Changes: The Present

Revision as of 03:21, 14 November 2019

"You can't worry about what may or may not lie ahead. Besides, it's Christmas; a time to be with the ones you care about."

—Jay Garrick to Barry Allen

"The Present" is the ninth and midseason finale episode of the third season of The Flash, and the fifty-fifth episode overall. It aired on December 6, 2016.

Synopsis

With Alchemy and Savitar still looming threats, Barry is unable to focus on the Christmas holiday, and especially his relationship with Iris. Determined to stop Savitar, Barry goes to Earth-3 to get advice from Jay Garrick. Wally wants to help Barry fight Savitar and reveals that he's been training with H.R., which doesn't go over well with Barry. As Cisco faces his first Christmas without his brother Dante, old wounds are reopened.^[1]

Plot

A flashback is shown, taking place in a camp in India years ago. In one of the tents is none other than Julian Albert writing in his journal. He writes about the search of the artifact known as the Brahmastra or Philosopher's stone, how even though he has faith it exists, he is losing hope of he and his team ever finding it. Just then, a woman in his search party tell him they finally found it. They take out the box sealing the artifact and despite the woman's recommendation to wait, Julian opens it, screaming at the stone he found inside.

Barry is too focused on taking Alchemy and Savitar down to enjoy the holidays. He goes to Earth-3 and enlists the help of Jay Garrick after helping him capture the Earth-3 Trickster from blowing up his city.

Back on Earth-1 Barry and Jay find Alchemy, and with Jay distracting Savitar, Barry defeats Doctor Alchemy and closes his box containing the Philosopher's Stone, which gives meta-humans powers and allows Savitar to appear. Barry apprehends Alchemy after discovering his secret identity is Julian.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry and the others discover that Julian blacks out when he becomes Alchemy and that he obtained the box when he took an expedition to India in an attempt to resurrect his deceased sister. Cisco starts seeing visions of Dante, who encourages him to open the box to bring him back to life.

Cisco does so, which summons Savitar to S.T.A.R. Labs to fight Barry and Wally. After Cisco closes it with Caitlin's persuasion, they communicate with Savitar through Julian, as Doctor Alchemy is Savitar's vessel.

Savitar tells Barry that he's responsible for imprisoning the villain in the future and that one of his teammates will betray him, one will die, and one will suffer a fate worse than death.

Barry and Jay throw the box into the Speed Force to get rid of it, but in the process, Barry is thrown 5 months into the future, where he witnesses Savitar killing Iris, unable to stop it. Jay drags him back to the present.

At the West Christmas party, Wally receives a Kid Flash costume from the team after H.R. tells Joe to stop holding Wally back from his potential, Julian gives Barry his job back, and Barry buys a new apartment for him and Iris to live in.

Gallery

Videos

The Flash 3x09 Promo "The Present" (HD) Season 3 Episode 9 Promo Mid-Season Finale

The Flash The Present Trailer The CW

The Flash 3x09 "The Present" Sneak Peek HD Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, John Wesley Shipp

The Flash 3x09 Sneak Peek 2 "The Present" (HD) Season 3 Episode 9 Sneak Peek 2 Mid-Season Finale

The Flash 3x09 Inside "The Present" (HD) Season 3 Episode 9 Inside Mid-Season Finale

The Flash 3x09 Deleted Scene Season 3 Episode 9 Deleted Scene

Trivia

This episode is the first time two alumni (John Wesley Shipp and Mark Hamill) from The Flash have appeared on-screen together while (technically) reprising their roles of The Flash and The Trickster respectively.
- The previous mid-season finale episode, "Running to Stand Still" also featured Mark Hamill.
The episode's title has a double meaning: "present" both references the Christmas gifts given during the episode, and Jay asking Barry to focus on the present time, rather than becoming obsessed with his glimpse of the future.
Julian's full name is revealed to be Julian Albert Desmond. In the comics Dr. Alchemy's real name is Albert Desmond.
When Joe and Cecile kiss, Iris says "finally", echoing the previous mid-season finale episode when Hunter and Caitlin kissed, prompting Cisco to say "finally".
The scene where Cisco asks Caitlin "Are we about to be the Grinch's this year?" is a reference to the Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas (or its film adaptations).
When it's suggested the team bury the Philosopher's Stone, Cisco quips "Uh-uh, Jumanji" referring to the film of the same name about a dangerous magical board game. At the end of the film, the game is tossed into the sea to be rid of it; however, it later washes up on shore elsewhere to be found again.
In this episode, it is revealed that Alchemy's stone is called the Philosopher's Stone. The Philosopher's Stone is a mythical artefact featured in many stories, including the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the film version of which starred Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy (though the title was changed to Sorcerer's Stone for its release in the United States).

References

↑ Barry Allen Teams With Jay Garrick In The Flash: The Present Synopsis - Comicbook.com

The Flash season 3
"Flashpoint" • "Paradox" • "Magenta" • "The New Rogues" • "Monster" • "Shade" • "Killer Frost" • "Invasion!" • "The Present" • "Borrowing Problems from the Future" • "Dead or Alive" • "Untouchable" • "Attack on Gorilla City" • "Attack on Central City" • "The Wrath of Savitar" • "Into the Speed Force" • "Duet" • "Abra Kadabra" • "The Once and Future Flash" • "I Know Who You Are" • "Cause and Effect" • "Infantino Street" • "Finish Line"

[1] Barry Allen Teams With Jay Garrick In The Flash: The Present Synopsis - Comicbook.com

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Quote|You can't worry about what may or may not lie ahead. Besides, it's [[Christmas]]; a time to be with the ones you care about.|[[Jay Garrick]] to [[Barry Allen (Earth-1)|Barry Allen]]}}
 {{Episode
 |name= The Present
 |image= Barry surprises Iris with their new home.png
 |titlecard= Running to Stand Still title card.png
+|season=3
+|epnum=9
 |number= 55
 |airdate= December 6, 2016
-|writer= [[Aaron Helbing]]<br>[[Todd Helbing]]
+|writer= '''Story by:'''<br>[[Aaron Helbing]]<br>[[Todd Helbing]]<br>'''Teleplay by:'''<br>[[Lauren Certo]]
 |director= [[Rachel Talalay]]
-|guests= [[Tom Felton]] as [[Julian Albert|Julian Albert/Alchemy]] ''(special appearance by)''<br/>[[Mark Hamill]]  as [[The Trickster (Earth Three)|The Trickster]] ''(special guest star)''<br/>[[Nicholas Gonzalez]] as [[Dante Ramon]]<br/>[[Danielle Nicolet]] as [[Cecile Horton]]<br/>[[John Wesley Shipp]] as [[Jay Garrick|Jay Garrick/The Flash]]<br>[[Andre Tricoteux]] as [[Savitar]]
+|guests= [[Tom Felton]] as [[Julian Albert|Julian Albert/Alchemy]] ''(special appearance by)''<br/>[[Mark Hamill]]  as [[The Trickster (Earth-3)|The Trickster]] ''(special guest star)''<br/>[[Nicholas Gonzalez]] as [[Dante Ramon]]<br/>[[Danielle Nicolet]] as [[Cecile Horton]]<br/>[[John Wesley Shipp]] as [[Jay Garrick|Jay Garrick/The Flash]]<br>[[Andre Tricoteux]] as [[Barry Allen (Earth-1)#Savitar|Savitar]]
-|before= {{Ep|Invasion!|page=Invasion! (The Flash)}}
+|before= {{Ep|Invasion! (The Flash)}}
 |after= {{Ep|Borrowing Problems from the Future}}
-|show= The Flash
+|show= The Flash (The CW)
 }}
-{{Quote|You can't worry about what may or may not lie ahead. Besides, it's Christmas. A time to be with the ones you care about.|[[Jay Garrick]]}}
-"'''The Present'''" is the ninth episode of the [[Season 3 (The Flash)|third season]] of ''[[The Flash]]'', and the fifty-fifth episode overall. It aired on December 6, 2016.
 ==Synopsis==
-With [[Alchemy]] and [[Savitar]] still looming threats, [[Barry Allen|Barry]] is unable to focus on the Christmas holiday, and especially his relationship with [[Iris West|Iris]]. Determined to stop Savitar, Barry goes to [[Earth Three|Earth-3]] to get advice from [[Jay Garrick]]. [[Wally West|Wally]] wants to help Barry fight Savitar and reveals that he's been training with [[Harrison Wells (Earth Nineteen)|H.R.]], which doesn't go over well with Barry. As [[Cisco Ramon|Cisco]] faces his first Christmas without his brother [[Dante Ramon|Dante]], old wounds are reopened.<ref>[http://comicbook.com/dc/2016/11/18/barry-allen-teams-with-jay-garrick-in-the-flash-the-present-syno/ ''Barry Allen Teams With Jay Garrick In The Flash: The Present Synopsis'' - Comicbook.com]</ref>
+With [[Alchemy]] and [[Barry Allen (Earth-1)#Savitar|Savitar]] still looming threats, [[Barry Allen (Earth-1)|Barry]] is unable to focus on the [[Christmas]] holiday, and especially his relationship with [[Iris West-Allen|Iris]]. Determined to stop Savitar, Barry goes to [[Earth-3]] to get advice from [[Jay Garrick]]. [[Wally West|Wally]] wants to help Barry fight Savitar and reveals that he's been training with [[Harrison Wells (Earth-19)|H.R.]], which doesn't go over well with Barry. As [[Cisco Ramon|Cisco]] faces his first Christmas without his brother [[Dante Ramon|Dante]], old wounds are reopened.<ref>[http://comicbook.com/dc/2016/11/18/barry-allen-teams-with-jay-garrick-in-the-flash-the-present-syno/ ''Barry Allen Teams With Jay Garrick In The Flash: The Present Synopsis'' - Comicbook.com]</ref>
 ==Plot==
-A flashback is shown, taking place in a camp in India years ago. In one of the tents is none other than [[Julian Albert|Julian Albert Desmond]] writing in his journal. He writes about the search of the artifact known as the [[Philosopher's stone|Brahmastra or Philosopher's stone]], how even though he has faith it exists, he is losing hope of he and his team ever finding it. Just then, a woman in his search party tell him they finally found it. They take out the box sealing the artifact and despite the woman's recommendation to wait, Julian opens it, screaming at the stone he found inside.
+A flashback is shown, taking place in a camp in India years ago. In one of the tents is none other than [[Julian Albert]] writing in his journal. He writes about the search of the artifact known as the [[Philosopher's stone|Brahmastra or Philosopher's stone]], how even though he has faith it exists, he is losing hope of he and his team ever finding it. Just then, a woman in his search party tell him they finally found it. They take out the box sealing the artifact and despite the woman's recommendation to wait, Julian opens it, screaming at the stone he found inside.
-[[Barry Allen|Barry]] is too focused on taking [[Julian Albert|Alchemy]] and [[Savitar]] down to enjoy the holidays. He goes to [[Earth Three]] and enlists the help of [[Jay Garrick]] after helping him capture the Earth Three [[The Trickster (Earth Three)|Trickster]] from blowing up his city.
+[[Barry Allen (Earth-1)|Barry]] is too focused on taking [[Julian Albert|Alchemy]] and [[Barry Allen (Earth-1)#Savitar|Savitar]] down to enjoy the holidays. He goes to [[Earth-3]] and enlists the help of [[Jay Garrick]] after helping him capture the Earth-3 [[The Trickster (Earth-3)|Trickster]] from blowing up his city.
-Back on [[Earth One]] Barry and Jay find Alchemy, and with Jay distracting Savitar, Barry defeats Doctor Alchemy and closes his box containing the [[Philosopher's Stone]], which gives [[meta-humans]] powers and allows Savitar to appear. Barry apprehends Alchemy after discovering his secret identity is Julian.
+Back on [[Earth-1]] Barry and Jay find Alchemy, and with Jay distracting Savitar, Barry defeats Doctor Alchemy and closes his box containing the [[Philosopher's Stone]], which gives [[meta-humans]] powers and allows Savitar to appear. Barry apprehends Alchemy after discovering his secret identity is Julian.
-At [[S.T.A.R. Labs]], Barry and the others discover that Julian blacks out when he becomes Alchemy and that he obtained the box when he took an expedition to India in an attempt to resurrect his deceased sister. [[Cisco Ramon|Cisco]] starts seeing visions of [[Dante Ramon|Dante]], who encourages him to open the box to bring him back to life.
+At [[S.T.A.R. Labs (Earth-1)|S.T.A.R. Labs]], Barry and the others discover that Julian blacks out when he becomes Alchemy and that he obtained the box when he took an expedition to India in an attempt to resurrect his deceased sister. [[Cisco Ramon|Cisco]] starts seeing visions of [[Dante Ramon|Dante]], who encourages him to open the box to bring him back to life.
 Cisco does so, which summons Savitar to S.T.A.R. Labs to fight Barry and Wally. After Cisco closes it with [[Caitlin Snow|Caitlin's]] persuasion, they communicate with Savitar through Julian, as Doctor Alchemy is Savitar's vessel.
@@ Line 31: / Line 32: @@
 Savitar tells Barry that he's responsible for imprisoning the villain in the future and that one of his teammates will betray him, one will die, and one will suffer a fate worse than death.
-Barry and Jay throw the box into the Speed Force to get rid of it, but in the process, Barry is thrown 5 months into the future, where he witnesses Savitar killing [[Iris West|Iris]], unable to stop it. Jay drags him back to the present.
+Barry and Jay throw the box into the Speed Force to get rid of it, but in the process, Barry is thrown 5 months into the future, where he witnesses Savitar killing [[Iris West-Allen|Iris]], unable to stop it. Jay drags him back to the present.
 At the West Christmas party, [[Wally West|Wally]] receives a Kid Flash costume from the team after [[H.R. Wells|H.R.]] tells Joe to stop holding Wally back from his potential, Julian gives Barry his job back, and Barry buys a new apartment for him and Iris to live in.
@@ Line 47: / Line 48: @@
 ==Trivia==
+*This episode is the first time two alumni ([[John Wesley Shipp]] and [[Mark Hamill]]) from {{S|1990}} have appeared on-screen together while (technically) reprising their roles of The Flash and The Trickster respectively.
-*Julian joins [[Team Flash]] in this episode, now having new-found understanding for why Barry kept being late or disappearing from the job.
+**The previous mid-season finale episode, {{Ep|Running to Stand Still}} also featured Mark Hamill.
-*This episode is the first time two alumni ([[John Wesley Shipp]] and [[Mark Hamill]]) from the [[Wikipedia:The Flash (1990 TV series)|1990s ''The Flash'' TV series]] have appeared on-screen together while (technically) reprising their roles of The Flash and The Trickster respectively.
+*The episode's title has a double meaning: "present" both references the Christmas gifts given during the episode, and Jay asking Barry to focus on the present time, rather than becoming obsessed with his glimpse of the future.
-**The previous [[Running to Stand Still|mid-season finale episode]] also featured Mark Hamill.
-*The title of the episode is a double meaning on a present (a gift) exchanged during Christmas time, such as the team giving Wally his suit, as well as Jay asking Barry to focus on the present (the now, as opposed to the future).
 *Julian's full name is revealed to be Julian Albert Desmond. In the comics Dr. Alchemy's real name is Albert Desmond.
-*The scene where [[Joe West|Joe]] and [[Cecile Horton|Cecile]] kiss followed by [[Iris West|Iris]] and [[Wally West|Wally]] saying "Finally" bears a similarity to the previous mid-season finale episode where [[Hunter Zolomon|Hunter]] and [[Caitlin Snow|Caitlin]] kiss followed by [[Cisco Ramon|Cisco]] saying "Finally"
+* When [[Joe West|Joe]] and [[Cecile Horton|Cecile]] kiss, [[Iris West-Allen|Iris]] says "finally", echoing the previous mid-season finale episode when [[Hunter Zolomon|Hunter]] and [[Caitlin Snow|Caitlin]] kissed, prompting [[Cisco Ramon|Cisco]] to say "finally".
-*The scene where Cisco tells Caitlin ."Are we about to be the Grinch's this year" is direct reference to the book and film ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas.''
+*The scene where Cisco asks Caitlin "Are we about to be the Grinch's this year?" is a reference to the Dr. Seuss book ''[[wikipedia:How the Grinch Stole Christmas|How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]'' (or its film adaptations).
-*When it's suggested to bury the Philosopher's Stone again, Cisco quips "Uh-uh, ''Jumanji".'' He was referring to a movie about a magic board game that summons dangers from the jungle each time a player makes a move. At the end of the film, the game is tossed into the sea to be rid of it; however, it later washes up on shore elsewhere, where new victims of it's magical mayhem find it.
+*When it's suggested the team bury the Philosopher's Stone, Cisco quips "Uh-uh, ''Jumanji''" referring to the [[wikipedia:Jumanji (film)|film of the same name]] about a dangerous magical board game. At the end of the film, the game is tossed into the sea to be rid of it; however, it later washes up on shore elsewhere to be found again.
-*In this episode, it is revealed that Alchemy's stone is called the Philosopher's Stone. Coincidentally, this is also the title of the first Harry Potter book/film, ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', which starred Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy (''Philosopher's Stone'' was the original title for the first Potter book/film in England, while it was changed to ''Sorcerer's Stone'' in the United States).
+*In this episode, it is revealed that Alchemy's stone is called the Philosopher's Stone. The Philosopher's Stone is a mythical artefact featured in many stories, including the first Harry Potter book, ''[[wikipedia:Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'', the film version of which starred Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy (though the title was changed to ''Sorcerer's Stone'' for its release in the United States).
-*Julian finds out that Barry is the flash.
-*Barry and the rest of team Flash finds out that Julian was Dr. Alchemy.
-*It is revealed that Julian was being mind controlled by Savitar into being Dr. Alchemy.
-*This is the last new episode to air in the year 2016.
-*This is the season 3 mid season finale of the flash.
-*This is the third Christmas themed episode of the flash.
-*It is revealed that speedsters can travel to future, as Barry does so in this episode.
-*Barry accidentally travels to future an sees Savitar murder Iris, sometime in May 2017.
 ==References==
@@ Line 71: / Line 63: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Present, The}}
+[[es:The Present]]
+[[fr:La Boite de Pandore]]
+[[pl:Prezent]]