"My name is Barry Allen, and I am the fastest man alive." "When I was a child, I saw my mother" " killed by something impossible." " Run Barry, run!" "My father went to prison for her murder." "Then an accident made me the impossible." "To the outside world, I'm an ordinary forensic scientist, but secretly, I use my speed to fight crime and find others like me." "And one day, I'll find who killed my mother..." " Mom!" " And get justice for my father." "I am The Flash." "Previously on The Flash..." "A honeymoon isn't a honeymoon without Mai Tais." "Ronnie?" "I can't let whatever happened.." "Ronnie!" "I wanted him to be my husband." "I have watched you be in love with Iris since you were old enough to know what love is." "He killed my mom." "♪ Oh, the weather outside is frightful ♪" "♪ but the fire is so delightful ♪" "♪ and since we've no place to go ♪" "♪ let it snow, let it snow, let it... ♪" "There's only two boxes left." "You know, at this rate, we'll be finished by easter." "[Chuckles]" "Don't even." "Okay, the only red-suited dude" "I want in this house right now is Kris Kringle, you got it?" "[Sighs]" "[Laughs]" "Uh, these ornaments are not gonna hang themselves." " Mm-hmm." " Grandma Esther's recipe..." "Light on the bourbon." " Mmm." " [Phone ringing]" "I always loved her definition of light." " [cell phone ringing] - [Chuckles]" "And the Christmas tradition continues." "Detective West." "Yeah?" "All right." "Sorry, kids, the D.A. wants to ask me some questions." "Make sure there's some nog left for me when I get back." "No promises." "What's happening?" "Hey." "Come on." "Oh, come on, we're doing this already?" "Christmas isn't for a few days." "I couldn't wait any longer." "Oh, wait, me first." "Okay." "My mother's wedding band?" "A replica, yeah." "You were devastated when you lost the real one." "Our fifth-grade field trip..." "Both:" "To the zoo." "You cried for weeks." "Here." "You remembered." " Yeah." " [Chuckles]" "Steel trap." "I don't know what to say." "My gift so sucks in comparison..." " Way." " No." "[Laughs] It's supposed to be the best one on the market." "I thought you could maybe use a new one." "It's lame, I know." "No, no, this is great." "I love it." " Yeah?" " Yeah, of course." "[Knock at door]" "Hey, babe." "Hey, Barry." "Nice ring." "It's beautiful, isn't it?" "It's an exact replica of my mom's." " Barry got it for me." " That's very thoughtful, Bar." " So are we tree trimming?" " Yeah." "Come on." "Merry Christmas." "Just a small token" " of my gratitude..." " Aw." "For everything you guys have done for me this year." "I think I speak on behalf of my colleagues when I say you've been a gift for us, Barry." "What's that?" "This is compliments of Iris..." "Grandma Esther's famous eggnog." "That's what I'm talking about." "Maybe later for me." "Wouldn't want to drink and drive." "[Whispering] Did I say something wrong?" " No." " No, man." "He, um... this used to be his favorite time of year, but the accident happened before Christmas, so..." "Kind of ruined the holidays." "I'm gonna go get him a present." "Maybe that'll cheer him up." "Thank you very much." "Yeah." "So what are you doing for Christmas, Cisco?" "The fact that I asked you for your shirt size should in no way indicate that I am getting you something shirt-related for Christmas." "Barry seemed a little odd today." "I'm pretty sure he wasn't psyched I came by." "You ever think..." "He maybe might like you?" "What?" "No." "Friends don't give friends wedding bands." "He was... he wasn't proposing to me, silly." "He and I are just best friends." "Well, then he won't be bothered by this." "A bit early, but I couldn't wait." "I figured we've been together a year now." "You pretty much stay there most nights anyway." "I love you." "That's a yes, I take it?" "It was that or Stephen Hawking's new autobiography, and we both know how he feels about Hawking." "Okay, I'll talk to you later." "Bye, Cisco." "Merry Christmas, doc." "Thank you, Jimmy, and to you." "Hey, doc, I know it's a big secret, but can you give me a hint?" "What exactly are you working on in there?" "The future." "[Alarm blaring]" "Doctor, get inside!" "Lock down the facility!" "[Camera shutter clicking]" "Hey." "What are you thinking?" "The blood splatter patterns and trajectory of the remains... only a high-speed collision could have done this." "But to cause this type of damage to a human in this space?" "Whatever hit them would have to have been moving fast." "Get this." "The witness says all he saw was a blur." "Sound familiar?" "You saw a blur?" "W..." "What was it?" "Whatever it was, it was looking for something." "Well, what did it look like?" "Like a-a man in some kind of yellow suit." "Okay." " Barry, listen..." " I have to check my files." "Joe, you heard him, all right?" "The man that killed my mom... he's back." "I know." "He's been in town for a few weeks now." "He paid a visit to me at the house." "He took all the evidence from your mom's case." "The files are gone." "Why wouldn't you tell me this sooner?" " I couldn't." " Why?" "Because he threatened to kill Iris." "The witness described seeing a yellow blur just like the one that killed Barry's mother." "Then we need to get cracking and stop this speed psycho." "That..." "I wasn't trying to give him a name." "The crime scene at Mercury Labs was on a floor with highly secured vaults, and the witness said he was looking for something." "Whatever it was, he wanted it badly enough to kill for it." "Doctor, what do you know about this Mercury Labs?" "Mercury was one of S.T.A.R. Labs' major competitors until our little setback, and then it catapulted to the forefront led by Dr. Christina McGee, brilliant but egocentric physicist." "it says here Dr. McGee has secured half a billion dollars in private funding to develop, and I quote, âprototypes for the technology of the future.â well, I'll be." "Tina's messing with tachyons, superluminal particles." "Of course." "So what could someone do with one of those..." " Tachyons." " Thank you." "Well, I don't know." "Become invincible?" "If you could devise a matrix stable enough to harness their power, you could travel faster than light." "He's gonna try to get them again, so we need to get what Mercury has and use it as a lure." "Exactly right." "Cisco, Caitlin, let's start engineering a trap." " You got it." " Of course." "Thanks." "Iris." "Caitlin." "What are you doing here?" "Oh, it's been a long day." "It's only noon." "I didn't sleep much last night." "Yeah, me either." "Um, so I was catching up on your blog, and this story caught my eye... about a man whose head and hands burst into flames?" " The burning man?" " Yeah." "I haven't really updated that story in a while, but there are some reports that I could send you." "That'd be great." "Thank you." "Can I ask you something, girl-to-girl?" "Sure." "Barry's been acting different around me lately, like he's keeping some sort of secret from me." "is there anything that you know about that I should know about?" "Not that I can think of." "However, if you feel like Barry's keeping something from you, you should probably just ask him yourself." "Yeah." " Thanks." " Of course." " Yeah, okay." " Gonna get some caffeine." "Barry Allen." "Thank you for coming in." "Dr. Tina McGee." "I assume this is about last night's break-in?" "Well, yes and no." "That's usually how things are with you, aren't they, Harrison?" "We believe that whoever broke in was after one of your prototypes." "You'll have to narrow that down." "We have literally hundreds of projects in development." "One containing tachyonic particles." "We've had encouraging success with tachyons, yes, but there's still a significant gap between our prototype and any real-life application." "We were hoping you would lend us your prototype to use as a lure." "âUsâ?" "You're assisting the police now, Harrison?" "I'm consulting on this particular case." "Listen, Tina, once this man is apprehended, your prototype will be promptly returned." "You know nobody wants to ensure the future's technology more than me." "I appreciate the CCPD's concerns, Mr. Allen, but Mercury is quite capable of protecting its own assets." "Good luck with your manhunt." "Hey, Caitlin, check this out." "I think we can fashion an electronic barrier, right?" "We set up a ton of super capacitors." "We smooth out the inflection points, and voila... a kick-ass force field to trap the opposite Flash." "That was me testing out a name. [Chuckles]" "What do you think?" "Are you okay?" "[Sighs]" "Ronnie's alive." "I saw him, Cisco." "I think he was following me." "Caitlin..." "Ronnie died." "He was vaporized in the accelerator when it went critical." "Ronnie's alive, and he's out there alone and scared, and I need your help to find him." " Ouch." " Hmm..." " Your bruise is already healing." " It still hurts, though." "Not for much longer, honey." "Here, come on." "I'll keep the light on for you." "Were you ever afraid of the dark?" "if I turn this light off now," " would you be scared?" " No." "That's because I'm here with you." "See, you're not afraid of the dark, Barry." "You're afraid of being alone in the dark, and that goes away when you realize something." "You're never really alone." "it's time for bed." "I'm thirsty." "Oh, no, you're stalling." "But I got you covered, buddy." "Good night, slugger." "Sweet dreams, my beautiful boy." "You can turn off the light." "[Thunder booms, glass shatters]" "Mom!" "Mom!" " Nora!" " [Screams]" "Barry. [Chuckles]" "I called your name, like..." "[Siren wailing in the distance]" "Your mom's case." "I used to study this board every day." "Lately, I haven't looked at it as much as I should have." "I didn't know you did that." "I guess there's still some stuff about me you don't know." "Eddie asked me to move in with him." "I said yes. [Chuckles]" "Wow. [Chuckles]" "You guys are moving pretty fast, huh?" "Well, I mean, it's been a year." "Eddie thought you might feel weird about it." "Wha..." "I don't... why would he say that?" "He thinks that you..." "Like me romantically." "I mean, honestly, it sounds even silly suggesting it." "Um..." "I mean, Eddie's wrong." "I... and if I've seemed weird before, it's just that this year has gone by really fast, and I guess I didn't realize how far along in your relationship you guys were." "[Sighs]" "That's what I told him." "Well, I guess" "I should get going." "Bye." "[Sighs deeply]" "[Thunder booms]" "It was you." "You were the one in my house that night." "You killed my mother!" "Why?" "if you want to know that, you're gonna have to catch me." "Not fast enough, Flash." " Who are you?" " You know who I am, Barry." "I don't know who you are." "But you do, Barry." "We've been at this a long time, you and I, but I'm always one step ahead." "it is your destiny to lose to me, Flash, just as it was your mother's destiny to die that night." "He acted like he knew me, like we'd done this before." "He was antagonizing you, bar." "I would get close, and he'd just pull away." "I mean, this was just some sick game to him." "You'll catch him." "We'll help." "No, you don't get it, all right?" "His speed, it is... it's beyond me." "I'm not the fastest man alive." "He is." "So how do we catch somebody that even I can't keep up with?" "The beautiful thing about force fields, Mr. Allen, is they're impervious to speed." "Now, we're almost finished fabricating the trap, and all that remains is for detective west" " to procure the bait." " I'm on it." "Barry, why don't you stay here?" "No, Joe, today is not the day to tell me to stay behind." "if Judge Hankerson was gonna sign this, he would have done so already." "Look, I'm sure you don't want this investigation to get any more public than it's already been, do you, doctor?" "This has Harrison Wells written all over it in big, black letters." "I am not giving you my tachyon prototype." "it was quite the tour of your facility, doctor." "You were fine to let us dumb cops walk around, but I majored in physics and chemistry, and I saw a whole lot of stuff that Sciencieshowcase Magazine would love to hear about." "So should I call their editors directly or just leave a few posts on their website?" "You'll have the tachyon device within the hour." "I see why Harrison holds you in such esteem, Mr. Allen." "You're very much alike." "Nicely done." " Hey, Joe, you got a second?" " Not now, Eddie." "I read the witness statement." "The Flash was there." "I know you got something in the works." "Yeah, but you don't want any part of this." "I've got a task force approved to capture him, and I want in." "I'm not asking permission, Joe." "Excuse me?" "if my task force isn't a part of this," "I'll go to Captain Singh." "I'll tell him something's going on, and you're not talking..." "I'm sorry." "You'd do the same thing if you were me." "Fine." "We follow the ionized particles, and that should lead us right to him." "The CPMs are increasing." "We should have told Dr. Wells and Barry." "No, not until we're sure it's him." "Oh, wow." "Look, Ronnie is not like you remembered him." "What does that mean?" "Just don't freak out when you see him, okay?" "Oh, I really wish that was because the batteries were dead." "Ronnie?" "Ronnie, it's me, Cait." "Look, I brought Cisco with me." "We're here to help you." "You were in an accident." "Do you remember?" "I'm not Ronnie." "Yes, you are." "You're Ronnie Raymond." "I'm not Ronnie." "I told you that." "Now get away from me." "Look, we just need to take you back to S.T.A.R. Labs." "We'll help you remember who you are." "Firestorm." "The tachyon device is in place." "You think it'll work?" "It'll work." "So how do we advertise to him that the prototype's here?" "We'll take care of that." "What's the problem?" "Look, Barry..." "Me and Dr. Wells have spoken, and..." "We think it would be best if you weren't here for this." "What are you talking about?" "You're too close to this." "Or maybe you're not close enough." "If you hadn't been too scared and warned me that he was here weeks ago," "I could have been prepared for this." "I think we can all appreciate Joe's concern for Iris, Barry." "That's why I have to be here!" "I'm the best chance at catching this guy!" "Not right now, not in this state." "This man stabbed my mother through the heart and sent my father to prison for it." "This is my fight." " Not today, son." " [Sighs]" "[Crying]" "Caitlin..." "Don't worry." "Hey." "Now that we know he's out there, we will find Ronnie again." "Why... so we can throw him in there with all the other meta-human psychos?" "I used to play this game in my head." "What would I give up for just one more minute with him?" "My house, my career..." "The rest of my life?" "Today I finally got that minute." "And I wish I hadn't." "Seeing him like that, what he's become..." "Dear God..." "I wish he had just died that day." " [Crying]" " Oh." "[Door opens]" "Merry Christmas, Slugger." "Merry Christmas." "You all right, Barry?" "I screwed up, dad." "After years of searching..." "I finally found him." "I found the man who killed mom..." "The man in yellow, the one in the lightning." "He's out there, and I had him." "He got away." "I..." "I was so close." "I promised you that I would get you out of here." "Every day you spend in here has been because of him..." "Until today." "Now you're in here because of me, and I'm so sorry." "I..." "Barry." "Barry, this is not your fault." "Look at me." "I know what you've given up." "Every decision you've made in the past 14 years has been because of me and your mom... what you studied, why you became a CSI, even with Iris." " Iris?" " You're my son." "You don't think I know how you love her?" "But you never pursued her because you were too consumed with what happened to me and your mom to let yourself have a life." "Well, let it go now, Barry." "Hear me now." "The man in the yellow suit..." "Has taken enough from us already." "Don't let him take any more." "[Door opens]" "Hey." "Just in time." "I am almost done." "[Sighs] Are there awards for tree trimming?" "Because this is award-worthy." "[Sighs]" "Are you okay, Bar?" "I love you, Iris." "Oh, I love you too." "When we were kids, I loved you before I even knew what the word âloveâ meant." "And then my mom died, and I had to go live with the girl that I had a crush on." "Look, I... there were so many times that I wanted to tell you..." "Junior prom, when I went away to college, when I came back from college, nights that we stayed up talking, all the birthdays, all the christmases, but I..." "I never did." "I just..." "I kept it in." "After I lost my mom and my dad," "I was afraid that if you didn't feel the same way," "I would lose you, too." "That's the irony." "I was so scared of losing you that I did." "I know I've had our whole lives to tell you this, and you're with Eddie now, and I know that, and I know my timing couldn't be any worse, but I just..." "I couldn't lie to you any more." "I'm sorry." "Okay." "Sending out another pulse." "Are you certain this trap will work?" "I've sent up at least three charges into open satellite." "if anyone's looking tachyonic particles, they'll know we got them." "Let's see what we caught." "Cisco?" "Lights." "Sure thing, Dr. Wells." "Detective Thawne, would you like to read him his rights?" "Joe, what are you doing?" "Getting some answers." "14 years ago, you murdered Nora Allen." "I want to know why." "Why?" "Dr. Wells, we meet at last." "What do you want with the tachyonic particles?" "My goals are beyond your understanding." "Oh, I don't know, I'm a pretty smart guy." "I knew you were exceptionally fast, so any trap we manufactured would have to be invisible." "I knew your cells could repair themselves at extraordinary speeds, so you could withstand the damage this is doing to your body right now." "The super capacitors... the containment field is fluctuating." "They need to get out of there now." "The reason I know all this is because your powers are almost exactly like those of The Flash." "Oh, I'm not like The Flash at all." "Some would say I'm the reverse." "Dr. Wells, evacuate!" "Get out of there now!" "Dr. Wells!" "Cisco, turn off the barrier!" "If I turn it off, that thing's gonna get out." "Cisco, he's gonna kill Wells!" "Find him!" "[Cell phone vibrates]" "Don't move, or we will shoot." "I warned you not to hunt me." "Barry!" "Our race is not yet done." "See you soon, Flash." "[Grunts]" "Don't look for me again." "Why did it..." "Not kill me?" "I don't know, Eddie." "But you know more than you've been telling me." "They're called meta-humans." "âMeta-humansâ?" "People with very powerful abilities." "You and me are the only guys on the force that know what's really going on." "And we need to keep it that way..." "So nobody else gets hurt." "Can you do that?" "And The Flash?" "Do you know who he is?" "Yeah, I do." "He's the guy that saved both of our lives tonight." "I've been going over the data, and I still don't know why the containment system failed." "I must have missed something." "I'm sorry." "it's not your fault, Cisco." "But if you both feel the need to apologize for something, you might start with the not telling me that Ronnie is still alive." "I asked Cisco not to say anything." "Once I saw what Ronnie had become," "I needed..." "I needed time to see if I could make him whole again." "I'm sorry." "I know you're mad." "No." "I don't know what I would have done differently in your situation." "I know I have made you a lot of promises." "I know I've not been able to keep them all." "But on my life, I promise you this..." "We will bring Ronnie home." "Hey, bar." "You know my mom traveled around the world twice?" "She spent a semester abroad in Spain, and she loved it so much that after she graduated, she went to Europe." "Didn't stop till she'd been to a few dozen other cities." "She always wanted to go back, but she never got a chance." "I offered to send you abroad when you were in college." "Yeah, I know." "I remember." "I..." "I couldn't take off." "I mean, the truth is" "I'm stuck here... in Central City." "Fear has kept me in that living room for 14 years." "[Sighs]" "Joe, I..." "I was mad at you for being scared." "But I mean, the truth is" "I was the one that was scared." "I've been afraid of the man in yellow for my whole life." "That's why I lost." "When you first moved in with us," "I thought it was gonna be too much." "I'm already a single dad." "Finances were tough." "And you were a little boy who just lost his mother." "But, man, was I wrong. [Chuckles]" "Within two weeks, you had changed the whole dynamic of the house." "Suddenly, the house was filled with this..." "Light.." "This energy." "I mean, you brightened up everything." "You'd seen more darkness than any man will in a lifetime, and you never let it dim your soul." "So there I was, thinking that I'm changing your life by taking you in, but..." "The truth is..." "You changed mine." "So don't lose that light now, Bar." "The world may need The Flash, but..." "I need my Barry Allen." "Let's go home." "Yeah." "♪ Have yourself a merry... ♪" " Hey." " Oh." "Hey." "What are you guys doing here?" "I invited them." "Where's Dr. Wells?" "Uh, he wasn't feeling up to a social gathering, but he appreciated the invitation." " Eggnog?" " Yes." "Merry Christmas, Barry." "You too, Eddie." "Hey, I, um..." "Well, I just wanted to say, um..." "I heard you're moving in together, and I'm really happy for you." "Thanks." "Merry Christmas. [Chuckles]" "Mm." "Day like today, grandma Esther's eggnog seems a little light on the bourbon." " Hey, Joe." " Hmm?" " I saw something weird tonight." " Yeah, Cisco, I saw it too." "No, I mean, when The Flash and the man in yellow were going full-on bumper cars on each other," "I was watching the electricity coming off of them... yellow and red electricity." "When Barry was a kid, he said he saw red and yellow lightning in his house the night his mother died." "There were two of them." "The man in yellow may have killed Barry's mother, but..." "There was another speedster there that night." "Dad, it's time." "♪ Hang your shining star upon the highest... ♪" " Okay, let's see." " ♪ Bough ♪" " ♪ and have yourself ♪ - [Laughter]" "♪ A merry little Christmas now ♪" "[Deep, distorted voice] Merry Christmas."