Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for The Flash season 8, episode 16.

Barry Allen did a bad thing when he destroyed Caitlin Snow's lab in the final scene of The Flash season 8 episode "The Curious Case of Bartholomew Allen.” While Barry may have been right to be concerned by his friend's actions, his reaction went over the top and only served to escalate the underlying issues that pushed Caitlin to go behind his back. It now seems inevitable that Caitlin will fall to darkness and Barry will now hold some responsibility for that.

The growing tension between Caitlin and Barry has been part of the background of The Flash season 8. When Caitlin felt there was a chance that her husband Ronnie Raymond might have survived the singularity that nearly destroyed Central City in The Flash season 2 and come back confused as the Cold Fusion Killer, Barry denied her the chance to try and save her husband's life. The fact that Barry was later proven right to be skeptical and that Caitlin's actions led to the creation of the entropy avatar Deathstorm did not negate his hypocrisy in refusing to help Caitlin in her efforts. Barry had done more drastic things in his efforts to protect his wife, Iris, and Caitlin called him out on this point, noting that she and Team Flash had "fallen in line for you and Iris on more than one occasion."

Related: The Flash Season 8's Best Episode Reveals A Fatal Arrowverse Flaw

Barry's earlier refusal to help Caitlin and her guilt over her role in the creation of Deathstorm pushed her to drastic steps following the death of Frost. Following her sister's funeral, Caitlin transformed their apartment into a lab and sought the help of Frost's boyfriend Chillblaine in getting the materials she needed to replicate the experiments that transformed Frost from Caitlin's disassociated identity into a flesh and blood woman with her own body. Barry discovered what Caitlin was up to and reacted violently, releasing lightning from his body in a controlled explosion that destroyed Caitlin's lab, even as she cried and pleaded for him to stop. This seemed a bit much, given his powers would have allowed him to disassemble Caitlin’s lab in seconds just as effectively and far more safely.

The Flash Season 8 Barry Destroys Caitlin's Lab

Barry's extreme reaction does make sense within the context of the Arrowverse version of Flashpoint and Caitlin's choice of words justifying her actions. When trying to explain herself, Caitlin asked Barry if he could honestly say he wouldn't use his scientific knowledge to bring back a dead loved one if it were possible to save his father or his mother. Caitlin seemed to have forgotten that Barry did try to use his powers to save his parents and nearly destroyed their timeline in the process, which is doubly odd given that the creation of her Frost persona was one of the side-effects born of the Flashpoint reality. That being said, it still seems oddly out of character for Barry to react so forcefully rather than try and talk some sense into a hurting friend.

Unfortunately, there's little drama to be found be found in the question of whether or not Caitlin will save her sister, as it has already been spoiled that Frost will not be resurrected. The bigger question at this point is if Caitlin will fully break bad having been twice thwarted by Barry Allen. Danielle Panabaker has yet to sign on for The Flash season 9 but it might be an interesting twist if Barry's actions cause her to take a villainous turn in the next year, perhaps assuming the Killer Frost identity she long denied.

More: Arrowverse Finally Admits Its Biggest Team Flash Problem

The Flash releases new episodes on Wednesdays on The CW.