They say that a hero is only as good as is villain. Just in the same way the greatest sports teams need competitive rivals to bring out the best in them so too do heroes need a villain that pushes them beyond their limits, past their known capabilities to achieve their greatest victories. That is as long as the pair stays in some way competitive. If the hero gets too invincible, his actions no longer inspire. If the villain becomes so overwhelmingly powerful, then pretty soon we’re going to need a new hero. The Flash faces his greatest villain yet this week in Zoom but it certainly doesn’t bring out the best in him.
Enter Zoom – When the real Doctor Light escapes, Barry and the team try out the “really bad idea” of using their Linda Park in disguise to draw out Zoom. They end up getting much more than they bargained for when The Demon Speedster shows up with no such patience for games. Patty starts to feel like she’s missing out on something but this is eased by her blossoming relationship with Barry.
Malese Jow’s take on Linda Park was an enjoyable feature of last season which is why it’s great to see these last two episodes confirm her as (at least a recurring if not regular) Team Flash member as she becomes a card carrying member of Barry’s trust circle. Her story of villain faking it develops into a lot of fantastic off-character fun. In fact, it’s oddly reminiscent of the Buffy “Dark Willow” classic Dopplegangland (Linda is totally evil... look at her outfit!). The over-acting staged fight between her and Barry is one of funniest tings we’ve seen so far this season as the pair self narrate their highly underwhelming showdown (“next time we do this I’m writing better dialogue”). Then there’s the great training montage with no shortage of laughs itself from Cisco’s cardboard standee hobby (Cisco’s pose... enough said) to Linda’s hilariously terrified early attempts at using her tech powers and course the world’s worst ever high 5. So much of this story galvanizes what makes The Flash such a special show: its effortless ability to find the fun in everything. It could so easily have focused on Linda’s fear at such an undertaking but instead takes a more playful approach to view her as a nervous stage performer.
Then, there is the significant final act presence of Mr. Tall Dark and Terrifyingly Handsome (well he is a beautiful evil), Zoom. Just the fact Barry and Zoom come together this episode is a real ballsy move for the show (Barry didn’t face Reverse Flash until the mid-season finale last year). It’s like bringing your queen out early in chess. It’s risky and leaves the show with a lot more episodes to string out their rivalry before the end of season showdown. However the contest we get is highly successful in the way it shows Barry pulling out enough tricks to creep a “maybe” into our heads; like the Jay Garrick special thunderbolt or the clever terminal velocity idea. Still, the result is still a resounding no contest with Barry being little more than an insect in comparison to Zoom. Yet this where the episode really hits the mark by taking the emphasis away from the action and switching it into hard hitting emotional drama as Zoom literally drags Barry’s flailing body all over town; destroying all believe in The Flash as hero and instilling himself as a personification of fear to the people of Central City. Within mere moments, we’ve forgotten about the action aspect entirely as we witness the terrified reactions of the various cast members in seeing a hero fall. The concluding, fight aftermath, bombshell is an interesting development but actually losses some of its impact for being too extreme. While a certain piece of Star Labs equipment might get dusted off for next week’s episode; we can be sure by the end of it everything will be back to normal.
The Cisco/Harrison Wells storyline is really just a character catch up to get Team Flash on the same page its audience over Wells’s captive daughter motivation. However, if fares a lot better than it really should thanks some excellent apposing performances from both men. Saying Carlos Valdes is a reliable source of comedy is like reminding people to wash their hands after using the facilities.... it should go without saying. Sure enough, he reaps great entertainment from the simple idea of Cisco trying inconspicuously touch Wells for a Vibe detector test. By contrast, Tom Cavanagh’s stern and almost aggressive defence suddenly flips their scenes into tension faster than a yellow suit firing out a Flash ring. The changes in pace and tone make such a plot required element all the more stronger.
Another face doing well with a smaller part is the ever lovable Patty Spivot (sorry if I go about her each week... no actually I’m not). Despite being just an accessory character this week, she gets several good comedic moments with Joe as she encourages mutual openness in their partnership. Similarly, we also feel for her as starts figuring out that some things are going on without her. In fact it even looks like she’s heading towards figuring everything out for herself rather than being told which would be a first for the show. On a couple of occasions, her keen detection skills have been showcased (like hilariously clocking Barry’s blindness last week) and as Barry tells her he’s busy with Joe right after Joe alludes to being busy with secret stuff for a few days you can almost hear the cogs turning inside her head. It looks highly likely she’ll be solving this mystery before the mid-season break.
Finally, we must give the show credit for absolute gem of an Easter Egg during the Harrison Wells flashback as we discover on Earth 2 Robert Queen (Oliver’s father) was The Arrow and Oliver Queen died during the shipwreck. It’s wonderful play on the comic Flashpoint Universe instance of Thomas Wayne becoming Batman after Bruce’s death. Hopefully these little fan service tit bits continue.
Enter Zoom showcases everything that works so well on The Flash; great action powered a superb cast and all with an overriding sense of fun and enjoyment. Season 2 is raising the stakes without so much as breaking a sweat.... and next week Grodd’s coming back! This week Zoom enters but we all leave heavily rewarded.