- "In this war, we fight versions of ourselves. But when two sides are evenly matched, there is no winning. Only endless suffering. I know now you are strong. You are the advantage we need to achieve our goal."
"Which is?"
"To live! We did not ask to be born, but we do ask not to die. The others, they want your speed to give to their master, August Heart. But upon completion of their mission, they will bow down to his final edict. Total submission." - —A Godspeed clone and The Flash
"P.O.W." is the sixteenth episode of the seventh season of The Flash, and the one-hundred-forty-ninth episode overall. It aired on July 6, 2021.
Synopsis[]
| John Diggle arrives in Central City with a weapon to help Barry stop the Godspeed War. Meanwhile, Allegra and Ultraviolet's new bond is put to the ultimate test, while Joe and Kristen Kramer are hunted by a former colleague of hers.[src] |
Plot[]
At home, Barry watches a news report about how bad the Godspeed War is getting and he plans to go out as the Flash to battle them when his daughter Nora appears to him once more, cautioning him that he needs to accomplish something before it's too late. This turns out to be another dream, but Barry still understands the danger present.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry speeds in having been beaten by more Godspeeds. Iris stays at home. The Godspeed attacks are continuing and they can't predict when and where. Cecile alerts the group that she hasn't heard from Joe and as a result of the Godspeeds, nobody can call or text in or out of Central City.
Following from the end of the previous episode, a man - Adam - comes up on the destroyed car, however Joe and Kramer both managed to get away from the explosion. Presently they are being pursued. Joe attempts to call for help, however Adam is jamming cell service.
Caitlin talks to Barry about what is troubling him and he explains to her the dreams he's had about Nora and how it's stressing him. He questions what everything means since Godspeed was her enemy in 2049. As he's attempting to figure things out, Diggle appears with what may be an way to end the Godspeed War. The gadget is an entropy trap, something Cisco made for Team Arrow. It freezes whatever is trapped in its activation radius. They need to use it to trap a Godspeed so they can confront it and see what they want, however Diggle isn't too sure. He begins suffering from a headache.
Esperanza, presently recovering from her medical procedure, plans to track down those engaged with Black Hole. She requests that Allegra accompany her. Allegra needs to delay until the Godspeed War is finished, however Esperanza leaves.
Diggle and The Flash are able to capture one of the Godspeeds in the entropy trap. The Godspeed will not talk at first, yet when he does, he talks to The Flash as Barry Allen. This Godspeed discloses to him that one group of them needs Barry's speed to provide for their lord and then they die. The other group is fighting to survive. This is why they've returned to this time: to search for August Heart to keep him from getting the force. They request Barry's assistance, however Barry will not kill anybody, inciting Godspeed to say that if he isn't with them then he is a foe. Godspeed then escapes the Pipeline, breaks the entropy trap and attacks Barry. Allegra blasts the Godspeed and he escapes S.T.A.R. Labs.
Diggle sends the others away after Barry lashes out at Chester and asks him what is happening. Barry tells him about Nora. He is stressed over how August Heart being in the current timeline affects Nora and her future and he needs to travel to 2049 to check on Nora. Diggle reveals to him that being a dad means more to him than being anything else and there is no distance he wouldn't go for his own family.
Barry tells Cecile he's running to 2049 to check on Nora. Cecile reveals that Iris has been reading Nora's diary and has three leads on where August Heart is. Cecile will go search for him, taking Diggle and Allegra with her, however Allegra doesn't reply and John has a dreadful migraine assault. Cecile attempts to understand what he is feeling and she becomes overpowered by it as well. She reveals to him that what she felt feels infinite, yet Diggle says he's fine and they'll manage it when they're done.
Barry goes to run to 2049 however finds the way blocked by Godspeeds. He gets thrown out of the Speed Force and is found by Deon who says to him that they have a great deal to discuss. The Godspeeds are feeding on the Speed Force energy and keeping it occupied. Deon is caught up keeping Iris safe. Something isn't right with Iris. She's falling through the timeline so Deon is stabilising her. Barry gets back to S.T.A.R. Labs and tells Caitlin and Chester.
While looking for August Heart, Diggle has another migraine attack and is almost taken out by a Godspeed until Frost appears, yet he won't stop until they get Heart. They find somebody taking cover behind a dumpster at the last area they check. He says that he doesn't know his name, but he feels that the area is important. They bring him to S.T.A.R. Labs. The man consents to allow them to use a dark matter injection to try to get his memory back. He can now disclose to them his name: August.
Allegra later goes searching for Esperanza and finds her seriously hurt. She dies in Allegra's arms, turning to dust.
Kramer and Joe avoid Adam the entire evening and realise that he may not know who he is hunting. It gives Kramer a thought. Kramer finds Adam, distracting him long enough for Joe to get a meta cuff onto him. Adam says that after the Army let him down, he chose to become a mercenary. He discloses to her he gives half of the cash he gets from his work back to the reservation to help the kids and families. Joe holds Kramer back from shooting him.
Diggle gets ready to leave Central City and reveals to Barry that there's something he's been procrastinating on for a really long time and it nearly got him killed - and we get a quick flashback to the glowing green box from the Arrow finale.
While sitting and trying to process everything, Barry is visited by Nora who reveals to him that everything will be alright and says to him that they're "both" okay. A second later, another speedster appears: Bart, Barry's child.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash
- Candice Patton as Iris West-Allen
- Danielle Panabaker as Dr. Caitlin Snow and Frost
- Danielle Nicolet as Cecile Horton
- Kayla Compton as Allegra Garcia
- Brandon McKnight as Chester P. Runk
- Jesse L. Martin as Joe West
Special guest star[]
Guest starring[]
- Alexa Baraja Plante as Esperanza Garcia
- Carmen Moore as Captain Kristen Kramer
- Christian Magby as Deon Owens
- Karan Oberoi as August Heart
- Julian Black Antelope as Adam Creyke
Special appearance by[]
Co-starring[]
- Meena Mann as Anchor
- Rick D. Wasserman as Prisoner Godspeed (voice)
Uncredited[]
- Morena Baccarin as Gideon (voice)
- Unknown as Godspeed clones
- Unknown as Prisoner Godspeed
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- The episode title is a common abbreviation for "prisoner of war".
- As mentioned by John Diggle, the events of this episode take place sometime after "Rebirth", when he visited Gotham City.
- After the imprisoned Godspeed escapes the pipeline, Barry says, "We thought we were interrogating him. He was interrogating us." This is very similar to Barry's line from the end of "The Trap", "We thought we set a trap for him, but he set a trap for us."
- A similar line was said in Jeepers Creepers 2. When the titular creature seems to be attempting to break in a bus full of teens; however, it actually jams all the doors shut. One teen says "We thought it was trying to get in. But this frickin thing was making sure we couldn't get out!"
- Diggle shoots one of the Godspeeds with nanites and says, "Nanites, courtesy of Ray Palmer." This is a reference to Oliver Queen's line from "Rogue Air".
- This is the second episode to reference this phrase, the first being "Elseworlds, Part 1".
- Diggle references the events of Season 6 of Arrow, where he suited up as the Green Arrow to protect Oliver Queen's secret identity.
- Nora only has purple lighting now and Bart has yellow lightning.
- The entropy trap used against the Godspeeds was said to have been one-of-a-kind because it was made of unique Time Trapper tech, referencing the Time Trapper, a time-traveling villain from the future in the comics also known as the Living Embodiment of Entropy. This implies A.R.G.U.S. faced the Time Trapper and obtained some of his tech at some point prior to this episode.
- How Esperanza Garcia dies is similar to a J'avo from Resident Evil 6; burning up and leaving nothing behind.
Goofs[]
- In the official press release for the episode, Kristen Kramer's first name was misspelt as "Kristin".
- Cecile Horton mentioned that the events of this episode take place in 2021; however, the events of "Masquerade" take place roughly four weeks after "Mother" (which was set in mid-2020), making it unlikely for Cecile's statement to be accurate.
- Barry worries that by going into the future to check on Nora in 2049 will cause another Flashpoint. However, he has it backwards; only changing the past (like saving his mother and imprisoning Thawne) would do that. Whatever causes the Godspeed army to start is in the future, so he can prevent it and keep the present unaffected.