- "What if I forget who she is... before she comes back? I thought I had plenty of time to get Iris back... And live my life with her. Now it's all fading away, like my body. And now, with my mind going, too... it's like losing everyone you love... All at once."
- —Barry Allen to Cecile Horton[src]
"The Curious Case of Bartholomew Allen" is the sixteenth episode of the eighth season of The Flash, and the one-hundred-sixty-seventh episode overall. It aired on May 25, 2022.
Synopsis[]
The Flash gets blasted with a shockwave forcing his body to age prematurely.[src] |
Plot[]
Informed by Chester on their prepared mission to attack, the Flash claims that he needs to take care of a few things first. He tackles a runner stealing a bag of cash into a cop's custody, replaces a robber's gun with a banana, and prevents a woman from getting ran over by a driver. The Flash rushes to the West house and returns as Barry to play Dungeons & Dragons with Allegra, Chester, Joe, and Cecile.
At his turn, Joe struggles to understand how to play, so the gang takes a break. Barry brings up to Joe about Iris on how she convinced him to try the game one night ending in a great time. Though Iris is safe in the future, Joe grapples to push his faith that the situation will get resolved. Barry gets interrupted by his phone, notified to get to CCPD.
Barry arrives and reunites with Chief David Singh, to their delight. Singh provides Barry with a case regarding a high profile theft on Mercury Labs of a Gamma Absorption Array, a device, as the Mercury Tech Unit put it, that can "cause all kinds of damage" in the wrong hands. Barry interjects that the device can be used for growing super crops to wiping out an entire army. Barry works on the case in high speed, deducing that the perpetrator is hiding somewhere near a shipyard.
The Flash searches the shipyard, where he finds the Gamma Absorption Array in a van. The Flash notices the device's advanced mods and wants to perform an analysis on it before the perpetrator reveals himself and hints that he won't run much longer. When Barry threatens to take the perpetrator to prison and requests what mods do, the latter uses the mods to cast a massive wave, pushing the Flash into unconsciousness. The perpetrator tells the Flash "Enjoy the time you have left."
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Gideon runs a full-body diagnostic scan on Barry, detecting multiple biological abnormalities including moderate signs of arthritis, hearing loss, osteoporosis, high cholesterol, and heartburn. Chester informs that every cell in Barry's body turns out to be deteriorating meaning he's aged thirty years overnight in spite of his usual appearance.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash
- Candice Patton (credit only)
- Danielle Panabaker as Dr. Caitlin Snow
- Danielle Nicolet as Defense Attorney Cecile Horton
- Kayla Compton as Allegra Garcia
- Brandon McKnight as Chester P. Runk
- Jesse L. Martin as Joe West
Guest starring[]
- Patrick Sabongui as Chief David Singh
- Jeff Meadows as Dr. Pytor Orloff
Co-starring[]
- Douglas Armstrong as CCPD Officer #1
- Coulton Jackson as CCPD Officer #2
- Curtis Braconnier as Jewel Thief
- Beau Daniels as Elderly Orloff
- Derrick DeVilliers as Shady Man at Jitters
- Alexander Moonie as Marco the Barista
- Maggie Sullivun as Elderly Woman
Uncredited[]
- Morena Baccarin as Gideon (voice)
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- The title and episode is a play on the short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
- Steve Palmer is most likely a name drop from The Flash #118.
- Orloff's plan is very similar to the one used by the villain Hourglass in the spoof film Superhero Movie; in said film, he planned to become immortal by draining an entire city's worth of life.
- Barry experiences the same downside Griffin Grey did upon using his powers.
- Barry is shown aging at a speedster rate; showing just like Jay in Impulsive Excessive Disorder, that he will physically appear the same age 20 years later.
- When Barry regains his youth at the end, it turns out he got some excess rejuvenation; being restored to age 29 from his starting age of 33.
Goofs[]
- Caitlin tells Barry that the Mirror gun was responsible for splitting her and Frost into different bodies. However, as seen in "The Speed of Thought", it was Eva herself who attacked Frost and ultimately caused her and Caitlin to split.
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" |