Ok, so I was not popular for not liking the last episode of Flash. I stick with what I said for the record, but I know it was unpopular. Thankfully, I was much more entertained with “Escape From Earth-2”, as it did a lot of things right, all the while adding new questions to some big mysteries of the season.
First off, how about that opening with Zoom? Zoom honestly hasn’t been the best of villains in terms of showing his threat level. Yes, when he’s given it he shines, but too often he’s left as a threat to be feared…yet not one to be realized in many ways. Here though, as he left notices all over Central City E2 to “Bring Me Wells”, we saw the truly evil side of him. As he’ll let no one rest until he gets what he wants.
Focusing back on the crew, this episode showed what I wanted from last episode, a true focus on the mission at hand. Once “free” from Zoom’s gaze, Harry, Cisco, along with Iris and Barry E2 set off to go find Jesse and save Barry E1 from Zoom’s lair. What this allowed was numerous characters to shine, mainly, Cisco and Killer Frost. The latter of whom was still reeling from the events of the ending to the previous episode.
I really did like how Cisco tried to relate to Killer Frost, even using her real name and her E1 counterpart to try and connect with her. Yes, usually this wouldn’t work, but thankfully, last episode showed just how much Frost and Deathstorm were in love. Just like E1 Caitlin and Ronnie. So her helping felt genuine.
Which of course led to Zoom’s lair. You had to wonder where it was that Wells couldn’t find it. So it being in a place where “only a speedster could go” was actually quite brilliant.
The prison break was honestly really good, as numerous characters had good moments. Including the Barry’s, as E2 gave a wonderful motivational speech to E1 in order to break free. But…you knew something was going to happen, enter Zoom!
Again, Zoom showed how menacing he was here, and it took a combined effort to temporarily stop him. And yes, I’m fine with Frost holding down Zoom, after all, Captain Cold can stop him with his cold gun, why couldn’t Frost with her powers?
Before I jump to E1 for a second, let’s talk about the masked prisoner. An interview stated that whoever it is in the cage with the mask, they’re important. This episode offered two very interesting clues as to who this person is. We know they’re male, and white based on what we see of the character and they’re build. But, why did he type “Jay” in that military code? My theory? That IS Jay! The REAL Jay Garrick.
Go with me on this.
He typed Jay to tell Barry (who he technically hasn’t met) and Jesse who he is. Cause the helmet won’t let him talk. When Barry mentioned that “Jay” wasn’t with him here and was on E1, the guy lost it! Why? Because that’s not the real Jay Garrick! So who is the man we call “Jay Garrick”? A pawn of Zoom? Maybe a relative? Remember, on E1, the “doppleganger” to “Jay Garrick” is Hunter Zolomon, aka Zoom in the comics! Coincidence? I think not.
This theory only get built upon when you think of what happened to Jay in this episode. He gets Velocity 9, which allows him to “get his speed back”, and will possibly heal him. BUT, when Geomancer (who was once again a terrible villain) came to Star Labs (how did he get in?!???!), Jay was nowhere to be found! And in the ending? When he was killed/pulled back to Earth-2 by Zoom? Was that really a coincidence? I really hope it wasn’t, cause that’s bad storytelling otherwise.
Unfortunately, that was the best stuff from E1 in this episode. Iris’s storyline was a dud, and Geomancer really was a waste of a good villain. It’s just like he said, how large a threat a man who can shake the earth can be against a speedster? We’ll never find out I guess. Not yet anyway. Why did he hate Flash again?
Regardless, this was a step in the right direction, but you have to wonder how things will advance from here. Yes, Wells and Jesse are safe for now. But you KNOW we’re heading back to E2 eventually. We have to stop Zoom and free the man in the mask. So, how will we get there? …Cosmic Treadmill anyone?
Todd Black
Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!
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