The Flash S:02 E:14

Episode Title: Escape From Earth 2
Original Airdate: 2-16-16

After last week’s cliffhanger with Barry captured by Zoom and quite possibly stuck on Earth 2 forever (though we all knew that was not really a possibility) this week’s episode finally ties all those loose threads up while creating a whole bucket of new ones. Who was the man in the iron mask? What happened to Jay Garrick? What happened/will happen to Killer Frost? But it still brought together one hell of an episode and while we may have lost one member of the Star labs team, we gained a new one.

I think the biggest question to come out of this week’s episode is who was the man in the iron mask imprisoned in Zoom’s glass cell, or technically carbonite unless I’m remembering my technobabble wrong and confusing it with Star Wars which is entirely possible. After a whole lot of knocking, all we ended up getting out of him was three letters Jay and an enthusiastic response to the name Jay Garrick, but frustation when Barry said that he was safe. One possibility is that the man in the mask is actually Jay Garrick and the man who has claimed to be Jay Garrick all this time is actually an impostor. We know that he had been using the velocity drug to enhance his speed powers, but what if he was actually using the drug to create his speed powers out of nothing? Unfortunately, the biggest flaw in this theory is that Harry has already corroborated his identity, especially since he doesn’t wear a mask as the Flash, but it’s still my theory for the moment.

There were at least two great moments from the episode involving the Earth 2 counterparts, besides seeing Cisco get the drop on Killer Frost in the first place. But her double cross combined with her final turn at the end were just perfect comic book moments that fit really well with the context of the episode. The other one was Barry 2’s rousing speech to Barry 1, while Barry 2 didn’t have any of Barry 1’s speed powers, the one thing that they both still have in common is his heart and it’s that kind of faith in others that makes the Flash such a great character. The only real downside to the episode were the scenes with the Geomancer. He felt like another awkward villain with no real ties or even that great of a metahuman ability. It didn’t help much that they didn’t seem to put as much finesse into the special effects for his groundbreaking abilities either.

And last, I do have to make a special mention of the final moment of the episode. There had been hints all episode that something was going to happen to Jay Garrick. The fact that they finally found the right formula for Velocity 9 that was repairing his damaged cells with the hope that he might even be able to retain the speed force at some point. And then when he threw that portal closing football and just casually started walking away from the not-quite-closed portal it didn’t come as too much of a surprise to see Zoom’s hand burst through his chest, and while that would likely kill most people. Jay Garrick is still the Flash so there’s a possibility that he’s not quite dead yet, though I imagine that we’re going to have to wait for at least a few episodes before we get back around to Earth 2 now that all the portals are closed and next week they all have to deal with a giant shark-human hybrid. Fun!