The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 11 - The Reverse Flash Returns

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

The return of Eobard Thawne was the last thing Team Flash thought they had to worry about following Eddie's noble sacrifice. So when Cisco announces that he had a vibe of The Reverse Flash returning in his original body, nobody takes it seriously... until Dr. Tina McGee is kidnapped by a familiar figure in a yellow suit and her tachyon device is stolen again! Meanwhile, Iris tries to make peace with her mother and tries to build a bridge to her estranged brother Wally, as Caitlin struggles to find a cure for the ailing Jay Garrick.


Influences

Mark Waid's The Return of Barry Allen  (established Eobard Thawne as a Flash fanboy from a future where the 21st century superheroes were forgotten and went mad when he discovered he was destined to become his hero's greatest enemy) and Back To The Future (Cisco's fading out of existence is visually similar to what happens to Marty after he nearly causes his parents to never fall in love and the phrase 'back to the future" is dropped several times.)


Goofs

Barry's sudden fears about Zoom or the Reverse Flash being able to use Patty against him seem rather nonsensical. Ignoring that ignorance is a poor shield and that Patty's life as a cop is dangerous enough as-is, The Turtle nearly killed Patty last week in spite of her knowing nothing about Barry's life as The Flash! And ignorance of Barry's secret didn't help Iris at all during Season One!

For that matter, there's no good reason why her leaving to become finish her degree CSI means they have to end their romance other than giving Barry more "I am destined to give up everything to be a hero" angst. Heck, given Barry's powers, he would have an easier time than most coping with a long-distance relationship.

Really, apart from building the drama, there's no good reason why Jay should tell Caitlin to wait a day and to meet him at a park in order to explain why her plan to replace his genetic material with that of his Earth One counterpart won't work.


Performances

One of the biggest problems with the first season of The Flash was that Candice Patton was so rarely given any action of consequence beyond being a love interest or a hostage. Here, she gets two great scenes - one in which Irish confronts and forgives the mother who abandoned her and one where she confronts her estranged brother about his need to find peace with their mother as well. Both are powerful scenes and she sells both beautifully.

As stupid as Barry and Patty's respective decisions as characters are, Grant Gustin and Shantel VanSanten sell the hell out of them. Their chemistry is amazing and it is heart breaking watching Barry and Patty break-up because Barry is too noble to ask Patty to stay with him and give up her dream and she wants nothing more than to hear him say he wants her to share his life, come what may.

It's a subtle thing, but Harry's attitude toward Cisco changes slowly over the course of this episode and Tom Cavanagh does a masterful job of playing it up. From his annoyance to Cisco's slurping his coffee to his newfound enthusiasm for helping Cisco take control of his powers to the tense scenes in which Harry is the first person to start screaming at Barry about doing whatever it takes to save Cisco's life.  This final scene is particularly stunning and reminds us of the conflict from last season where - despite knowing Eobard Thawne's status as a villain - we still weren't exactly what to make of him. This season, we know that Harry is working to betray the team but he still feels something for the people who are helping him to save his daughter.


Artistry

The opening sequence - in which Barry has to stop a speeding, out-of-control chemical truck - is a nice bit of ironic comedy and a display of Barry's intelligence and creativity saving the day in a situation where just running fast isn't enough.  The entire sequence is also well directed.

The whole scene in which Barry races to save Dr. McGee from The Reverse Flash.  Effects. Direction. Performances. Everything.


Flash Facts

Einstein's Riddle is a famous logic puzzle apocryphally attributed to the famous physicist. It is also attributed to Lewis Carroll. Whoever created it, it's good at proving the point that anything can be solved through a long consideration of known facts and the process of elimination.

The goggles which Harry modifies for Cisco to wear in order to stimulate his powers resemble the goggles worn by Cisco's comic-book counterpart as part of his Vibe costume.

Another nod to the importance of the number 52 - Christina McGee dies at 9:52 pm in Cisco's vision.

The revelation that Eobard Thawne was a Flash fanboy from a future where the superheroes of the 21st century were legends whose identities were lost to history is taken from a Mark Waid Flash comic called The Return of Barry Allen. This comic revealed that Eobard Thawne duplicated the accident that created The Flash and traveled back in time in order to meet his hero.  He wound up arriving in a museum devoted to The Flash several centuries after Barry Allen's death and discovered that a man named Eobard Thawne from his time period traveled back in time and become The Flash's greatest enemy. This knowledge drove Thawne mad and made him determined to destroy the legacy he'd once sought to emulate.

Jay Garrick reveals that his Earth One counterpart is a man named Hunter Zolomon. In the comics, Hunter Zolomon is the name of the man who became the second Reverse Flash a.k.a. Zoom.


Technobabble

Harry determines that Cisco's Vibe powers depend upon an adrenaline rush to function and for dopamine to flood his brain. He confronts Cisco in the Reverse Flash costume, triggering a vision of The Reverse Flash kidnapping Tina McGee.

Harry theorizes that The Speed Force may have protected Eobard Thawne from the consequences of a time paradox, keeping his personal timeline intact in order to prevent the greater problems caused by his never existing at all. This turned Eobard Thawne's personal time-line into a time-line remnant.

This means that while Eddie Thawne killing himself did kill off his future descendant, it would not stop versions of Eobard Thawne who were outside of normal time and space from existing at moments prior to that moment on his personal timeline, where his presence was needed to bring about a fixed point in time - such as Nora Allen's death. So  Barry can do nothing to this younger version of Eobard Thawne because the consequences of the younger Thawne not going on to become his older self - such as Cisco fading out of reality due to what the older version of Thawne did to him - could be disastrous.

Caitlin comes up with a plan to cure the condition that is causing Jay Garrick to break down on a cellular level by replacing his dying cells with fresh living cells from his Earth One counterpart. Jay later tells her this won't work because he tracked down his Earth One counterpart and due to his genetics having been mutated by the accident that gave him his speed powers, their DNA would not match.

Thawne tells Dr. McGee to isolate and accelerate the energetic properties of the tachyons so he can use them to power himself up to achieve the speed needed to travel through time.

Harry adds a wavelength trigger to Cisco's goggles. This stimulates the fear receptors in Cisco's brain. Harry also took what Cisco had in the goggles to induce slow-wave sleep (aka Stage 3 sleep) and upgraded it to immediately send Cisco into Stage 4 Sleep (aka delta sleep). This gives them greater control over Cisco's vibes and allows them to focus his visions as well as dictate how long they last. This leads to the discovery that Cisco can see not only what has happened but also what might happen - not just in alternate timelines but in the immediate future of Earth One - as he sees Christina McGee's death some four hours before it is due to occur.

Harry says that superluminal energy is needed to send someone through time. Superluminal is the technical term for faster-than-light.

Thawne's imprisonment leads to Cisco entering a prolonged state of chronic seizing as an uncontrollable amount of electrical energy overwhelms his brain. This is due to the side-effects of the paradox caused by Barry's intention to lock up Eobard Thawne forever, thus preventing him from going on to give Cisco his powers.

Caitlin uses Benzodiazepine to sedate Cisco. This is the name of a class of drugs routinely used for treating anxiety conditions, sleep disorders and seizures.


Dialogue Triumphs

Barry (opening narration) There are many reasons why we run but usually it's to avoid what's right in front of us. A decision to be made or a dilemma we have to face. Lately, for me, it feels like running is all I've been doing.

Patty: Look Barry, I get that you're upset but I was hoping it wouldn't be like this between us.
Barry: Uh...  what did you think it was going to be like?
Patty: I... just thought we could at least talk before I left.
Barry: You're moving. I don't know, I mean... it just doesn't feel like there's much to talk about now. Right?
Patty: I guess not.

The Reverse Flash: Flash?
The Flash: Eobard Thawne?
The Reverse Flash: You know who I am?!
The Flash: You died!
The Reverse Flash: (pause) Good to know. And guess what Flash? I know what time period you're from. So that means very soon...YOU will die.

Iris: I have so many great memories from when I grew up. Now, when I think about those memories, I can only wonder what it would have been like if you and Wally had been there. (sobbing) I'm not angry at you anymore for what happened. I just wish you would have come back to us a lot sooner. Because I would have forgiven you then. Just like I'm forgiving you now.

Patty: You're just rolling with the whole "me leaving" thing?
Barry: Yeah, well I don't know what to tell you, Patty. Everyone in my life that I love leaves at some point. I'm kind of getting used to it.
Patty: You never told me that you love me...
Barry: Yeah, I guess I don't get that chance now.
Patty: I don't understand... what is it? What's going on with you? Why are you being like this?
Barry: My life is complicated and I don't want you to have regrets. Alright? I don't want you to miss out on something that you've always wanted to do and... I wish that things were different for both of us, you know, but they're not. Sorry.
Patty: Me too.

Cisco: Are you telling me I can see the future?!
Harry: That is exactly what I am telling you.
Cisco: Those goggles are getting named. Immediately.

Iris: I saw Mom today. She says you haven't been by in a while.
Wally: Yeah. She knows why.
Iris: She thinks it's because you're angry with her.
Wally: I have every right to be angry. Nothing for 20 years, then out of nowhere she tells me I have a sister? I have a father?
Iris: Yeah, the same thing happened to me too, remember? But that shouldn't keep you from seeing her before you can't anymore.
Wally: No,look...That's not what it is.
Iris: Then what is it, Wally?
Wally: I've got to go.
Iris: Last year my fiance died. Unexpectedly. One moment he was here and then the next - gone. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to him. To tell him everything that he meant to me. That he was my world. That he was loved. But today, I got to say goodbye to your mom - my mom  - and it helped us both to find peace with what happened to our family. Wally, don't make a mistake you're going to regret the rest of your life. Go see your mom... while you still can.

Patty: I know you're The Flash, Barry!
Barry: Patty, c'mon...
Patty: Please don't make me feel any more stupid than I already do. Look, I'm a detective and I should have known. I was just... I was so smitten with you.
Barry: Okay, look... what... what you're saying?  It's... insane...
Patty: Look, you don't have to lie to me anymore, okay? I understand! I understand why you didn't want to tell me! I understand why you've been distant. Look, I understand everything! But just tell me the truth now. Just be honest with me!  Just... admit to me you're The Flash and I'll stay.
Barry: I can't do that. I'm not him.
Patty: That's too bad.  It would have been nice to stay. (starting to cry) Fight crime during the day. Be with you at night, but... I was wrong.  Take care Barry.

Barry: Why do you hate me so much?
Thawne: I didn't always. I was obsessed with you. For so long, I wanted to be The Flash. I spent years figuring out how you came to be. Duplicated the reaction... and it worked. (laughs) I became like you.
Barry: So what happened?
Thawne: This ability to travel through time revealed a truth - my fate was to become your greatest enemy. I was never going to be The Flash. So I became the reverse of everything that you were. The more people you saved...the more you were loved, the more I had to take from you.
Barry: That is why you killed my mother? That's why you ruined my life? Because you couldn't be me?
Thawne: (angrily) I became better than you! I am the one thing you cannot stop, Flash!
Barry: No. No, no, no. Not anymore.  Our race is over. And you lost.
Thawne: I've learned what time period you're from, Flash. And one day soon, I'll learn your name.

Harry: Thawne knows about you. Right here. Right now. This is where he learns about you, all of you. It's how he knows about STAR Labs, how he knows about me  (correcting himself) - the Harrison Wells of this Earth. There's nothing you can do about it. This is his origin story. And it's going to happen no matter what you do. But right here? Right now? You can send him back to his time. You can save your friend. You can save Cisco. And then move on your life..
Joe: This could be a good thing. You could finally let go of him.
Barry: I could throw him three centuries from now and he'll always be a part of me.

(learning that Barry helped Thawne return to his own time to save him)
Cisco: You let him go?
Barry: I couldn't let him take another person I cared about.

(Barry's phone vibrates. He sees that it's from Patty)
Barry: That's weird. (answering it) Hello?
Patty: Barry? I'm on the train!  There's a - there's a man with a gun.
Barry: All right, uh - hold on. I - I - I'll get you help.
(Barry changes into his costume, runs out of Central City, catches up with her train and boards it in a rush of wind.)
The Flash: Is everyone okay?
Patty: Everyone's fine.
(Patty stands up in the aisle and looks at him.)
Patty:  It was a false alarm. Thanks for coming so fast, Flash.
(The Flash nods and stops vibrating his face)
The Flash: Just want to make sure everything's okay before I go.
Patty: Don't worry. Everything's good.
(The Flash nods and runs off. Patty sits back down and watches the lighting streak off in the distance.)
Patty: Goodbye Barry.


Continuity

It is confirmed that The Turtle is dead following what Harry did to take a genetic sample from him last week.  Harry was able, however, to make the death look like a natural aneurysm.

The version of Eobard Thawne we see in this episode comes from before he made his fateful attempt to kill Barry Allen's mother, became trapped in the past and replaced the Earth One version of Harrison Wells.

As he arrives in the year 2016, this version of Thawne (addressed as Professor by Gideon), is ignorant as to what time period The Flash is originally from, let alone what his real name is and what he looks like without a mask.

Cisco and Harry's actions while Thawne is captured, however, do set the stage for actions that Thawne will take in the future - i.e. killing and replacing Earth One Harrison Wells, building STAR Labs and giving Cisco his Vibe powers.

Barry suggests they should focus on closing the breaches rather than how to slow Zoom down. Cisco insists this is as impossible as solving Einstein's Riddle.

Albert Einsten was apparently also a famous physicist on Earth Two and Harry is familiar with his work and Einstein's Riddle, claiming to have solved it when he was ten.

Cisco refers to his attempts to vibe Dr. Light (205) and Harry (206) in trying to figure out what causes his powers to trigger, noting that it occurred seemingly at random and when he touched someone from another Earth.

The secret room where Eobard Thawne kept Gideon and his costume has been dubbed The Time Vault by Team Flash.

Harry determines that Cisco's Vibe powers are dependent on an adrenaline rush to function.

Dr. Tina McGee is seen for the first time since 204.

Dr. McGee refers to the events of 109 and The Reverse Flash stealing her tachyon device one year earlier.

Patty figures out that Barry is The Flash based on information in his case files that only The Flash could have known.

Patty refers to how Joe told her she had to become a good liar as part of their job in 204, while noting that Joe sucks at lying.

Caitlin's father died of Multiple Sclerosis.

Jay reveals to Caitlin that his Earth One counterpart is a man named Hunter Zolomon, whose mother died in childbirth. He was bounced from foster home to foster home before being adopted by The Zolomons.

Jay says that Caitlin's plan to fix his degenerating cells wouldn't work because his DNA mutated in the accident that gave him super speed. He insists the only way to save him is to capture Zoom and find a way to take back Jay's power from him.


The Fridge Factor

Patty finally figures out that Barry Allen is The Flash on her own... after examining case files which contain information Barry couldn't have possibly known unless he was The Flash. While it is nice to see that Patty figured it out on her own, one wonders why she didn't figure it out sooner. Especially after last week when The Turtle kidnapped her thinking The Flash was in love with her, based on his reaction to seeing her endangered and he specifically told her his reasoning!


The Boomerang Factor

The fact that Barry is leaving enough evidence in his case files for the GCPD for someone to independently figure out that he is The Flash is a little disheartening.


The Bottom Line

The reverse of last week's episode, where all the subplots felt like a distraction from the main story involving The Turtle. This week, The Reverse Flash's return feels like a distraction from the infinitely more interesting drama involving Cisco mastering his powers, Iris rebuilding her family, Caitlin trying to save Jay, Patty dealing with Barry being an idiot and whatever the heck Harry is up to at the moment.  Still, it's a solid episode and there's a lot of forward momentum on all the plots. You just wish Barry and Patty - always a smart, young couple before now - weren't being made into total idiots in order to give Barry some more angst.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 7 - Gorilla Warfare

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

A week has passed since Zoom's attack and Barry has almost healed all of his physical injuries. But his confidence is still in critical condition and he's not sure he's the hero Central City needs any more. But ready or not, Grodd has returned and Barry will need to prove himself once more after Caitlin is kidnapped. Meanwhile, Patty begins to grow more suspicious about Barry's sick-leave and Joe's covering for him...


Influences

Countless The Flash comics where an injury sidelines Barry Allen, King Kong (giant gorilla abducts a woman who was nice to him, Caitlin is wearing all white like Fay Wray when she is abducted), the recent Planet of the Apes movies (a super-intelligent ape plots to make more of his own kind) and the original Planet of the Apes movies (the appearance of Gorilla City)

Performances

John Wesley Shipp steals the show as Henry Allen and makes us wish once again he was a series regular.


Artistry

As before, the CGI for Grodd, is of amazing quality for a TV show.


Flash Facts

Barry's accelerated healing is confirmed to be strong enough to heal a broken spine in just over a week. It should be noted, however, that The Flash's accelerated healing is not the same as the regeneration other comic heroes possess. While most speedsters are depicted as being able to recover from injuries faster than a normal human (say a broken arm healing in weeks rather than months), they can do nothing to grow back severed limbs or torn cells.

Although not identified by title, it's clear from the description - "fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles" - that the movie Cisco took Kendra to see was The Princess Bride.

Patty identifies Encephalopathy as "a blood disease in the brain". Actually encephalopathy is used as a broad term to identify any kind of brain disorder. Hypersensitive encephalopathy, for instance, refers to conditions brought about through acute high blood pressure.

Cisco refers to the creature he saw in his latest vibe as "a bird man". Birdman is both the name of both an award-winning film staring Michael Keaton and a Hanna-Barbera superhero.

Cisco stands outside C.C. Jitters holding a basket over his head as Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes plays. This is a nod to the movie Say Anything.

The place Harry Wells sends Grodd appears to be Gorilla City. In the comics, Gorilla City was a society founded by super-intelligent, telepathic gorillas, who were enhanced by a meteorite. Grodd was originally a rogue member of this society in the comics.


Technobabble

The initial MRI Caitlin took one week before this episode showed a complete dislocation of the T12-L1 interspace of the thoracolumbar junction.

Having problems breathing is totally normal following a spinal injury.

Cortexin is a serum used to treat encephalopathy - a blood disease in the brain.

Racetam drugs are typically used to treat vertigo.

Both Cortexin and Racetaim are nootropic drugs, used to enhance intelligence.

Barry did not have any spinal cord edema or subacute hemorrhaging and the bone fused fine.

One of the main differences between ape and human brains is the white matter and connectivity in the brain cells. The chemicals Grodd was treated with as an infant were meant to overcome those differences and cause an explosive growth of both, similar to what humans experience in their first few years of life. Caitlin theorizes that those chemicals can be used to duplicate that growth without a particle accelerator explosion.

Once the speed cannon is activated, the quark matter stabilizes, stretching the nearest breach.

The Reverse Flash suit fitting inside a ring is apparently a product of micro-technology.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Barry has just blown off Patty's invitation to bring him some homemade soup.)
Patty: Okay, well... try and stay off your feet.
Barry: (shifting uncomfortably in his wheelchair) Oh yeah, believe me, I am.

Grodd: Foolish human... I am Grodd!

Cisco: Oh, hey, I know I keep asking but have you read any reports or anything recently about a Birdman attacking anywhere?
Caitlin: There's no such thing as a bird-man, Cisco.
Cisco: Okay, like that's a stretch in this city?

Harry: I'm continually amazed by the similarities between our two worlds.
Joe: You've got talking gorillas on your Earth too?
Harry: Oh yeah.
Joe: Remind me never to go there.

Barry: He showed everyone in Central City that their hero wasn't good enough to stop him.
Henry: Well, that's certainly what it looked like. Was he right?  (scoffs) Your body's healed Barry, and yet here you are - feeling the shame of loosing.
Barry: I can't stop him. I know it. He knows it. And now everyone in the city knows it too. They don't believe in me anymore, Dad.
Henry: At my trial for your mother's death, a lot of our family and friends were in the courtroom. They heard awful things about what I had done to your mother. It didn't matter that it wasn't true. Every day, I could see it on their faces, the moment when I lost them, until everybody had stopped believing in me. Well, that was my reality. I was going to serve a life sentence for a crime I didn't commit, but worse than that, every time I looked someone in the eye, from that moment forward, they were going to believe that I killed the woman I loved in front of our son. So yeah, I do know what it's like being destroyed.
Barry: How did you get past that?
Henry: I embraced it. Accepting it was the only way I could move forward. But I knew that if I could survive that, and learn to believe in myself again, then I could survive anything. You know what lit that belief in me, Barry?  You. 11-year old you running around, believing in me, gave me that hope. And now I'm giving it back to you, son. No more monsters can take that from us.

Cisco: I didn't know if you like flowers or chocolate, so I got you both.
Kendra: Well, I'm allergic to chocolate and I think flowers are a waste of money.
Cisco: Um... I have lollipops in my car?


Continuity

At the start of the episode, Cisco hasn't vibed since he touched Wells last week.

Cisco vibes when taking Kendra's hand on their date. He has a winged figure in armor.

Grodd is seen for the first time since 121.

Barry hates canned chicken noodle soup.

Henry Allen has been camping in Granite Peak National Park.

Cisco explains how Grodd had his intelligence enhanced to Harry.

Cisco has Harry practice Wells' speech from 115 about him being like a son.

Cisco's has a second vibe vision when he kisses Kendra. Here, he clearly sees her in the Hawkgirl armor.

Harry sends Grodd to a nature preserve for gorillas experimented on by other scientists on Earth 2. It turns out the gorillas have built a city of some kind...


Untelevised Adventures

Harry Wells apparently has experience dealing with talking gorillas.


The Bottom Line

A solid episode, through and through. Lots of good character development for everyone, though you'd think everyone involved would have learned the dangers of keeping secrets at this point.  And it's weird that Barry is comfortable telling his ex-girlfriend he is The Flash but not the woman who has been consistently smart enough to see through every lie he's tried telling her. But hey - Gorilla City is now part of the DCTVU!

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 6 - Enter Zoom

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

Fed up with Zoom's machinations, Barry seeks a way to draw the evil speedster out into the open - against both Jay and Caitlin's advice. But Iris proves supportive, helping Barry come up with a plan to place Zoom right where they want him. A plan that will place the Linda Park of their Earth in tremendous peril, as she masquerades as Zoom's minion, Doctor Light. Meanwhile, Joe tries to throw Patty off the trail as she starts to wonder just why Joe isn't as concerned as she is about catching the still-at-large (as far as she knows) Dr. Light...


Influences

The Flash and Vibe comics of Geoff Johns.


Goofs

Reference is made to the dart that The Arrow used to stop The Reverse Flash last year. Why didn't they also use the serum Ray Palmer developed to slow down a speedster?  Did Harry's ego get in the way?

Caitlin and Cisco discuss making another attempt to "vibe" on wells after Cisco's first failed attempt, 20 feet away from Wells, through an open door.


Performances

It's nice to see Barry's conflict in this episode be born of his being too impulsive and Grant Gustin playing tough is surprisingly effective.

Tom Cavanagh doesn't get to do much in this episode past play straight man to Carlos Valdez... until the last speech when he gets to unleash all of Harry Well's anguish over his endangered daughter and his failure to save her.

The best performance of the episode, however, goes to Shantel VanSanten, who continues to develop Patty Spivot into an amazing character as both Joe's partner and Barry's love-interest. Her annoyance at Joe's hiding something from her is well-conveyed and you'd think Joe would have learned his lesson about trying to hide things from people to keep them safe after.. oh, everything that happened with Iris in the last year. Regardless, VanSanten plays Patty as tough without catering to the cliched "tough female cop" tropes.


Artistry

The special effects for the sequences where Zoom drags Barry around are good.


Flash Facts

Harry refers to his daughter as "Jesse Quick". This is a nod to Jesse Quick - a superheroine and ally of The Flash in the original DC Comics. Jesse Quick is the code-name of Jesse Chambers - a superheroine who was the daughter of two Golden Age heroes - Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle. Jesse gained both of her parents powers - flight, super-speed and super-strength.

Robert Queen being The Arrow of Earth 2 may be a nod to the New 52 version of Robert Queen, who had some kind of secret life as a master archer before Oliver Queen became the Green Arrow. It may also be a reference to the second Batman of the current New 52 Earth 2 comic, who is Thomas Wayne - Bruce Wayne's father.

At the end of the fifth segment of the episode, the lightning as the screen fades to black before cutting to commercial is blue.

We get our first clear look at Zoom's costume and it appears to be a black version of Barry's costume, save with the face completely covered by the mask and the lighting-bolt symbol on the chest reversed. This could be a reference to both The Black Flash (a manifestation of Death that attempts to lure speedsters to their doom) or The Rival - an evil speedster who modeled his costume on that of Jay Garrick, but in darker shades.  The costume also resembles that of the New 52 Flash when he merged with The Black Racer, becoming the New God Of Death.


Technobabble

Wells attempts to develop a serum that can reduce Zoom's speed. Cisco develops a gun that can transmit the serum into Zoom.

Wells berates an employee for being unable to align the quantum helix.

Patty notes that light energy can be manipulated to form hard light and make objects invisible. Dr. Light uses this later power to escape from STAR Labs.

The STAR Labs building of Earth 1 runs on fiber-optics that transmit pulses of light. Dr. Light was able to hack into this from her cell, turning off the power dampeners and using her powers to become invisible.

Cisco modifies the dart used by The Arrow to take down The Reverse Flash for his gun to bring down Zoom.

Harry suggested using tungsten composites to dampen vibrations. Cisco admits this was brilliant.

Cisco creates a set of gloves that allow Linda Park to replicate Dr. Light's powers. At the very least, it allows her to release focused light blasts.

Terminal velocity is the highest velocity obtainable by an falling object.  When objects are falling, their drag force equals the downward force of gravity, making the net force zero. In other words, two objects traveling against the flow of gravity, no matter what their original speed, will fall at precisely the same speed.

Terminal velocity on Earth is 32 feet or 9.8 meters per second.


Dialogue Triumphs

(As Harry outlines his plan to have Cisco build a gun that can deliver his slowing serum.)
Caitlin: Oh great! That could be this year's cold gun! Maybe another criminal could get it and then we'd have Sgt. Slow!
Cisco: I would never let that happen. Sgt. Slow is a terrible name.

Jesse Wells: I've never understood why you disliked him (The Flash) so much but now I know it's because he knew what you'd done.
Harry Wells: What I've done at STAR Labs is change the world, Jesse. Unlocking the mysteries of the universe. And when you don't have the key to the lock? Sometimes you have to kick in the door (beat) You should get to school.
Jesse Wells: Don't worry. I got my education today.

Linda Park: I - I can't do this. I just don't have it in me.
The Flash: That's not true. You're one of the strongest women I've ever met. You can do anything.
Linda Park: And you know about me based on what exactly?
The Flash: Linda... you... are trusting me. So I need to trust you. Fully. I know that you can do this...
(Barry pulls of his mask.)
Barry: ... because I know you.

Patty: I trust you. I do. I wouldn't be your partner if I didn't. This is about you not trusting me.
Joe: I trust you.
Patty: Not enough.

Cisco: The next time we do this I'm writing better dialogue.
Iris & Caitlin: (in unison) Next time?

Barry: It's - Wells - he said something to me on that video before he confessed to my mom's murder. He said that even if he was dead, that he still won because I wasn't happy. That I'd never really be happy.
Joe: How the hell would he know?
Barry: He knew me. He knew Future Me.
Joe: That's Future You. This is the you here and now.
Barry: I still think that Wells is right. Ever since I went back - to that night and I didn't save her - I didn't save my mom... there's just been this void in me, you know? I just feel like that's always going to be there. For better or worse, Wells... he knew me.
Joe: Better than I know you? He may have stalked you for 15 years but I raised you. Look, Wells said what he said to you to mess with you. To get in your head one last time. If you listen to him, you let him win.
Barry: I know.  I don't want that...
Joe: You're responsible for your own happiness, Barry. Forget about Wells.  Think hard about what you want. What makes you happy. Go out and get it. It's as simple as that.  All right?

(Holding Linda Park over a roof-ledge)
Zoom: You like to fish with bait. I do too.

Joe: Zoom sent you here like the others?! You kill The Flash and you get your daughter back?!
Harry: The only way I get my daughter back is I capture Zoom! Do you understand?! You love Barry. (punches the wall) I love my daughter. And none of these children are safe as long as Zoom is here! I tried, on my Earth, to capture him. I failed. I thought I could bring him down here, with Barry's help.  I was wrong...


Dialogue Disasters

The whole training montage with Linda learning how to use the Light Gauntlets Cisco built is painful to watch.


Continuity

Dr. Light reveals that her trying to kill Linda Park was born not out of a desire to replace her but to create a body she could use to convince Zoom she was dead.

Caitlin makes reference to Captain Cold and his cold gun.

Harry Wells' teenage daughter is a genius who graduated high school at age 15. Her name is Jesse Wells. He calls her Jesse Quick.

Harry Wells knew Jay Garrick's secret identity back on Earth 2.

Linda Park refers to the death of her editor in the last episode.

Cisco refers to the dart used by The Arrow to stop The Reverse Flash in 122.

A television broadcast Harry listens to in the flashbacks reveals that Oliver Queen's father, Robert Queen, is The Arrow on Earth 2 and had just had his secret identity revealed at about the same time Oliver was almost exposed as The Arrow on Earth 1.

Oliver Queen apparently did die during the wreck of the Queen's Gambit on Earth 1.

Earth 2 also has a Channel 52 News station, but this station has a male newsreader rather than Bethany Snow of Earth One.

Linda Park cooks when she is stressed.

Barry reveals his secret identity to Linda Park.

Cisco sees Jesse Wells trapped by Zoom on Earth 2 when he vibes on Harry. By the episode's end, everyone on the team knows that Zoom has Harry's daughter as a hostage.

Barry spins his arms into a focused tornado to create an air cushion to catch Linda Park after Zoom drops her off the STAR Labs roof.

Barry attempts to throw lightning at Zoom, repeating his feat from 202. Zoom is able to flip over the lighting bolt, catch it, and throw it back at Barry. He also attempts to lure Zoom int a fist-fight in freefall. This too fails to work.

Zoom drags a defeated Barry before the press, the police and finally unmasks him at STAR Labs.

Cisco is able to shoot Zoom, but the serum does not seem to slow him down at all.

Until Cisco confirmed it with his vibe, Harry had no idea if his daughter was alive or not.

Linda Park is said to be staying with friends in Coast City follow Zoom's attempt to murder her.

At the end of the episode, Barry says he is unable to feel his legs.


Location

There's two flashbacks set in the Central City of Earth 2.


The Fridge Factor

Surprisingly averted.  While Linda's failure at playing Dr. Light is played for laughs, Cisco gets just as much ribbing over the problems with his light gloves. And Linda and Iris gets some nice scenes together that pass The Bechdel Test.


The Boomerang Factor

Granting that Cisco has always been the comic relief, even he seems to be uncharacteristically incompetent during his attempts to "vibe" on Harry and during the training montage for Linda.


The Bottom Line

Cisco says it best - "The next time we do this, I'm writing better dialogue."  The whole episode is a bit of a mess for the first 50 minutes and a clear candidate for the worst episode ever. It's pretty clear they were biding time until Zoom showed up.  But once Zoom shows up, it's a whole other ballgame and everything is beautiful and only gets better until that cliffhanger.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 5 - The Darkness And The Light

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.


Plot

The good news is that the Harrison Wells of Earth 2 (a.k.a. Harry) has come to join the battle against Zoom. The bad news is that he's an arrogant dick and everyone is reluctant to work with him. And that's ignoring that he's the spitting image of the man who caused the STAR Labs team so much pain.

But they will have little time for bickering when Zoom's latest minion - a thief called Dr. Light - begins robbing banks to lure The Flash into a fight. And after Barry's first encounter with Dr. Light leaves him blinded, he'll have to do something truly heroic - go on his first date with Patty Spivot while unable to see!


Influences

Doctor Who (The Earth 2 Harrison Wells acts like some of the more arrogant incarnations of The Doctor, even mistakenly calling someone Ricky as The 9th Doctor did when speaking to Micky Smith), The Steve Martin film Roxanne (the scene of Cisco trying to guide a blind Barry through a date through a headset) and The Flash and Vibe comics of Geoff Johns (Cisco's ability to sense things about "breachers" mirrors the comic-version's ability to find and track inter-dimensional disturbances.)


Goofs

How did Harry travel from Earth 2 to Earth 1 when a speedster's power is needed to jump worlds? Or were they wrong about that when they stabilized the breach in STAR Labs basement?

Why do the Earth 2 meta-humans need to kill their Earth 1 counterparts? It made a sort of twisted sense in the case of Atom Smasher, who was already a hardened killer and actively looking to lay low in Central City. But Dr. Light was actively looking to escape from Zoom and get out of town and it wasn't like anyone was in danger of confusing her and the Linda Park of Earth 1.

Jay Garrick seems to change his tune on helping Barry and proving he isn't a coward pretty quickly between Barry going after Dr. Light and Barry's return to STAR Labs.

Kendra says she just moved to Central City, but we saw her in town the day of The Singularity opening some seven months earlier. Was she lying for some reason?


Performances

The date between Patty and Barry is the high-point of the episode and Grant Gustin and Shantel VanSanten make the whole affair fun and uplifting to watch.

Tom Cavanagh is always a joy to watch but his turn as "Harry" is amusing in a totally different way. You can tell he's having fun playing yet another variation on the Harrison Wells character at this point.


Artistry

The special effects for this episode - with Barry catching Joe's bullets before they can hit Wells, dodging light blasts in his first encounter with Dr. Light and the speed mirages during Barry's final fight with Dr. Light - are of particularly high quality, even by the standards of this show.


Flash Facts

Harry Wells, indifferent to the deaths his Earth 1 counterpart caused, refers to Ronnie as Ricky, much to Caitlin's annoyance. This may be a nod to Doctor Who, where some versions of The Doctor were arrogant and didn't bother remember people's names. Indeed, the Ninth Doctor continually addressed Mickey Smith - the boyfriend of his companion Rose Tyler - as Ricky.

There are several characters in the DC Comics universe who go by the name Dr. Light.

The first Doctor Light was a Justice League villain with the unlikely name of Dr. Arthur Light. Dr. Light possessed an advanced power suit that gave him the ability to project and manipulate light energy. There are two conflicting stories as to how he acquired the suit. One says that he stole advanced technology from the planet Thanagar after accidentally opening a portal there. The other had him developing the suit with the aid of his partner, Jacob Finlay. In either case, Dr. Light eventually internalized these powers and no longer required a special suit.

The second Doctor Light was a Japanese scientist by the name of Kimiyo Hoshi. Both a medical doctor and an astronomer, she was empowered with the ability to generate and control light like a living star by The Monitor during the Crisis On Infinite Earths. Arrogant and spiteful, Kimiyo was a reluctant hero, at best and continued to live her life as a scientist, only utilizing her powers when absolutely necessary. Still, she did serve in Justice League Europe for a time and became good friends with the Wally West incarnation of The Flash.

The DCTVU version of Dr. Light appears to be an amalgam of both versions of Dr. Light. Like the first one, she is a thief by trade. Like the second one, her powers are natural rather than technologically based, though she is described as drawing power from starlight rather than generating it naturally. She is also an Asian woman, though the comic-book Dr. Light was Japanese and Linda Park (in the comics at least) was an American of Korean ancestry. (Strangely, the actress who plays Linda Park on the show - Olivia Cheng - is a Canadian of Chinese ancestry!)

The ability to channel energy by absorbing starlight is the main power of the man DC Comics heroes who went by the name Starman.  The first Starman, Ted Knight, was a member of the Justice Society of America along with Jay Garrick.

The DCTVU version has the ability to generate blinding bursts of light as well as focused lasers capable of cutting through a bank vault. She also seems to be able to convert the light into explosions with a concussive element capable of knocking people over.

Dr. Light's costume on the show uses the same black and white color scheme of both Dr. Lights from the comic.

Curiously, no version of Dr. Light until now, has ever worn a mask.

Cisco's powers, as described in this episode, are consistent with those of his New 52 counterpart.  In the comics, Vibe is described as having the power to find and track inter-dimensional breaches. He acquires these abilities after his DNA is rewritten following his being caught in the event horizon of an Apokolyptian Boom Tube.

The trick Harry suggests to Barry - running so fast that he creates a speed mirage of himself - is a trick that The Flash used in the classic comic books to confuse those enemies who had a chance of hitting him. This trick was also used by The Reverse Flash in 109.

The new barista at C.C. Jitters that Cisco asks out is named Kendra Saunders. She has the same name as the modern Hawkgirl in the DC Comics Universe and we will discuss her history in a future entry.

At the episode's end, Cisco adopts the name of his comic book counterpart - Vibe.


Technobabble

A human from Earth 1 is genetically indistinguishable from their Earth 2 counterpart.

Stars have a temperature of 5,300 degrees Kelvin and a blinding luminosity.

Cisco claims he can use STAR Labs satellite to scan for any irregular solar radiation emissions to track Dr. Light.

Barry temporarily acquires solar retiinopathy. His retinas are severely damaged but, owing to his faster-than-normal healing abilities, Harry estimates that he will recover fully within 6.25 hours.

Harry's Metahuman Awareness App watch flashes red when pointed at a metahuman and blue when pointed at a regular human.

Barry creates a speed mirage of himself by running so fast that he creates multiple after images of himself.


Dialogue Triumphs

Cisco: So let me get this straight? You're the doppelganger of the man who murdered his (Barry's) mom, and is responsible for both Ronnie and Eddie's deaths?
Caitlin: Yeah, but he's not even the doppelganger of the Dr. Wells that we knew, because that Dr. Wells' body was taken over by The Reverse Flash, who was really Eoboard Thawne and Eddie's distant relative from the future.
Harry: (pause) Yeah, I didn't follow any of that. I'm my own man. I had nothing to do with the murder of your mother or your friend Ricky.
Caitlin: His name was Ronnie!
Harry: Him either.

Joe: I just want one week where we're not surprised by somebody from our past!

Cisco: (To Harry) You know, our Dr. Wells may have been evil but you're just a dick.

Harry: What did he do to you? I know he caused The Singularity. He killed Barry's mother. Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. What did he do to you? You can barely look me in the eye? Why is that? What did he do to you?
Cisco: He shoved his hand through my chest. He stopped my heart.
Harry: (chuckles) Ouch. Okay THAT would do it.

(Iris sees Harry and tenses up)
Iris: You... look just like him!
Harry: I'm guessing my counterpart did something to offend her as well?
Cisco: Her fiance died because of him.
Harry: (pause) Oh.
(Harry turns and leaves the room)
(Cisco is monitoring Barry's date with Patty through the sunglasses Barry is wearing)
Cisco: Dude, she looks amazing! You have to tell her how amazing she looks.
Barry: You look amazing, Patty.
Patty: Uh, thanks. I actually had a really hard time trying to figure out what to where. Like, if I should wear a dress or if this color was a little weird?
Barry: No! You look great!. Um, yeah, no, that - what WOULD you call that color?
Patty: Um - huh.. I don't know?
Cisco: I can't tell! The feed's black and white!
Barry: Yeah, well, whatever it is, that color should thank you for wearing it.
Cisco: (laughs) My man!

Party: I think another thing too. I think you can't see me.
Cisco: Abort!
Barry: What?! What do you mean?
Patty: I think you can't see me. Come on, I would not be a good detective if I couldn't have figured this one out.
(They both laugh)
Barry: Uh - yeah.
Patty: Yeah.
Barry: I'm really sorry and embarrassed that I didn't say anything.
(Barry tucks his glasses into his jacket pocket) 
Cisco: Barry?
Barry: I had my pupils dilated earlier and I really didn't want to cancel.
Cisco: Barry! I lost my eyes!
Barry: No, you have a great smile.
Patty: Really? How do you know I'm smiling?
Barry: Just a hunch.

(As Patty guides a still-blind Barry)
Patty: Funny how we've skipped straight to the hand-holding part.
Barry: Yes.
Patty: We've arrived at my car.
Barry: Ah. (pauses) Well, do you think we've reached the good night kiss stage?
(Patty guides Barry's hands onto either side of her face. He smiles and they kiss. They both break the kiss,  laugh and Barry opens his eyes, which have finally focused again)
Barry: This is burgundy, by the way, And you look great in it.
Patty: Now you can see?
Barry: I can.
Patty: That must have been some kiss.
Barry: I guess so.


Continuity

Harry Wells created a series of Meta-human Awareness Apps. They are capable of instantly detecting the presence of a meta-human and can even sense the approach of a speedster seconds before they arrive.

Eight months earlier on Earth 2, Jay Garrick, as The Flash, publicly accused Harry Wells of creating the metahumans with his experiments and dark-matter radiation being expelled beneath STAR Labs.. Wells denied the charges and Garrick was unable to prove anything.

Harry Wells has a daughter.

The breach in the basement of STAR Labs on Earth 1 connects to the basement of STAR Labs on Earth 2.

Harry Wells now takes responsibility for creating the metahumans of his world.

Once again, it is confirmed that the Big Belly Burger franchise exists on both Earth 1 and Earth 2.

Joe tells Barry about the break-in at Mercury Labs from 204 and how Dr McGee claimed to have seen Harrison Wells.

Barry refers to Eddie's sacrifice erasing Eobard Thawne from existence in 123.

Linda Park is seen for the first time since 203. It turns out her Earth 2 counterpart is Dr. Light.

Eric Larkin, the editor-in-chief of the Central City Picture News, is seen for the first time since 111. He is killed by Dr. Light.

Joe taught Iris how to fire a pistol and gives her one to protect herself.

Patty refers to the shark-monster from 204. She named him King Shark. Cisco approves.

Cisco decides - to avoid confusion - that the should call the Earth 2 Harrison Wells "Harry".

Cisco gets a "vibe" of Dr. Light robbing a bank. This is the first one he's had since 202.

The local newspaper on Earth 2 is called The Central City Citizen. This also the name of the future Earth 1 newspaper Eobard Thawne consulted regarding the stability of the timeline.

Jay Garrick and Harrison Wells know each other. They don't like each other. At all. Wells is determined to beat Zoom as quickly as possible. Garrick wants to train Barry further before attempting a direct confrontation

Jay says that Dr. Light was a thief, not a killer and could be reasoned with. Wells says Zoom has the ability to manipulate people into doing what the wants now and they can't count on that fact.

Eobard Thawne and Harry have very different musical tastes. According to Cisco, Thawne's were better.

Zoom apparently knows that Barry Allen is The Flash and that he dated Linda Park.

Patty once arrested her boyfriend (soon to be ex-boyfriend) while on a date, after he got drunk and insulted the waitress.

Coffee does exist on Earth 2. Indeed, Jay thinks it may be the one constant in the multiverse.

Jay Garrick fought Zoom many times and nearly died in all of those encounters. He admits to being afraid of Zoom and maybe shying away from fights with him. Garrick does not trust Wells at all and notes that Wells was happy to deny responsibility for creating the metahumans on Earth 2 so long as he was making money off the crisis with his Metahuman Awareness Apps.

When Patty was 9, she drowned and was legally dead for two minutes before her dad revived her.

Earth 2 has a Tahiti, but Jay Garrick has never been there. He has, however, been to Atlantis and loved it. Atlantis in Earth 2 is above water and Jay has a close friend from there. He describes it as the kind of place you never want to leave.

Jay and Caitlin are blasted by Dr. Light before they can have their first kiss.

Barry and Patty have their first kiss.

Barry is much faster than Jay, despite Jay having more practical experience and having mastered a few more tricks with his speed than Barry.

Harry deduces that Cisco has powers and uses his Metahuman Awareness App to prove that Cisco is a metahuman  The watch also detects Barry as a metahuman and says Caitlin is not a metahuman. He reveals this fact to the rest of the STAR Labs team.

Cisco is able to use the mask to get a "vibe" on where Dr. Light is.

The trick Harry suggests to Barry - running so fast that he creates a speed mirage of himself - is a trick that The Flash used in the classic comic books to confuse those enemies who had a chance of hitting him. This trick was also used by The Reverse Flash in 109.

At episode's end, Dr. Light is locked up in the pipeline and the STAR Labs team - minus Jay Garrick - decides to go with Harry's plan to use Dr. Light as bait to lure Zoom into a trap.

We first saw Kendra Saunders in 123 among the people watching The Singularity open. She says that Central City is bigger than she's used to and very different from where she used to live. She agrees to a date with Cisco.

Harry is seen stalking Barry, Caitlin and Cisco at CC Jitters.

Zoom has Harry's daughter held hostage.


Location

The opening scene, where Jay Garrick accuses Harry Wells of creating the metahumans, takes place at STAR Labs on Earth 2, eight months earlier.

We see Harry's daughter being held captive by Zoom in a cage somewhere on Earth 2.


Untelevised Adventures

Jay Garrick refers to having fought Dr. Light before, saying that she is a thief rather than a killer and that she can be reasoned with.


The Fridge Factor

Averted hard in the case of Patty, who figures out that Barry is blind on their date. Granted, it wouldn't take a detective to figure that out, but it's a welcome change from the usual comic cliches where the hero's love interest never notices things like the hero wearing sunglasses at night.

Averted again as it is Iris who stops Dr. Light with a well-placed gun-shot.


The Bottom Line

It isn't bad. But there's a lot going on and very little of it (the new Harrison Wells, Cisco's powers being revealed to the team, Dr. Light being an evil version of Barry's ex-girlfriend/Iris' co-worker) is given the weight it deserves. Ironically the best parts of the episode are when things slow down and we get to see Barry and Patty's first date and Jay flirting with Caitlin, talking about how Earth 2 is different from Earth 1.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 2 - Flash of Two Worlds

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.




Plot

Jay Garrick has revealed himself to the STAR Labs team, telling a tall tale of how The Singularity was a portal to another Earth. An Earth where he is a hero called The Flash! And where a villain named Zoom seeks to destroy every other being in the universe with super-speed powers.

Meanwhile, Joe West has sidelined his Metahuman Task Force as nobody was interested in joining it. Nobody, that is, except a rookie officer named Patty Spivot, who has a mind for science and her own reasons for fighting metahuman criminals. She'll get her chance sooner than she thinks, as Zoom recruits another villain from another world - Sand Demon - to kill The Flash and Spivot becomes an unwitting hostage.


Influences

The Flash Vol. 1 #123 (the comic which established the idea of multiple Earths when Jay Garrick and Barry Allen met for the first time), The Fury of Firestorm #51 (the character of Sand Demon) and The Flash comics of Gardner Fox (backstory of Jay Garrick) and Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato (New 52 Patty Spivot)


Goofs

Just how did Jay Garrick get through STAR Labs new and improved security without the benefit of super speed powers?

Barry's sudden suspicion and jealousy of Jay Garrick seems horribly out of character, even granting Barry's increased paranoia over the past few months. (Thankfully, Iris calls him out on it...)

The face Carlos Valdes makes when he has a Vibe Vision just plain looks silly.

For the second week in a row, Barry seems to semi-accidentally kill a super-villain!


Performances

Teddy Sears all but steals the episode as Jay Garrick. Sears is reminiscent of a young Scott Bakula, playing the down-to-earth, intelligent man-of-action masterfully. His chemistry with Danielle Panabaker is quite good and the two of them play off of each other well enough to make some potentially embarrassing dialogue work.

By the same token, Shantel VanSanten has similarly good chemistry with Grant Gustin during their brief moments flirting with one another. She also manages not to seem weak, needy or submissive once, despite spending most of the episode trying to get Joe to give her a job on his task force and being taken hostage purely so Barry has someone to rescue from Sand Demon in the final act.


Artistry

The special effects in this episode are top-notch - from Barry's first encounter with Sand Demon to his rescue of Patty Spivot near the end of the episode.


Flash Facts

The show opens with a new "My name is Barry Allen..." sequence to reflect the new season.

The title of this episode is a reference to The Flash Vol. 1 #123 (September 1961), which was also titled Flash of Two Worlds.

Zoom is the code-name used by the Flash villain Hunter Zolomon. However, this Zoom does not seem to bare any relation to that character as of yet.

Zoom manifests blue lightning when he moves. This energy is reminiscent of the villain Cobalt Blue, who - in the comics - was Barry Allen's long-lost evil twin.

The vision of Zoom we see in Jay's flashback (no pun intended) bares a slight resembelance to The Black Flash - a manifestation of The Speed Force that attempts to lure speedsters to their death in the comics.

Jason "Jay" Garrick was the first superhero to be known as The Flash. First appearing in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940), Jay was a double-major in physics and chemistry as well as a college football star. He developed super-speed powers after a lab accident, knocking over his equipment as he was trying to purify hard water using a cyclotron to remove the residual radiation.

The background of the DCTVU version of Jay Garrick seems to mirror that of his comics counterpart. He also has a background in chemistry and physics and he says he gained his powers in a lab accident that involved purifying hard water without leaving behind any residual radiation.

Jay Garrick's distinctive helmet is a petasos. The petasos was originally a hat developed by the Ancient Greeks and was usually made of wool, felt, leather or straw. It was a precursor to the modern fedora, with its broad, floppy brim making it ideal for rural life as it protected both the back of the neck and shaded the eyes. Metal petasi were part of the uniform for the Athenian cavalry.

A modified metal petasos with wings was the symbolic helmet of the Greek god Hermes - the messenger of the gods, who was said to be gifted with amazing speed thanks to a pair of winged sandals. It was for this reason that Jay Garrick adopted a metal winged petasos as part of his costume as The Flash.

Jay Garrick's Flash went on to become one of the founding members of The Justice Society of America - the first superhero team in history.

In Showcase #4 - the first comic Barry Allen appeared it - it was revealed that Barry Allen was a comic reader and that he took the name of The Flash in honor of his favorite superhero since he was a boy - a superhero who looked like the Jay Garrick version of The Flash!

This incongruity - in an effort to answer fan questions as to whatever happened to Jay Garrick - was explained The Flash Vol. 1 #123 (September 1961). This comic had Barry Allen accidentally run so fast that he traveled between realities, winding up in the world where Jay Garrick was The Flash!  It was explained that there were multiple Earths that occupied the same position in time and space but were separated by a fifth dimension that could be passed through by vibrating at a specific frequency.

Coincidentally, this general description perfectly fits Hugh Everett's relative state formulation of quantum mechanics - a.k.a. The Many Worlds Interpretation. Everett published this paper just four years before The Flash Vol. 1 #123 came out. As far as we know writer Gardner Fox didn't read it! But Professor Stein cites the theory when attempting to explain what Jay Garrick has told them to Joe West.

Professor Stein also mentions the idea of a multi-verse - multiple universes - which has been cited in both numerous DC Comic books to explain away the various alternate realities making up their comic line and by physicists.

Professor Stein also labels Barry's Earth as Earth 1 and Jay Garrick's world as Earth 2. These are the exact designations used in the comics to label the respective Earths of Barry Allen and Jay Garrick.

It was theorized that the writers on Earth 1 who wrote the comics featuring heroes from Earth 2 had a psychic gift to see between realities that caused them to envision the adventures of Jay Garrick and his friends as daydreams, which they transposed into comics. This is similar to the ability that Cisco has begun to manifest in the DCTVU.

Patty Spivot is a character in The Flash comics. She was originally Barry Allen's lab assistant in the pre-Crisis comics and later became head of the Blood Analysis department of the Central City Police Department. In the New 52 Flash comics, she was Barry Allen's co-worker and girlfriend for a time.

Apart from being an attractive blonde woman with an interest in science, the DCTVU version of Patty Spivot doesn't have much in common with any of her comic book counterparts.  The DCTVU version is a beat cop turned detective who has no interest in working in a lab despite her scientific background (triple major in biology, chemistry and physics). The comics versions were scientists, through and through.

Sand Demon was a minor villain and enemy of Firestorm, who first appeared in The Fury of Firestorm #51. A crooked wrestling manager known as Eddie Slick, one of his wrestlers - King Crusher - mutated into a giant monster. Firestorm saved the day but also exposed Slick's providing illegal steroids to his wrestlers. The Las Vegas gangsters Eddie worked for weren't pleased and buried him alive in the desert. It was here that Eddie developed an ability to meld with the earth around him and reshape it and himself. He later went on a rampage and was easily defeated by Firestorm after being transformed into glass and then broken.

The DCTVU version of Sand Demon is also named Eddie Slick and has the exact same powers as his comic book counterpart, though we do not discover his background before he was recruited by Zoom. We do know that the Earth 1 version of Eddie Slick is a career criminal, like his comic book counterpart and the Earth 2 version has demolitions training.

Cisco's visions in this episode seem to be a form of clairvoyance - the power to perceive information about an object, person, location or event through extrasensory perception. In this case, Cisco is able to see what Sand Demon was doing at early points in time just after he touched the sample of Sand Demon's cells.

Joe notes that Iron Heights is now equipped to handle metahuman criminals.  In the original comics, Iron Heights was a prison specifically built to handle metahuman criminals and many of The Flash's enemies were kept there.

Earth 1 Eddie Slick claims that he was in Blackgate Penitentiary at the time of The Particle Accelerator explosion in December 2013.  In the comics, Blackgate Penitentiary is the largest prison in Gotham City and where most of the non-insane and non-powered enemies of Batman are locked up.

Both Barry and Patty are Monty Python fans and make reference to The Bridge Keeper from Monty Python and The Holy Grail. Perhaps not coincidentally, this episode originally aired on the 40th anniversary of the release of that movie, on the same day that a special edition was rereleased in theaters.

Sand Demon makes his hideout in the abandoned Woodrue Grow House. This is likely a reference to Jason Woodrue - a scientist who later became the half-man/half-plant super-villain known as The Floronic Man.

Jay teaches Barry a new trick - how to harness his speed to create targeted electrical bursts, effectively generating ball lightning and throwing lightning bolts. This is a power that The Flash has used before in the comics.

The DCTVU version of Sand Demon is defeated in the same manner as his comic book counterpart, with Barry transforming him into glass with a controlled lightning strike and shattering him.

Sand Demon is a fairly obvious rip-off of The Sandman - a Spider-Man villain created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

The scene where Patty calls out for The Flash, both Barry and Jay yell "Coming!", and they run to her along opposite sides of a brick wall is a visual reference to the cover of The Flash #123.

Jay and Barry compare their respective nicknames - The Scarlet Speedster and The Crimson Comet. These were indeed the alliterative nicknames they were given in their respective comics.

Cisco drops the name of his comic-book counterpart's superhero identity, talking about the "vibe" that he gets before having a vision of something that happened in the past.

Professor Stein and Cisco detect 52 separate breaches in Central City. This is yet another nod to the significance of the number 52 in the DC Comics Universe.


Technobabble

In a nod to the comics, Jay Garrick he says he gained his powers in a lab accident that involved purifying hard water without leaving behind any residual radiation. 

Professor Stein cites Hugh Everett's relative state formulation of quantum mechanics - a.k.a. The Many Worlds Interpretation when attempting to explain the ideal of parallel universes and multiple Earths to Joe West.

Caitlin determines that Jay Garrick's heart rate and blood pressure are both lower than normal, the oxygen levels in his blood are impressive and that he does have regenerative capabilities but there's no other evidence of The Speed Force in his system. She also measured his autonomic reactions while asking him about his past - i.e. giving him a lie detector test - and determined he was telling the truth about being from another Earth.

Barry notes that the walls of the building Sand Demon first confronted him is too porous to take fingerprints from.

Barry determines the fire in the building where he first fought Sand Demon was caused by arson, based on the random gasoline burns as well as the fact that the sprinkler system did not go off.

Patty Spivot determines that the fire was started by someone cutting through a gas pipe using a sand-blaster. She theorizes, however, that a metahuman was responsible since there's no commercial sand-blaster that she knows of that is capable of such precision. She also takes fingerprint samples off the pipe and a sample of the sand left behind.

Jay Garrick identifies the "sand" that Sand Demon transforms into as human cells whose myosin II protein have emigrated into the cell's periphery.  These cells have the ability to rearrange and harden, given them the appearance of sand.

Professor Stein theorizes that they can detect the breaches caused by The Singularity through tracking exotic matter or trans-dimensional energy. Theoretically, this energy should leak from one universe to the other. This means that they can use an electro-photography program and the STAR Labs satellite to take pictures of the whole city and locate the breaches.

The Earth 1 Eddie Slick says he prefers using substances that are hard to trace like acetone to set a fire.

Sand Demon requires exposure to high humidity in order to maintain his composure. This requires him to make his hideouts in greenhouses or grow rooms. Failure to stay hydrated will cause his body to dry out and collapse, like dry sand.

Jay's plan to stop Sand Demon depends upon Barry focusing the electrical energy he generates when he runs and focusing it into a bolt that will fuse Sand Demon into glass, like lightning striking a beach.

Sand Demon constructs a concussive bomb as a distraction, as his body can absorb the force of the blast whereas The Flash would be affected normally despite his speed.

Professor Stein describes the "breaches" as pockets of time and space folded into and upon themselves.


Dialogue Triumphs

Barry: My name is Barry Allen and I'm the fastest man alive! To the outside world, I'm an ordinary forensic scientist. But secretly, with the help of my friends at STAR Labs, I fight crime and find other metahumans like me. I hunted down the man who killed my mother but in doing so I opened up our world to new threats. And I am the only one fast enough to stop them. I am The Flash!

Barry: Okay, so... Jay? How exactly do you know all of this?
Jay: Where I came from, I was a speedster like you. They called me The Flash.

Jay: Look, Barry I don't what else I can do to prove to you I'm on your side.  I've been poked, prodded - I even subjected myself to a full body scan!
Caitlin: (defensively) I was being thorough!

Iris: What has happened to you?
Barry: Are you - me?
Iris: Yes, you.  The you that I grew up with. The you that is my best friend. The you that became The Flash. I haven't seen that you in a very long time.
Barry: A lot has changed, Iris.
Iris: Yeah, it sure has. You have learned how to not trust people. What is it about Jay that you don't like? (pauses) It's because he reminds you of Harrison Wells.
Barry: I trusted that man. For months. We all did. (pauses) And you know what? Eddie is dead. Ronnie is dead. And a whole lot of other people in this city?  They are dead. Because we trusted him. I'm not going to let us make that mistake again.
Iris: Barry, not everyone is Harrison Wells. Besides, you defeated him because you trusted in people. Because you believed in them. This team that you have here? They will follow your lead. They will do what you say. But if they think that you don't believe in them, it won't be long before they don't believe in you.

(Upon hearing the crackling lightning of The Flash running)
Sand Demon: Is that you, Flash? Found your way here?
(Sand Demon turns around to see Jay Garrick standing there.)
Jay: I came quite a distance.

(Jay Garrick tries, without success, to punch Sand Demon several times at regular speed)
Sand Demon: Quite a bit slower on this Earth, aren't you, Flash?
(Jay lets loose with one upper-cut that tags Sand Demon and sends dust flying out of his jaw)

Jay: This is a lot harder than I thought. Losing something that was such a big part of who I was for so long.
Caitlin: I lost something that was a part of me too. It's hard. But it gets easier every day. You just have to find a new way to live.(pauses) Just because it's a different life doesn't mean its a worse one. And, speed or no speed, in my book you were still a hero today.

Jay: What is it with alliteration and nicknames?

(After telling Joe the story of her her father was killed by The Mardon Brothers)
Patty: Two murderers got super powers. So, that's why I'm here, sir. That's why I'm so hell-bent on being on your task force. Because there's some bad people out there and they can do... anything. And I may not have powers, but I want to stop them. And you're the only person I know who wants to do that too.

Cisco: Something's happening to me. I'm starting to perceive things. Horrible things. It started after Wells killed me in the other timeline. It came back when Atom Smasher attacked on Flash Day. And then again when Sand Demon showed up. I get a vibe... and then a vision of something that already happened... and then it's gone. That's how I knew where Slick was.
Stein: Cisco, this is amazing! We have to study this. Figure out just what to do
Cisco: No, no, no! We're not doing any of that and we're certainly not telling anybody, either!
Stein: Cisco, I would think you would be the one most intrigued with knowing exactly what this is and how it works!
Cisco: I'm seeing things I don't want to see and knowing things I don't want to know! I just want it to stop! Professor, I don't want anyone to know about this. Not yet.
Stein: It's okay to be afraid, you know.
Cisco: Wells told me this was in my future. That he gave me this power. But everything he did was evil. That's what scares me, Professor. You have to promise me... you won't tell anyone about this.
Stein: I promise.


Continuity

It is revealed that the dead Al Rothstein from 201 was the Earth 1 version of Al Rothstein and that Atom Smasher was the Earth 2 version of Al Rothstein.

Jay reveals that he has been trapped on Earth 1 and powerless for six months, since The Singularity opened.

Jay has been The Flash for about two years on his world, yet he seems to be far more experienced than Barry and has manifested powers Barry hasn't, such as the ability to throw lightning bolts. He was also much faster than Barry, being capable of almost reaching the speed of light.

Patty Spigot has been with the CCPD for seven months. She was a triple major at Hudson University (biology, chemistry and physics), is in peak physical condition and she rated at the top of her class in marksmanship.

Barry extinguishes the fire that Sand Demon started using the vaccum-generation trick he mastered back in 120.

Joe notes that Iron Heights - the large prison between Central City and Star City - is now equipped to handle metahumans.

This episode takes place one day after The Green Arrow first announced himself to the people of Star City in A401.

Jay Garrick says that the helmet from his costume belonged to his father, who wore it when he fought in the War of the Americas.

Jay Garrick says that Zoom first appeared shortly after he got his speed powers and that he killed a lot of people on Earth 2. Garrick says it took him two years to track Zoom down.  He claims Zoom is obsessed with destroying him and that he is determined to make sure he is the only speedster in any world.

Patty Spigot's father was killed by Mark Mardon -a.k.a. The Weather Wizard. Her father ran a shoe shop and was killed during one of The Mardon Brothers' bank robberies several months before they got super powers. She says she wants to join Joe's taskforce not out of revenge but because someone has to stop the bad metahumans and Joe is the only person who seems interested in doing so.

Patty Spigot is promoted to Detective and joins Joe's taskforce as his partner.

Joe West's wife is revealed to not be dead, though she is not named in this episode.

Cisco refers to his previous visions from 120 and 201.

Cisco tells Professor Stein about his newfound power.  Stein agrees to keep Cisco's secret.

Professor Stein and Cisco detect 52 separate breaches around Central City, with the largest one being located within STAR Labs. Stein is about to describe what lies beyond that breach before he collapses.

The end-of-episode stinger gives us a vision of what seems to be an alternate version of Central City. Here, we see a school group touring STAR Labs, which we are told was founded in 1991 and specializes in artificial intelligence, genetics and metahuman studies. It has the motto "Bringing You Tomorrow's World Today" and was founded by Harrison Wells, who is introduced to the students as the Savior of Central City.


Location

We see a scene on Jay Garrick's Earth in his unnamed home town, where he fights Zoom before being sucked through The Singularity.

The end-of-show stinger seems to take place on yet another alternate Earth, where Harrison Wells is a respected scientist and is described as the Savior of Central City.


The Bottom Line

An intriguing episode where the quality of writing shows in the research and the world-building rather than the dialogue. Still, the new cast prove themselves worthy of joining the ensemble and the special effects work in the action sequences is some of the best yet. The last ten minutes make this episode truly magical.