The Last Temptation of Barry Allen, Pt. 1

"My name Is Iris West-Allen, and I once met a young man - a superhero - who I called the Streak. The world has come to know him as the Fastest Man Alive, the Scarlet Speedster. The Flash. But no matter what title you choose for him, he'll always be remembered as the protector of our amazing city and it's citizens, as a beacon of hope for us all, and as the man who sacrificed himself again and again so we could live. Today we say goodbye to him. Today we say goodbye to him, not because he was taken but because he gave himself willingly. And in the end, that's what makes him deserving of the greatest title of all: Hero."

—Iris West-Allen on the Flash's death

"The Last Temptation of Barry Allen, Pt. 1"
Information
Season 6 » Episode 7
Episode number	121 of 184
Original airdate	November 26, 2019
Written by	Jonathan Butler Gabriel Garza
Directed by	Chad Lowe
Chronology
Preceded by	"License to Elongate"
Followed by	"The Last Temptation of Barry Allen, Pt. 2"

"The Last Temptation of Barry Allen, Pt. 1" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of The Flash, and the one-hundred-twenty-first episode overall. It aired on November 26, 2019. It acts as the first half of a two-part episode.

Synopsis

As Barry Allen stands on the threshold of his impending death in Crisis, his convictions are tested when the monstrous Dr. Ramsey Rosso infects the Flash with a mysterious, hallucinogenic contagion. Meanwhile, reporter Iris West-Allen uncovers a vast conspiracy.[src]

Cast

Starring

• Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/Dark Flash
• Candice Patton as Iris West-Allen
• Danielle Panabaker as Dr. Caitlin Snow/Frost
• Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon
• Hartley Sawyer as Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man
• Danielle Nicolet (credit only)
• Tom Cavanagh as Dr. Harrison Nash Wells and Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash
• Jesse L. Martin as Captain Joe West

Guest starring

• Sendhil Ramamurthy as Dr. Ramsey Rosso/Bloodwork
• Michelle Harrison as Nora Allen
• Victoria Park as Kamilla Hwang
• Kayla Compton as Allegra Garcia

Co-starring

• Emmett Lee Stang as Mystery Man

Trivia

• This episode is the first time Ramsey is called "Bloodwork".
• This episode can be compared to the DC's Legends of Tomorrow episode "Egg MacGuffin" in that in both episodes, an antagonist possesses the male lead while he is saving a teammate. In the latter, Ray Palmer allows himself to be possessed by Neron in order to stop him from killing Nate Heywood, while in this episode, Ramsey infects Barry while he is donating blood to Ralph.
• Iris starts to write the article that covers the Flash's disappearance in a Crisis first seen in "Pilot".
  • As of this scene, Iris is the show's third character to have a "My name is" monologue after Barry and Nora West-Allen. It is also the second monologue to not be at the beginning of an episode after Nora's which was at the end of the Season 5 premiere "Nora".
• When Barry is infected by Ramsey, his appearance and lightning color are based on that of the Negative Flash from the comics, wherein Barry in the comics was similarly infected but rather by Eobard Thawne with the Negative Speed Force.
• When the Speed Force attempts to pull Barry away from Ramsey just before he wakes up, its lightning is yellow and white, similar to how Nora West-Allen's was yellow and purple.
• Both Barry and Allegra mention that there are 2 days until Crisis, implying that this episode takes place on December 8, 2019. This also may be a reference to the fact that this episode is 2 episodes before Crisis on Infinite Earths.
• This is the first episode of The Flash that is not a part of a crossover to end with "To Be Continued".
• This is the second official first half of a two-part episode in an Arrowverse series after the DC's Legends of Tomorrow episode "Pilot, Part 1".
• Throughout his argument with the Speed Force, Barry admitted to having mixed feelings about his powers throughout the years as being The Flash stating he never "chose this" life.
• At one point in his coma, Barry finds himself walking among the gravestones of everyone he failed to save and stops before his own grave. This is a reference to when Ebenezer Scrooge is shown his future by the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come in the novella A Christmas Carol.
  • Coincidentally, Barry made his second Arrowverse appearance in the Arrow episode "Three Ghosts".
  • The gravestones are marked Leonard Snart, H.R. Wells, Eddie Thawne, Martin Stein, Henry Allen, Nora Allen, Nora West-Allen, and Barry Allen.