to the interrogation room.

A short time later, Barry goes home to shower. Eddie arrives at the door and explains that Singh called in a favor with a judge and got him released. However, when Barry turns around, “Eddie” knocks him out, touches him, and turns into Barry. Hannibal ties and gags Barry upstairs, and then goes downstairs just as Caitlin arrive. She explains that they came up with a formula to lock the villain that she’s dubbed “Everyman” into one form. Caitlin notices that “Barry” is acting awkward and assumes it’s because of their earlier argument. She suggests that they move on and invites Barry to the lab with her.

Joe digs and finds a long-dead corpse. As Cisco gets his kit, Joe asks Quentin not to report the discovery. If the person they’re investigating finds out that they’ve found the body then anyone who knows will be in danger... including Joe.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin puts the finishing touches on the serum. “Barry” suddenly kisses her, saying that they should have done it a long time ago. Caitlin responds, just as Iris comes in. She figures that someone framed Eddie and has found the same trail of framed people. Iris also shows them the footage of the shooting, and points out that the shooter is left-handed but Eddie is right-handed. Realizing that he’s been found out, Everyman starts to draw his hidden gun with his left hand. Harrison comes in and tasers him from behind. Iris insists on taking Everyman to the station so that they can clear Eddie’s hands, and won’t take no for an answer. Caitlin insists on going with her.

As the two women drive to the station, Iris suggests that Everyman is one of the increasing number of metahumans that have been spotted in Central City. She points out that one of them was the Burning Man, and Mason was documenting them. As they stop at a light, Everyman takes the form of a little girl and yells for help. Several construction workers come over and Everyman slips away in the confusion.

Caitlin goes to find Barry, wake him up, and free him. He says that Hannibal was there and knocked him out, and Caitlin sheepishly admits that she knows... now.

At the Starling City precinct house, Joe thanks Quentin for his help. When Quentin mentions his bad heart, Joe sees Laurel come in and suggests that there’s something that could make Quentin better. Meanwhile, Cisco approaches Laurel privately and gives her the modified sonic device, which she can wear around her neck. The engineer suggests that she call it her “Canary Cry” and Laurel agrees. She then gives him an envelope and warns that if he shows it to anyone else, she’ll kill him. Literally. Once Laurel leaves, Cisco takes out the photo of Laurel in her Black Canary costume, posing with him.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Harrison examines the DNA samples that Everyman left and confirms that he can only take on other people’s shapes. It’s safe for Barry to touch the metahuman. Caitlin gives Barry the shutdown formula and nervously says that they don’t need to hug or touch. The computer registers the GPS tracker on Barry’s cell phone at the airport and they figure that Everyman is leaving town.

Barry goes to the airport and tries to spot Everyman. He notices a brief discrepancy as a TSA agent scans an elderly woman, and goes over. Everyman realizes that he’s been spotted, touches a TSA agent to take his form. Flash confronts him in an access corridor but Everyman changes into Caitlin’s form and sprays the speedster in the face with mace. He quickly recovers and they fight, and Everyman changes into first Iris and then Eddie. Finally he transforms into Flash, but the real Flash easily defeats him with superspeed and then injects him with the freezing formula. Everyman shapeshifts into dozens of forms before finally locking into Iris’ shape.

That night at the station, Barry and Singh show Cecile the airport footage of Flash battling Everyman. She agrees to release Eddie and worries that the law isn’t capable of dealing with metahumans. Barry gives her a list of all the innocent people that Everyman framed--claiming that Flash gave it to him--and Cecile admits that she’s a fan of the hero. Once Eddie is released, Iris greets him and he tells her the truth: that he’s been working with Flash all along.

Later, Barry, Harrison, and Cisco lock Everyman up in a pipeline cell. Harrison wonders who the real Hannibal Bates is, and Everyman reverts into a featureless humanoid... and realizes that he can’t remember what he looked like. After Harrison goes, Barry takes Caitlin to his lab. Joe and Cisco are there with the corpse, and they tell her that DNA tests confirm that the dead man is the real Harrison. Barry figures that the Harrison they know is an imposter.

As Joe leaves, he finds Harrison in the lobby. He asks if Joe enjoyed his time in Starling City, and Joe says that he was working a case. Joe asks Harrison if he ever goes back to Starling City, and Harrison says that he doesn’t. He figures that Joe knows what it’s like to lose a loved one--like Iris’ mother--and suggests that they get another drink sometime and talk.

Later, Cisco calls Barry and Caitlin in and shows them the 3-d model he made of S.T.A.R. Labs after the explosion. He checks the entire building for the first time and finds a secret chamber. They go there and find the Reverse Flash costume and stolen tachyon generator attached to it. Barry activates the computer and it brings up the newspaper headline showing Flash disappearing during a crisis... in the year 2024.

Written by Gadfly on Jun 23, 2019

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