In this week’s jam-packed episode of The Flash, titled “Killer Frost” and directed by Kevin Smith, the identity of Doctor Alchemy was revealed, confirming many fans’ suspicions about one of the show’s newest characters in Season 3.
Spoilers for The Flash are below.
After an intense episode where Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) wrestled with her inner Killer Frost identity while Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale) was in a coma, Julian Albert (Tom Felton) reveals he is Doctor Alchemy, the lead acolyte of Savitar and the one restoring meta-humans from Flashpoint.
Many fans suspected Alchemy was Julian — who was put into the timeline as a consequence of Barry Allen’s (Grant Gustin) actions — but in the weeks leading up to the reveal, he was often dismissed on Reddit threads as a red herring. Now, it’s been made explicit that Julian was Alchemy all along. (It also just so happens that Alchemy is armed with the Philosopher’s Stone. Is Hogwarts canon to the DC Universe?)
There’s still a lot of questions surrounding Julian’s service to Savitar. Mainly, is Julian actually working for Savitar, or is he a forced servant? Comic readers know Julian Albert is inspired by Albert Desmond, the first to become Doctor Alchemy in Showcase #13 in 1958. In the comics, Albert suffered from dissociative identity disorder (DID) and has two identities: law-abiding citizen and master criminal. It was in his darker personality that Albert used his expertise to become Doctor Alchemy, and after being defeated by the Flash, Alchemy finds the Philosopher’s Stone, adding a new tool to his skill set.
Julian (Tom Felton) is a temporary hostage to Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker), who slowly spirals into her Killer Frost persona, in "Killer Frost."
It’s possible that while Julian is Doctor Alchemy, he may not have been in control of his faculties. At the end of “Killer Frost,” he’s alarmed to hear Savitar’s voice in his head in the hospital. But he was also suspiciously calm when he pulls out his Alchemy costume in the Central City PD forensics lab. While The Flash thankfully kept this mystery from going on too long, there are still only more questions than answers.
The Flash airs Tuesdays on the CW.
