- Sorry. - I'm sorry. I should...
- Excuse me. - Dr. Snow?
Yes. Thank goodness they finally sent someone to fix the sink.
It's been leaking for weeks.
Yeah. I don't know anything about a sink.
I was hoping that you could fix that.
Oh! Uh, yes, yes, of course.
Have a seat on the bed.
Thank you.
I'm normally really careful,
but, uh, Dr. Wells has this thing about deadlines and...
I guess I was pushing things a little.
How does it look, doc?
Uh... it's not so bad.
Probably just a superficial second degree burn.
I think you'll be okay.
I know what you mean about Dr. Wells, though.
But... he's brilliant.
So, uh, how did this happen?
I was fitting a high pressure coil down in the pipeline and, uh...
Well, you'd think that a structural engineer
would know not to touch one without protection but...
{935951
- sorry. - Mm-mmm. Mm-mmm.
It's fine. It's fine. Doesn't even hurt.
I'm fine. Mm, it's fine.
What do you think? Am I going to live?
I think so.
80, um...
What's it like in the pipeline?
I mean, working inside it.
On it? Sorry.
It just... it must be incredible to wake up every morning
knowing that you're building something
that's gonna change the course of scientific discovery for generations.
Yeah. I'm...
I mean, I guess I never really thought of it that way. I just...
I just build things.
Ridiculously complicated things, mind you.
But at the end of the day,
it's kinda like I'm a big kid.
Instead of legos, I'm using concrete and steel.
I used to love those things when I was a little girl.
Yeah, me, too.
I mean, not when I was a little... Little girl.
You're right.
And what we're doing down there, um...
Being a part of it is really incredible.
I guess that makes us all kind of special.
Well, I think you're good to go.
Good as new, thank you.
- Dr. Snow... - It's Caitlin.
Caitlin, nice to meet you.
I'm Ronnie.
Nice to meet you, Ronnie.
Come back anytime.
It's nice to know that you'll always be there to fix me up.
It's nice to know that
you'll always be there to fix me up.
Ronnie? How's it possible?
Join me. Help us... come together.
Together? I don't understand.
Not whole without you... you save us...
How?
Memories in the snow...
Ronnie, wait, please.
Tell me how to save you.
Oh, my god. What did I do?
What happened to my mom?
Iris?
Where's my mom?
I don't know.
Just tell me what happened!
Okay, you need to back up right now.
What is wrong with her?
She has a... it's a condition, okay?
It's really hard to explain.
But basically, when it flares up like it is right now, she loses time.
It's not her fault. She can't control what happens next.
No, you're lying to me. She attacked my mom.
Tinya, I am so sorry.
I'm calling Barry.
What the hell?
You need to get out of here.
Now!
It's okay. It's gonna be okay.
Colin Smith, Megan landa, Veronica binning.
These are potential victims that cecile and I got from Kramer's files.
They all were killed in a fire of undetermined origin
in the last six months.
That's way before the deaths of Stan mullen and our other vics.
We know.
Which is why I reached out to the families of all of our new victims
to find out if any of them were dealing with grief.
Now, Megan and Colin both recently lost a parent,
and Veronica has a sister who died when they were kids.
Looks like our not-so-friendly fire has been snacking on people's grief
a lot longer than we thought.
It's been ahead of us all along.
Not anymore.
Now we have a way to stop it from killing.
Yeah, I finished encoding the cold fusion sphere
with frost and Dr. Tannhauser's cryokinetic rna signatures.
Next time there's a barometric anomaly,
we can bring it out into the field and, you know, use it to capture this thing.
I just wish we knew where it was going to pop up next.
There's got to be something we're still missing that links all the victims.
- We find that connection... - We can figure out what this fire wants.
It wants me.
And I know that because I just saw it.
But why?
What does it want with you?
Parker?
Wait, you know her?
Yeah, she's my yoga instructor.
You recognize anyone else?
These two.
They were at o'shaughnessy's the night frost and I went on our double date,
and I recognize them as well.
Oh, we were all at a biochem conference together.
We were panelists on an applied sciences lecture.
It's been looking for me this whole time.
That still doesn't explain why the fire's coming after you.
Because the fire is Ronnie.
And he wants me to save him.
I know how this sounds, but it spoke to me.
It was confused and jumbled, but it was him.
It was Ronnie.
Caitlin, this fire...
You know, it can get inside people's heads,
show you people you've lost, like it did with Chester's dad.
Are you sure it didn't just want you to think it was Ronnie?
I wasn't sure at first,
but that's why I downloaded the data from when the fire was in the mccu.
This is cold fusion radiation.
But these readings are 10 to the negative 28th watts.
That's Hawking radiation.
You can only pick up rads like that from inside a singularity.
Ronnie died in a singularity.
On our wedding day.
The only way to close it was to merge the inner and outer horizons.
Right. Ronnie and professor Stein came together, made firestorm
and separated in that thing.
Ronnie... professor...
Only Ronnie didn't make it.
Right. But matter cannot be created or destroyed, only changed.
So, maybe Ronnie is still alive.
I mean, maybe the pressure from when the horizons merged
broke down his biological matter into pure thermodynamic energy.
And that could account for the radiation,
but it still doesn't explain why the fire's been killing people.
Why it tortured Chester.
And if Ronnie knew what he was doing, he would hate it.
Which is why I don't think he's in control.
When Ronnie died, his brain was flooded with acth.
It's the hormone the human brain creates when it experiences grief.
So maybe when he was reborn as a sentient fire,
that same process gave him
an overwhelming attraction to the same hormone.
So he's been eating people's grief because of some primal urge?
I think he needs it to survive, which is why he's been trying
to reconnect with me so I can help him.
Did he say anything else?
Uh, a few words.
"Joining, togetherness."
I think he was trying to get me to remember something.
The quantum splicer?
It's what made him firestorm in the first place.
I think if we can use it to make Ronnie human again,
his mind will regain control.
And the killings will stop.
Even if you are right about this,
the splicer needs two people to work,
and we can't ask anybody to volunteer.
It's too dangerous.
Yeah, but we wouldn't need another person
if we used one of Eva McCulloch's r-cem chips.
Because if we fuse one of Eva's chips to the splicer,
it will do all the heavy lifting by duplicating Ronnie's cells
and coalescing another body form, right?
Like it did with caity and me.
Okay, but raising the dead?
That's intense, even for us.
It turned out okay for Lazarus, right?
And if Chester and Caitlin both think it might work...
It makes sense.
Ronnie is just trying to help us help him come home.
All we have to do is listen.
What are we waiting for?
I'll get the quantum splicer.
I'll grab an r-cem chip from starchives.
Hey.
Things are moving pretty fast.
Not for Ronnie, who knows how long he's been trapped like that?
All I'm saying is, let's not jump to conclusions
about everything that's been happening.
You know, maybe we just slow down.
Make sure we're doing the right thing.
Saving my husband is the right thing.
Okay, if you want, we can check the radiation data.
It's not the science I'm worried about.
This fire can manipulate people. If it wants you to use the splicer...
If I don't, Ronnie will be burning like that forever.
And I can't let that happen.
Look, I know what you're thinking.
That I mourned his death for so long
that I would do anything to get him back.
But Ronnie is alive.
I... I can feel it. It's him.
And he wants us to help him.
I'm going to take this to Chester, so he can get started on the modifications.
What is it?
Marcus.
He has no idea what happened and he deserves to know.
What are you gonna tell him?
The truth.
So you're saying that for the last eight years
you've been working with the flash
and now your dead husband's come back to life?
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, that's kind of out of my, uh, wheelhouse.
I know. And I just want to make sure you're staying safe.
Ronnie has been unconsciously hurting the people around me.
And you think I'm next on the list.
I'm so sorry for dragging you into this...
But for your safety, I think,
we should stop seeing each other just until I get Ronnie back.
And then what happens?
- The killings will stop. - No, no, I meant what happens with us.
Marcus, my last few relationships have not been exactly healthy.
That's why I'd given up on finding a meaningful connection with someone
until I met you,
and you showed me that when I go all in with us...
Look, Caitlin, please.
I'm not an idiot.
There is no more us.
And I've been broken up with before.
It's just never due to resurrection.
Yeah, that's a... that's a new one.
But it's your decision, I guess, and I'll respect that.
I'm so sorry.
Yeah, me, too.
You know, there's this quote from Plato that's always stuck with me.
He said that plants grow their roots towards the earth.
But people, we're heavenly plants,
meaning that our roots, they grow upward.
Towards our heart.
But those roots, they need to be cared for, tended, like any plant.
Or your heart will break,
before it even has a chance to grow.
Goodbye, Caitlin.
Yeah, bye.
What are you doing down here?
I'm making sure your rna is integrated into the sphere.
It's still the only way to stop the flames.
Not anymore. We save Ronnie,
we can Chuck that time sphere in the trash.
Come on. I thought you were all about "trusting your team" now.
I am. Caitlin's...
Just so excited about getting Ronnie back,
it feels like she's ignoring all the warning signs.
Frost, if this was really Ronnie,
why is he coming back now?
- Seven years after he died. - I don't know.
Neither do I.
- This just all feels... - Too good to be true?
You're checking on the sphere.
You're worried about her, too.
Maybe, but I can't start fighting with her again.
I mean, not after yesterday.
She helped mom and me.
Got to have her back now.
So what? We just let her go through with this?
What if it was Iris?
And there was some dangerous experiment that would cure her time sickness?
You'd risk everything to save her.
So even if this fails, we at least owe her the chance to try.
Yo, it's me your boy Chester p
ready to rock your world with knowledge
100% for free, free, free, free...
You should sell merch, you know?
Like shirts that say, "what up, party people!"
Like all the way around.
All the way around? Yeah, that was good. I'm gonna steal that idea.
Wow. You really are blowing up the Internet.
Oh, just wait till my next episode, girl.
Hold on. You're not sharing the specs for this online, are you?
Uh, yeah, live broadcast. You know.
But then someone could actually build it on their own.
Yeah, that's the point.
Allegra, did you know that wookielover77
built an entire fleet of drones based on my last a! Algorithm?
And now those same drones are delivering supplies to folks
who need them in impoverished countries.
That's what the whole Chester p. Community is all about.
Shout out to wookielover77, saving the world one drone at a time.
And that's great.
But the splicer isn't a drone.
And putting technology like this out there, it could be dangerous.
What if it lands in the wrong hands?
I'm pretty sure supervillains have better things to do
than watch my broadcast.
No. Worse things, I guess.
You still might want to check yourself, depending on the science.
But that goes against the whole purpose of scientific discovery.
What good is knowledge if you don't share it?
Allegra, having access to a breakthrough like this
could help one of my viewers better understand the laws of physics,
which could lead to who knows what kind of innovation
and make the world a better place.
Hell, if someone could see this, and be inspired enough
to land a breakthrough in the cosmology of our body's atoms
or maybe even discover the... the... The true nature
of what human consciousness really is or, you know...
Or how to resurrect the dead.
Chuck, all I'm saying is maybe all knowledge
shouldn't always be so readily available.
'Cause you think most people are bad.
Because I know most people aren't you.
And maybe they shouldn't be able to resurrect the past on a whim.
Last year, I watched Esperanza die in my arms.
Death shouldn't be some kind of science experiment.
It's a part of life, and it's finite.
It's what my abuelita used to call noche mas negra...
The blackest night.
Yeah.
I'll keep this one offline.
But, hey, think about that merch.
- I'll take a small. - I got you.
Okay.
Where is she? Where is she?
Where is she?
Where is Caitlin?
Must be free.
Pain... set me free...
Help... free me!
Cecile. Hey.
What happened?
The fire...
- It spoke to me. - It's here?
But...
Wherever it is, it... it connected with my mind.
Barry, the pain.
- The pain, there was so much of it. - And Ronnie?
Did you feel him, too?
Yeah, I could sense his anguish.
It felt like he was begging me.
- To do what? - To set him free.
Barry, I don't think that Ronnie wants to be brought back.
I think that he wants to die.
It's impossible.
Look, I know how hard this must be to hear, but,
I'm almost positive about what I felt.
Caitlin, Ronnie doesn't want to be brought back.
He asked me to save him.
Maybe that's why Ronnie went after cecile.
He knew he could communicate through her to tell us the truth.
He's not here for cecile.
He's been looking for me.
From what I can tell,
Ronnie is in agony
inside that fire.
It's like it's eating him alive.
It's torturing his mind.
Caitlin. It's like Ronnie is in hell.
And I truly believe that he came to us for help.
- It's so that we can end his suffering. - And we will.
It's why we're modifying the quantum splicer to help him,
because I know that's what he would want.
What if cecile's right?
She's the only one
that's been able to form a true connection to the fire.
I'm connected to it because I'm its wife.
Why can't you understand that?
I mean, if anyone knows what it wants, it would be me.
You're right.
You were. You are the most important thing in Ronnie's life.
Caitlin, maybe it's time that you consider how he feels.
Barry, you knew Ronnie.
He was a part of this team and you knew he'd do anything to get back to me.
We have a way to help him.
Why are you so against this?
Because when I had a chance like this once,
when iwent back, to save my mom from Thawne,
I did it because I was trying to recreate a perfect past,
but it was a lie.
And it all came crashing down in the end
because I refused to see the warning signs,
because I didn't listen to my friends,
or my family.
We can't resurrect the past.
It's too dangerous.
This is not another flashpoint.
We are not creating another timeline.
We are saving my husband from a nightmare.
Then maybe it's time to help him let go.
I thought family was supposed to have your back, no matter what.
Even when they think you're making the wrong choice.
God knows, we've all fallen in line for you and Iris on more than one occasion.
Caitlin, please.
If you won't help me, I'll save him on my own.
Oh, yeah, that's my kinda breakfast.
Good. You're awake.
Barely. I haven't been up this early
since Cisco made me wait in line for the new call of duty.
Are we going somewhere?
I thought I'd surprise you for our anniversary.
Okay. It's too early for this. Spill it.
Okay.
I thought we could use a weekend away. Maybe, get outside of the city.
Go visit mapleville...
- Oh, okay, I remember that place... - Mm-hmm.
Where we had our first weekend away together.
Which is why I booked us a room at the same bed and breakfast for a few nights.
Oh, yes! You remember that, uh, seafood joint on the corner?
- We have to go back there. - I do, and we will.
Just as soon as you get ready.
Come on, we got to get on the road.
It's a five-hour drive and I wanna be there in time to check in,
check out the glass-blowing exhibit.
Hold on. When exactly did you have time to plan all this?
I know. We've been so busy with the particle accelerator,
but I thought it was important to celebrate us,
and the fact that we've been together a whole year.
A year. Yeah, it's been pretty great year.
- You think? - I do.
We're like two atoms sharing a strong covalent bond.
Ooh, I love it when you talk science to me.
Hmm.
- Okay, now go. Get ready. - Okay, I'm going.
I'm going. I'm going. I'm going. I love you, cait.
Thank god you're okay.
Where's tinya?
Well, I told her to stay away.
Your time sickness is going ballistic.
I figured it'd be better to keep her safe.
Yeah, thank you.
Look, sue, what happened to tinya's mom...
I didn't mean to.
I know, Iris.
And I know that Deon has told you to stay put
until he can figure out how to help you.
But you are getting worse by the hour.
I really think that we should get you to s.T.A.R. Labs...
No. Don't. It might happen to you, too.
Oh, so now you're worried about hurting people.
Tinya, look, I am so sorry about what happened to your mom.
Okay, I need to get her home, back to central city.
Oh, it's too late.
Now walk away.
- Tinya. - Shut up!
Tinya, you don't want to do this.
Yeah, I do.
What did you do to her?
Exactly what I'll do to you if you ever try to find me again.
Wait, so Ronnie said he doesn't want to be brought back.
He just wants to be released
from whatever prison he's been in all this time.
But if we don't save Ronnie, the fire will keep killing people.
No, it won't.
We're not gonna let the fire kill anyone else.
We are going to stop it.
The only way we can.
You're going to use the cold fusion sphere to trap it.
And end Ronnie's pain once and for all.
I wish things were different, but we've got to do this for Ronnie's sake.
And we're sure this is what Ronnie wants?
Yeah.
I mean, it would explain why he's come back.
And why he was so desperate to connect with Caitlin.
And helping Ronnie move on would keep the city safe.
What about that quantum splicer-thingy?
Can't you at least try that?
The quantum splicer works
by bombarding the user's atoms with energy
to create fission, but it requires the participant to be willing.
If Ronnie rejects the splicer, his atomic structures would become unstable,
resulting in endothermic explosion.
He's not gonna try.
All Ronnie wants now is to be at peace.
Okay. If this is what we're doing, then what's the plan?
We'd use the cold fusion sphere, just like before,
only this time, without putting anyone in danger.
And then, once it's trapped inside...
We just need to remove the oxidizing agents,
and it's bye-bye flames, for good.
I know how this sounds.
But it feels like it's what the Ronnie we knew wants.
We have to honor that.
Okay, um, I'm gonna talk to Caitlin.
- She needs to know what... - No. I'll do it.
She should hear it from me.
Go, go, go!
Come on! Go, go, go!
No. No. No. Cait, come on, we almost got it.
Ugh! You said that 20 minutes ago.
It's fine. It doesn't matter.
We missed our check-in for the bed and breakfast.
We are stranded in the middle of nowhere with no cell service.
- Okay. - So much for a romantic weekend away.
I had big plans, you know.
Plans that did not involve us getting pneumonia.
Well, I had big plans, too, all right.
Yeah, well, not like my plans.
Mine were once-in-a-generation,
tell-your-grandkids, get-down-on-one-knee kinda plans.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
You were gonna propose?
Yes. Because I love you so much, Ronnie Raymond, it freaks me out.
But everything is ruined now.
No, no, no, no. It's not ruined. Okay?
I know you wanted to go to that bed and breakfast
where we first fell in love, but maybe we need to stop
trying to recreate the past, and focus on the future.
Okay? Because when I look at you, I see forever.
And I want forever to start right now.
Me, too.
- In that case... - Hold on.
- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. - Ronnie Raymond...
I told you I had big plans.
Great minds.
- My answer is yes, by the way. - So is mine.
We need to talk.
Barry wants to use the fusion sphere to help Ronnie die,
and the team's on board.
I'm not surprised, after everything he said.
I just never thought you'd go along with it.
I'm really worried, caity.
Then why won't you help me?
Not about Ronnie, about you.
Look, when Ronnie died, you and me weren't even "you and me."
I was still in your subconscious.
But even then, I could feel your pain the moment you realized he was gone.
And that night, when you went to bed,
and every night after that.
But as bad as that was,
watching you pull away from everyone who loves you was even worse.
And it's happening again.
I'm sorry you felt all that pain.
But did you feel anything else?
I remember how happy you were before he died.
- Which is why I got this. - What about Barry?
Sure, Barry's family, but you're blood. And I will always have your back.
But you got to promise me something, all right?
You will never shut yourself off from me or the rest of the team. All right?
I promise.
And frost, thank you.
You got it. Now let's go find Ronnie.
Okay, great. How do we do that?
We'll search this whole damn city to find him.
Day or night, rain or snow or whatever. We're going to find him.
That's it.
Rain or snow, memories in the snow.
That's what he was trying to tell me.
What are you talking about?
I know where to find Ronnie.
Kids swore they heard a voice calling them.
They looked under their bed and they saw nothing.
They looked out the window...
And saw nothing.
So they went to sleep,
thinking they were safe.
But the children? They never looked...
Someone there?
Probablyjust the wind.
Barometric scans just picked up an anomaly at piedmont state park.
And a half a dozen heat signatures.
We need to move. Chester?
The sphere is ready.
Once the fire's trapped, this de-oxygenator node will activate
- and the flames will be snuffed out. - Okay.
- Where's frost? - I don't know.
We gotta go.
Hang on.
Everyone head for the park entrance.
Keep going towards the brightest light you see.
The rest of my team will get you to safety.
Allegra, cecile, six civilians are heading your way.
We'll keep an eye out.
And I'll keep lighting the way.
Hunger... feed...
I'm sorry, Ronnie.
The sphere's heating up. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold this.
You're almost there.
Okay. Barometric readings are at 60 percent.
Fifty percent.
Forty percent.
Frack. Looks like there's more civilians incoming,
and they're moving really, really fast.
What did you do?
Exactly what we had to.
You just destroyed our best shot at stopping this thing.
It's not a thing, it's my husband.
You're gonna get yourself killed.
It's her decision, let her.
- Caitlin, whatever happens... - Ronnie!
We promised each other we'd spend our futures together.
I'm keeping that promise.
It's you.
It's really you.
Cait, you did it, you saved me.
You're okay. You're okay.
We're both okay now.
Ronnie's still recovering from the massive energy surge to his system,
- but he's stable. - Oh, thank god.
There's still an occasional irregularity
in his amygdala function that I haven't quite figured out,
but it should improve when he gets his strength back.
He's been through a lot.
I... I guess it would be weird if he didn't have some kind of reaction.
We're all just glad that he's back, Caitlin.
Joe's right.
We're all so happy for you, honey.
Thank you.
I've got more good news, y'all.
So, I've had satellites running barometric scans all night.
There's been zero sign of our angry inferno anywhere.
Not one flicker.
Caity was right. Now that Ronnie's human again,
no more grief-eating monster.
Caitlin, I'm sorry I ever doubted you.
I was wrong the whole time.
It's okay. You were just trying to do what you thought was right.
We all lose faith sometimes.
But the point is, we've brought one of our family members back here.
Yeah, that sounds great to me. And I can't wait to get to know him.
I actually think the two of you are really going to get along.
And you, too, Chester.
What makes you say that?
I mean, I probably shouldn't be saying this,
because it was a long time ago,
but he mentioned that maybe once, he, you know...
No, seriously?
What? What?
- Ronnie played d&d in college. - Once or twice.
Oh, snap. We're gonna help him get his game on, girl.
Once... once he is better and all that, of course.
Whatever happened to chess or checkers?
- Dominoes. - Now, that's a good game right there.
Okay, grandpa.
Uh, Caitlin.
For what it's worth, I'm so sorry.
I don't know, my powers, they've just, they've never been so off before.
I just wish I knew why I got it so wrong.
That's okay.
All that matters is that Ronnie's home.
Yeah.
Hi. I'm not here right now. Leave a message.
Voicemail again.
Barry. It's sue.
Hi, uh... They told me you were here.
Where's Iris?
I don't know.
I just know that she's missing.
Her mom just vanished. And then Iris, too.
Barry, I'm so sorry...
Barry? Barry!
Did you hear what I said?
Iris is gone.
Another spike. Ronnie, we need to check your...
Ronnie?
Caitlin.
Ronnie?
Did you hear that voice?
I did.
Because that voice was mine.
I called you here to show you that I feel stronger than ever now.
Thanks to this.
I knew you'd understand what I wanted, cait,
and that you'd build exactly what I needed.
Something's wrong.
We need to get you back to the med lab.
No. I'm not going anywhere.
Not yet.
Ronnie, you're scaring me.
That's probably because I am not Ronnie.
Where's my husband?
He's dead.
Your friends were right.
Ronnie Raymond sacrificed himself to the storm in the singularity.
Gave his life to its power, his future to ensure its demise.
But in that uncontrollable, irreversible chaos,
his death gave me life.
Now I am something greater,
something beyond death.
I am deathstorm.