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Death Falls

"I'm not trying to be cruel, but the truth is, your legacy isn't heroism. It's heartbreak.
You know what people like you will never understand? Love is a strength, not a liability. The heartbreak that I've suffered? The people I've lost? They don't hold me back. They make me fight that much harder."
—"Nora Allen" and Barry Allen[src]

"Death Falls" is the thirteenth episode of the eighth season of The Flash, and the one-hundred-sixty-fourth episode overall. It aired on May 4, 2022.

Synopsis

Team Flash is under attack, and each must fight to save not only themselves but each other.[src]

Plot

In Coast City, Iris is shocked to see "Eddie" who claims he came back from the dead to make sure she's okay. "Eddie" then goes to the kitchen to make Iris her favorite tea. Sue wakes up and asks Iris why there's an attractive blonde man in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Team Flash is working on the Mental Augmentation Chamber to turn Frost into the "Anti-Deathstorm". Just as Barry and Chester explain the process to Frost, they are suddenly called into the med-lab by Cecile since Caitlin is still suffering from all the grief Deathstorm instilled in her to transform her into his bride. To buy time for Chester to complete the device, Frost calls Mark for backup.

Later that night, the lights go out in S.T.A.R. Labs. Deathstorm suddenly appears to Frost in Ronnie's form. Frost then tries to attack him with an icicle, but it just phases through Deathstorm without harming him. Deathstorm taunts Frost that she can't hurt him and how Ronnie's death brought him into existence. When she asks if he's going to project an image of her father, Deathstorm reveals he can't see any grief in Frost because she's a split-personality Thomas/Icicle created and that all her emotions were copied off Caitlin. Meanwhile, Chester and Allegra are attacked by Deathstorm's projection of Esperanza and lock themselves in a room. Barry went to the Time Vault to ask Gideon for help in tracking down Deathstorm, but Gideon is short-circuited by Deathstorm just as a projection of Nora Allen appears to torture him, claiming Iris will die because of her time sickness. Barry tries to resist Deathstorm's influence and proclaims that he has accepted his mother's death, but "Nora" furthers tortures him by showing memories of all his other loved ones who died.

Back at Coast City, Iris distracts "Eddie" so that she and Sue can signal Barry for help. However, "Eddie" quickly catches on and burns the pager before Sue can reach it. Iris and Sue then make a run for it, but "Eddie" burned the door handle too to trap them inside. In the med-bay at S.T.A.R. Labs, Cecile can feel all of Team Flash's griefs growing inside Caitlin and Caitlin briefly wakes up with her eyes black, slowly transforming. Frost realizes Deathstorm sent the projections to absorb the grief from her friends' deceased loved ones to fuel Caitlin's transformation. She asks Cecile if she can use empathic abilities to calm Caitlin down, and Cecile agrees to try just as Mark shows up. Meanwhile, while Allegra struggles to keep "Esperanza" out, Chester sees another projection of his dad to torture him again.

Again at Coast City, "Eddie" claims Iris will die because of her condition. He even tauntingly reminds Iris of when the real Eddie's sacrifice failed to erase the Reverse-Flash from existence. He says Iris's death will be for nothing too, but Iris rejects that since she saved Barry and stopped Armegeddon. Joe then comes to rescue Iris and Sue and blasts "Eddie", but before they can escape "Eddie" tortures Joe and Sue with memories of their losses. Iris finally stands up to Deathstorm's projection of her late fiancé, making it clear she knows he's not the real Eddie. However, Deathstorm counters this by shifting into Eddie with the same bullet wound the real Eddie gave himself, and even makes a bullet wound appear on Iris to torture her as well.

Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Frost and Mark finally try the Mental Augmentation Chamber on Frost, but nothing happened. Frost then realizes Deathstorm was right, that she has no consciousness and thus no grief to be susceptible to the transformation. She breaks down how the first memory she had was when Caitlin fell off her bike as a kid which awakened her for the first time, and that she spent her entire life in Caitlin's subconscious never being able to experience a life of her own. Mark comforts Frost and assures her she's real to him and that her sisterly love for Caitlin makes her real. Frost then visits the uncounscious Caitlin and apologizes tearfully for everything that happened and recalls all their fond memories together. With Frost finally feeling grief for the first time, the transformation kicks in and she becomes Hellfrost. Hellfrost then unleashes a wave of cold fusion to negate Deathstorm's, destroying all the projections and saving her friends. However, she knows Deathstorm wasn't destroyed by the wave since his cold fusion energy is exlusive to his own. Before going to fight Deathstorm, she kisses Mark one last time and assures him that Barry will come save her if something goes wrong, thus revealing to Mark that Barry is the Flash.

Deathstorm comes back to S.T.A.R. Labs and finds "Caitlin" waiting for him, only to find out it's actually Hellfrost using a facial transmogrification device to bait him. Hellfrost and Deathstorm battle throughout the city, with Hellfrost eventually absorbing Deathstorm's energy and killing him for good. Unfortunately, Deathstorm's energy proves too much for Hellfrost to handle and she collapses. Barry speeds Hellfrost back to the med-lab and Caitlin injects a cold fusion syringe in Hellfrost, transforming her back into Frost so that her ice-healing would kick in. Frost briefly awakens, but sadly dies anyway since the energy was too much even for her healing abilities. Barry and Caitlin sadly inform Mark and the rest of Team Flash of Frost's death.


Cast

Starring

Special guest star

Guest starring

Co-starring

Uncredited

Gallery

Videos

Trivia

  • While posing as Eddie Thawne, Deathstorm mentions an uncle Robern. In the comics, Robern Thawne is the brother of Eobard Thawne, the Reverse-Flash.
  • When Eddie-Deathstorm is heating the kettle, it begins whistling just as the opening scene climaxes and begins the title sequence; a subtle visual pun on the emotional responses rising.
  • Deathstorm seems able to block the real Nora/Speed Force from contacting Barry; given she appeared during the mental invasion Bloodwork previously did to him.
  • The alerts don't just go to STAR labs; if anyone is unavailable, the alert stays on until someone responds. Explaining why Joe shows up.
  • Deathstorm is trying to kill Allegra and Chester, but is only mentally torturing the rest of Team Flash.
  • Iris seems immune to Deathstorm due to her Time Sickness.

References

The Flash season 8
Armageddon
"Armageddon, Part 1" • "Armageddon, Part 2" • "Armageddon, Part 3" • "Armageddon, Part 4" • "Armageddon, Part 5"
Interlude II
"Impulsive Excessive Disorder" • "Lockdown"
Death Revisited
"The Fire Next Time" • "Phantoms" • "Reckless" • "Resurrection" • "Death Rises" • "Death Falls"
Interlude III
"Funeral for a Friend" • "Into the Still Force" • "The Curious Case of Bartholomew Allen"
It's All Negative
"Keep It Dark" • "The Man in the Yellow Tie" • "Negative, Part One" • "Negative, Part Two"