The Race of His Life – In the aftermath of his father’s death, Barry is hellbent on killing Zoom much to the other’s concern. Eventually, it all comes down one final race between the Scarlet and Demon speedsters with the fate of the multiverse hanging in the balance..... and the man in the iron mask finally gets revealed.
Now straight out the blocks, let’s be clear that this is one-sided race in that this sophomore season finale does not reach the same heights as last year’s emotional meat-grinder that was Fast Enough. That’s not saying this is a bad finale. It has some problems, which we’ll get too but it’s still a good result. It’s just that last year’s offering was a glimmering perfectly cut diamond of an episode and the best season finale any show on TV had produced in years. It’s crucial to accept that before watching this episode, less you face multiple worlds of disappointment. The biggest detrimental difference is that unlike the first season, this closing number does not feel like a culmination of the full season’s events. There are a few call backs to Zoom’s first incognito arrive pretending to be Jay Garrick but that’s just repeating things that have already been worked through. Instead it merely feels the product of the final third of the season, especially the way motivation on both sides has been derived so late. While Barry has long been trying to stop Zoom, it was only his father’s murder that really provided his personal drive. Then things are even worse for Zoom. Yes, we know his mission statement from day one was his desire to be the fastest but achieving that via destroying the rest of the multiverse is far too last minute to be as impacting as desired. This is the show riffing on not only on of the greatest moments from Flash comics but one of the most revered stories in DC history: Crisis on Infinite Earths. Now there’s no denying that it delivers visual spectacle and some good drama along with it. The speed running sequences of Barry and Zoom racing with lightning and energy flying everywhere are utterly gorgeous and although thrown in a bit haphazardly the use of time remnants does allow the key moment comic fans will be want to see from Crisis. It’s all good but it’s not the awe inspiring geek-gasm that seeing a live-action Crisis should bring. We should be left quivering and the knees as the last of tingles head all the way south in a contorted wreck on the sofa lost in moderate disbelief over whether the last 10 minutes really just happened. Instead it’s more, “Yeah, that was cool.... what’s next?”.
The episode also brings with it a lot of emotional character based material with varying effectiveness but it certainly starts off right. The aftermath of last episode’s Henry Allen murdering cliff-hanger is superbly dealt with. Grant Gustin is so distraught you’d swear his insides have been ripped out, the funeral is sombre yet incredibly moving affair as Joe Eulogises father-to-father and play out of Barry’s thirst for revenge among the team is particularly enjoyable. Rather than rushing towards the atypical “screw you guys, I’m going anyway” hero moment, the intervention keeps the rest of the team feeling like part of the story rather than just scenery dressing to the Flash/Zoom conflict. It isn’t all smooth-sailing though. The biggest problem is the attempts to create apathy towards Zoom based on his prior Jay Garrick masquerade. Ever since his masking came off, Zoom just hasn’t been as interesting a villain and as such the attempts to reach is inner humanity are completely ineffective despite Danielle Pananaker doing her best to vocalize it. A great conflicted villain can be a wondrous thing but some are better off staying outright evil. Another area of notable potential that doesn’t feel capitalized on is Wally West. Wally has been great these last few weeks as his desire to make a difference slowly built within him and his early scene of finally thanking Barry knowing he is The Flash is excellent but then he just fades to the background. It’s a very frustrating anti-climax. Not to mention that the show is still leading us in circles over whether or not both Wally and Jessie Quick are on their way to being speedsters. It makes the show feel somewhat shambolic by leaving such a big thread dangling like that.
The episode’s biggest saving grace is its ending. Last season’s shot of Barry hurtling himself into the vortex left us in the unknown but this brilliantly plays on exactly the opposite. A world-changing comics derived event that has a high likelihood of extremely bad but imaginable consequences based on what we have witnessed across the season. Just what will we come back to this Autumn? The preceding few minutes must also not be overlooked. It may have been predicted by some.... well most people actually, but that does not take away how unashamed joyous the reveal of the real Jay Garrick behind the iron mask was (confirmed as the Flash of Earth 3 and hopefully a season 3 destination for the show). Seeing this man suit up and don the iconic winged helmet was one of the best moments the show has ever produced in terms of fan fulfilment.
Okay, I may have piled on the criticisms here, and a fair amount of them are based upon disappointments on expectations. This season's Flash finale does have some problems and doesn’t form a satisfying conclusion to all season long stories but it does provide some good entertainment, and its final minutes alone justify its value. It may not be episode or finale we wanted but it is an excellent stepping stone for the show.