Hello, all! My name is Josh and I’ll be filling in for Dan over the next few episodes! I’m new to doing TV reviews but I do love talking about the Arrowverse! To begin, I’ll start with a bit of my feelings of the second season of The Flash. I loved everything about this season until “Jay Garrick” was killed at the end of “Escape from Earth 2.” Then things got a little too convoluted for me. Jay was really Zoom and I am predicting that the man in the iron mask on Earth 2 is the real Jay Garrick. Besides that, the thing that bothered me the most were how the breaches being reopened were dealt with: Cisco uses his vibe power to open one and when he stops, it closes. So why would the later breach stay open? And why can Zoom go back with Wally? That being said, Zoom won and took both Barry’s powers and Caitlyn at the end of the last episode. I really think that the show has been suffering. Long story short, I think it will get better going into the last four episodes.
As explained in Dan’s review and a little bit above, Barry Allen is longer The Fastest Man Alive. The episode begins by showing how he lived his normal life with super speed and then without. It all leads him back to the remaining team members at STAR Labs, where Harry reaffirms that he didn’t like the plan that led them here. I really am glad someone agrees it was a stupid plan, but then Barry started gloating. Harry once again searches for his daughter and finds her, but even with Zoom on the loose, Jessie doesn’t want to go back with him because of the man he murdered trying to save her.
Harry leaves and gets stopped in his van by Griffin Grey, who literally stops the van by becoming a human roadblock and taking Harry. Griffin has super strength but also ages faster than normal because of his metahuman power. Griffin was introduced back when Bart Allen (Barry’s Grandson) took over as The Flash in The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive back in 2006. I loved that series but it sadly ended before it could find itself. Anyways, Griffin of course, thinks Harry is Harrison Wells of Earth 1, because why not? I thought he was declared dead in the papers back at the beginning of the season, but whatever. Griffin wants Harry to fix him or he’ll be killed.
The team gets Jessie and explains that they need her help with both Harry and Caitlyn missing. I love that on Earth 2 she has 6 majors in college because it shows them having fun with Earth 2. I am really hoping that Jessie will be joining the team full-time next season. She is a great addition to the cast and I feel she adds some sort of spunk that is missing. This leads to Griffin versus Team Flash which leads to them getting beat and Barry getting hurt. Barry also sees Griffin getting older as he uses his strength. After getting some dwarf star alloy from Team Arrow (which I guess they don’t use in their suits after what happened over there, or maybe now they do) they reinforce the chest of Barry’s Flash suit so that it can take one heavy hit from Griffin.
Armored up, Barry, Joe, Cisco, and Jessie head out to save Harry and trick Griffin into making it seem like the Flash has his powers, of course. Griffin falls for it and is eventually taken down by growing old, dying, and then reverting back to his younger self once he was dead. I am upset with this because a lot of the meta-humans from Earth 1 or 2 get killed – one and done. What makes the death worse here is that it does seem like he only wanted to be saved from his powers. He really was crying for help and I wish we would have seen Team Flash help a bit more.
Now Harry is saved and Jessie returns to stay at Star Labs with her father. That’s it for the weekly baddie of the week, otherwise known as plot A. We had a B, C and D plot in this episode which I thought it would be better to tackle one at a time because they will play out more than the A plot in the long run. So for me, B plot was Zoom and Caitlyn on Earth 2. Caitlyn is stuck there, but Zoom lets her roam around his lair and she finds the man in the iron mask as well as the Earth 2 version of herself, Killer Frost. We don’t get to see too many counterparts interact and I am kind of glad they saved it for these two because Caitlyn Snow in the comics is Killer Frost and more like her Earth 2 counterpart. They make a plan to help Frost escape from her prison and then Frost would lead Caitlyn out of the evil lair of Zoom.
Iron Mask tries to get their attention but receives nothing but a death threat from Killer Frost. Caitlyn gets her out and Killer Frost immediately betrays her even after they spent some time bonding. Zoom saves Caitlyn and kills Killer Frost with her own ice. Zoom ends it with wanting to take over every Earth he can. This is different from what Reverse Flash wanted, but I really am over the speedster villains for each season. I am hoping for a change in Season 3. I think I would enjoy it more if it was a villain from Earth 2 with other powers.
I’ll finish up with both plots C and D. The C plot was Wally wanting to say thanks to The Flash. I haven’t been the biggest fan of Wally just because they are shoeing him in where they can and I would have been okay with maybe having him in a guest role. This episode though, they didn’t do much but it had a big impact on the connection between Wally and The Flash. I liked it a lot, but I just don’t buy him being Kid Flash in the future, like he has been in the comics. He feels more like Impulse with the personality he has been given. I doubt he’ll be Impulse since that is Bart Allen, but yeah that would fit here. I am hoping to see more growth and direction with Wally, like maybe trying to help the Flash a bit like Roy did with the Arrow but in his own way.
The D plot was just the Barry and Iris romantic plot they are bringing back up. These two feel like brother and sister, and the chemistry the actors have is just that. I don’t see them as a romantic on-screen couple, not even as their Earth 2 counterparts. They keep hinting and trying for it but I’d be happier if Barry’s ex, Patty, could come back or something. It isn’t the comic book, I always say that and I mean it. This is a different universe and can do different things just like Oliver and Felicity and Legends of Tomorrow.