The Flash Episode Guide: Season 9, Episode 13 - A New World, Part Four

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

Plot

With Eddie Thawne embracing the identity of Cobalt Blue and assembling a brute squad of the worst evil speedsters in history, Team Flash will be tested as never before.

Influences

The Flash comics of Mark Waid and Mike Baron.


Goofs

Cecile wears her Virtue costume from the future in the fight with the evil speedsters. (While it's entirely possible she asked Chester to make her a suit based on the design she saw, it's unlikely he would have had time to make it in the space of time since Cecile saved Barry in the last episode.)

Cecile's being able to fly with her telekinesis comes out of left field, even if Virtue had that power in the comics. (Maybe Cecile got the idea while making mental contact with her future self?)  

When Khione says goodbye to Team Flash, Barry says it has been one week since the battle with Cobalt Blue and his gang and, logically, one week since Nora's birth. The next scene opens with a title card reading "One Week Later," with Joe saying that Iris gave birth to Nora a week ago. By that point, it should have been two weeks since Nora's birth.

Performances

Jesse L. Martin steals every brief scene he is in.

Artistry

The montage of Iris remembering her life with Barry as Joe sings Baby Nora to sleep is nicely done.

Flash Facts

The subtitle of this episode is Finale, according to the title card, but the subtitle does not feature in the actual episode title.

This marks the final episode of the first and only four-part episode in the show's history.

The episode was supposed to feature the return of Cisco Ramon, but actor Carlos Valdes was unable to appear due to schedule conflicts.

The episode was rewritten at the last minute to give Barry a happier ending. The original plan had been for him to sacrifice himself to become the new personification of the Speed Force and replace Speed Force Nora. We can see vestiges of this in the final scene, where Barry shares his power with three new speedsters.

Barry's opening and closing monologues mirror his opening monologue in 101.

Jay Garrick steals the speed from Cobalt Blue. This is a classic trick perfected by the Wally West Flash, who could boost his powers by draining the kinetic energy form other objects in motion. 

This episode confirms that Chester Runk has black hole powers, In the Mike Baron Flash comics where Chester P. Runk was introduced, Chester was a morbidly obese man who became a living black hole capable of absorbing almost anything into his mass.

Chester's powers are generated by a consciousness-honed universally neutralized Kerr anomaly in his genes. This is a shout out to his codename in the comics, Chunk.

Upon learning that he has powers, Chester says "Dazzling Dwayne McDuffie." This is a nod to legendary comics writer Dwayne McDuffie, who is best known as one of the founders of Milestone Media and for his work writing the Justice League Unlimited show.

Barry shares the Speed Force with three new Speedsters. The first of them is Avery Ho. In the comics, Avery Ho is the Flash of the Justice League of China. 

The Arrowverse version of Avery Ho first appeared in 806, where she helped XS and Impulse to fix the timeline.

The second new speedster to be empowered is Max Mercury. In the comics, Max Mercury was an alias used by a time-traveling speedster  Originally the Quality Comics hero Quicksilver (no relation to the Marvel Comics character),Mark Waid fleshed out his background to make him an 1830s US Army cavalry scout who befriend several Native American tribes. Max has gone by many names, including Windrunner, Whip Whirlwind and Lightning.

The Arrowverse Max Mercury lives in modern times and is apparently a motorcycle enthusiast.

The last new speedster Barry empowers is named Jess Chambers. In the comics, Jess Chambers is the non-binary Flash of Earth-11. The Arrowverse Jess Chambers resembles the comic book version.

Technobabble

Barry tells Team Flash to execute delta maneuvers before they split up and fight Cobalt Blue's team.

Chillblaine determines that Chester's blood generates Hawking radiation at a molecular level. This is the same kind of energy found in black holes. 

Chester's genes contain a consciousness-honed universally neutralized Kerr anomaly, or CHUNK.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Reverse Flash reveals himself to Zoom and Godspeed.)
Zoom: You're Harry Wells. You're the man who helped the Flash defeat me.
Godspeed: No. That's Thawne. The man who helped the Flash defeat me. Any last words, Thawne? 

Reverse Flash: Never wear white after Labor Day. And Zoloman-- ( chuckles ) Love your work. Although slightly derivative, don't you think? Pretending to be the Flash's ally. Let's see. Who's playbook is that from? 

Zoon: Are you mocking me? 

Reverse Flash: Now, you're catching on. 


Khione: The more I embrace who I truly am, the more I see the natural order of things. You say balance is about violence and death, but it doesn't have to be that way. Nature is about more than balance. It's about coexistence. All things living together. Not in conflict, but in mutual trust. 

Barry: Khione, the last avatar I faced... I sat down. I stopped fighting. Thawne didn't. You want coexistence, but I'm sorry. It's impossible. 

Khione: Then you need to believe in the impossible because it's the only way to create a better world.

Continuity

Barry returns to 2023 and runs to the hospital where Iris is still giving birth to Nora.

Chester reports that there's no sign of temporal fracturing yet, but Barry says it has already started in 2049.

Zoom, who died in 223, is pulled out of time at the moment of his death, into the Negative Speed Force.

Eddie's  lair in the Negative Speed Force resembles Dr. Malcolm Gilmore's house, which was Joe West's home.

Godspeed is pulled out of time from an undetermined point. He says he was about to slit Impulse's throat.

Eobard Thawne, in the guise of Harrison Wells, explains that they are in the Negative Speed Force.

Zoom thinks Thawne is Harry Wells at first, but Godspeed recognizes him as Thawne in Wells' body.

Savitar appears next, apparently pulled from time just before Iris West shot him in 323.

Eddie Thawne reveals himself and explains that all four evil speedsters are dead, resurrected by the Negative Speed Force from just before the moment of their death. This is the first confirmation that Eobard Thawne finally died for good in 820.

Eddie says that Godspeed dies in 2052.

Eddie creates a suit of armor for himself and invites the other villains help him destroy The Flash and his legacy.

Barry gets to the hospital about an hour before Iris is expected to give birth.

Eddie shows up at the hospital calling himself Cobalt Blue. He brings blue flowers for Iris 

Eddie plans to kill Barry, which will kill the Speed Force, and allow for the creation of a new world where the Negative Speed Force will rule unopposed. Eddie doesn't care because, in this reality, he can be the hero Barry was and have the life with Iris he wanted.

Nora runs in and saves Barry. She says that Cecile telepathically called to her across time.

Chillblaine, Khione, Allegra, Cecile and Nora join with Barry to face Cobalt Blue, Savitar, Zoom, Godspeed and Reverse Flash. This collective of villains is later named the Legion of Zoom.

Barry faces Cobalt Blue

Cecile takes on Godspeed.

Chillblaine and Khione fight Zoom.

Allegra goes after Reverse-Flash.

Nora goes after Savitar. 

Savitar attempts to impale Nora like he did Iris in the future where Iris died. Nora phases through his blade, breaks it, and uses it to shank Savitar.

Godspeed creates multiple clones of himself to fight Cecile, but she brings him down with a telepathic attack.

Reverse-Flash goes to STAR Labs and attacks Chester with a lightning attack. For some reason, it doesn't kill Chester (although it does hurt him) 

Zoom is hemmed in by a CCPD roadblock set up by Chief David Singh, Captain Kristen Kramer and Officer Daisy Korber.  Apparently Khione called them in.

Reference is made to Zoom killing multiple CCPD officers in The Flash Season 2.

Barry confronts Cobalt Blue in CC Jitters.

Khione absorbs the lighting Zoom throws at her and throws it right back at him.

Reverse-Flash makes reference to Nash Wells and his relationship mentoring Allerga.

Allegra takes Reverse-Flash out with a major light blast. She then tends to the unconscious Chuck, who suddenly wakes up gasping.

Cobalt Blue threatens to kill the people in CC Jitters unless Barry allows himself to be killed.

Jay Garrick shows up and steals the speed energy out of Cobalt Blue. He says this was a trick his Earth-90 counterpart taught him.  (The Earth-90 Flash did the same thing to Barry in 609, so he could sacrifice himself in Barry's place.)

Cobalt Blue drains the Negative Speed Force power from the resurrected speedsters and retreats into the Negative Speed Force. As he does this, the temporal fracturing reaches 2023.

Jay says that is Cobalt Blue tries to absorb too much Negative Speed Force energy, he will overload and kill himself, like Eobard Thawne in 820.

Chillblaine and Jay think that letting Eddie kill himself may be the only way to save the timeline, but Barry thinks he can make Eddie see reason. 

Khione says she can get Barry into the Negative Speed Force.

Khione says that Barry needs to change Eddie's viewpoint and that they need to encourage coexistence between the Positive and Negative forces.

Barry confronts Cobalt Blue in a Negative Speed Force space that now looks like his and Iris' loft, but with photos of Iris and Eddie together.

Eddie punches Barry, shouting that he always wins. This echoes a line repeated by the Reverse Flash when he fought Barry in 123. This prompts Barry to point out that Eddie is becoming the very villain he sacrificed himself to stop.

Eddie smashes the Cobalt Blue crystal and agrees to remain the Negative Speed Force avatar in order to maintain the balance. He asks Barry to tell Iris he is happy for her.

Barry returns to the hospital just in time for Nora's birth. 

Jay Garrick confirms the temporal fracturing has stopped.

Chester says he feels fine, apart from being oddly hungry after his fight with Reverse Flash.

Chillblaine theorizes that when Chester bonded with a black hole in 601, some of the cosmic energy bonded with him. This gives him some passive ability to absorb energy.

Joe West, Cecile, Chester, Allegra, Chillblaine and Khione all wait at the hospital.

Cecile makes reference to giving birth to Jenna during 423.

Nora also joins the team, but wonders if she is breaking some kind of timeline rules by being present at her own birth.  Chester and Chillblaine say they think they are okay.

Timeless Wells, the original Earth-1 Harrison Wells, appears to Khione. He confirms the threat of the Negative Speed Force is past and it is time for Khione to ascend and become the protector of the natural order she is meant to be.

Khione says she has to say goodbye to her family first. 

Nora is born without complications.

Chester agrees to take care of Khione's plants.

When Khione ascends, Caitlin Snow is left in her place. It is presumed that Khione was just using Khione's physical body.

A homecoming party is held for Nora and Iris one week after Khione ascends.

Future Nora and Timeless Wells attend the party along with Jay Garrick, Joan Garrick, Chief Singh, Captain Kramer, and several of Iris' employees.

Caitlin is overheard talking to her mother on the phone and promising she will visit her soon, so she can run more tests to make sure she is fine.

Barry apologizes for destroying Caitlin's lab in 816.

Caitlin says she will carry Frost's legacy with her and that what she was doing trying to bring her back was unnatural. 

Joe proposes to Cecile. She accepts.

Barry is shown reading a copy of The Runaway Dinosaur. This was his favorite book as a child, as revealed in 221.

Barry creates lightning bolts to give three people a connection to the Speed Force: Avery Ho, Max Mercury and Jess Chambers.  He runs along the same landing strip at Ferris Air where he first used his speed voluntarily in 101 to do this.

Avery Ho was last seen in 806.

When we see Avery, she is calling in late to work, claiming she had car trouble despite not having a car. Barry Allen did the same thing in 101.

Barry made reference to Max Mercury in 815, as he was looking through time using the Still Force.

Untelevised Adventures

Reference is made to a fight between Impulse and Godspeed, in which Godspeed was about to slit Impulse's throat before he was pulled out of time.

Godspeed dies in the year 2052.

Jay Garrick met The Flash of Earth-90 at some point and learned how to drain the speed from other speedsters.

Nora says the 24 hours around Bart Allen's birth is even crazier than her own.

The Boomerang Factor

The resurrected evil speedsters are beaten far too easily.


The Bottom Line

A lackluster end to a lackluster season, drowning in nostalgia for better days. The best parts of the episode are shot-outs to the show's greatest moments, but those only serve to highlight just how bad this show became toward the end.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 8 - What's Past is Prologue

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



Plot

Team Flash comes up with a plan to stop Cicada, but it requires time travel and Barry showing Nora some parts of his life he'd rather not revisit. Meanwhile, Sherloque approaches Cisco with his concerns over Nora and Caitlin discovers a surprising asset to use against Cicada.


Influences

Every show that's ever had a clip show. Back To The Future (Ralph plays Huey Lewis' "Back In Time.")


Goofs

Barry and Nora are running around the past in their civilian clothes with none of the usual problems when a speedeter runs above a certain speed (i.e. catching on fire.)

After the Speed Force Transmitter is broken, why doesn't Barry take it to Harry Wells before he lost his intelligence? (Well, we wouldn't get to have Thawne in the story otherwise...)

We are told that Cicada fought Supergirl and a number of other metahumans with no trouble. How is that possible if, as this episode suggests, his powers only work on metahumans created by dark matter exposure?  (Perhaps his meta-tech works on aliens and magicians as well?)


Flash Facts

The episode title comes from William Shakespeaere's The Tempest. Act II, Scene 1.

When Eobard Thawne meets Nora, he makes several guesses as to who she is. These include Jesse Chambers (maybe Lawrence) and Danica Williams.

Jesse Chambers was the real name of Jesse Quick in the comics, though her mother's maiden name was Lawrence and she did go by Jesse Lawrence for a time.

Danica Williams is the name of The Flash from Justice League Beyond.

When Thawne realizes Nora is Barry's daughter, he guesses that her name is Dawn. In the Pre-Crisis DC Comics Universe, Barry and Iris had twins - Don and Dawn Allen - who inherited Barry's powers and became known as The Tornado Twins.

The Gideon AI in The Time Vault in 2014 recognizes Nora West-Allen as XS and says that she is the fifth recruit for the rebooted Legion. In the original DC Comics Universe, The Legion of Super Heroes was rebooted for the first time in 1994 and XS (who, in this reality, was Barry Allen's granddaughter Jenni Ognats) was created specifically for the new team.


Technobabble

Nora suggests creating a weapon more powerful than Cicada's dagger, akin to a super-charged magnet. Cisco says they don't have anything that powerful as the old STAR Labs satellite was was made of a heavy-duty, micro-composite alloy.

What Nora's suggestion requires is an indestructible alloy with super-magnetic properties and the ability to negate dark matter.

Eventually, they realize they could make such a thing out of a piece of Savitar's armor, the Speed Force transmitter Zoom used to steal Barry Allen's speed and the exact same energy released during the STAR Labs Particle Accelerator explosion.

They then need to plant the item near the hospital where Grace Gibbons is resting so it will be accessible in the present. This is known as a time hack.

Nora tells Sherloque that the language in her journal is a special time language she invented that is used to record events regardless of changes in the timeline. That way, no matter what happens on her trip to the past, she'll be able to remember what she learned about her father.


Dialogue Triumphs

Sherloque: Look, as always, I respect your spirit, Barry Allen, but as long as Cicada has his dagger to dampen your powers, there's no stopping him. 
Barry: So let's destroy his dagger.
Ralph: How are we gonna do that? Unless we have some kind of... power-dampening dagger power dampener hidden away in storage?
Cisco: We don't. But if we did, we'd come up with a much better way of saying that.

(As Barry and Nora begin to run around the pipeline building up speed to time travel, Ralph reaches over and turns on his music player.  "Back In Time" by Huey Lewis and The News begins to play. Iris, Caitlin and Cisco slowly turn to look at him with disapproval.)
Ralph: What?! When am I gonna get the chance to do that?

Thawne: You know what's funny about your dad, Nora? He hates me. Hates me with a passion. And yet ... a version of him, this Savitar, is a much bigger jerk than I ever was.

(Cicada is moving in on The Flash with his dagger. Everyone is downed except Caitlin, who had her gun knocked away. There is no one to stop him. Until...)
Caitlin: No!
(Caitlin changes into Killer Frost in a second and unloads a full icy blast into Cicada, sending him flying into the side of a van, crumpling its wall.  Cicada picks himself up, looking confused as to why his dagger isn't working on this metahuman.)
Killer Frost: Let's dance, cricket freak.

(Nora stops running in front of a cell in Iron Heights prison in 2049. We see a figure looking at a video screen opposite the glass cell wall.)
Nora: We need to talk
(The figure shuts off the monitor and slowly turns around.)
Thawne: Yes, Nora.
(The figure steps out into the light, revealing himself to be Eobard Thawne, in the guise of Harrison Wells.)
Thawne: Yes we do.

(A Caption Box reads Earth-90 as we see the aftermath of a war and numerous people in costumes lying on the ground, dead. Eventually we come to a figure in a somewhat familiar red suit crawling on the ground toward a large book that is glowing purple. A figure walks over and picks the book up before he can reach it.)
The Monitor: You failed.
(The figure in red pulls himself up to his knees. It is The Flash. Not the Flash we know, but definitely The Flash.)
The Flash: (gasping) Why are you doing this?
The Monitor: You did this to yourselves. And now... all of you will perish.
(The Monitor opens the book and light pours from it. As he does so, The Flash stands and runs toward the camera, as a familiar theme to older comic book TV show fans plays, as we zoom in on his chest symbol....) 


Continuity

Ralph and Sherloque determine that Orlin Dwyer grew up somewhere in the American Midwest, was in and out of the Juvenile Offenders program as a teenager and went off the grid before emerging in Central City a few years earlier. He works part time at Szrek Chemicals. His boss says he keeps to himself, is kind of a lonerand gave a fake address on his application. He was given custody of his niece, Grace Gibbons, after her parents were killed by a metahuman.

Cisco determines that the best dates for Barry to attempt to retrieve what they need are May 23, 2017 (The date of the final battle with Savitar where his armor was destroyed in 323), August 19, 2016 (the day Zoom drained Barry's speed in 218) and the night of the Particle Accelerator explosion. (December 11, 2013, as seen in 101.)

Sherloque asks Cisco about the code in Nora's journal. Cisco says Barry was writing in the same language when he left the Speed Force in 401, but Cisco was only able to translate one sentence of it - "This house is bitchin'." This turned out to be the first thing Nora said upon visiting Joe West's house in 423.

A Time Wraith shows up because there are three versions of Barry Allen at one point in time. Barry distracts it while Nora retrieves the piece of Savitar's armor they need.

Nora is stunned to see that Savitar was another version of Barry Allen and that Iris West killed him.

Nora sees Iris comforting a disheartened Barry after he's lost his powers.

Barry runs Harry Wells in STAR Labs. It is Barry who gives Harry the idea to try and track Jesse Wells by taking advantage of the fact that people from other Earths have different vibrational frequencies.

Barry stops Harry from destroying the Speed Force Transmitter.

Before Barry and Nora can escape into the time stream, Zoom senses them and chases after them. They are able to evade him and send the Time Wraith after him, but the Speed Force Transmitter is broken in the process.

Barry realizes they have traveled slightly further back in time, to the events of 217, when he traveled back a year to get training in going faster by Eobard Thawne when he was still masquerading as Harrison Wells.

Thawne repairs the Speed Force Transmitter for Barry and Nora. It is suggested by the way Thawne acts toward Nora that he knows who she is and is just playing dumb to that fact.

As Barry and Nora sneak around STAR Labs, they go past Grodd's cage.

Nora had no idea why Eboard Thawne was her dad's arch-enemy or that he had killed her grandmother.

Dr. Ambres is revealed to have been the doctor on duty when Barry Allen and Harrison Wells were brought into the hospital on the night of the Particle Accelerator explosion.

Barry vibrates the weapon they've created into the middle of a column in front of the hospital.

Cicada's command of his danger has a great enough range that he can affect it even after it has been vibed into space.

It is determined that Cicada's powers do not effect metahumans like Killer Frost who were created without being exposed to Dark Matter.

Cicada flees before Killer Frost can totally immobilize him.

Sherloque asks Nora about the code in her journal. She says it is a time language she invented that can be used to record events regardless of changes to the timeline.

Sherloque was able to translate one sentence of Nora's journal - THE TIMELINE IS MALLEABLE

Nora goes back in time to see Dr. Henry Allen and Nora Allen on their last night together.

Nora is revealed to have been using Gideon in The Time Vault to send her journal entries forward in time to someone else.

Nora goes forward in time to 2049 deliver a message personally to the person she is sending information to in the future. The person is revealed to be Eobard Thawne, still in the body of Harrison Wells, who is incarcerated in Iron Heights Prison.

The final scene on Earth-90 was also shown at the end of .S408.


Location

Earth-90.


The Bottom Line

Lackluster as a 100th episode and fairly flat as a mid-season finale. Everything of importance happens in the last 15 minutes and nothing really changes apart from us having a more specific idea of why Nora can't be trusted and how Cicada will ultimately be beaten. Still, that teaser for Elseworlds.... wow!

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 23 - The Race of His Life

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




Plot

With Henry Allen dead and Zoom's plan to destroy the multiverse revealed, Barry is more determined than ever to stop Zoom once and for all. Unfortunately, the rest of Team Flash have a plan of their own that an angry Barry Allen could only hurt. In the end, Barry Allen will have to race to save not only his world but all worlds and prove he really is the fastest man alive!


Influences

The Man In The Iron Mask (the masked man whose identity is kept secret by the villain), Star Wars (the villain trying to corrupt the hero who manipulates the same force as him), Crisis On Infinite Earths (The Flash needing to use his powers to contain the energy of a device capable of destroying multiple universes), the film Ghost (the Time Wraiths coming for Zoom), Back To The Future (the alternate past Barry fading out of existence after present Barry prevents his mother's death), Flashpoint (Barry Allen goes back in time to prevent his mother's murder) and every classic The Flash comic involving a race against the villain.


Goofs

So after all the talk a few episodes ago about how there was no way they could possibly stop Zoom without Barry getting his speed back, suddenly Team Flash comes up with a plan to do that in less than a day?

How exactly was Team Flash's plan to stop Zoom without Barry supposed to work when Zoom can fashion controlled breaches on his own now? Sure, they could have knocked him out of Earth One for a little bit, but he was bound to find his way back eventually...

The science behind how the Time Remnants work is hand-waved as Barry tries to explain what append to Wally and then basically says to forget about it.


Performances

Grant Gustin offered a varied performance through the episode. For the first time, we see Barry Allen truly enraged and you honestly believe he could easily kill Zoom at this point given half the chance. The final scenes in which Barry gives in to his anger but finds a way to focus it are as frightening as they are thrilling and showcase Gustin's range as an actor like nothing else in the series so far.

Danielle Panabaker also gives an amazing performance, playing Caitlin Snow as she tries to throw Zoom off guard with her talk of finally being ready to embrace the evil within her. It's a tricky thing for an actor to play someone who isn't an actor trying to act (we saw something of this last week when Caitlin impersonated Killer Frost)  but Panabaker does it well. She also nails the tone needed to drive home to Barry how out of control he is by pointing out that yes, in fact, she DOES know what it's like to see someone you love die in front of you.


Artistry

The opening chase/fight between The Flash and Zoom is a triumph for the special effects team and the greatest speed-sequence ever... up until the race between Zoom and The Flash tops it.


Flash Facts

Instead of the usual "My name is Barry Allen..." opening, the introduction to this episode covers the major events of Season Two.

There's a long tradition of stories in which The Flash must run a literal race in order to save the world. One of the more famous is The Human Race by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, in which a cosmic being amuses himself by forcing the champions of various worlds to race, with the loser's home-world being destroyed.

The Mercury Labs magnetar resembles the anti-matter cannon built by the Anti-Monitor in Crisis of Infinite Earths. This was the story in which Barry Allen apparently died in order to save the multiverse, burning out his life force creating a speed vortex capable of containing the blast of the anti-matter cannon.

Harry Wells also refers to Crisis on Infinite Earths, saying the number of Earths in the multiverse is infinite when Caitlin asks how many worlds Zoom could potentially destroy with the magnetar.

Zoom is said to be hiding out in an industrial park on Leawood.  In the original DC Comics universe, Leawood was the name of a blue-collar residential district in Central City and home to Central City Stadium.

The idea of one Earth being the main nexus around which all other universes are based has been key to most of the incarnations of DC Comics Multiverse.  Before Crisis on Infinite Earths, this central Earth was Earth One, which became the basis of the post-Crisis unified universe.  Following Infinite Crisis, the multiverse was restored with the central core Earth dubbed Earth Zero or New Earth. After Flashpoint, the central Earth was dubbed Earth Zero, New Earth and Prime Earth.

In the DCTVU, that central Earth is Earth One.

The death of Barry's time remnant is a direct reference to how Barry Allen died in Crisis of Infinite Earths.

When Zoom is taken by the Time Wraiths, his body begins to molder and disintegrate. Between this and his torn costume, he resembles The Black Flash - the angel of Death for speedsters in the DC Comics Universe. (Thanks to Michael Bartosh for pointing this out.)

Jay Garrick refers to his home-world as Earth Three. In the pre-Crisis and New 52 versions of the DC Comics Multiverse, Earth Three is home to the evil counterparts of the heroes of Earth One.

The ending of the episode mirrors the events at the start of the story Flashpoint - a mini-series where Barry Allen's traveling back in time to save his mother's life creates a divergent timeline where the world is quite different.


Technobabble

Zoom stole a magnetar from Merucry Labs that is capable of acting like an artificial pulsar. A pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation.

Harry says the magnetar will act as a power amplifier, with a highly magnetized dense rotating core. It could be easily weaponized and Cisco confirms that the magnetar is what he saw in his visions of Earth Two being destroyed.

The magnetar is capable of destroying a planet - perhaps more with the right power source (i.e. the energy siphoned from two speedsters racing).

Zoom says that Earth One is at the center of the multiverse - the access point to every other Earth. One trans-dimensional shock-wave there will destroy all the other Earths.

One lap around the inside of the magnetar loop will produce about one gigawatt of energy. Zoom needs 500 plus gigawatts to power the magentar enough to unleash the shock-wave that will destroy the multiverse.

Barry's time remnant creates his own out-of-phase pulse to counteract the one generated by the magnetar. His body cannot handle the strain, however, and the time remnant burns himself out, sacrificing his life to stop the magnetar from destroying the multi-verse.

Barry went back in time moments before he left, creating a copy of himself - a time remnant. This attracted the Time Wraiths, which Barry lured towards Zoom.

A power-dampener inside the iron mask prevented the real Jay Garrick from using his powers.


Dialogue Triumphs

Joe: Henry Allen. Henry suffered two great losses in his life. He lost his wife, Nora, and he lost Barry. He suffered guilt, embarrassment, ridicule, shame and everything that comes with being blamed for a crime he didn't commit.  Henry Allen was proof that love can get you through the darkest of days. And that love will keep him alive in all of our hearts.

Barry: When I was in The Speed Force, I felt like... I had finally come to grips with her death. With not saving her when I went back. And then, the moment... where I'm finally at the place where I can move on, my father is taken from me. How am I supposed to ever find peace with that?
Iris: I don't know, Barry. But you're gonna have to find a way to do that or it's gonna tear you apart.
Barry: I just miss him so much already...

Joe: Bare? Don't race him.
Barry: It's not that easy...
Joe: Yes it is! You just say no! We find another way to stop him. Together. Like we always do!
Barry: And do what, Joe? Just sit around and wait for him to kill somebody else? Wally? Iris? You? No! No way!
Joe: He needs you, Bare! He needs your speed again to get what he wants! We have the advantage here!
Barry: All I have to do is beat him, Joe. That saves the multiverse! This whole city! All of you! I won't let another person I love die when I can prevent it.
Joe: This... isn't just about racing Zoom, is it? You want to kill this guy.
Barry: Of course I want to kill him, Joe! I want to do a hell of a lot more than just kill him! I want him to suffer! For everything that he's done! And he's going to!
Joe: C'mon Bare! Think about what you're saying.
Barry: I have to be willing to do whatever it takes. I'm sorry, but I'm racing him whether you want me to or not.

Joe: And I can't talk you out of it?
Barry: Not this time.
Joe: Then I'm sorry too.
(Harry shoots Barry in the back with a tranquilizer dart.) 

Caitlin: I made a mistake. I am so sorry that I abandoned you. But you have to understand what you said to me - that there was a dark side of me? That I was more like Killer Frost than I knew? I didn't want to accept that. I tried to lock the darkness inside of me. But you knew that was already a part of me now. And you're the only one who did. And now, I'm ready to accept who I really am.... I am so sorry that I hurt you. But now, I want to be that one that only you know. Please Jay. Let me try.

Zoom: I will say, if anything, Barry sure has an ample number of fathers to kill. 

Cisco: Barry, look at yourself right now. You're not okay! 

Barry: Cisco, my dad was just killed in front of me! Do you have any idea how that feels?!

Caitlin: Watching someone you love die? Yes, I do.

Barry: Cait...
Caitlin: Look, Barry... I know how cold and angry and distant that can make you. But when this happened to me, you were the one who kept me in check. You told me to stop and take a breath and that's all we're telling you to do now...

Barry: What are the rules?
Zoom: One lap around the inside of this loop will produce about one gigawatt of energy. And I need 500 plus to power the magentar enough to do the job. Once its full, I win.
Barry: So all I have to do beat you is to stop you before that happens?
Zoom: Yep. It's that simple. But if, at any point, you decide you don't want to race anymore, Dear Old Dad Number Two is a dead man, as well as your little fan club.
Barry: They're not my fan club. They're the reason that I'm running. And why I'm going to beat you.

Joe: I see Jay - excuse me- Hunter stole your color scheme too.
Jay: He took a lot of things that were mine. (pointing to the winged helmet that belonged to Hunter Zolomon's father) Except for that. That's - um- that's all him.

Iris: He said it was his father's from the war.

Harry: Ironically, on my - on our Earth (looks to Jesse), this helmet stood for hope.
Jay: Yeah?
Harry: Yeah.

Jay: Well, maybe I can continue that sentiment. Take something from him for a change. Make it my own.
(Jay puts on the helmet and tilts his head back.)
Caitlin: It suits you.
Jay: Thank you. All of you, for saving me from Zoom. (looks to Barry) Especially you, Flash. 

Barry: You're welcome... Flash.
(Jay tips the brim of the helmet to Barry.)

Dialogue Disasters

Candace Patton's flat delivery of the word "Dad!" as Joe is knocked through the breach by accident.


Continuity

Zoom created another time remnant, whom he kills in front of Barry.

Henry Allen's tombstone bears the inscription "There is no better world than the one with you."

Barry refers to his going back in time to save his mother from The Reverse Flash in 123.

Caitlin refers to Zoom's line about measuring success by the number of victims from 219.

Zoom refers to his threat from 221 to show Caitlin no mercy if she abandoned him.

Cisco is able to fashion a controlled breach using his powers.

Cisco is unable to clearly vibe on Zoom when Zoom is on the move. Attempting to do so gives him a headache and he compares the visions he has to it being like his brain is channel surfing.

Zoom confirms that he created Velocity 9 on Earth Two, but that his continued use of it was slowly killing him. He tried several things to cure himself, including manipulating The Speed Force. This resulted in Time Wraiths being sent after him for breaking The Speed Force's rules.

The Man In The Iron Mask is confirmed to be another speedster from a third Earth called The Flash, whose real name is Jay Garrick

Caitlin refers to Ronnie Raymond's death in 201.

Cisco uses the device from 221 used to broadcast Iris into The Speed Force to help Barry send a message to Zoom across dimensions.

Earth One is revealed to be the central link between all Earths.

Zoom says the line, "Run, Barry, Run."

Barry creates a time remnant, who sacrifices himself to generate a pulse that disables the magentar.

The real Jay Garrick is revealed to be the Earth Three doppelganger of Henry Allen.

Barry recalls that his father told him that his mother's maiden name was Garrick in 220 when he sees the real Jay Garrick.

Jay Garrick's costume as The Flash is just like the one that Zoom wore when pretending to be Jay Garrick, save that the original Jay Garrick didn't wear a helmet.

Jay Garrick elects to take Hunter Zolomon's father's army helmet and make it a part of his costume, restoring it's original intent as a symbol of hope.

Jesse and Harry Wells return to Earth Two. They take Jay Garrick with them and promise to help him find a way to return to his Earth, which is dubbed Earth Three.

Wells calls Cisco by his first name in stead of Ramon for the first time.

Barry tells Irish he needs to get his head together before he can think of starting a relationship with her. She agrees to wait for him.

Barry goes back in time and stops The Reverse Flash from killing his mother. The episode ends with Barry trying to comfort her.


Location

Zoom's lair on Earth Two.


Untelevised Adventures

Zoom refers to how he fought and defeated The Flash of another Earth, whose name was Jay Garrick. It was in parody of this hero that he posed as Jay Garrick/The Flash of Earth Two.


The Boomerang Factor

Honestly, the whole of Team Flash come off as sort of stupid trying to take on Zoom without Barry after how much has been said about them needing Barry, with his powers, to stop Zoom. This isn't quite as stupid, however, as Barry's decision to jack around with the timeline once again given everything he's learned so far about why time travel just makes things worse.


The Bottom Line

A largely disappointing conclusion that will ultimately be remembered for what it set up rather than what it accomplished. The battles with Zoom are just set-up for the reveal of the real Jay Garrick and the revelation that Season Three will likely be based on the Flashpoint storyline.  This begs the question... will the other CW shows be affected by this immediately?  Will this be the means by which Supergirl is brought into the main DCTVU?  The possibilities, sadly, are more exciting than this episode. But at least it will give us fans something to talk about all summer.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 22 - Invincible

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




Plot

Barry has his speed back just in time for Zoom to unleash his metahuman army on Central City. And leading the pack is Black Siren - the Earth Two version of Laurel Lance! But Barry won't be alone in saving his city... much to Joe West's annoyance as Wally West starts trying to fight the metahuman invaders himself.


Influences

The Justice League of America comics of Gardner Fox (the various Crisis crossovers, Black Siren is clearly inspired by the evil Earth Three counterparts of the Justice League) and the Vibe comics of Geoff Johns (Cisco's creates a focused sonic blast for the first time).


Goofs

How the hell is Black Siren still walking after being hit by a car?

The whole idea of Earth Two counterparts being mirror-images of their Earth One counterpart is just unsound on the face of it, given how many infinite Earths there are.

Katie Cassidy's performance as Black Siren is just awful. This is curious given her best work on Arrow was in an antagonistic role in Season Two. Playing the vampy villainess proves beyond her talents, however, as her delivery is rushed in every scene she's in and seems to be doing a bad impression of Danielle' Panabaker's Killer Frost.  As Cisco says, she's "just a poor imitation."


Performances

Keiynan Lonsdale dominates his scenes as Wally West.  Wally's been an afterthought and/or a hostage for most of the second-half of Season Two. Here, however, we finally start to see something of the young man who could one day be The Flash himself.

It's a brief thing, but I loved the scene between Cisco and Caitlin where he comforts her over her seeing Zoom everywhere since escaping him. Partly because it's so rare to see a close male/female friendship like this on television but also because Danielle Panabaker masterfully portrays what PTSD anxiety attacks are like and Carlos Valdes likewise does a good job showing how to comfort someone going through such trauma. And kudos to the writers for scripting this scene.


Artistry

The opening battle between the police and Zoom's army is a perfect balance of good FX work and fight choreography.

The special effects for the Canary Cry used here are closer to what we saw in Supergirl for Silver Banshee and much better than what we saw in Arrow.

The special effects as Barry runs into Mercury Labs to save everyone are top-notch.


Flash Facts

One of the metahumans in Zoom's army is a flying man who throws green fireballs. This could be an evil male version of Beatriz da Costa (a.k.a. The Green Flame, a.k.a. Fire) whose powers included generating green flames and flying.

Black Siren's costume is clearly a tribute to the comics version of Black Canary, being made of black leather and fishnets - though the fishnet material is on her arms rather than her legs.

The scene where Dr. Tina McGee and Dr. Henry Allen meet is a nod to the 1990s The Flash TV series, where actor Amanda Pays played a different Dr. Tina McGee and actor John Wesley Shipp played Barry Allen.

The name of Black Siren comes from the Justice League animated series.  That show featured a heroine from an alternate Earth called Black Siren, who was clearly meant as a tribute to the Golden Age Black Canary.


Technobabble

Mercury Labs was equipped with a Crash Survivable Memory Unit - a black box for buildings.

Joe wields a new anti-metahuman weapon - a gun which fires shock-collars that latch onto a metahuman and render them unable to use their powers.

Cisco's Vibe Tech didn't work on Earth Two because their dimension operated on a different frequency. Barry suggests there might be some way to use that and the technology Pied Piper used to fight The Time Wraith to create something capable of disabling all the Earth Two metahumans at once.

Strictly speaking, Barry is technically correct saying Mach 50 is not a real thing. It would be more accurate to say that it's not a real thing on Earth. The highest Mach regime runs from Mach 10 to Mach 25, and measures the speed needed to maintain a low orbit in Earth's upper atmosphere. The speed of light in a vacuum, by contrast, is Mach 880,991.09.

According to Harry, any sound over 200 decibels will kill an ordinary human at close range. The blast from Black Siren which Barry survives is charted at 250 decibels. To put this in perspective, a sound of 150 decibels can permanently rupture an ear drum and is the equivalent of a jet engine taking off at close range. The highest recorded sound in human history was 194 decibels.

All matter vibrates at its own unique frequency. Disrupting the frequency disrupts the matter, like how an opera singer can shatter a glass with her voice. People from Earth Two vibrate at a higher (and, according to Cisco, more erratic) frequency.

Hartley postulates that they could create a dimensional tuning fork of sorts. If Barry runs fast enough around Central City to create a refracting field, the tuning fork will send out a pulse that will bounce off of the wave, split apart and collide with itself over and over, amplifying it into a higher frequency on the Earth 2 spectrum. When that pulse hits anyone from Earth Two, it will disrupt their nervous system, knocking them unconscious.

Wells designs special headphones to protect himself and his daughter from this pulse.

Harry Wells makes use of a 75 KTSB 40,000 watt reverberating sound amplifier, designed to single out the operating frequency of every single Earth Two being on Earth One, which, when contained and magnified by The Flash creating a sound pressure wall around Central City, will render all of the aforementioned Earth Two beings without special ear protection conscious.

Cisco creates a special cell for Black Siren in The Pipeline, using double-panned sound-proof glass.


Dialogue Triumphs

Iris (opening voice over):  Some people are calling it "the met apocalypse" - the days when Central City was overrun by an army with powers beyond imagination. But in these dark times, we must never forget our own strength. Our own power to fight back. That it is only in the blackest of nights that we can truly see the light and know for sure that we are not alone. We are never, ever alone.

Dr. Tina McGee: There may be one more possibility. A few months ago, I saw Harrison Wells running out of my facility. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm certain it was him. Is there any way he could have anything to do with this?
(Enter Harry Wells, standing in the doorway with a coffee mug.  Dr. McGee's jaw drops.)
Harry: A few months ago? Sure. Now? No.
Barry: Yeah, there are a FEW more things that we could catch you up on, Dr. McGee...

Wally: The Flash can't be everywhere at once! I have to do what I can to help! I have to show him I was worth being saved!
Joe: Wally... you ARE worth it.
Wally: Really? Am I? Because last time I checked, I'm the guy who avoided his dying mother for weeks.  I'm the guy who shamed a bunch of other guys and illegally took their cars from them.  I'm the guy who caused The Flash to lose his powers and start this whole damn Metapocalypse in the first place!
Joe: Wally...
Wally: Last time I checked... I have a whole lot to make up for. And that's what I intend to do.

(Barry enters his lab. He finds Zoom looking over Barry's timeline his mother's murder.)
Zoom: You know, I never saw the crime photos of my mother's murder? Well, I guess I didn't need to. I got a ring-side seat while you got whisked away. Too delicate, I suppose.
(Barry just stares at him.)
Zoom: Not just a hologram after all, are you Flash? (He meets Barry's gaze) Interesting.
Barry: I know you didn't call me up here just to banter. Let's finish this. Right now.
Zoom: Actually, I did. I called you up here to tell you you can't keep running from one meta to the next. Around and around. Like a dog chasing its tail.
Barry: I'll do whatever it takes to stop you.
Zoom: If only that were good enough. 'Cause here's the thing - I know you. I know you. I know what's holding you back. You and me? We're really just the same person.
Barry: (scoffs) Yeah, you keep saying that, but that's not going to make it true.
Zoom: You'll see. We are. Same tragic background. Same reason for running. Same desire to be the fastest - to be the best. The difference? You think your anger is dirty somehow.You want to be seen as pure. The hero. Doesn't it get exhausting? (frantically) Doesn't it get exhausting, Barry?! It was exhausting playing Jay, believe me!
Barry: I'm not pretending.
(In the background, a seismic rumble is heard.  Barry looks across the skyline to see another building starting to collapse.)
Zoom: Now if it were me, I'd let that building tumble without a second thought. But you... you'll never let that happen, will you? That's why I'm going to beat you, Barry. Because you always have to be the hero. And while you're playing the good little boy... I'll be busy winning.

Cisco: Birds! Why? It's like a Hitchcock movie in my head!

(As Caitlin has a panic attack, thinking she saw Zoom.)
Caitlin: I see him everywhere!
Cisco: Look. You literally just escaped the psychopath who kidnapped you, all right? So I think it's normal for you to have a severe reaction like this.
Caitlin: This is so much worse than that! I-I'm afraid all the time. I don't think I can ever move forward
Cisco: You will...
Caitlin: When?! Jay took everything from me! My confidence My trust! My sanity. I don't think I'll ever be whole again!

Cisco: (hugging her) Of course you will. I promise.

(Wally is sitting his his car, listening to a police scanner. Suddenly, The Flash runs up.)
The Flash: Stealing is illegal, you know?
(Wally looks at the scanner and chuckles, as if trying to think of an excuse.)
The Flash: Detective West tells me that you've been... fighting Zoom's army on your own?
Wally: Yeah. I want to help.
The Flash: I admire what you're trying to do. But the best way to help is to just leave this to the police.
Wally: Like you did?
The Flash: I do have powers, Wally. It is a little different. This isn't your fight. It's mine.
Wally:  No, it's all of ours. This is my city now too, now. And it's up to all of us to protect it.

(As Black Siren gloats over a deafened Flash, a car comes out of nowhere and hits her, sending her flying.  Wally West opens the passenger door and waves to The Flash.)
Wally: Get in!
(The Flash crawls into the car as Wally grins, guns the engine, and drives off into the night.)
Wally: Thought you might need a lift.
The Flash (still gasping) Yeah... thanks...
(The Flash exits the car, leaving Wally alone to grin and shake his head.)
Wally: You're welcome.

Joe: (To Cisco) This is where I play stupid and you explain science.


Continuity

Captain Singh is injured in the battle with Zoom's minions.

Caitlin makes her way back to STAR Labs, seemingly let go by Zoom. She's dehydrated, malnourished and in shock but otherwise fine.

Since returning from The Speed Force, Barry is overly optimistic and seems to think he's invincible, talking about how the universe is with them.

Cisco has several vibe visions of birds flying into glass windows and dying. Specifically, canaries.

Dr. Tina McGee figured out that Barry Allen is The Flash through simple observation of the fact that Barry seemed to be far too well informed regarding everything going on in her labs that The Flash was privy to but Barry Allen shouldn't have been.

Dr. McGee makes reference to seeing Harrison Wells rob her lab back in 204.

Dr. McGee learns of the existence of Earth Two and its version of Harrison Wells.

Jesse asks Caitlin to run tests on her to see if she's become a metahuman after being hit by the dark matter wave.

Caitlin is having PTSD flashes of Zoom.

Barry claims the Speed Force changed him and took away his fear.

Barry refers to the events of 217 and Pied Piper using his technology to take down a Time Wraith.

Black Siren's sonic powers seem to be me more powerful than Black Canary's.  She also seems to be a more accomplished fighter than Earth One Laurel Lance.

Black Siren is aware of the death of Black Canary.

Wally West's licence plate is 6EG-488.

Cisco is right-handed. His Earth Two counterpart, Reverb, was apparently left-handed.

All dopplegangers are mirror images of themselves, at least in terms of which hand is dominant, according to Black Siren.

In a moment of duress, Cisco is able to throw a focused sonic blast at Black Siren, which sends her flying by accident.

For some reason, Jesse Wells is still effected by the pulse wave despite her ear protections, experiencing great physical pain. Harry Wells takes off his protectors and places them over her protectors, saving her but causing him to be knocked unconscious.

Barry, Cisco and Caitlin elect not to tell Sara Lance and Quentin Lance about Black Siren, based on Barry's own bad experiences interacting with his alternate-earth loved ones in 213.  She and several other metahumans are being contained in STAR Labs Pipeline. The rest are being kept at Iron Heights.

Captain Singh survived his injuries. He is aware that the captured metahumans are being kept someplace besides Iron Heights, but trusts Joe when he says he doesn't want to know where.

Captain Singh is unaware of the existence of Earth Two.

Joe West wants his grandchildren to call him Poppa - not Gramps.

A romance seems to be blooming between Tina McGee and Henry Allen.

The same can be said about Wally West and Jesse Wells.

Wally seems to figure out that Barry is The Flash.

In the final scene, Zoom seems to kill Henry Allen in the same spot where his wife died, in Barry's childhood home.


Untelevised Adventures

We don't see the the opening wave of Zoom's metahuman army attacking Central City, with the episode opening in media res in the middle of an all-out battle between the CCPD and Zoom's followers.

We don't see Barry saving the people at the second building collapse.


The Fridge Factor

For all the effort put into making Black Siren seem menacing, she's really not.


The Boomerang Factor

Barry's competence is severely nerfed in order to make Black Siren seem threatening.


The Bottom Line

A bit of a stumble as this season runs for the finish line, to use a running metaphor.

The script fails to properly build on the drama that could have been caused by Team Flash confronting an evil version of a fallen friend and Black Siren's presence is a distraction from the much bigger (yet oddly quieter - no pun intended) menace posed by an army of hundreds of evil metahumans. Had there been some attempt at showing Black Siren's background or allowing the whole team a chance to react to her, it might have worked. That failure, coupled with Katie Cassidy's muted performance, makes the Black Siren subplot largely pointless.

And yet, the rest of the episode has moments that work so well you can ignore how pointless the scenes with Laurel are.  Cisco trying to help Caitlin confront her PTSD. The brief flirtation between Henry Allen and Tina McGee. Every moment of Wally proving that he is his father's son and trying to be a hero? These moments make the episode into something tolerable, if not quite good.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 21 - The Runaway Dinosaur

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




Plot

With Barry presumed dead, there is no one left to defend Central City when Girder - one of Barry's first metahuman enemies - seems to have been resurrected by the second particle accelerator explosion. Iris volunteers to act as bait - an action Joe is naturally and strongly against. Meanwhile, in another time and place, Barry struggles to escape a surreal world populated by beings wearing the faces of his friends and family... a world that turns out to be The Speed Force itself!


Influences

The Flash comics of Mark Waid, particularly Terminal Velocity (The story which introduced the idea of The Speed Force as an otherworldly realm/afterlife for speedsters and general revelations about The Speed Force and how it works in the DCTVU), the film Contact (hero makes contact with an otherworldly being who takes the form of loved ones to make the hero more comfortable), The X-Files (Cisco and Iris stumbling around a lab with high-power flashlights ala Mulder and Scully, the "monster of the week" tone of the script regarding zombie Girder, Cisco name-drops the show referring to Barry's medical records as his "X-File".) The 1931 Frankstein (the general behavior of the zombie Girder), Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (the comedic tone of most of the zombie Girder scenes before he gets to STAR Labs, Cisco refers to the movie calling Girder "Abby Normal" and saying everything is going Young Frankenstein), Peter Pan (Barry chasing his speed through The Speed Force is reminsicent of Peter Pan chasing his shadow) and the children's book The Runaway Bunny (The Runaway Dinosaur seems to be a tribute to this book in both plot and title.).


Goofs

While Harry Wells has his hands in the proper place to do CPR to the unconscious Jesse (a rarity in most depictions of giving CPR on television) he is not using nearly enough force.

Shouldn't Henry look over Wally too, despite Wally seemingly being in better condition than Jesse? (He's sent home purely to increase the drama when zombie Girder shows up at The West House).

At this point, one wonders why Iris and Joe are still keeping Barry's secret identity a secret from Wally. It's particularly painful that Iris is going along with it, given how rightly annoyed she was at being endangered by her ignorance.  Seriously! How many times is this now that a super-villain has attacked The West home while Wally was there?


Performances

For the first time in what seems like forever, Grant Gustin is allowed to take center stage and do some real acting beyond playing the bold hero. We dare you to not get a little tear-eyed during the scene in which he recites his favorite book as a child from memory.

The actors playing the various aspects of The Speed Force all do a fine job of playing something "other" than their usual roles. There's just enough that is off-putting about their performances to seem slightly inhuman. John Wesley Shipp is particular effective in his sequence, seeming to want to comfort Barry as he cries at his mother's grave but knowing so little about humanity that it cannot even conceive of the idea of a comforting touch, much less the hug Barry sorely seems to need.

Tom Cavanagh's faces as Carlos Valdes tries to explain - badly - just what is going on with the Zombie Girder may be the finest moment of visual comedy in the show's history.


Artistry

The music for this episode during the Speed Force sequences is phenomenal.

The script, by X-Men: First Class writer Zack Stentz, is particularly strong in its dramatic segments.

Shockingly, given Kevin Smith's reputation as a comedic director, it's the dramatic scenes in The Speed Force which are the most memorable and strongly directed.

The special effects for the sequences in which Cisco and Iris both reach out to Barry in The Speed Force are amazing.


Flash Facts

The director of this episode was Kevin Smith. In addition to being a prominent podcaster and screenwriter/director, Smith is an occasional comic book writer, whose critically acclaimed run on Green Arrow brought Oliver Queen back from the dead in 2001.

The name of the Barry's favorite book as a child - The Runaway Dinosaur - seems to be a nod to the classic children's book The Runaway Bunny. Both stories deal with an animal child who wishes to be something else, who is assured by its mother that it will be loved no matter what it becomes and where it goes.

The author of The Runaway Dinosaur is given as Ethan Rhys Helbing. This may be a nod to the on-line RPG Sacred - where Ethan Rhys is the name of a powerful armor set - and to The Flash writers Aaron and Todd Helbing.

The idea of The Speed Force as an otherworldly realm and afterlife of sorts for speedsters was first introduced in The Flash storyline Terminal Velocity. In this story, Wally West became absorbed into The Speed Force but later returned from it, guided by his love for his girlfriend and future wife, Linda Park. Later stories revealed that Barry Allen, rather than dying during Crisis on Infinite Earths, was instead absorbed into The Speed Force.

This episode references several of the ideas Mark Waid introduced during his run on The Flash regarding The Speed Force. Chief among these are the idea of The Speed Force being a place as well as an energy source, that speedsters are given power when The Speed Force "notices" them and the idea that a person's love may allow them to become an anchor for a speedster, so they can find their way home now matter how far or fast they travel, as Iris seems to be with Barry here.

Harry Wells quotes Karl Marx - "History repeats itself first as tragedy and then as farce."

Jason Mewes - the actor who played drug-dealer Jay in many of Kevin Smith's movies - has a cameo as the man whose car is destroyed by Girder outside of the Big Belly Burger.

Cisco refers to the zombie Girder as "iZombie" at one point and asks if he is still following Iris. iZombie, of course, is another CW show based on a DC Comics series. It's a double reference joke as actor Greg Finley, who plays Girder, also plays a zombie on iZombie.

The titular dinosaur of The Runaway Dinosaur is an Maiasaur. The name - a combination of Greek and Latin - roughly translates as "good mother reptile". This was in reference to the first fossils of the Maiasaur which proved that they fed their young in the nest - the first evidence that some dinosaurs did care for their young in the same fashion as mother birds.


Technobabble

Harry constructs a simple feedback loop. When Cisco vibes on Barry, his brain waves send Harry the necessary data to pinpoint whatever dimensional pocket or corner of the universe that Barry is stuck in. The loop will then electrically stimulate Cisco's prefrontal cortex while opening a breach, which will give Cisco physical access to Barry and let him be the beacon that guides him home.

It is later determined that other people can see Barry in The Speed Force while Cisco is vibing in the simple feedback loop, if Cisco makes physical contact with them. This is what allows Iris to make contact with Barry.

The stray energy from the second particle accelerator explosion reactivated parts of Girder's brain. Cisco disassembled STAR Labs' MRI to set up two large electromagnets. Caught between the magnetic field the magnets generate, it should disrupt the energy wave that reanimated Girder. Iris likens this to wiping a hard drive clean.

Barry is able to charge the electromagnets using the spin from his running in a circle around Girder, like an electric turbine.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Barry walks down the steps of his childhood home and into the crime scene where his mother was found dead. He sees Joe West kneeling in the middle of it.)
Barry: Joe?
"Joe": (looking up and standing) Good to see you, Barry. But I'm not Joe.
Barry: You're not?
"Joe": No.
Barry: And all of this? It's not real?
"Joe": How do you feel being back here?
Barry: I feel awful.
"Joe": We... thought you'd be more comfortable talking to someone who looked familiar. And in a place you know.
Barry: We?  Who is 'we' exactly?
"Joe": That's a little hard to explain... Sit, Barry. (motioning to a chair) Sit.
(They both sit down.)
"Joe": How much do you know about The Speed Force?
Barry: It's the source of my power. It's what makes me a speedster.
"Joe": Yes! And no. When the first subatomic particle sprang from The Big Bang to form reality as you know it? We were there. When the last proton decays, stops vibrating and plunges the universe into heat death? We'll be there too.
Barry: I'm talking to The Speed Force?
("Joe" nods.)
Barry: Isn't that like saying that you're having a conversation with gravity or light or...
("Joe" just grins. Barry stands, looking confused.)
"Joe": You need a minute? It's okay if you do.It's a lot to take in.
Barry: So you're saying that I'm - I'm talking to the source of my power, which just so happens to look like... my adoptive dad? That's trippy.
"Joe": (chuckles) We pretty much invented trippy here.
Barry: Look, I'm - I'm not sure why you brought me here, but you need to send me back. My friends are in danger from Zoom...
(A black blur moves past the window.)
Barry: Did you see that?
(The blur goes past again.)
"Joe": You're not going back. Not until...
Barry: Until what?
"Joe": Until you catch... that.
(Joe points at the blur.)

"Iris": Do you remember this place? Where we first kissed?
Barry: Yeah, of course, except that wasn't you.
"Iris": We thought you'd find this place and our appearance less upsetting. Yet you seem upset?
Barry: My friends, my city... my whole world is in danger. Zoom is on a rampage with the power that he stole from me and you are keeping me here!
"Iris": You were given a rare and precious gift and you rejected it.
Barry:  No, I did not reject it! I gave up my powers to save someone's life! To be a hero! I nearly killed myself to get them back when you brought me here! Wherever here is!
"Iris": That's not what we meant.
Barry: If you would rather have given these powers to somebody else, why did you give them to me?
"Iris": Because you are The Flash, Barry.

Joe: Wells...as a parent, believe me, I have nothing but sympathy for what you're going through. Listen to me closely when I say to you - we have a lot of fires burning at the same time and if we all work together, we just might be able to put them out. Let Henry take care of your daughter. Me and Iris will handle this Girder situation. But you and Cisco are the scientists. You're the only one who can bring Barry back from wherever the hell he is right now!
Harry: (quietly, slowly becoming more determined as he speaks) Ramon? Give those medical records to Henry and meet me in the Breach Room in five minutes. We've got work to do.

(Barry finds himself in a cemetery. He sees a man from behind, looking at the graves.)
Barry: Who are you pretending to be now?
(The man turns around. He looks like Henry Allen.)
Barry: I don't have time for this!
"Henry": Yes you do, Barry. You have all the time in the universe. Literally.
Barry: No, I don't! And how can you stand there in judgement and accuse me of rejecting my gift?! Do you have any idea how much I've done since I was struck by lightning?! How many I've helped with the power that you gave me?! (quietly) What I've sacrificed?
"Henry":  Of course we do.
("Henry" begins walking, guiding Barry towards a particular grave.)
"Henry": You've saved countless lives. And now you are the only thing standing in between your world and unspeakable evil. And yet for all of that, you've never been here.
(Barry kneels down to look at the grave. It belongs to Nora Allen - his mother.) 

Barry: Why did you bring me here?
"Henry": Your mother's death happened to you, Barry. It made you who you are. But have you accepted it? Really accepted losing her? Maybe that's why you couldn't come here... because that would make it real.
Barry: I know it's real. (sobbing) Every day I know. I had a chance to save her. You saw what I chose.
"Henry": And you're at peace with that decision?
Barry: (sobbing, forcing a laugh) "At peace". How could someone ever be at peace with letting his mother die? Deciding that his life was more valuable than hers?
"Henry": Do you really think your mother would have wanted you to die for her? And out of all the people that The Flash saved as a result of that decision, what about them? Do their lives have value too?
(Barry looks up and sees the black blur again.)
Barry: I don't have to listen to this. I have to get home.
(Barry gets up and goes running after the blur.)

(Barry returns to his childhood home and chuckles. He enters the living room and sees his mother.)
Barry: Mom?
"Nora": Hi, Barry.
Barry: You're not my mother... (exasperated) Why are you doing this to me?
"Nora": We're not doing anything to you, sweetheart. You're just so tired. Sit, Barry. Sit.
(Barry sits down with "Nora.")
Barry: You were right all along. I haven't accepted it. I don't think I ever will.
"Nora": My beautiful boy... you have to find a way.
Barry: How?
"Nora": I don't know. But I know this. What you've become? It's wonderful. A miracle even. But it won't make bad things stop happening to you. Even The Flash can't outrun the tragedies the universe is going to keep sending your way. You have to accept that. And then you can truly run free.
Barry: (sobbing) I know. I just miss her. I miss you so much...
"Nora": What if I told you that she's proud of you. And of the man that you've become?
Barry: Who's telling me that? The Speed Force or my mother?
"Nora": Both.

"Nora:" (reading) "Once there was a little dinosaur called a Maiasaur. One day he told his mother, "I wish I were special like the other dinosaurs. If I were a T. Rex, I could chimp with my ferocious teeth!"
Barry: (from memory) "But if you were a T. Rex," said his mother, "how would you hug me with your tiny little arms?" "I wish I were an Apatosaurus," said the little dinosaur, "so with my long neck I could see high above the treetops." "But if you were an Apatosaurus," said his mother, "how could you hear me in the treetops when It old you I love you?" "What makes you so special, little Maiasaur?" said his mother. "Is it your ferocious teeth or long neck or pointy beak? What makes you special, is that out of all the different dinosaurs in the big, wide world, you have the mother who is just right for you. And who will always-"
"Nora:" - love you."

"Nora": Run, Barry. Run.

Cisco: (To Barry) I'm so glad you're back! Because we're about to die!
Barry: Wait, what?
(Zombie Girder pounds against the door. )
Cisco: So...
Harry: Girder.
Cisco: (speaking rapidly and waving his hands as Harry looks like he wants to interject but is unsure where to start correcting Cisco.) Girder came back to life and he's all Young Frankenstein now and he only recognizes Iris and she lured him to my workshop so we could de-magnetize him but the machine shorted out, so he's about to come through that door and smush us all into chunky salsa and possibly eat our brains
(Harry's jaw drops and he sticks a finger in Cisco' face.)
Cisco: I don't know. Jury's still out on that.
Barry: All right. I've got it. I will lure him to your workshop abn we figure out a way to turn the power back on. Okay?
(Cisco and Harry look at each other.)
Both: Plan H.

Henry: It's been quite a day, huh? Not so much "one damn thing after another" as "every damn thing all at once".

(Barry and Iris walk to Nora Allen's grave.  Iris holds an umbrella. Barry kneels down with a backpack and puts some flowers on the grave.)
Barry: Joe offered to take me so many times. I always found an excuse to say no.
(Barry opens the backpack and pulls out a copy of The Runaway Dinosaur, which he places on Nora's grave.) 
Barry: My mom and I read this when I was little. Do you know it?
Iris: Yeah. I never really liked that book.
Barry: Why?
Iris: Because it was about a mother who was always there for her child, no matter what, and that wasn't my mom. Or yours. We never had anyone who was "just right" for us.
(Barry stands and takes the umbrella from Iris.)
Barry: Didn't we? I'm seeing things a lot differently now. I wasted so much time being angry about what I had lost when I had so much. My dad. Joe. And you. The truth is Iris, I don't know what this is between us. Or where we go from here. All I know is you're everything to me and you always have been. And the sound of your voice will always bring me home.


Dialogue Disasters

Cisco: A zombie? For real? (unusually flat delivery from Carlos Valdes here)

The whole nonsensical scene with Zombie Girder destroying a Hummer and the requisite Jason Mewes cameo that peppers almost everything Kevin Smith has ever directed.  As a Kevin Smith movie scene, it wouldn't be bad. Tonally, however, it feels totally out of place on The Flash.

Joe: I've been meaning to ask you - uh, how are you feeling?
Wally: Tired but fine, I guess.
Joe: So you don't notice anything... different?
Wally: (confused)  Uh... no.
Joe: I mean, I want you to know that you can talk to me if you're scared. Or if you have questions about how your body's changing.
(Iris groans in the background.)
Wally: I think you're a little late for the puberty talk, Dad. I've seen the Internet.


Continuity

Jesse's heart actually stops following her exposure to The Speed Force energy.

Harry Wells knows CPR.

Wally seems to be perfectly fine.

Jesse winds up in a coma similar to the one Barry was in after he was struck by lightning. Her heart-rate, reflexes and breathing are fine, but she still isn't waking up despite this.

STAR Labs has a morgue, where they kept the bodies of dead metahumans and Eobard Thawne conducted experiments on them.

The second time The Speed Force speaks to Barry is as Iris, at the park by the lake where Barry kissed Iris before time-traveling for the first time in 115.

Zombie Girder trashes CC Jitters.

Apparently the TV show iZombie exists in the DCTVU.

Barry has never visited his mother's grave.

Barry refers to the events of 123 and how he could have saved his mother but didn't.

Barry knows the book The Runaway Dinosaur by memory. It was his favorite book as a child.

Barry awakens Jesse by touching her hand. As he does so, a jolt of Speed Force energy seems to go into her.

Henry Allen decides to stay in Central City.

Barry goes to visit his mother's grave for the first time with Iris.

Iris did not like the book The Runaway Dinosaur because it reminded her of how she didn't have a reliable mother who would do anything for her.

As the episode ends, Zoom has assembled an army of Earth Two metahumans in the Central City Police Station and given Caitlin an ultimatum - stay her and side with me or leave and know I'll show you no mercy the next time I find you.


Location

The Speed Force.


The Bottom Line

Harry Wells says it best "History repeats itself first as tragedy and then as farce."  The whole episode retreads familiar ground, with Barry once again getting a second chance to find closure regarding his mother's death (as in last year's Fast Enough) and Girder's returning in an even more violent form.

The segments involving Girder are very much a farce and a mostly unwelcome distraction from the truly moving drama of Barry coming to peace with his mother's death. Thankfully, the humor coming from the cast themselves is on much firmer footing. Overall, the episode is a strong one though it may have benefited from nixing the return of Girder completely.

The Flash Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 20 - Rupture

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




Plot

Zoom returns to Earth One, now intent on conquest. And he is not alone, having brought with him the metahuman Rupture, who is out for revenge against those responsible for the events that led to his brother's death. And who is his brother? None other than Cisco's Earth Two counterpart, Reverb! As Team Flash rushes to find a way to stop Zoom and Barry debates whether or not he can run the risks that come with reactivating the STAR Labs Particle Accelerator a second time to restore his speed, Iris wonders whether or not to reveal her new-found romantic feelings for Barry.


Influences

Justice League of America's Vibe #1 (Origin of Rupture), Fringe (Cisco compares Harry's reduced particle accelerator to The Vacuum from this show.), World of Warcraft (Cisco evokes the name of Leroy Jenkins and refers to Rupture as the World of Warcraft version of his brother), The Princess Bride (Cisco calls Rupture Inigo, in reference to a character who was out to avenge his father's death), William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Barry's indecision here while being beset by the demands of multiple father figures mirrors Hamlet's main conflict), the Harry Potter books (Harry makes a sarcastic jibe about Cisco making a wand to go to a Harry Potter convention that turns out to be accurate, Cisco shouts "Expecto Patronum" when summoning the lightning bolt), Back To The Future (the need for a precise lightning strike to make an invention work, Cisco shouting "Great Scott!" - the catch phrase of Dr. Emmett Brown) and the 1931 Frankenstein film (much of the imagery with Cisco on the roof of STAR Labs, Barry strapped down and Harry playing the mad scientist).


Goofs

Harry says that Rupture is a metahuman but then says that all of his power comes from his scythe.


Performances

Nobody really stands out this week but the team effort of the ensemble manages to salvage a fairly clunky script that tries to substitute pop-culture references for wit.


Flash Facts

While meeting Cisco at a bar, Dante requests that the bartender put on the Diamonds game.  In the DC Comics universe, The Diamonds were Central City's Major League Baseball franchise.

In the pre-Crisis DC Comics universe, Cisco Ramon was the oldest of several brothers, His younger brother Armando developed the same sonic-based powers as his brother and, following Cisco's death, became a hero to honor his sacrifice. He went by the code names Reverb and Hardline.

In the New 52 DC Comics universe, Cisco was the youngest of the three Ramon brothers. The oldest brother was Armando and the middle brother was Dante.  The three were attacked during Darkseid's first invasion of Earth, with Armando presumed dead and Cisco developing his Vibe powers after being caught in the wake of an exploding piece of alien technology.

It was later revealed that Armando Ramon did not die but was teleported to the planet of Apokalyps. It was here that he was brainwashed and trained as a warrior, serving directly under Steppenwolf - general of Darkseid's armies. Armando was given the power to travel between dimensions and given the name Rupture.

The DCTVU version of Rupture is the Earth Two version of Dante Ramon. He seems to be primarily based on the New 52 version of Rupture in terms of costume and he wields a similar weapon. However, he is nowhere near as powerful as the New 52 Rupture, who has powers on par with Vibe and is able to travel between worlds independently. Also, his name is Dante Ramon - not Armando Ramon.


Technobabble

Cisco develops a holographic projector that, using STAR Labs satellite, is able to protect a hologram of The Flash anywhere in Central City. This encourages the illusion that The Flash is still up and running, provided The Flash doesn't need to do anything that requires touching something, speaking or going indoors.

Cisco is later able to overcome this difficulty, using a mobile version of the same system that can be contained with a van. This enables him to place a hologram of The Flash inside C.C. Jitters during the fight with Rupture.

Harry builds an abbreviated version of the particle accelerator that Eobard Thawne built on Earth One. Harry figures out a way to isolate the antimatter and dark energy, directing the to Barry instead of across the whole of Central City.

Jesse is able to "hot-wire" the door to The Time Vault. She says there is a motor inside the wall. All they have to do is provide electricity for it to turn on and open the door.

Harry also injects chemicals used in fingerprint analysis into Barry's body, as these chemicals were present in his system when he was struck by lightning.


Dialogue Triumphs

Cisco: (As he's getting readyAll right, Cisco. This is where all those countless hours gaming in your basement are about to pay off.

Henry: I've watched you grow ever since you became The Flash. And I am so proud of that man. But ask yourself - do you really need powers in order to be that person?
Barry: It just feels like every time something good happens in my life, it's taken away.
Henry: Well, maybe it's time we did something about that.

Caitlin: You know they're going to figure out a way to stop you, right?
Zoom: Who? Barry? Wells? The police? No. Nobody can stop me now. Not anymore.
Caitlin: So what's your plan? You're just going to kill everyone?
Zoom: Not everyone.
Caitlin: Then why are you keeping me here?
(Zoom has another flashback of his being condemned to a cruel orphanage.)
Zoom: Because I don't want to be alone anymore.
Caitlin: I am never going to be with you!
Zoom: You think that you're not like me. But I've seen the darkness inside of you, Caitlin. Just like it was inside Killer Frost. All you have to do is unlock it.

(Joe and Harry set Wally and Jesse up inside The Time Vault, turning it into a panic room of sorts.)
Joe: All right. We'll bring down some more supplies later. (hands a tablet to Jesse) How you can reach us.
Jesse: And exactly how long are we supposed to be in here?
Joe: Until someone lets you out. This isn't ideal. None of it. But Zoom's here. And until he's taken care of, this is what we're doing. This is the safest place for the two of you right now.
Wally: What are you going to do?
Joe: Whatever we can.
Wally: Joe, let me do something!
Joe: Wally, there isn't anything you can do right now. Sit tight.
(Joe exits through the door. It starts to seal up as Jesse runs for it.)
Jesse: Okay, but what about the -
(The door is sealed.)
Jesse: - bathroom.
(Jesse looks at Wally and they both chuckle.)
Wally: This room have Wi-Fi, at least?

(Joe walks into a lab where Wells is scribbling equations on a plastic clear-board.)
Joe: Wally and Jesse are all good.
Harry: Thank you.
(Joe looks at the condensed particle accelerator Wells has built.)
Joe: So this is what it takes to get Barry his speed back?
Harry: Yeah. It's not uncomplicated, but... almost there.
Joe: I've told you before - once Barry makes up his mind, it's impossible to change it.
Harry: Well, then we need to convince him that this is the only way before he decides not to do it, right?
(Henry Allen enters the lab.)
Henry: Shouldn't have to convince anyone to do anything against his will. Joe, we're talking about Barry, right? I mean, I can't... I can't imagine that you don't feel the same way.
Joe: Henry, right now I don't know what the right thing to do is.
Henry: Seems clear to me.
Harry: This isn't just about your son, Henry. It's about the people in Central City. About saving those people. This is about stopping Zoom.
Henry: Your daughter is safe! This could kill my son!
Harry: I'm not going to let that happen.
Henry: The last time he was struck by lightning, he was in a coma for nine months! How did that happen?
Harry: I know what I'm doing!
Henry: You're messing with something that is out of your control! And what if it did work? I mean, what then? Joe? He goes up against Zoom? The monster that snapped his back, almost killed him and then took the one thing that he's convinced now he needs to make him whole?!
Harry: This is the way. This is the only way! The people of Central City need The Flash!
Joe: Guys...?
(They turn around to see Barry standing in the doorway.)
Barry: I know that you care about me. Each of you. In your own way. You all have your own point of view on this. But the decision is mine. I have to make it on my own.

Zoom: (To a video camera) Central City! The Flash you've seen in your streets is a fake! A hologram meant to give you hope. But there is no more hope. There is no more Flash. And there is no one left to protect your city... from me. (To Captain Singh) Tell the rest of your force, Captain, that their policing days are over. (To Barry) You're only alive because of Caitlin. Try something like this again and my affection for her won't stop me from killing you.  Or the rest of this city!

Barry: One of the cops Zoom killed tonight... he had a son. Same age I was when Mom was murdered. And now another kid has to grow up without one of their parents because The Flash wasn't there to stop that monster! I left this city unprotected by giving up my powers to Zoom. I enabled him to rule this Earth. I need my powers back.


Continuity

Henry Allen has been spending the last few months living in a cabin outside of Central City.

Garrick is the maiden name of Henry Allen's mother/Barry's grandmother.

The TV Show Fringe - which Cisco references - does not exist on Earth 2.

Cisco has a vibe vision of his brother. This later turns out to have been Rupture.

Wally tells Joe he's thinking about quitting engineering to do something to help people - maybe become a cop.

C.C. Jitters is one block away from the CCPD headquaters.

Dante Ramon, Cisco's older brother, was last seen in 116.  Dante refers to the events of the episode and how he and Cisco were kidnapped by Captain Cold and Heatwave.

Cisco and Dante have not grown closer in spite of their shared experiences.

Cisco does not like watching professional sports.

Dante does not own a car.

Iris confesses her feelings to Barry.

Dante finds the letter that Cisco wrote in 213 that he asked Caitlin to give his family if he didn't return from Earth Two.

Zoom kills all the cops on Captain Singh's task-force except for Joe West and Captain Singh.

Zoom also kills Rupture

Harry has a list of metahumans from Earth Two.

Harry notes that Earth Two has less metahumans than Earth One, since he was able to contain the STAR Labs Particle Accelerator explosion. He suggests it just seems like Earth One has less metahumans since most of them stay in hiding due to presence of The Flash.

Cisco uses the Weather Wand he first built in 115 to create the lightning needed to give Barry his speed back.

Wally and Jesse are caught in the energy blast formed by Barry's dissipation.


Location

Wherever the cabin that Henry Allen was living is located.


Untelevised Adventures

Harry tells the rest of Team Flash about how Zoom took over Central City on Earth Two - by killing government officials and police officers and recruiting metahumans for his army, killing anyone who opposed him.


The Fridge Factor

Iris doesn't seem to have any purpose on the show now apart from being a romantic interest for Barry. At least Candice Patton has made the character likable - a task that Katie Cassidy failed with Laurel Lance under similar circumstances on Arrow - but it is still worrying that Iris has nothing else going on in her life after some broadly successful attempts to give her a story of her own.


The Bottom Line

There's a lot of good moments in this episode. Unfortunately, they involve the subplots that get the least amount of attention. Seeing Caitlin use her brains to help the team despite being Zoom's hostage is good. Seeing Jesse and Wally interact and bond despite their different backgrounds is interesting. And the conflict between all of Barry's father figures is well-acted if nothing else.

By contrast, seeing Cisco try to bond with his annoying jock brother reminds us why we haven't seen the character in over a year. Seeing Iris decide that NOW is the time to unburden herself on Barry makes her seem selfish and unsympathetic. Rupture may be the least-interesting metahuman villain to date and is certainly the most undefined. And the ending in which Barry "dies" would be unconvincing even if we didn't have a preview less than a minute later assuring us that Barry is just lost in time and space.

Overall, it's very flatly written, saved only by the charisma of the ensemble cast and has little purpose other than setting up the grand finale for the second season.