Entertainment

Alchemy Is Unmasked On 'The Flash'

Fans of The Flash who suspected Julian was harboring a deeper secret than being jealous of metahumans were right. He's been hiding something — something big. In "Killer Frost" it was revealed that Julian is Alchemy on The Flash , but it's unclear whether or not he really knows what he's been up to as a follower of the Speed God Savitar. "Killer Frost" started with Savitar coming to town, and ended with Julian revealing his identity as Alchemy — a coincidence? I think not.

In "Killer Frost," Julian was kidnapped by Caitlin after she gave into her powers, but agreed to keep the identity of his captor a secret from the police on the condition that Barry quit his job at CCPD. And, as it turns out, he had a pretty specific reason for wanting Barry out of his office: it's where he hid his Alchemy outfit! But, here's the thing: Julian might not be Alchemy by choice. Sitting in his hospital after striking his deal with Barry, Julian was awoken by the threatening voice we've come to associate with Alchemy. He tries to run away from the voice, but it follows him and confronts him as Savitar. "Only together can we bring about my return...become my servant once more.... become Alchemy," Savitar says.

Savitar's speech reveals two things: first, that Alchemy isn't the big bad after all — he's being controlled — and, second, that Julian doesn't even want to be Alchemy anymore. The fact that Savitar asks Julian to "become my servant once more" suggests that Julian successfully severed ties with Savitar. Furthermore, the fact that Julian ran away from Savitar's voice means that he doesn't really want to be Savitar's puppet. Moreover, Julian had the opportunity to kick Barry out of their shared office at the CCPD and chose not to, meaning there was a time he didn't have much to hide.

Now that we know who Alchemy is on The Flash, it leaves us with more questions: Is Julian consciously aware of being Alchemy? Is he a willing servant to Savitar, or being controlled? Does he know that Barry Allen is the Flash? And who is Savitar and why does he want to punish Barry? (I'm guessing it has something to do with him manipulating time.) Hopefully we'll get the answers to at least a few of these questions soon.

Images: Diyah Pera/The CW; julianalbertgifs/tumblr