The Flash season 1, episode 3, “Things You Can’t Outrun,” aired tonight and we finally started to learn more about the night of the explosion.
Gas Monster
Barry and Iris are out on another non-date when he is summoned to a car chase. Not that Iris notices his absence as she is whispering sweet nothings with Eddie over the phone.
In another part of town the Darbarian crime family is meeting over dinner when a mysterious gas comes into the room and kills everyone in the room. When investigating the scene, no one can figure out how the gas entered the room as there were no empty canisters and the doors were locked from the inside meaning no one left the room. Barry chalks it up to being another metahuman and takes this information back to S.T.A.R. labs.
Iris and Eddie continue to try and hide their relationship from Joe but at this point things have been getting harder to keep secret. Iris walks in on her father watching the police videos of Henry Allen being interrogated but that awkward conversation gets interrupted by an even more uncomfortable run-in with Eddie who showed up at their house thinking Iris was home alone.
Back at the lab the group tries to figure out what to do when they find out who is behind these murders and Cisco suggests using the particle accelerator as a sort of prison. They can keep all of the metahumans locked up as well at harness their powers. Sort of like Thirteen Ghosts. Talk of the accelerator is a sensitive subject for Caitlin as it reminds her of her late fiancé, Ronnie, who was the structural engineer of the entire project. Oh, and he died inside the accelerator too. Basically it’s not exactly her favorite place in the world.
Flashback
After talking about the particle accelerator we are taken back to the night of the explosion nine months prior and we get to meet Ronnie. He is with Caitlin who is so in love and proud of him that it’s hard for your heart not to break knowing his fate. It’s go-time and when the accelerator is turned on a loud bang is heard throughout the room. Ronnie and Cisco head down to the machine to stop it from exploding and killing everyone in the building. Ronnie heads inside and tells Cisco to wait two minutes before closing the doors on him but Cisco barely waits to seconds before he locks him in which ultimately leads to his death.
The Mist
In order to distract Caitlin from thinking of Ronnie, Barry takes her to the police station to help complete his report. When examining the evidence from the murders the team finds two different strands of DNA. This leads Barry to believe that the metahuman they are looking for actually becomes the gas and when entering the victims a trace of his DNA is left. Unfortunately the DNA doesn’t match anything in the database.
While this is happening, they get news that the killer has struck again, this time in public at the mall. Barry gets there as soon as he can and is able to catch the smoke monster before he can get away. Not that it helps very much since every punch Barry throws the gas monster is able to, well, turn into gas. Proving Barry is no match, the gas dives into Barry’s mouth and tries to poison him. Barry is, however, too fast to die and is able to get back to S.T.A.R. labs before the poison can kill him. Barry almost dying ends up being a good thing because now they can analyze the live sample of gas they extracted from him.
Cisco is able to create a 3D model of the gas and they are able to tell that the chemical compound, hydrogen cyanide mixed with a sedative, is the same chemical they use to execute prisoners on Death Row. An execution was happening when the storm hit and instead of dying he just became the poisonous gas himself. He has been spending his days alive by seeking revenge on all of the people who put him there. And the last person that was on his case? Detective Joe West.
Barry heads out to go an save Joe but before he goes Caitlin hands Barry an antitoxin just in case.
Joe is at the prison visiting Henry in order to inform him that he knows the Henry is innocent and that he is reopening Nora Allen’s murder case. Just at that moment The Mist comes in and intoxicates everyone in the room, including Joe. Luckily Barry gets there just in time to save Joe and sneak a quick glance at his father, contemplating whether to free him or not.
The Final Showdown
Barry goes to catch up with The Mist and he gets stuck not being able to actually attack him since he’s not a solid. Don’t worry, Wells has the answer and tells him that all he has to do it outrun The Mist and he’ll be golden. We get it, Barry is the only person on the planet with doesn’t get fatigued. It does work, though, and the gang is able to imprison him in the particle accelerator. We already have no doubt that every single person they capture will be released at some point.
Joe is in the hospital and while in recovery and gets a visit from Iris and Eddie who are prepared to break some news to him. Joe, proving he’s a real detective, beats them to the punch and tells them he already knew the pair was dating. Not that that will get them out of any trouble.
In the final moments, we flashback to the night of the storm and Dr. Wells heads into his secret room and watches a video that is showing Barry getting struck by lightning. He smirks and says, “See you soon, Barry.”
