Things don’t look too good for Harrison “Harry” Wells on The Flash. Tom Cavanagh’s genius from Earth-2 was the STAR Labs’ gangs best shot at matching Clifford DeVoe’s intellect, and he seemed to be on the right track to defeating him with his own version of the villain’s Thinking Cap. Tragically, though, he became too reliant on the device and, thanks to dangerously powering it with dark matter, it’s begun to sap his intelligence rather than increase it.
While speaking to EW, the Scarlet Speedster himself opened up about Harry’s ongoing troubles and talked about why it’s so “heartbreaking” to witness. He likened what the character’s going through to something like Alzheimer’s Disease, as the once great mind is slowly losing what makes him him.
“That’s a heartbreaking storyline, because it’s not Alzheimer’s — obviously it’s DeVoe depleting his brain cells — but it’s like an Alzheimer’s arc a little bit for Harry. It’s really sad in all those scenes for the whole team. It’s hard to see someone that’s so brilliant kind of lose themselves. Also, as a team member, he’s irreplaceable. He’s a genius. When we need him most, we don’t have him. It’s hard to watch, where it’s just someone that we love, and he can’t do anything for himself or for us.”
Harry’s current hardship is just the latest problem a Wells has faced on the show, as his counterparts across the multiverse have never had it easy on The Flash. Back in season 1, of course, Earth-1’s Harrison Wells was murdered by Reverse-Flash who impersonated him for the next 20 years. H.R. Wells from Earth-19, meanwhile, bravely sacrificed himself to save Iris and was murdered by Savitar at the end of season 3.
EW’s revealed that in tonight’s episode, titled “Harry and the Harrisons,” Harry will learn that the Council of Wells, the group of his doppelgangers from other Earths that Harry formed earlier in the season, have kicked him out of their council because he’s no longer on their genius-level.
But will Harry be permanently without his smarts? Or will his brain be saved if the gang stops the Thinker? With only three episodes of The Flash left, we should find out pretty soon.
