How will season two of The Flash be remembered? As things began to draw to a close, I began to wonder how this sophomore outing for the Scarlet Speedster would compare to upcoming seasons. It’s clear that season two’s biggest addition to the lore of the show — and to the filmed DC universe in general — will be the introduction of the multiverse. This wonderful comic book-y bit of sci-fi will have enormous ramifications for the show, and it’s clear that The Flash knows this. There’s plenty in “The Race of His Life” that helps to reinforce the idea of multiple Earths, specifically the revelation of the real Jay Garrick and his home-world of Earth-3.
Yes, we lost John Wesley Shipp only to get him back as the real Jay Garrick. Though this was a nice bit of legacy — paying tribute to Shipp’s role as the original TV Flash — it didn’t make the frustration of Henry’s death any easier. Though everything has been turned upside down thanks to how the season ends, but we’ll get to that.
The opening brawl with Zoom was a blast and turned out to be more enthralling than Barry and Zoom’s final showdown. The race was pretty standard fare for The Flash when it comes to action sequences, but the use of a time remnant added some wacky flair to the proceedings. I’m glad to see Zoom go — especially when it’s carried off by time wraiths — and hope that his time as an antagonist is over. I think even the creators of the show realized how comparatively weak Zoom was by the season’s end.
Because they came back once again to the Reverse-Flash, and man does this throw things into disarray. Barry traveled back in time and prevented his mother’s murder, erasing his past self from existence. This is an enormous change in the status quo — inspired by the immensely impacting Flashpoint event from the comics — that will probably mean an entire season with a new reconfiguration of the characters we know. We also know that this can’t possibly last, so it’s likely that this change will be the reason Barry once again comes back to his mother’s murder but stops himself from intervening. If that means an entire season of inconsequential “alternate timeline” stuff, that could be a big breaking point for the show.
Still, I can’t say that this season finale has left me disinterested in where The Flash will go. The show once again has embraced its comic book nature and promised us a brand new timeline of events to look forward to. I think season two will be remembered as a shaky stepping stone towards something grander. The Flash is certainly going to play a substantial part in next year’s four-part Crisis crossover between The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl. Things are only going to get kookier and that’s the way I like my superhero stories.o
Favorite moment: Seeing Jay in that outfit.
Unfavorite moment: Nothing substantial enough this week.
That’s it for this season of The Flash! Thanks for reading and joining in the discussion. If I can, I’ll be back next season. In the meantime, I’m recapping Preacher over at Fandom. Go check it out!
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