My name is Barry Allen,
and I am the fastest man alive.
To the outside world,
I'm an ordinary forensic scientist.
But secretly, with the help
of my friends at S.T.A.R. Labs,
I fight crime and find other meta-humans like me.
But when my daughter came back from the future to help,
she changed the present,
and now our world is more dangerous than ever,
and I'm the only one fast enough to save it.
I am The Flash.
Previously on "The Flash"...
So what are you going to do with him?
I think our time would be better served
learning how to cure him.
You should really talk to Dr. Lamden.
Grodd's attacking him psychically.
He's paralyzed.
Human weak.
We could make a meta-human cure.
There's gotta be something we could do outside the box.
You shouldn't go to your office.
- Not right now. - Why?
How many times has this happened?
52.
If I want to stop Cicada, I can't be so precious
about getting The Flash's hands dirty.
Sometimes the ends justify the means.
I get that now.
Can't move.
- Synced and corrected by VitoSilans - - Reync by GoldenBeard -
Ladies and gentlemen, we finally have our hands
on the meta-human cure.
Cool, cool. It's not like I spent weeks
in the frozen tundra or anything.
No, no, no. I think that just people are
waiting for the inevitable "but"
that follows such a big statement.
Mmm, no, it's done, and thanks to Caitlin,
we even have a way to deliver our silver bullet,
so no, no "buts."
I believe there is a big "but" coming.
But we need to test the cure on a meta-human.
There it is.
What we need is to save
the metas that Cicada is targeting
because he's not gonna stop killing innocent people.
- Is the cure dangerous? - Well, it's an untested serum
that alters biology on a cellular level,
so until we try it out on someone,
we have no way of knowing.
When we started working on the cure,
we decided that it would always be a choice, not a weapon,
so all we need is a volunteer.
Well, there's quite a conundrum, right?
A meta-human volunteer when the meta-humans in this city
have been chased away by us or killed by Cicada
or incarcerated at Iron Heights Prison, so...
Nobody from either group is gonna volunteer.
No, these criminals are not going to relinquish
their powers, although...
There's gotta be somebody somewhere.
Yes, on another Earth.
Oh, I'll call Harry, see if there's anybody from Earth-2
- who wants to volunteer. - Yes.
Not really what I was suggesting.
Hold on, you don't have to call Harry.
Wait, why not?
Because there's already a meta here from Earth-2,
one who might not want his powers...
Although it might be pretty difficult to talk to him.
King Shark...
You really think you can cure him?
That's the idea.
Oh, Lyla, this is, um...
my daughter, Nora.
- Your daughter? - Yeah.
- I'm from... - The future, I'm guessing.
Weird, right?
No weirder than waking up one day
to find out that your son used to be your daughter.
So, why King Shark?
Dark matter levels vary from meta-human to meta-human,
but Shay Lamden's case is the most extreme we've seen,
so we think if we could reverse the effects of a high level
- mutation like his... - You can help all metahumans.
Look, we know King Shark has limited speech,
but we're wondering, could we try and talk to him?
If we're gonna do this, we're gonna need his permission.
Well, you're in luck, Cisco.
Lately, he's been quite talkative.
Look at these pictures.
- So peaceful. - Mm.
So beautiful.
- So peaceful. - It is, isn't it?
You know, I never understood why Wally went there.
- Now I do. - Well, it makes me wonder.
I mean, is my baby brother ever coming back from Tibet?
Well, all I can say is that he is more at ease
- than he has ever been. - Hm.
And if that means he wants to stay away from...
The crazy that is Central City,
then, you know what? So be it.
Yeah.
Well, I am glad that you're back, Dad.
We're all glad that you're back.
Mmm.
Even Captain Singh is glad that you're back.
- Wha... - I'll get it.
No, no, no. No, you will not.
You will not.
You have been on crying baby duty
for far too long, Joe West.
So happy you're back.
All right, all right.
Are we ever gonna talk about this couch you bought?
Another day, Joe. Another day.
Very expensive.
I mean, it's nice. Listen.
- So, Cecile... - Mm-hmm.
has brought me up to speed.
Cicada... been very busy.
Yeah, well...
You know, Team Flash will figure out a way to beat him.
But Jonesy was helping him right under our nose,
and that got me thinking,
Cicada's eluded capture for so long
that I'm thinking that
he's still getting help from somebody.
I want more coffee.
I'm gonna make some more coffee.
Yeah, I'll bring you a fresh cup.
Normally, we don't bring in outside help but we got wind
that the top ichthyologist in the country was doing research
on cases just like King Shark's.
Actually, I think you may know her.
Dr. Lamden?
You're working for A.R.G.U.S. now?
Couldn't say no. And please, call me Tanya.
What about Nautilus Laboratories?
Director Michaels offered me the opportunity to work
with another Shay Lamden, one afflicted with the same
dark matter anomaly as my late husband,
only this Shay system was causing
his neural pathways to regress.
I'm teaching him how to communicate effectively.
Are you saying his mind is becoming more shark-like?
It was, but not anymore.
I stopped the regression of King Shark's mind
using a cerebral interface
that stimulates his neural outputs.
I call it a telepathic crown.
Kinda like the M.A.D. 2.0 we built.
That's brilliant.
My husband, the Shay Lamden of Earth-1,
was a wonderful man.
Now, I have the chance to help another Earth's Shay Lamden,
by giving him back his human mind.
And since Shay's current state
requires him to be in the water more,
these earbuds allow me to hear him
under water and vice versa.
The telepathic crown allows Tanya to get through
to King Shark and curb his violent behavior.
Can we use the crown to talk to him?
Yes, but why?
We think we can make him human again.
It's taken a lot of work, but we think we figured out a way
to transform dark matter-infused cells
back to their non-meta state.
Now, all we need to do is test it,
so we came looking for a volunteer.
That could really work?
So, can we ask him?
Shay, a team from S.T.A.R. Labs is here.
They have something you may want...
A meta-cure for your condition.
Trust me, their preliminary analysis
on reversing meta-gene transfigurations
proves there is a strong chance it could work,
especially in ichthyological prospects.
No, I'm not just showing off.
It's their research.
Shay has a wonderful sense of humor.
So, are we supposed to call him King Shark or Shay?
Yes, I'm still here. Uh-huh.
I agree.
Okay.
You believe this cure could help?
Yeah.
Where do we begin?
This is Agent Michaels.
I need every available soldier at the aquarium now!
- Dad? - I'm fine.
W-What was all that feedback? I thought he was under control.
I don't know.
Nothing like that has ever happened before.
Maybe his neuroregression finally reached the point
where the crown could no longer affect him.
Shay could be lost forever.
No, no, no. We don't know that.
Why don't you come to S.T.A.R. Labs with us.
We can use the M.A.D. 2.0 to boost the crown's efficiency.
We need to find King Shark before he hurts anyone.
A.R.G.U.S. backup protocols have been activated,
but King Shark could be anywhere.
We'll re-task the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite
to work in circuit with A.R.G.U.S.
What's on your mind?
Just wondering if we need to rethink
how we're going to catch him.
Stop, that did not happen.
Yes, it did.
Look, my lips went numb, and then they swelled up
so bad it looked like I had plastic surgery.
- What did Wally do? - He laughed, of course.
The baby laughed.
At least now I know I'm allergic to Szechuan peppers.
Dad, do you mind if I work here today, actually?
Might give us some time to catch up.
Well, you know I'm never gonna turn that down, so...
Uh, but, Cecile tells me that you have
a fancy new office?
Yeah, yeah, it's just, you know, the plumbing
is really lousy and I can't have water
dripping on my laptop, right?
Well, hey, uh, the guy that expanded our guest bath...
He did a really great job and he's really affordable.
- Let me give you his number. - No, Dad, it's fine, really.
Iris, if you don't take care of this quickly,
it could snowball.
Here. Let me just send it to you.
Okay, yeah. Yeah.
Actually, yeah, you know what? That's a great idea.
Why don't you send it to me and I'll head over there
and see what I can do.
- Thanks, Dad. - Okay.
Muah. Love you.
Love you more.
So, if we wanna boost the crown's powers,
we gotta get it to talk to the M.A.D. 2.0.
What about a logarithmic code?
Exactly. You see, this is why we need
more scientists on the team.
Shay tells me that all the time.
Well, the guy knows what he's talking about.
All right, so, why don't you use
my workstation, and I'll get this going.
- Fascinating, right? - Yeah, it should be.
It's the merging of technology
and human consciousness.
And shark, but no, no, no.
I'm referring to your relationship with Shay Lamden.
What do you mean, "relationship"?
The way your posture relaxes when you're speaking of him
and the way your voice modulates...
- It suggests a familiarity... - Hm.
Or something more.
We're both marine biologists, so we have a lot in common.
I guess you could say we've grown very close.
But he's just my patient.
Oh, of course.
Look at that. We have liftoff.
They are actually talking. You see?
I knew these two crazy kids were gonna make it work.
They aren't just synching up.
The M.A.D. 2.0 is acting like an antennae,
amplifying the crown's psychic signal
beyond anything I could have imagined.
We heard geek screaming. How are things going in here?
I just need to synch the helmet to my earbuds,
- and we're good to go. - Left that in the cortex,
in the main console, by the monitor to the left.
You know what?
Come with me. I'll show you.
- Great work, Cisco. - Oh, well, takes a village.
But every village needs a genius
and that's me, so thank you.
Now we just have to find King Shark and talk him down.
Why don't we get the cure injector to Caitlin
and make sure it's ready to go.
Well, remember, we gotta talk to him first.
Right.
We got a hit on King Shark. He's at the wharf.
Caitlin, are you sure he's here?
Oh, he's there.
He's heading straight right for you.
Nora, you're up.
Done.
Okay, systems are synched.
Shay? It's me, Tanya.
These people are only here to help you.
Please listen to them.
It's okay.
I think it's working.
I think you're right.
Let's ask him...
Shay, stop! Please.
Please. I don't know what's wrong with him.
Barry?
Guys, what's happening? Where's Shay?
Shay?
What is it?
What's going on?
Is Shay okay?
Yeah. He's human again.
Where am I? Who are you?
- Hey, hey, hey. - No, enough!
- Just get off me! - It's okay.
They're friends.
Tanya.
Yeah, it's... it's me.
I'm... me?
How?
We call it the cure.
It's a serum that suppresses dark matter in meta-humans.
You're the first person to take it.
Well, except you didn't take it.
We, um, we gave it to you.
My... my head is still swirling around.
Are you saying I'm human again?
Forever?
Almost.
We developed a cure to work on the human part of a meta-human.
The animal part of your brain fought back a little bit.
There's still some dark matter in your pituitary gland,
but with this new data, we should be able to
address the cure and the next dose should be permanent.
Monsieur Lamden, I should introduce myself.
Sherloque Wells. You've probably heard of me.
I have a question. I've been debating in my brain.
What drives the King Shark?
Is it the shark, or is it the man?
If you're asking should I be held accountable
for my actions, my answer is simple.
Yes, I should.
I don't remember how many people I hurt,
or who, but that's no excuse.
What do you remember?
Fragments. Glimpses.
One day, I was a scientist. The next, I was trapped
in that body and everything felt heightened,
like my emotions were on steroids.
And the rage... There was so much rage.
That makes sense. A shark's amygdala triggers
a huge emotional response when it feels attacked.
Perhaps that's why you escaped today.
You were frightened.
I don't know. Today felt different.
I don't remember much before I started using Tanya's crown,
but since then,
my mind and memory have been much clearer.
And I especially remember the kindness that you showed me.
What...
What happened?
The dark matter in his system is replicating.
Tanya, I'm sorry.
Shay, I'm sorry, but until this is over,
we can't let you leave S.T.A.R. Labs.
Call me as soon as the cure
is ready to inject him a second time.
We have to know if this works.
- Barry? - Yeah?
When you said you wanted me to call you
it was so that we could ask Shay
if he wants to take the cure, right?
- Caitlin... - 'Cause you know,
out in the field, you didn't really give him
much of a choice.
But that was kinda hard to do
when King Shark had you dead to rights.
We had a way of communicating with him,
and you barely gave that a shot.
And we could have tried again.
I saved you, man. What did you want me to do?
- Risk your life? - That's not the point.
It should be. We're a team.
We're supposed to have each other's backs.
And we agreed, as a team,
to wait for his permission, but you didn't even do that.
And look what happened.
You're alive,
and Shay seems to like being human,
so that's a win-win.
Is that what you think a hero does?
Forces other people to do what you want them to do?
He was gonna eat you, Cisco.
What was I supposed to do?
We agreed that the cure would never be used as a weapon.
Tell me something.
Did you change your mind in the moment,
or was this always part of the plan?
? If I could turn back time, I would do it all again ?
Dad?
I went by your office
to talk to you.
Dad, look. I, um...
Don't. Don't try it.
I heard about this crazy time loop you all got stuck in.
Cisco and Nora told me
what happened in every version,
and although I don't remember any of them,
just knowing what did happen...
You weren't scared?
I don't know.
I mean, I broke into Cicada's home.
Dad, I fought him.
And as terrifying as that was, I mean,
at least I could react to it, you know?
But now... now that he knows who I am, who my family is,
I mean, he could show up at any moment.
I just, I...
- I feel... - Powerless.
Yeah, I just...
I don't know, I can't go back there.
Okay, get up.
Dad, I just told you...
I don't want to go back there, you know?
I'm not taking you there.
Then where?
Someplace where I can show you
how powerful you really are.
Pack it up. Come on.
We gotta talk.
Don't you know you shouldn't
interrupt others while they're brooding?
Trying to get my Oliver Queen on here.
I ran some more tests on Shay.
The reason he doesn't remember anything that happened
this morning is because he experienced a severe brain wave
disruption in his frontal lobe.
That's the feedback that we all heard.
So, that's why he snapped on us
Like it was "Jaws: The Revenge"?
A frontal lobe that compromised would of course
result in lack of control over emotions and judgment.
So you think maybe the crown might have done this?
No, that's the thing. The crown is not the problem.
The way the neurotransmitters work in this device
never would have caused that.
So what you're saying is
the telepathic crown was working the whole time?
Yes, so that begs the question,
what caused King Shark to go berserk?
Guys, hey. Um...
I just wanted to apologize for earlier.
I was definitely too harsh.
No way.
Caitlin.
Hello, Flash.
Cisco's cerebral scan is clear.
Mine is as well. We are both back to normal.
No more strings on us.
Killer Frost says she's sorry for that ice blast.
That was Grodd, too.
Now she's ready for some payback.
Yeah, me too.
Do we have a 20 on our Simian Svengali?
Data and company are working on it,
but Grodd's psychic abilities
are helping him conceal his location,
so he could be anywhere by now.
I thought every square inch of A.R.G.U.S.
was supposed to be power dampened 24 hours a day.
It is.
Then how does an 800-pound gorilla escape?
Let me show you.
I went through our security footage.
This is from the night of May 22nd, 2018.
- That's the night... - Of the Enlightenment.
DeVoe's dark matter wave took down all tech
in the surrounding areas.
Luckily, our generators kicked in.
- But not for a second. - One second.
That's all Grodd needed
to psychically implant instructions in a guard.
Instructions to secretly shut down
the power dampeners in his cell,
and find out any other information he needed to know.
So that's why King Shark flipped out?
Because Grodd was trying to mind control him?
Likely as a distraction.
Grodd's only ever controlled human minds before.
He must have had a hard time controlling King Shark
because of the animal part of his brain.
So King Shark was trying to resist Grodd's iron will?
Respect.
If Grodd's had his powers for a year,
why wait until now to escape?
It's probably no coincidence that the first thing he did
was steal the telepathic crown.
Tanya did say she's been
working on the crown for a while.
Grodd probably knew this was his perfect opportunity.
And it was thanks to our tech.
All right, well, now that Grodd has the crown,
what's gonna happen when he uses it?
It'll amplify his mental abilities a thousand-fold.
Instead of just being able to mind control
a few people at a time...
He'll be able to control the whole city.
Forgive me. I'm intruding.
Or am I?
I see him out there and I see you in here in the shadows.
Why is that, I wonder?
Can you blame me?
You saw his hand transform.
Yes, right. "Shark Week!"
Not something you see every day, but no,
I thought your hesitation occurred
before that moment, not after.
It was a slight hesitation, but it was there nonetheless.
Again, why do you think that is?
I don't know...
No? Well, perhaps I could be so bold as to offer
a suggestion that it is not the hand
of which you were frightened, but rather,
it was seeing the face
of the man that you love.
I don't love Shay. We're friends.
All right, well, let's take a look at that too, shall we?
So this is a friend from another Earth,
for whom you left a high-paying job
and for whom you have dedicated every waking moment
of your life trying to help. It doesn't quite add up.
I can't love Shay.
He's my dead husband's doppelganger from Earth-2.
How crazy would I have to be to fall in love with him?
No crazier than marrying the same woman
from five different Earths...
I know.
I'm very good at marrying people,
but not so great at staying married.
Along the way, though,
on these countless Earths and countless doppelgangers,
I learned there is one thing
that makes all of us unique.
And if that
is what you fell in love with, well then,
perhaps a face doesn't matter that much.
You missed a beautiful sunset earlier.
Too bad.
- It's my favorite time of day. - Mine, too.
I almost forgot what one looked like.
Did you know sharks are colorblind?
When I was King Shark, my world was dull and gray.
And then I met you, and everything changed.
I thought you were avoiding me.
I was,
but not anymore.
Tanya, are you disappointed in me now that I'm...
No, not at all.
They say every sunset is unique.
Do you think that's true?
Yes, I do.
Dad, this is not going to work.
You haven't even tried it yet.
Look, I get it.
I'm supposed to take out my frustrations on that bag
and somehow get over it, but it's not that easy.
To confront what ails you?
No, it's not. It's hard.
I had to go all the way across the world to do it.
Are you talking about Tibet?
I thought you went there to see Wally.
I did, but that's not the only reason I went.
I went there to heal.
Is that why you were gone for so long?
Wally convinced me to come east with the baby.
He said it would help me repair my mind,
my body, restore this old soul of mine.
So with Cecile's blessing,
that's what I did.
And did it work?
I bent, baby girl.
But Cicada ain't going to break me.
Ain't going to break you either.
Come on.
Come on, Iris. Show Cicada what you got.
Break him, Iris.
Break him!
Yeah.
What's happening?
Our fuzzy friend is crawling up the Broome Belfry.
What is it with him and that tower?
'Cause it's at the exact epicenter of the city...
Making it the perfect place to broadcast from.
He's going to use the crown.
And get inside everyone's head in the city.
Hear your master, Humans.
Soon, you will only know my will...
The will of Grodd!
How long before everyone's under Grodd's mind control?
A few minutes, maybe less.
We need to dismantle that crown and get it away from him.
I can try talking to him.
He's always had a sweet spot for me.
- Good. - The hell you will.
Nope, Killer Frost is gonna be a hard sell on that one.
We're immune to his mind control, right,
because we're speedsters?
No.
Okay, The Flash Museum just straight up
got a lot of stuff wrong.
Wait, but do you have any extra
anti-mind control headsets lying around?
There's a few in the workshop,
but it didn't work so well last time.
Yeah, but now there's two of us.
I need you to run at him as fast as you can
- without reversing time. - Okay.
- That'll get his attention. - What are you gonna do?
An old trick.
Get the crown!
Dad?
We can't move.
The mental dampeners are working,
but Grodd's too strong.
I'm trying to hack into the crown, but Grodd won't let me.
He's gonna kill them.
Not if you turn me back.
I can stop Grodd.
He can't read my mind... At least, not when I'm a shark.
Can you do that?
I mean, if we accelerate the cell cycle,
do something that will prompt a return
to the dark matter cellular form.
Right, right, perhaps a vibration or a jolt, right?
Yes, if it was strong enough,
but there would be permanent consequences.
If we re-saturate your meta-genic cells,
that will eliminate the possibility
for you to transform them back into human cells.
He won't be able to use the cure.
Shay, if you agree to this,
you'll never be human again.
Tanya, I can save Flash, the people of this city, you,
and make up for some of the horrible things I've done.
I have to do this.
I'm afraid of losing you.
You won't.
Well, is there anyone in this room
that can provide a vibrational jolt?
I'm doing it.
My mind grows.
Soon,
Grodd will rule this city,
this world.
And you...
Gone forever.
- King Shark? - Huh?
King Shark wants you gone!
Oh, no.
Guys, King Shark's not moving.
When a shark is turned upside down,
it enters tonic immobility.
He's in a state of paralysis.
How do we wake him up?
Don't sharks have electroreceptor organs
called ampullae of Lorenzini?
It's how they detect electromagnetic fields, right?
Yes, it's how they navigate.
And it will also attract electricity, right?
So if we can get enough electricity to him, we can...
- Electrify his ass back up. - Electrify his ass right up.
- Barry! - Yeah, we heard.
Time for another old trick.
You okay?
- Yes! - Yes!
Nothing to it.
Long live the king.
I know Grodd almost turned all of our brains
into scrambled eggs, but that Kaiju battle
was the stuff of dreams.
Seriously, way better than anything
I read in The Flash Museum.
Now that Grodd is safely locked up,
what's stopping him from getting out again?
A medically-induced coma,
one safely administered by Caitlin
and the A.R.G.U.S. medical staff.
Exposure to the crown kickstarted Grodd's
mental abilities into high gear.
They're growing even now.
Fortunately, I realized that if Grodd's brain remains inactive,
he can't access his mental powers.
Add in newly-enhanced AI power dampeners
that upgrade to keep up with Grodd's power.
You're welcome, by the way...
Anything it takes to keep the city safe.
Speaking of keeping the city safe,
we couldn't have done this without Shay.
How'd you guys convince him to turn back into King Shark?
We didn't.
He volunteered.
And you can never turn him back into a human?
I don't think so.
So he's gonna stay King Shark forever?
Well,
the good guys won once again,
and yet you do not seem like you're really celebrating.
Why that is?
After all that's happened today,
I just wonder how it will effect...
Your relationship?
Well, that's a big question, I must admit.
But you know what?
You will figure it out, both of you, together.
If so, we'll have you to thank.
- Oh, no, no, no, no. - Me especially.
No, no, no. I did nothing.
No, you're right, I did help quite a bit.
The point here is simply this,
and that is that whether it's man or shark or...
man-shark,
the heart wants what the heart wants.
And so, you must be open to that.
Sounds like you've solved life's greatest mystery.
Well, that's what I do.
If so,
I hope one day, you find what you're looking for too...
Maybe in another doppelganger.
Of course.
I'll leave you to it.
Tanya, you look sad.
Why?
We found each other today,
and now that connection is...
Still here.
Shay, what you did...
I would do it again for you, my love.
Time to bend.
King Shark versus Gorilla Grodd?
Are you kidding me? I missed that?
_
Are you sure you don't want something a bit more grown up?
Um, you take that back.
This snack is a delicacy no matter how old you are.
Guys, hey.
I just... Swedish Fish?
I love those.
Um, look, I know today has been crazy,
and I just wanted to make sure that we're good,
I know Grodd made you blast me in the face
but I also know I kinda deserved it...
Same with being ice blasted.
I shouldn't have used the cure as a weapon
and forced it on King Shark.
I promise it won't happen again.
Apology accepted.
Goober.
And we know something good did come out of today.
We know the meta-human cure works.
And now we can use it to help all of the metas
in Central City and beyond.
Maybe we start with Cicada.
I'm sorry, what?
I know, I just...
People can surprise you.
Today definitely reminded me that.
And like you've been saying, everybody deserves a choice
to be whoever they want to be...
That includes our enemies.
I think we should offer the cure to Cicada.
- Synced and corrected by VitoSilans - - Reync by GoldenBeard -