Buckle up Flash fans, we’re heading to Earth-2!
With the overture of a Harrison Wells monologue, speaking to Jesse, stating that he is coming for her, it really set the tone for this episode and what will likely be the mentality for many episodes to come. From the start, the spirit is determined, yet upbeat. Last weeks pep-talk/team hype-up seems to have changed the morale inside of Wells’ head. Transitioning into a birds eye view, urgency strikes as we see Barry bolting around Central City, throwing the charges into the breaches and closing them. In a blink of an eye, 51 of the 52 breaches are closed, the last being right below them in the S.T.A.R. Labs basement.
With their eyes on becoming a team to save Harry’s daughter, the focus turns toward the very place that has been a mystery to this point in the season, Earth-2. Jesse’s location, as well as Zoom, is still unknown, but we see a determined trio ready to get going and figure it out. Against hesitation from Iris, worrying that Barry is reeling from the sudden departure of Patty and that he is trying to escape. Barry’s reply is sweet and sincere, ensuring her that he is going nowhere, and that he is going to come back.
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The team wastes no time in preparing for their jump, hastily heading to the speed cannon, eager to traverse through the breach and into the void. With some warnings from Jay, like not getting too emotionally attached to the new place and not get caught up in what they will see inside of the portal, he kickstarted the cannon and off the three went, with a few surprises in store.
Obviously, the big news was the confirmation of the crossover between The Flash and Supergirl rocked the headlines, but no one, not even I, expected to see her confirmed inside of the show. To explain, the middle of the breach pulled “visions,” with the former Flash played by John Wesley Shipp, Gorilla Grodd, Connor Hawke, Jonah Hex and Supergirl dotted the screen, offering a glimpse of just how big this multiverse is.
Once arriving in Earth-2 Central City, Barry and Cisco were instantly amazed at the grandeur of the city. Personally, I love the hybrid design of Central City on Earth 2. It had a very 40’s/50’s mixed with a futuristic feeling. It had that sense of old school and new school values that really contrasted the modern day Central City that we are used to seeing each week. Back on Earth-1, once the three made their way through the breach, tragedy struck with the speed cannon, as the massive amount of energy that is usually diluted through 52 breaches, instead accelerated through the sole breach and caused a massive ripple that broke the cannon apart. Clearly a cause for concern, as Caitlin, Jay and Joe now have 48 hours to figure out a way to bring them back.
With an urgency to stick to the plan, Barry, Cisco and Harry head to S.T.A.R. Labs to map out a plan and use Cisco’s vibe abilities to hopefully put a pin on the map of Zoom’s and Jesse’s location. Putting on his new goggles, Cisco tries and fails a couple of times to vibe and able to see anything. Quickly realizing the issue, Harry realizes that both Earths vibrate on separate wavelengths, so the use of the goggles is limited to a specific band.
Of course, being in a parallel world is interesting enough, throw in the fact that doppelgängers are out and about. While listening to the news on TV, attention was drawn to a familiar face talking about the latest development with Zoom.
Introducing, Earth-2 Barry Allen.
Without hesitation, Barry sped away and returned with his E-2 counterpart. The shock of being ripped away, plus the sight of an identical twin would be enough to make someone faint, but it was the shell shock of meeting Harrison Wells that sent E-2 Barry into a frenzy. Imagine a teenage girl meeting a Kardashian, but instead, it was a geeky twenty-something meeting a renowned scientist.
While E-2 Barry droned on about Harry’s work, Barry tasered the other and knocked him out. What a better way to figure things out than to hide in plain sight as well, yourself.
Heading for CCPD, Barry was slapped with another huge reality, in this alternate world, we finally get to see another Allen. Iris West-Allen, to be more specific. Quickly finding out that he is married to his former love, Barry is hit with what could be the first emotional hurdle.
With two worlds in play, we see double the villains. However, some of this week’s foes take on a familiar face, or faces. In the form of Caitlin Snow and Ronnie Raymond, we finally meet Killer Frost and Deathstorm. On the polar end of the hero-villain scale from their counterparts, both are out for mayhem, as they sense the breach and immediately go hunting. On Earth-1, Joe, Caitlin and Jay are left without their key hero, and have to deal with Adam Fells, A.K.A. Geomancer.
With the strong ability to create tremors, not much is really explored with him in this episode. He is merely a mention for most of the episode, causing problems around Central City, and it’s not really until about 3/4 the way through that he is finally confronted by Joe and CCPD.
Heading back to Earth-2, Barry is hit with another emotional point. After returning to their home, or the West household in E-1, Iris tells Barry that his mother called. Although the entire undertone of the series so far has revolved around the murder of his mother by Eobard Thawne, it was a different change of pace to hear a dramatic scene between Barry and his mother, despite it being from different worlds. Nonetheless, it shows the deep emotional attachment between the two, even though we only hear from his mother and not a face-to-face interaction.
Barry is obviously happy but sad at the same time, as he talks with a person he has not heard from in years. Although, we also get a small easter egg in the form of Atlantis, a place that Barry bought his parents tickets to. Confirming that both Supergirl and Aquaman exist in. That number can quickly grow also, as the speed dial reads Bruce, Diana and Hal. Were these names bigger hints at the existence of Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern or just fun little easter eggs? While we know that through the confirmation of Supergirl in this universe, that adds Superman to the fold as well.
Let’s just say, it’s the little things that explode and make a big splash.
Joe West had a big play in this episode, with drama unfolding in each and every way. Facing a Central City with no Flash for the first time in a long while, E-1 Joe seemed scatterbrained throughout, clearly having trouble keeping himself sane. He even goes as far as applying pressure to Jay to take Velocity-6. On Earth-2, Barry learns that his marriage to Iris and his want to become a CSI has created an air of disdain around Joe and Barry’s relationship. Blaming him for putting his daughter in harms way since she became a cop to pay for his graduate school, Barry seemingly repaired this broken relationship, when he saved Iris in the Jitterbug (E-2’s version of CC Jitters) in the first battle between Barry, Killer Frost and Deathstorm. The only victim was Joe, taking a blast from Deathstorm. The drama continues into the hospital, where Joe and Iris exchange last words, and ultimately forgiving Barry before passing away. Wally makes a small appearance, heading to CCPD to talk to Joe about something, but is quickly quieted as Geomancer begins to cause issues again. He walks past and we are left wondering what he needed to say.
Following the pressure applied by Joe, Jay finally reveals his illness to Caitlin. He goes on to explain his past, how he gaining his speed wasn’t enough and that he wanted more. He experiments with Velocity-6 back on E-2 to boost his speed even more, but it ends up hurting him and making him sick in the process. But instead of wallowing in the past, they look ahead to an exciting development.
Quickly rushing to confront Geomancer, Fells reveals what has been apparent. He states that he knows the Flash is missing, stating that he has been causing tremors all over without the intervention of Central City’s protector. He begins to attack, but is thwarted by a new speedster with an old face. Jay Garrick, Earth-2’s Flash, sped up to the scene and stopped Fells in the act. However, the heroics were short-lived, as the newly designed Velocity-7 wore off faster than expected, leaving Jay in a vulnerable state. However, Joe managed to fire some rounds into the foe and neutralize him.
It was definitely an exciting sight to see Jay coming back into his own, regardless of how brief it was. It’s clear now that Jay is ready to experiment again with a Velocity serum that does good and not bad. Whatever the chance, Jay’s health is declining, so the sense of urgency is greater.
The final twist to the episode was the confrontation of Cisco, Harry and Iris against the destructive duo. In the middle of a warehouse, we get another doppelgänger joining the party. Out of the shadows, emerges Reverb, Cisco’s twin from Earth-2. It’s evident that Reverb is more powerful than everyone else, as he act’s like Darth Vader, even so far as to be quoted by Cisco, “are you Vader-ing me?”
Flexing his power, he attempts to influence Cisco to join him and hone his powers, knowing full well that Cisco hasn’t quite tapped into his potential. Resisting the tempt of power, he calls in the Flash to take everyone down. But he ultimately falters against an onslaught of meta-humans. Triple-teamed and out-gunned, Deathstorm and Reverb lose their heads and unleash a brutal beatdown on Barry, despite Killer Frost’s cries to stop.
Enlisting the three to capture the Flash whenever the time comes, Zoom appears in the mix of things and strikes down Deathstorm and Reverb for falling out of place. He spares Frost’s life after recognizing that someone knows their place. He sees a battered Flash and takes his opportunity to take him on his own. Barry awakens in a cell, surrounded by numerous figures, but one in particular – Jesse Wells. Calling out, he says that he will get her out of here, but is cut off by Zoom, who eerily speaks to him, clearly exhilarated from the capture of his biggest enemy.
In the final scene, all that remains clear is this, the team has 24 hours to save Barry and as the title reads, Escape From Central City.
Overall, the episode was a good change of things. It was a different exposure being in a new world. Clearly, the universe is A LOT bigger than just Flash, Arrow and the Legends of Tomorrow. Beyond Earth-1, as already assumed, is a host of heroes and villains that are just waiting for their time to show up. With the complexity that is the DC Universe, we may not see the big names that we hope to see appear, but one thing is for sure. They’re out there.
