"The Present" is the ???th episode of The Flash. It aired on December 6, 2016.
- "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 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 Desmond 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 Three and enlists the help of Jay Garrick after helping him capture the Earth Three 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.
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
Trivia
- Julian joins Team Flash in this episode, now having new-found understanding for why Barry kept being late or disappearing from the job.
- This episode is the first time two alumni (John Wesley Shipp and Mark Hamill) from the 1990s The Flash TV series have appeared on-screen together while (technically) reprising their roles of The Flash and The Trickster respectively.
- The previous 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 and Cecile kiss followed by Iris and Wally saying "Finally" bears a similarity to the previous mid-season finale episode where Hunter and Caitlin kiss followed by Cisco saying "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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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
| 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" | ||||