hfdfWARNING: The following contains major spoilers for "All's Wells That Ends Wells," The Flash Season 7 premiere.
Nash Wells just gave up his own life so Barry could get his speed back. In "All's Wells That Ends Wells," The Flash Season 7 premiere, Nash realized he was the only one who had what it takes to power the artificial Speed Force, and a lesson from his multiversal doppelgangers inspired him to make that ultimate sacrifice for his new home world.
When the Season 7 premiere opened, Team Flash was in the middle of their race to create an artificial Speed Force. With Caitlin and Cisco both gone on their own missions, Barry worked with Nash Wells and Chester P. Runk to complete it in time to stop Eva McCulloch, aka Mirror Mistress, from executing her evil plans.
However, Team Flash's race against time took a toll. Even as he worked with Nash on the artificial Speed Force's hardware, he found himself getting -- so sleepy, in fact, he nearly touched the fusion sphere. Barry sped in with just enough time to stop him and warned him never to touch it while it's activated, as it would mistake him for the fuel source. Chester acknowledged the seriousness of this and joined Barry in the lounge for a cup of coffee.
As Barry led Chester away, Harry Wells appeared. "So it turns out we cracked the fuel problem for this ASF of yours," he told Nash.
"Not easy. Not great," Sherloque Wells muttered as he appeared, only for H.R. Wells to show up and cry, "But so much fun, huh? I love all the brainstorming. Plus, we got all the Wellses back together again."
"Nash, as I know you know, when our worlds died in Crisis, particles from our brainwaves were drawn to you like -- like --" Harry forged on, only for newcomer Harrison Orson to interrupt, "Like a moth drawn to a cosmic flame!"
Rolling his eyes, Harry continued, "So there are multiversal particles inside you right now, Nash, made of synaptic energy. Now, we take those particles, we put them in the fusion sphere -- theoretically, they could power the ASF forever."
"Not only would Allen get his speed back, but I'd be rid of you lot forever," Nash mused.
"Well, you'd be gone too," H.R. interjected. "I mean, because of the whole organic receptor thing."
When Nash demanded to know what H.R. meant by that, Harry explained, "Multiversal particles are just -- they're very volatile, right? And there's no way they'll stay in that sphere long enough to be charged, unless we have an organic receptor."
"The organic receptor is me?" Nash shot back.
"For the Flash to run again, Nash Wells must die," Harry confirmed. "Nash, you're our organic receptor. You're the only one that can contain us inside the fusion sphere!"
Nash was having none of that. "How stupid do you think I am?" he yelled. "I have a life here now! I have people that I actually don't hate. I'm not going to give all that up so Barry Allen can run fast!"
"Nash, you're the only one of us that can help Allen," Harry insisted, for Nash to interject, "And I will, harry, but figuring out another way to save Allen that doesn't mean I have to commit suicide!" With that, Nash stormed off, calling them all bozos as he exited the room.
As promised, Nash set to work to found an alternative solution. He soon thought he found one in Allegra, the doppelganger of his surrogate daughter, as he believed her powers could project those multiversal particles into the fusion sphere without killing him. When they gave this a try, though, it went terribly wrong because the particles needed an organic receptor. The fusion sphere rejected the multiversal particles and blasted them into Barry, who rotated rapidly through several Wells personalities before collapsing.
When Chester examined Barry with his portable Gideon tech, Team Flash was dismayed to discover the multiversal particles were killing him. If it wasn't for his speed healing, he would already be dead, and with only 1% of his speed remaining, Barry was running out of time. This put Nash in a terrible bind, as he knew he could save Barry by sacrificing himself, and even he had to admit to Allegra and Chester that he was scared. However, it wasn't until Nash had a conversation with Harry that he found the strength to do it.
"You know what Cisco said after Crisis? He said, 'An infinite number of Harrison Wells and we're stuck with the one who killed the multiverse,'" Nash recalled as he got Harry up to speed. "And everyday I ask myself, 'Why? Why am I the one left standing?'"
"So who should have gotten the slot?" Harry shot back. "One of us bozos?"
"You're not bozos. Only called you that because I find the the Wells very annoying, present company excluded. But you know what you are? You're a daily reminder that even though we may all look the same, we're not the same, because you're all good men and I'm not," Nash said, defeated.
"So you're a selfish jerk," Harry replied with a shrug. "You think that I wasn't? That we all weren't? Hell, when I met this team, I was working for Zoom. H.R. lied. Sherloque kept secrets. We all came here broken men. Thanks to Team Flash, eventually we learned to be better. That's why I believe in you, Nash. There's a good man in there somewhere. You just need to dig him up, let him breathe."
So Nash decided to do just that. With a device invented by Chester, Allegra was able to push the multiversal particles back into Nash with her powers, curing Barry. Then, Nash did what he knew he had to do and grabbed the fusion sphere with both his hands despite Barry's cries of protest.
"I'm not doing it to prove a point," Nash said, eyes locked on Allegra. "I'm doing it because I won't let you die. I won't let any of you die."
"Nash, please, I can't let anyone else die for me," Barry begged. "I've already lost so many people."
"Do you know what I feel right now?" Nash replied, gasping through the pain. "Pride. Honor. It's been so long since I've felt those things. And it's not just me; the Council [of Wells] feels it too, and we made a decision. We're doing this, Allen."
"How can I be the Flash without a Wells on his team?" Barry choked through his tears.
"You've always been the Flash. You always will be, with or without me," Nash whispered. With that, he began to cycle through various Wells doppelgangers, from H.R. to Sherloque to Harry, allowing each one to offer a personal goodbye. Harry went last, saying, "Allen, when I came to your stupid Earth with its good burgers, I was a broken man, lost, angry, blah, blah, blah. You showed me how to be a better person, and I will always be thankful for our friendship. Now run, Barry. Run."
As Nash cried out in pain, Barry began to run, so that the artificial Speed Force could work its magic. "After I'm gone, look out for one another," Nash told Allegra and Chester. He disintegrated right before their eyes, allowing the fusion sphere to attain its maximum charge. Suddenly, Barry's body crackled with electricity and he took off with super speed, arriving just in time to prevent Mirror Mistress from blowing up a plane full of weapons over Central City.
So ends The Flash's Wells era. As fans will know, Tom Cavanagh has played every version of the character since Earth-1's Harrison Wells was revealed to be Reverse-Flash in Season 1. Ever since, he has put several different spins on the character, with each new version hailing from a different Earth in the multiverse.
At this juncture, Cavanagh's future on the series remains unclear. After all, he has returned as Reverse-Flash several times, and that character has unfinished business with Barry following the events of Season 5. Further, Cavanagh's Wells could certainly come to embody the artificial Speed Force, as the original Speed Force was a sentient entity that often impersonated Barry's loved ones. So, even though Wells himself may not return on The Flash, there is plenty of opportunity for Cavanagh to come back.
Airing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, The Flash stars Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes and Tom Cavanagh.
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