'The Flash' Season 6: 'Dead Man Running' couples a grim plotline with elements of horror setting the perfect stage for Bloodwork
This article contains spoilers for 'The Flash' Season 6 Episode 3 'Dead Man Running'
The latest installment of 'The Flash' may be just three episodes in, but the superhero series has managed to land a whopping 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
While much of the buzz ahead of the premiere is about the much-awaited 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' and how it shapes 'The Flash' post the multiverse-shattering battle, there was equal hype surrounding Bloodwork, the Scarlet Speedster's formidable foe this season.
Dr. Ramsey Rosso aka the Bloodwork (essayed by Sendhil Ramamurthy in The CW's version) was introduced in Joshua Williamson, Pop Mhan, and Christian Duce's 2017 The Flash #29.
In the comics, Rosso suffers from hemophilia from when he was a child and he goes on to get a job at a morgue in Central City. He starts experimenting with his blood and, as a result, starts gaining abilities to control his blood (quite literally).
In 'Dead Man Running', we see Ramsey teaming up with Barry (Grant Gustin) and trying to stop Mitch Romero (Shawn Stewart), the dark matter villain — a mutated criminal who becomes possessed after Ramsey experiments on him.
While Barry and Frost eventually manage to kill Romero, his blood samples are still filled with dark matter which Ramsey absorbs in the final minutes of the episode.
The highlight of this origin explanation of the chilling foe is the horror tonality the episode adapts. While there have been instances of violent deaths in previous seasons of 'The Flash', this one ranks the highest among them all as it shows Romero in a nightmarish, ghoul-like light in the opening minutes.
The aftermath of his encounter with the criminal gang who possess dark matter guns shows scattered and bloodied body parts strewn all over the place.
From the ominous music to Ramsey's demented expression when he absorbs the dark matter-filled blood, the episode makes it clear that a horrific encounter awaits Barry and the team in the episodes to come.
This element of horror coupled with the grim storyline works beautifully in 'Dead Man Running'. 'The Flash' airs on Tuesdays at 8 pm on The CW.