The Flash, Season 2, Episode 6: Enter Zoom
Ah, this is more like it. The past few episodes really felt... well, episodic. And as solid as each of those episodes individually felt, none of it really delivered on the buildup of Zoom and Jay Garrick and multiple worlds that the first two episodes promised. This episode more than delivers on the promise of escalation, and it really felt like a mid-season finale episode... except it's episode six. Good job, show.
We're not wasting time since this isn't the first season where Reverse-Flash is just this mysterious mommy-killer that's the endgame, while Barry Allen learns to use his powers. Here Zoom is actively hunting Barry down -- albeit with proxies in the form of kidnapped and forced metahumans -- and after the events of last episode with Harry advocating for more aggression and Barry taking him up on it, this episode focuses on them trying to bait Zoom and bring him down.
Dr. Light being an alternate-universe Linda Park is also utilized well, and it was a pretty fun scene (if it did run for a wee bit too long than I would've preferred) when she's just testing out the Iron Man gloves that Cisco made. Is our Linda Park going to be this universe's version of the heroic Dr. Light? We shall see, though for now as everyone in the show agrees, she's not quite ready yet. Meanwhile, her Earth-2 doppelganger apparently has the ability to refract light, turn invisible and get the drop on Cisco, escaping and joining the many, many escaped villains from the end of season one.
But while the majority of this episode focuses on two things: using Linda-Light as bait to lure out Zoom, and Cisco trying to 'Vibe' Harry to see what is up, the ending is really the clincher. Zoom shows up, and he is a literal force of nature. I thought that the skull-face mask would look narmy and dumb when it's in full view, but the camera work and the angles that we are shown Zoom from always keeps part of his face in shadow, and Tony Todd's brilliant voice work really nails down Zoom as something far more monstrous than Reverse-Flash.
And there's something quite Knightfall-esque as Zoom assaults our heroes' base, and utterly decimates Barry Allen. Zoom easily no sells the terminal velocity trick that Barry tried, dodges Harry's sniper bullets, catches and throws back the lightning bolt (you can do that?) and extremely suddenly breaks what seems to be Barry's spine. That brutal crunch was really done well because it felt like just another action sequence and not the defining action sequence. And what's pretty damning is Zoom just dragging the Flash's broken body and showing up at the newspaper and police station, gives a figurative "fuck you" to the police by catching all their bullets, before dumping Barry -- who's apparently crippled as of the ending of this episode, because Zoom may or may not have absorbed Barry's speed as well. Now obviously this isn't going to stick for more than a couple of episodes, but it certainly raises the stakes and, well, made Zoom feel like a threat and puts Barry out of commission. Maybe Jay can actually do something?
And we do have some nicer quality character moments for Barry, like the moment when he decides he needs to be truthful with Linda and reveals his identity to her because she trusts him enough to risk his life. There's the conversation with Joe about how Barry acknowledges that part of his hotheadedness in bringing down Zoom comes from the whole Reverse-Flash situation from the first season, and the fact that the one who actually defeated Reverse-Flash was Eddie and not Barry himself, and now Barry doesn't have someone to focus his revenge on or something like that.
Also, Cisco finally discovers that Harry's daughter is alive, if captured and caged up by Zoom. I'm honestly unsure why Harry is so against Cisco Vibe-ing him, since he seemed relieved as hell when that fact was made known to him. I guess he's just a dick. It's heartwrenching, of course, seeing how Harry's daughter confronted him about how he (accidentally or otherwise) created Zoom and the other metahumans, and there's a bit of an argument between the two before Zoom kidnaps her. And all through this despite being a dick we can see just how much Harry loves his daughter...
Who, by the way, is named Jesse. And is nicknamed 'Jesse Quick' by her father. Well, that's another one that I didn't expect to see in this show! For those who are unaware, Jesse Quick is another superhero with speed powers in the DC comics, a contemporary of the third Flash, Wally West, and eventually a member of the Teen Titans. Obviously they replaced her father (retired superhero Johnny Quick) in the comics with Earth-2 Harry Wells, but it's a change for the better.
There's a nice little fun moment as Earth-2 Harry listens to a news report that the vigilante known as the Hood or the Arrow is outed as... Robert Queen, who became a vigilante after Oliver died in the boat accident. Read Flashpoint much, show writers? That was a nice little fandom nod that actually served to highlight the 'similar but different' natures of the two Earths.
And I do like the fact that Harry isn't trying to kill Barry, but his target is Zoom and he wants to bring down the man (person?) directly responsible for kidnapping his daughter instead of rather predictably turning out to be in league with Zoom all along. And I absolutely love the concept of having Harry around, as the idea of someone who basically looks and acts similarly to the complete monster that was last season's main villain is something that's refreshing and new.
Overall, though, definitely one of the strongest episodes in this season so far, easily blowing every single season two episode before this out of the water.
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