Holy speedsters! Are we seeing double? The latest episode of The Flash kept the momentum going into episode two of the second season, without any disappointments. And what’s more, we got a double dose of Flash action this week along with a super cool history lesson about the DC Multiverse without even coming close to being boring. Nicely done, writers. Barry Allen teams up with Jay Garrick, we meet Patty Spivot, and more on The Flash: “Flash of Two Worlds.” Spoiler alert.
They Called Me The Flash
Last week in the cliffhanger on The Flash, Jay Garrick waltzed right through the new “securer” doors of S.T.A.R. labs with nearly perfect timing as Cisco went on about the new security upgrades to the facility. Ha! Can we say epic fail? Jay just walked right on in. This week, the storyline picked up right where we last left off, with Jay attempting to warn Barry Allen and the rest of the gang about a new threat to them and Central City: a new super villain by the name of Zoom. That’s when we got our much needed history lesson about the DC Multiverse, thanks to Mr. Garrick, the Flash from Earth-2—even though technically he came first. Just saying.
As Jay explained—but way more eloquently—he came to Earth-1, or rather was sucked into the singularity portal that Barry and the gang opened up six months ago when they were attempting to simultaneously send Eobard Thawne back to the future and Barry back to the past to save his mother. And though the timing couldn’t have been more perfect for the scientist turned “Crimson Comet”—he was getting his you know what handed to him by Zoom at the time of the singularity incident—it also meant that trouble could come to Earth-1 through that same breach, and more specifically Central City. That it did. Not long after Jay landed in Central City, sans his speed force, apparently so did Zoom, who has a definite ax to grind with the Jay Garrick’s Flash and now that he knows about Barry Allen’s Flash, him too. Not that anyone necessarily believed Jay’s story; especially Barry, at least not at first. With that, into a metahuman prisoner holding cell Jay went. Can you blame Barry after everything that’s happened?
Trust Issues
It’s no real surprise that poor Barry is having some trust issues after the whole I-trusted-Harrison-Wells-and-it-turns-out-he-killed-my-mother thing. Who wouldn’t? The only problem is in the midst of his justified trust issues he was overlooking the obvious. Iris said it best when she told him “not everyone is Harrison Wells.” Right, Iris, there are also Zooms as well, which apparently are even worse. So, there’s that. Besides, the best way to prove someone’s innocence, or guilt, is to check out their story, right? So they did; although it was kind of inconclusive, at first. But that didn’t stop pervy Caitlin from doing a thorough analysis. Hey, she’s a professional doing her job…sort of.
As it turns out, Jay Garrick was telling the truth and all he had to do was mention his helmet, which if you remember was one of the first things to come through the portal six months back just before Barry went back in time to save his mother, but didn’t. Now proven himself to Barry and the gang, Jay had to then convince Barry to let him teach him how to use his speed force to defeat the villain of the week: a Zoom soldier by the name of Sand Demon. Aww, it was kind of reminiscent of Barry’s student-teacher days with Dr. Wells before he found out Dr. Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne/The Reverse-Flash was really his nemesis, but way better because they’re actually on the same side.
The Speedster Team Up
Thanks to the “beautiful mind” of Dr. Stein, as Cisco called him, we learned that there wasn’t just one breach or portal that opened up in the singularity, but actually 52. If that number looks oddly familiar, it should, after all it’s the exact number of universes in the DC Comics Multiverse. These non parallel universes then contain doppelgangers of everyone, that’s how we have two Flashes. Super cool, right? You know who else has a doppelganger? Eddie Slick, the metahuman from Earth-2 who was sent through the portal by Zoom to Earth-1 to kill Jay Garrick’s version of the Flash, and when he learned that Barry Allen was there, him too.
After his first unsuccessful confrontation with the Sand Demon, it was clear the “Scarlett Speedster” was going to need some help with taking him down. Now having reconciled with the Flash from Earth-2, Jay, the two quickly got to work on helping Barry to attempt to harness his speed force skills so that he could create lightening. He would then use the lightening to strike the Sand Demon, which upon contact would create glass and instantly kill him in the process. Cool science lesson aside, it was an epic moment to watch both Jay Garrick/”Crimson Comet” and Barry Allen/”Scarlet Speedster” rescue Patty Spivot, just like they did together in the DC Comics.
Cisco Has Vibrations
A recap about this week’s episode of The Flash just wouldn’t be complete without mention of Cisco’s developing metahuman powers. Though he is somewhat skeptical of having his new abilities and doesn’t want anyone to know about them—aside from Dr. Stein, whom he confided in—he is learning to tap into his abilities more readily with each passing episode of this new season. After all it was his “vibrations” that helped pinpoint where the Sand Demon was holding Patty Spivot hostage and helped reveal what his plans were for killing the Flash. Since this show doesn’t waste any time, I suspect it won’t be long before Cisco has his costume, is wearing those iconic shades that we got a sneak peek at last season, and calling himself Vibe. It’s quite masterful how it’s all coming together, don’t you think?
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8:00pm EST on CW.