Harrison Wells' 'Flash' Lair Reveals A Lot

Oh, Harrison Wells. I was really rooting for you to end up being a good guy. But after last week's episode of The Flash , "Power Outage," it is pretty clear that Wells' motivations are not only selfish, but are clearly putting him bad guy territory. The episode finally addresses the question, what's the truth behind Harrison Wells' lair? After seeing Wells' mysterious lair briefly during the show thus far, last week's episode put it front and center. But what does Wells' lair say about his true motivations? What does this mean for our beloved new superhero The Flash?

One of the more intriguing aspects of Wells' lair is Gideon, the software/interface/highly advanced piece of technology that he interacts with. What is Gideon, exactly? There are a lot of theories about the nature of this technology. While it may become clear later on, I thought it could be a reference to the New God Gideon from DC Comics. Does that mean that Wells is Metron? That is probably way too out there and deep into DC Comics lore for the first season of The Flash to pull off. However What Wells' interactions with Gideon make very clear at this point is that he's from the future.

Wells is pretty obsessed with making sure the future goes according to plan, as we can see when he freaks out as the newspaper from 2024 changes and has no record of The Flash whatsoever, which was a pretty neat touch. There's no way around it at this point. The advanced technology, the future database, and his obsession with the future that become evident in his lair prove it. Not only does his lair prove that Wells is from the future, but also that he shouldn't be trusted.

If you weren't convinced that Harrison Wells is Professor Zoom by now, everything that went down in "Power Outage" should have sealed the deal. Wells' desire to keep the future intact and making sure Barry realizes his full potential haven't been clearly explained. But they remind me a lot of how Professor Zoom is obsessed with Barry. One thing you have to keep in mind is that without The Flash, there is no Professor Zoom. And the dangerous villain knows that.

At the end of the episode, when Wells took blood from the deceased metahuman Blackout, he said, "You had the ability to steal The Flash's powers and I'd love to know how you did that." This moment underscores why Wells makes such detailed notes about Barry's development in his lair. His interest isn't for science and it clearly isn't about saving people. Wells is interested in Barry's metahuman abilities to an obsessive degree — to the point that it makes me wonder if Wells wants to take Barry's powers for himself.

What we've learned about Wells' lair has given us some concrete evidence about who he is and what he really wants. He's obviously from the future, wants to gain Barry's abilities, and is willing to put the lives of everyone around him in peril if it means reaching his goals. Basically, The Flash has put in neon lights that Wells is not to be trusted. It's only a matter of time before Barry realizes that for himself.

Images: Katie Yu/The CW; theflashgifs/Tumblr