'The Flash' Season 6 Episode 4: Dr. Rosso embraces his dark side while Team Flash struggles to accept Barry's impending death in 'Crisis'
This review contains spoilers for 'The Flash' Season 6 Episode 4: 'There Will Be Blood'
'There Will Be Blood' is part gore and part emotion. And the episode firmly establishes that 'The Flash' is more than a superhero show. Relationships, family, and friends are the show's heartbeat.
For a Halloween episode, maybe there were expectations of something light-hearted, however, the show is bent on cementing Barry's imminent death and the 'Crisis' as the focal points.
The action quotient takes a backseat, however, there are enough blood and horror elements to go around.
The chapter finally sees Sendhil Ramamurthy's Dr. Ramsey Rosso establish his dark side as he loses his last bit of humanity in a selfish bid to save his life. He realizes his Bloodwork is a character that needs to kill to activate the effects of his blood and induce a heavy dose of fear to make them doubly effective.
He goes on a killing spree, but not before trying out a serum that Barry (Grant Gustin) provides him after breaking into McCulloch Labs facility with Harrison Nash Wells (Tom Cavanagh) and Cisco (Carlos Valdes).
The serum idea comes from Wells who introduces himself as the "multiversal explorer" and tells Barry about the serum at McCulloch Labs Facility which was uncovered from the Dominators three years ago.
While Barry hopes it cures Rosso, Cisco wants to use it to save Barry. This leads to a difference in opinion. While it seems the speedster has accepted his fate, his team clearly hasn't.
For Wells, it does seem like he is a man on a mission as Barry's impending death is the least of his concerns. He decides to help team Flash acquire the serum on the condition that they build a crypto circuit for him. Again, the mysterious Wells doesn't divulge the reason behind it.
Perhaps the biggest tidbit in the episode is a brief storyline on Sue Dearbon's disappearance. Iris (Candice Patton) hands a dossier that has an eye witness report on Dearbon to Ralph who declines the case as it isn't worth investigating.
Again, the reason behind this is the 'Crisis' and Barry's death that he's yet to come in terms with. However, he later apologizes to Iris and agrees to follow up on the eye witness.
The episode ends with an emotional but defining scene between Barry and Joe (Jesse L. Martin). Joe's question is simple: "Why does it have to end this way for a hero who the city owes their lives to?"
The conversation is a touching tearjerker that says nobody in team Flash is ready for a world without him. 'There Will Be Blood' also delves into the relationship between Barry and Rosso.
While the latter owns the first half of the episode with his trials, his frustrations and his embracing of the villainy, his encounter with Barry still shows there is a bit of vulnerability and humanity left in the character.
Wells has been a mysterious figure and it appears the man is actually searching for The Monitor (La Monica Garrett) and hence his need for the crypto circuit.
It has been a great season of 'The Flash' so far and it can only get better.