The Flash 2.18 “Versus Zoom”

The Flash returned with an all-new episode last week and man, oh, man was it epic! We’ve known Teddy Sears as Jay Garrick for most of Season Two, but this episode lets us get to know him as Hunter Zolomon, serial killer, psycho, and all around whack-a-doo, who has been toying with all of Team Flash just for the hell of it since the season began. What amazed me about this episode is how easy Sears slips into the role of Zolomon. I mean, I had liked his Jay Garrick. I thought his Jay Garrick was a decent man, every bit the hero that Barry Allen was. To see it all melt away and find the madman behind the mask will give you chills and also appreciate how good Sears is in the role.

What works best about this episode is that we get to see the shattered childhood Zolomon had that went into freefall when he watched his father murder his mother in cold blood. The parallel to Barry’s own tragic loss is really off-set by how each one was treated after the event that would come to define them. Zolomon was shuffled off to an orphanage and became a murderer. Barry was taken in by Joe West and became the Man Who Saved Central City. Environment and nurturing, kids; never underestimate them. That is defined perfectly by one man willing to kill an innocent bystander, in this case, Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale), to get what he wants and another man willing to do whatever it takes just to keep that innocent bystander alive, even if it means giving up his powers.

Another great aspect of this episode was watching Cisco master his ability to not only vibe off of people but to actually open up the breaches to other worlds.  And to realize just how powerful he could really be. If I haven’t said it lately, let me do so now: Carlos Valdes is awesome as Cisco. Vibe was such a bad, BAD character back in the 1980s. The fact that anyone could make me like him now, much less make him one of my favorite characters on my favorite television show, speaks volumes for his talent and the writers of The Flash.

The one issue I had with this episode is the fact that Barry gives up his speed away, WAY too easily. True, he is doing it to save Wally’s life, but this is going to make ending Zoom’s reign of terror all the more difficult. I know Team Flash has something up their sleeve, and it will be interesting to see what it is. For now, it is looking pretty bleak for the Flash and his team. Also, I’m more than a little concerned for the safety of Caitlin, who Zolomon abducted at the end of the episode.

Still, this is a minor quibble at best and it surely doesn’t take away from this great episode, which I will score a solid 4 Stars.