The Flash Season 3 Episode 2 promo teases we’ll get a taste of Dr. Alchemy next week, just as the final moments of The Flash Season 3 episode 1 suggested. After Reverse-Flash and Barry went back in time to kill Nora Allen, again, Edward Clariss woke up in the middle of the night to a noise in his head.
“Clariss,” the voice shouts, “Time to wake up.” Clariss gets up out of bed and the letters ‘ALCHEMY’ are scratched into the mirror.
We’ve known Dr. Alchemy and Savitar will be main villains of The Flash Season 3 since San Diego Comic Con in July. Even though we all hoped Flashpoint wouldn’t last all season, nobody was expecting it to only last one episode. The fact that not much time was spent in the Flashpoint timeline itself suggests some serious consequences will carry over to the original timeline.
Dr. Alchemy and Savitar are just two of those consequences, Executive Producer Aaron Helbing confirmed earlier this week. Considering we haven't met Dr. Alchemy yet, it’s a little odd he’s contacting Edward Clariss. The fact Dr. Alchemy chose a mirror to communicate could be a nod to Mirror Master, also expected to appear in The Flash Season 3. It’s not yet clear if Clariss is still The Rival in the original timeline. If he is and still has a grudge against The Flash and Kid Flash, Dr. Alchemy could be recruiting Clariss to help take them down. Maybe Dr. Alchemy makes him a Velocity serum so he can become The Rival in the original timeline? It can’t be a coincidence Clariss gets a message from Dr. Alchemy right after Barry fixes the timeline.
Helbing revealed an interesting bit of information in a recent interview with Empire, when he said Clariss somehow still has memories of the Flashpoint timeline. Maybe Dr. Alchemy seeks those memories as leverage for his psychological war.
“This guy, Edward Clariss, remembers everything that happened in “Flashpoint.” All of the pieces that we set up in “Flashpoint” are going to play out throughout the entire season. It’s going to be something that Barry and his team are going to be grappling with and struggling against and trying to overcome,” Helbing said.
Helbing also explained Savitar and Doctor Alchemy are both products of Flashpoint. As made clear with Iris and Joe not talking in the post-Flashpoint timeline, the impact of Flashpoint is going to reverberate throughout the entire season. Those after effects are “the reason that villains like Dr. Alchemy and Savitar are a part of the show,” Helbing revealed. “We liken it to when you have a perfect, pristine vase that you break. Even if you put it back together, there are always going to be those cracks. It’s never, ever going to be exactly how it was.”
During an interview with TV Guide, Helbing suggested the two villains, Savitar and Dr. Alchemy, will work together to wage war against Barry. Dr. Alchemy is more of a psychological villain for Barry, as we just saw at the end of The Flash Season 3 premiere where he torments Edward Clariss. As a speedster, Savitar will compete with Barry on the physical front.
"I don't think the Flash or Barry Allen or the team, have come up against villains quite like Dr. Alchemy and Savitar. Savitar is going to be, I would say, Barry's most formidable opponent -- especially with Dr. Alchemy. They are two big bads. It's double the trouble," Helbing said.
With a diverse array of abilities because of the Philosopher's stone, and split personality disorder, Dr. Alchemy won't be an easy villain to shake off. For now, Dr. Alchemy will be voiced by Tobin Bell. His true identity has yet to be revealed, but some fans believe he could be Tom Felton’s character, Julian Dorn, a suspicious new co worker who doesn’t get along with Barry right from the jump. The new guy has to be evil -- you don’t just cast Draco Malfoy for no reason. Since Dorn appears right after Flashpoint, it’s safe to assume he could be a product of Barry’s shenanigans as well. Even more the reason to be suspicious he could have ulterior motives.
In the The Flash Season 3 episode 2, ‘Paradox,’ teaser, Barry is filling Felicity in on Flashpoint. Dr. Alchemy’s mask appears with a voiceover, “There’s a whole new guy that you don’t even know about,” Felicity says. “And he doesn’t like me very much,” Barry adds. There’s a streak of blue light that tackles Barry onto the ground. Is it yet another speedster... The Rival, Savitar, or some other villain entirely? Is Dr. Alchemy recruiting the Rival and Mirror Master to form his own team?
Let us know your theories in the comments below! Check out iDigitalTimes' recap of The Flash Season 3 premiere, 'Flashpoint.'
