THE FLASH: SEASON FINALE RECAP


Oh what an ending for the second season of The Flash. Not only do we get to see Barry and Zoom duke it out for one last race, we also get to know who the man behind the iron mask was. Warning, spoilers ahead…

After seeing Zoom murder his dad in the previous episode, Barry’s (Grant Gustin) rage not only puts himself in danger but all those close to him as well. “The Race of His Life” found Barry in some familiar territory where he has some hard personal decisions to make. Barry’s desire for revenge over his father’s death leads Team Flash led by Joe (Jesse Martin), Iris (Candice Patton) and Wells (Tom Cavanagh), to make the harsh decision of imprisoning Barry within STAR Labs for his own good and safety. Zoom wants to race Barry to see once and for all, who’s the fastest man alive and in doing so, steal his speed force for unlimited power. Facing Zoom on his terms was a bet the others felt Barry wouldn’t have a chance at surviving. Instead, Joe, Harrison and the others come up with a plan to lure Zoom out in the open by using Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) and sending him back to Earth-2 via a portal that Cisco (Carlos Valdes) would create. Well, their plan almost worked but Zoom was able to grab Joe and take him back to Earth-2. The group was reluctantly content in letting it go because of the pact they made about once they send Zoom back they’ll never open another portal no matter what.


Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale) however wasn’t part of that pact and frees Barry so he could help bring their father, Joe back home. With Cisco’s help, Barry was able to communicate with Zoom and accept his race challenge with the only condition that he releases Joe. Zoom agrees to the terms. Zoom later reveals his master plan of wanting to destroy all except Earth-1. This is probably something that should have been revealed a couple of episodes ago as a buildup for the finale but that’s a minor oversight. With all that said, there was so much to enjoy and revel in. The producers clearly spare no expense when it comes to their thrilling action scenes. It was so well done. Seeing Barry give Zoom a beat down was awesome and long over do.


As exciting as the final race showdown was, it may have felt a bit anti-climactic mainly because of the season long buildup of tension and torment Zoom had put everyone through throughout the year. I was a little surprised by how quickly Barry was able to defeat him and save Joe in the process. The first twist of the night came when the team freed the man in the iron mask and revealed him to be the doppelganger of Barry’s father, Henry Allen (John Wesley Shipp) who turns out to be the real Jay Garrick from Earth-3. Even though rumors had circulated around the net about this possibility of being the real Jay, the emotional impact it had on me and I’m sure for many viewers, did not diminish at all. Personally, I loved seeing the Flash of the 90’s TV series put on the suit of the DC Comics first Flash. I thought it was fitting and made it that much more special to see. It was tough saying goodbye to the real Jay as he was set to return to his Earth with the help of Wells but saying goodbye to Wells and his daughter, Jesse (Violet Beane) was even more depressing than I thought it would be. But seeing how this series uses time as a supporting character of sorts, I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of either of them.

The other twist that will have lasting affects came when Barry decided to go to the past and stopped Thawne/Reverse Flash from murdering his mother. The sequence and continuity from Season 1 was terrific. But in saving his mother, what else did Barry do? If there’s anything we’ve learned, there is always a cause and an effect. Barry’s decision to change the past harkens to the Flashpoint mini-series of the comics and will most likely have some terrible consequences going into next season. Do I think there will be ramifications that will extend beyond just The Flash series? No doubt. I believe the groundwork that was laid in Tuesday night’s finale will do just that. Now add the addition of Supergirl to the CW lineup and the prospects become endless. I think the true backbone for the DC TV Universe is The Flash. It’s the strongest show with the greatest emotional charge of any other DC property on television and I’m already set for Season 3 and so should everyone else.
May the Dork be with you,
JPB

The Dork Knight
About The Dork Knight 520 Articles
James aka “The Dork Knight” is a blogger and writer based out of Upstate New York. For James, it all started with a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… when he dragged his mom to see The Empire Strikes Back 10 weeks in a row. He lives and breathes nerd culture. James is proof that a Star Wars fanatic can be a passionate Trekkie as well. So much so James dressed up as Captain Kirk to the premiere of Star Trek VI in 1991 and still has the uniform. When it comes to Comic Books, Sci-Fi or Fantasy whether in print or digital, in the theatre or on my TV screen, I’m all about it and I love it. So bring your Phaser (set to stun), Lightsaber, Sonic Screwdriver, a Wand, Mjolnir or the Ring to rule them all, because this site is for the dork in all of us.