"If I want to stop Cicada, I can't be so precious about getting the Flash's hands dirty. Sometimes the ends justify the means, I get that now."

—Barry Allen to Ralph Dibny

"Goldfaced" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of The Flash, and the one-hundred-fifth episode overall. It aired on February 5, 2019.

Synopsis

Barry and Ralph must go undercover as criminals in an illegal black market to purchase a device that could help them stop Cicada. Once inside, Barry and Ralph find their morality tested as they slip deeper into the criminal world, eventually having to choose between committing a crime, or losing the means to defeat one of their greatest foes. Meanwhile, Iris investigates a lead on Cicada's whereabouts and ends up in a dangerous situation.[src]

Plot

Iris is having issues firing up the Central City Citizen. She in the long run gets Barry to consent to let her explore Dwyer for the benefit of the paper. She starts her examination by scrutinizing Dwyer's chief — who won't remark on the grounds that Dwyer compromised his life. Inevitably, the supervisor gives her the location where Dwyer had his checks sent and she goes to research.

Believing it's an unfilled house, Iris breaks in to research. After a short time, Dwyer gets back and discovers Iris sneaking around. She acts like an analytical journalist however he sees directly through it and the two battle — she's ready to escape in the wake of wounding him.

Barry and Ralph go covert to have a go at finding some bootleg market innovation Caitlin requirements for the metahuman fix. They discover an arms vendor that passes by the name Goldface that may have the fundamental access. At a remote area, Barry and Ralph begin testing different bits of meta tech are available to be purchased. Barry about ruins there disguise after one of the vendors flaunts weapons fit for liquefying the body reinforcement for individuals from the CCPD.

So as to not ruin their disguise, Ralph and Barry consent to loot a neighborhood lab of an organ-printing 3D printer. Barry reconsiders about the crucial the two choose to undermine it. They're effective in taking out the whole group, just for Goldface to show up and battle the two. Barry's ready to stop Goldface by fooling him into stunning himself with a close by electrical source.

Nora approaches Eobard for help on the most proficient method to get Sherloque to quit examining her, so she spends most of the scene attempting to get Sherloque to experience passionate feelings for the Earth-1 form of his ex. After first creeping her out, Sherloque makes it up to her and she agrees to have him call. As she seemingly opens the door and leaves without the use of her hands, Sherloque comes to the realization that she is a meta,

The group doesn't recover the innovation Caitlin required; however, Iris thinks she realizes an approach to stop Cicada.

Cast

Starring

• Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash
• Candice Patton as Iris West-Allen
• Danielle Panabaker as Dr. Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost
• Carlos Valdes (credit only)
• Hartley Sawyer as Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man
• Jessica Parker Kennedy as Nora West-Allen
• Chris Klein as Orlin Dwyer
• Tom Cavanagh as Sherloque Wells and Professor Eobard Thawne
• Jesse L. Martin (credit only)

Special guest star

• Kimberly Williams-Paisley as Renee Adler, Harrison Sherloque Wells' first, second, fourth and fifth ex-wife

Guest starring

• Paul McGillion as Earl Cox
• Damion Poitier as Keith/Goldface

Co-starring

• Chad Bellamy as Goon #1
• Anthony Joseph as Carver
• Andy Nez as Brent Osmack
• Neil Webb as Gat

Trivia

• This is the first episode of Season 5 where Nora appears but doesn't interact with either of her parents.
• This episode introducse Sherloque's ex-wives. It is revealed that they are all doppelgängers of the same woman (Renee Adler on Earth-1).
  • Sherloque ensures they don't know which Earth (Earth-1) he's on, so he doesn't have to pay alimony to them all at once (as, besides leaving him practically broke if he did so, it's especially cruel to as he only gets paid case-to-case.)
• The police-killers used by Barry, Ralph, and the criminals resemble the energy guns' blasters used by Ray Palmer and Nate Heywood in the DC's Legends of Tomorrow episode "Legends of To-Meow-Meow", though this is likely just coincidental.
  • The main differences between the two blasters are that the police-killers have a "stun" setting, shoot red or blue beams instead of green, and dissolve or immobilize the target with an explosion instead of punching through it.
  • In addition, during the gunfight, Barry and Ralph move their guns in a circle while standing back-to-back, a tactic used by Leonard Snart and Mick Rory in the DC's Legends of Tomorrow episode "Pilot, Part 2".
• Ralph makes a reference to The Matrix franchise during the gunfight which featured slow-motion parts while set to Rob Zombie's "Dragula". Coincidentally, a remix of the song previously appeared in the first Matrix film.
  • Another song from Rob Zombie called "Never Gonna Stop Me" was once used as the second WWE entrance theme for former The Flash guest star Adam Copeland who portrayed Al Rothstein/Atom Smasher and Albert/Al Rothstein in Season 2's premiere "The Man Who Saved Central City".
• Just before their battle with Goldface, Ralph tells Barry, "I knew all that Red Dead would pay off." This is a reference to/or mention of the video game franchise of the same name.
• Sherloque calls Nora "nosy Parker". That's her character's actress's middle/last name; Jessica Parker Kennedy.
• This is the third episode of Season 5 (and the The Flash series) to not feature Carlos Valdes (Cisco Ramon).

Goofs

• Goldface survived several gunshots due to his gold armor, but in reality, gold is relatively weak and soft. Unless his gold based powers augment such materials to withstand bullets and other projectiles' impacts.

References

The Flash season 5

"Nora" • "Blocked" • "The Death of Vibe" • "News Flash" • "All Doll'd Up" • "The Icicle Cometh" • "O Come, All Ye Thankful" • "What's Past is Prologue" • "Elseworlds, Part 1" • "The Flash & The Furious" • "Seeing Red" • "Memorabilia" • "Goldfaced" • "Cause and XS" • "King Shark vs. Gorilla Grodd" • "Failure is an Orphan" • "Time Bomb" • "Godspeed" • "Snow Pack" • "Gone Rogue" • "The Girl With The Red Lightning" • "Legacy"