Warning: Spoilers ahead!
On this week's episode of The Flash, on Earth-Two, Harrison Wells gives a speech, 8 months in the past. He talks about metahumans appearing in Central City. He comes up with a piece of technology that allows users to detect metahumans. Jay Garrick shows up and says Wells created all the metahumans, including Zoom. Jay wants Wells to help him stop the metahumans. Wells is egotistical and tells Jay to stop them on his own.
Meanwhile, on Earth-One, Earth-Two Wells meets Caitlin and Cisco at STAR Labs. Wells says he has proof of his identity. Cisco wants to know why they're listening to him and Barry says Wells saved him. Wells says he knows everything about Zoom. Joe shows up and just starts firing at Wells, Barry stops the bullets. Joe and Barry talk in the hallway about why Wells is there. Barry is pretty trusting and Joe is stand-offish. Joe goes to visit Iris and catches her up on everything. He gives Iris a gun to protect herself.
Barry and Cisco head to the coffee shop and Patty sneaks up on them while they're talking. Patty says that she saw King Shark almost eat the Flash. As they get to the counter, Cisco and Barry argue about going on dates. Cisco asks the coffee shop employee out on a date, Kendra Saunders, who turns him down. Cisco has visions. He sees Dr. Light robbing a bank.
Barry rushes to Central City Bank and Dr. Light is there, robbing the joint. She escapes in a ball of light. Back at STAR Labs, Wells explains who is Dr. Light is. Jay Garrick shows up. He and Wells go back and forth. Barry asks Cisco about how he knew the bank was being robbed, but he doesn't explain exactly why. At CCPD, Barry asks Patty out.
Cisco visits Wells while he's working on Cisco's computer. Harrison wants to know why Cisco can't look him in the eye. Cisco explains that Wells killed him, but Barry erased the timeline. There's another robbery and Flash heads there. He tries to talk to Dr. Light. She says no one can protect him from Zoom. She takes her mask off and it's Linda Park?! She blinds Flash and runs off.
Caitlin explains Barry is blind, but his eyesight will come back. Wells says they should keep an eye on Earth-One Linda Park. Iris walks in and stops dead in her tracks when she sees Wells. Barry goes on his date with Patty but wears sunglasses that Cisco is tapped into so he can help Barry out. It's pretty rough but very humorous. Caitlin and Jay are on a stakeout and Jay says they shouldn't put too much trust in Wells. Patty and Barry are getting along on their date while Cisco is "creeping and peeping." Patty knows Barry can't see and Barry says he got his pupils dilated.
On Caitlin and Jay's "date," Jay talks about Atlantis and right before they kiss, their van gets blasted with light. Dr. Light enters Iris and Linda's work and threatens to kill Linda. Iris shoots Dr. Light's helmet off. Iris is confused and Jay comes in. Linda disappears.
Patty and Barry kiss at the end of their date and Barry gets his vision back. Patty and Barry head to Iris and Linda's work, as their boss is being put in a bodybag. At STAR Labs, Jay says Dr. Light has never killed before, but Wells says they can't reason with someone under Zoom's power. They argue and eventually start a fist fight. Barry talks to Wells. He says Barry is better and faster than Jay. Wells takes a look at Dr. Lights mask and says Cisco can find Dr. Light because he's a metahuman, outing him in front of everyone.
Cisco says he was going to say something, but he didn't want his powers to make them evil. Caitlin says none of them would go evil if they got powers.... Yes.... Caitlin Snow said that. Foreshadowing anyone? Cisco touches the mask and nothing happens. Wells shoves the mask at him and Cisco sees Dr. Light. Flash heads to the train station to find her. They square off and Wells tells Barry to create a speed mirage by running so fast it leaves an image. It works, up until Light does a huge blast. Jay encourages Barry and he tries again and succeeds. Barry knocks her out and she gets locked up inside STAR Labs.
Cisco gets more coffee at the shop and Kendra comes up to him to talk. They're going to go on a date. Barry gives Cisco the name "Vibe." Wells sees Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin having coffee. On Earth-Two, Zoom shows up and has a girl tied up. She says her father is the smartest man alive?
First thing is first, I was not expecting Dr. Light to be Linda Park. I really thought it was going to be Kimiyo Hoshi under the mask, so for the first time, in a long time, The Flash threw a curveball at comic book fans. Anyway, this little change goes a long way for the episode. Making Dr. Light the Earth-Two version of Linda Park is perfect because it causes Barry to pause when he finds out and he doesn't take the action, just like Wells said would happen. It really raises the stakes for the episode, since there is that connection between Barry and Linda and even though it's not the Linda he knows, he still wants to help. On top of that, Dr. Light's outfit worked extremely well for the episode. It looked really cool, the helmet had a function, and it's a pretty stand-out look.
A lot of this episode deals with the STAR Labs team dealing with Harrison Wells being back in their life. There are a lot of trust issues here, obviously, so the team isn't all gung-ho on letting him into their inner-circle. Viewers probably feel the same way about Wells. Sure, we see him, in the opening of the episode, on Earth-Two, doing his thing, but with all that happened between Wells (Thawne) and the STAR Labs team, it's near impossible for the viewer to trust that face.
There is a big difference in the Thawn-Wells and Earth-Two Wells. Earth-Two Wells is a giant jerk or a "dick" as Cisco puts it. Wells doesn't have a filter. He says what he wants and is straight to the point, which is usually pretty brash and cold. This feels like a very different Wells, even if we can't trust that face. His jerkiness leads to some great back and forths between himself and Cisco, which end up being pretty hilarious. However, Wells is actually the person that progresses Cisco forward as a metahuman here. Cisco is forcefully revealed that he has powers in a moment in need.
Another big part of the episode is the growing relationship between Patty and Barry. It's awkward, weird, and silly at times. This episode gets pretty cutesy and awkward during the scenes between the two. However, the date between the two, with Cisco helping out Barry, was actually a pretty great part of the episode. Sure, Patty is forced into a lot of scenes, but the two work well together. The actual date between them is sweet and a great insight into both of the characters, especially Barry who has been more of a hero without a personal life as of late.
This was another solid episode which does add a little bit to the overall season story. What the episode does well is develop the personal side of Barry a bit more and develop a new relationship between Cisco and the new Harrison Wells. Everything feels very clever for how it all comes together and while this episode didn't blow me away, it was still a ton of fun.
Moments of the Night:
- Wells calling Cisco "Crisco." Cisco calling Wells a "dick" later on.
- Iris' necklace looks like an open Pokeball.
- The moment Dr. Light is unmasked.
Question of the Night:
- Could Zoom be a someone we know on Earth-One?