Eobard Thawne, or Harrison Wells or whatever the Reverse-Flash is calling himself these days, has been the biggest over-arching mystery on The Flash. Last week's crossover with Arrow is continuing this week as some Flash characters find themselves taking a road trip. But how do Harrison Wells and Starling City connect on The Flash ?
First of all, Tuesday's episode is titled 'Who Is Harrison Wells" — that is the question, isn't it? I'm amused and thrilled that the CW series has finally caught up to the rest of us and is investigating this mystery. Did anyone else find it odd that Ray Palmer geeked out about meeting the scientist? What does The Atom know about Dr. Wells, and how much of that was independent of Thawne? Should we have been looking for clues in Arrow mythology this whole time? According to The CW's official description of the episode, our heroes will examine that connection further.
Joe and Cisco head to Starling City to continue their investigation of Dr. Wells. While in town, the duo enlists the help of Captain Lance, and Cisco meets the Black Canary, who asks him for a favor.
There are a few possibilities here. Let's explore before The Flash starts its next "road trip."
Sister Cities
The two cities are already intertwined. We know that Harrison Wells arrived in Central City just after Nora Allen's murder, and now we know why. We also learned last week from Tina McGee that she and (the original) Harrison were scientists in Starling City before Eobard Thawne disrupted their lives. What if Wells met Tess Morgan there?
I understand why they would want to get out of dodge. Not only would opening a research lab in Starling City almost certainly require Tess and Harrison to align with criminals and ultimately find themselves at the receiving end of a green guy's arrow, but the two of them were so sunny and optimistic that can assume they'd be anxious to live anywhere else.
Speaking of, Harrison Wells is a mystery in and of himself, but I'm just as interested in Tess Morgan's history, especially if she has a past tangled in the corruption of Starling City.
Family Ties
What if Harrison Wells was connected to the Lances as well? The Arrow wiki says that Dinah Lance was a professor at Central City University, so she could have met Wells there. That would be an interesting and unexpected way to link Arrow and The Flash. We don't know much about Quentin Lance's history from Arrow. He could be connected to the Wells family or even fellow detective Joe West. Either way, it'll be interested to see law enforcement from both sides finally compare notes about what it's like to be on the force with so many vigilantes on the loose.
Passing By
This promo for the episode implies that Joe identifies Starling City as the next step in his investigation specifically because that's where the car accident that took Tess Morgan's life took place. Of course, that accident also took Harrison Wells' life, but that's something only the audience and the villain himself know right now. You and me, and "the man in yellow" makes three! It's thrilling and horrifying that The Flash is attacking this mystery head-on and making so much forward motion. The fact that the Arrow gang can provide us with answers makes it all the more interesting.
Image: Katie Yu/The CW (3)
