Last night’s episode of The Flash laid all the groundwork for the finale, including some shocking images towards the end of the episode, which will change the show forever. Keep reading, but be aware that major spoilers follow.
1. R.I.P. Henry Allen
As heartbreaking as this scene was, I can’t say it was all that surprising. Once Henry was released from prison, his usefulness on the show slipped considerably. Barry succeeded in his main goal: he cleared his father’s name, but he didn’t need a father figure – he had Joe West (and Harrison Wells). Henry’s purpose on the show, initially, was two-fold: 1) a neat Easter Egg for old fucks like me to connect the show to the 1990 version, and 2) to give Barry something to fight for, and work towards.
I love John Wesley Shipp, and I think his work as Henry Allen has been incredibly strong, but this seemed inevitable and likely for a long time now.
The most interesting outcome of this, of course, will be how it affects Barry. Will this make him even more driven? Will it break his spirit?
2. Faux dopples
One of the fun parts of this show has been seeing actors playing multiple versions of the same character, but the really fun stuff is when an actor has to play one version of his/her character playing a different version of that character. Case in point: tonight, we saw Cisco and Caitlin playing their Earth-2 counterparts. I love to see how badly they do, and not from an acting standpoint, but from a fooling the other people standpoint.
This was a fun scene for a number of reasons, even if they are pretty silly. Like, for instance, would Black Siren really know that Reverb was left-handed? Did they run into each other at the Leftorium? Similarly, do they just keep Earth-2 dress up kits at S.T.A.R. labs just in case? It would’ve been hilarious if they showed Caitlin wearing a terrible, Party City blonde wig to try and fool Black Siren, instead of the meticulously crafted blonde locks she was sporting.
3. Black Siren
This episode also featured Black Siren, as mentioned above, who is the Earth-2 Laurel Lance, whose sonic scream is far closer to the comics’ Black Canary than what the show gave Laurel over on Arrow – I think Laurel’s sonic scream was equivalent to feedback at an elementary school Christmas concert – annoying and temporarily painful. Again, it is fun to watch these actors play ‘evil’ versions of themselves, and Katie Cassidy, practically still warm in the grave, got to play Laurel one last time (at least for now). Now that she’s trapped in S.T.A.R. Labs, maybe we’ll get to see her again.
4. The giant tuning fork
All season, there’s been talk of vibrations and frequencies between Earth-1 and Earth-2 folks, and I just thought it was fodder for things like finding Jesse, or some pseudo-science to make the show sound smarter when talking about alternate Earths. But using that vibration – erratic or high, depending on who you ask – to take down the Earth-2 villains was a nice bit of storytelling; specifically, it was a nice bit of comic book storytelling. This show is at its best when it is reminding you that its source material is Silver Age comics, and a giant tuning fork that disrupts the frequencies of people from alternate Earths is about as Silver Age as you can get.
So, here is how I see the finale working – Barry and Zoom are racing/fighting, and Wally (who now knows Barry is the Flash) tries to interfere, and gets struck by Zoom’s lightning which, mixed with the dark matter that hit him, activates his speed.
Wally has been better handled lately, and I wonder how they’re going to treat his knowledge that Barry is the Flash. On one hand, he’ll probably be pissed that everyone kept this from him, but on the other hand, he might see that Barry – who he doesn’t particularly care for – would sacrifice so much for him, it might create an even stronger bond between them.
Continued belowBut know this – while Jesse might not get speed just yet, Wally will get it next week. Mark my words.
Or not – I’ve been known to be wrong in the past.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
