User Reviews

I don't normally write reviews but I will make an exception for this episode. Superhero shows tend to be become a bit of a drama queen. They tend to be repetitive. They present uninteresting side plots and forget that a superhero show is about the action and plain old fun. This was no "drama queen" episode. It had action, it had funny moments and you can really feel that the cast enjoyed it. Every moment was done very well and you really don't know what to expect. Bravo to the cast and to all involved (screenwriter, director, etc.). This is how a superhero show looks like.

P.S.: Loved the ending and I am really starting to appreciate more and more Cisco and the actor that is playing that character

Much like last week's Arrow episode, tonight's Flash has so much material and so much to digest that i'm not even sure where to start. I think some may take issue with just how much the episode tried to cram in, but I think the highly entertaining factor of this episode trumps any of those critiques, especially for those who love easter eggs.

The team finally got a chance to travel to Earth-2 in what is basically this show's version of the 'What if?' story line. The easter eggs began right away as we saw Arrow, Flash, and Supergirl in continuous images while Barry, Cisco, and Harry went through the breach. You have to think the shows knew about the crossover with Supergirl months ago and just decided to announce it before we all saw her in the portal. Supergirl as a show is pretty weak, but I think it's pretty cool that she is at least in the same galaxy as Flash and Arrow. Leaving the door open to crossovers is always a good idea.

After Cisco and Barry got their selfies at the Earth-2 Star Labs it was time to get down to business as they heard Mayor Snart is moving the curfew up after more Zoom attacks and even Earth-2 Barry talking about the issue. Yep, apparently a member of the Snart family is Mayor of Central City. Yikes. This wasn't the first time a villain was doing good things in this earth as none other than Deadshot himself, Floyd Lawton, is a cop working under Detective *Iris* West. It's always fun seeing Michael Rowe reprise his role, I only wish he would somehow come back on Arrow. Hope it's not another situation in which they can't use any of the characters from the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, but it probably is. Also, how did Barry know who he was?

Back to Flash. As much as I don't want to ever see Iris and Barry get together, I enjoyed the new dynamic of having them married on Earth- 2. Also, Joe West as a singer who despises Barry? That's awesome. It was really fun to watch Grant Gustin play a different side to Barry but then seeing him break down after hearing his mom's voice again was devastating. Of course, the call was overshadowed by the fact that the telephone had Bruce, Diana, and Hal on speed dial. Oh my god. Sure, these are all just teases and easter eggs for hardcore fans, but man, there was almost too many to handle tonight. I'm pretty sure Jonah Hex was also seen in the beginning as well. My oh my.

Aside from all the references, there was a solid story behind it, and I think it will work even better as a two part episode including the next episode. While Barry was trying to find a way to figure out how to beat Zoom on earth-2, Jay covered for him back on earth-1 taking the velocity-7 and temporarily being The Flash. It's worth noting how much Jay and Wally have been talking about not being 'Fast enough', just like Zoom's motives. For now, the writers are just trying to get your head spinning about who Zoom is, but don't be surprised if either of them turn out to have their doppelgangers be Zoom all along.

Killer Frost and Deathstorm were the 'villains' of the week if you don't count the stupid inclusion of Geomancer. As I don't think we will get Caitlin's version of Killer Frost on earth-1 anytime soon, I had a lot of fun watching Danielle Panabaker take on a new role this week. It was even cooler seeing Reverb AKA earth-2 Cisco absolutely show them who's really in charge, only to be murdered by Zoom shortly after. What an entrance huh?

In all seriousness, this may not have been the best episode of Flash, but it was probably the most fun I've had with this show since its inception. It was also probably the most refreshing for all the actors and writers involved as they got to explore a completely different side to their characters. Here's hoping for an earth-2 trip to Star City? No matter, next week will be fun as well as we hopefully get a full on Zoom episode and figure out who the heck the guy locked up across from Barry was.

+So.many.easter.eggs

+Killer Frost

+Everyone got to play a different side to themselves

+Deadshot!

+Zoom spoils the party

+Non-stop thrill ride

9.5/10

It's a pretty good concept. Showing how things are different in Earth-2, what the people in Earth-1 could have been, the road not traveled and all that. The ending does a good job of raising the stakes.

All this is overshadowed by the sheer irritation at watching Barry and Cisco. They react to every little difference between the Earths with shock that scrambles their brains for a good thirty to sixty seconds. Wells didn't go around gawking at everything that was different from his Earth; he just accepted it and moved on because he had a mission to focus on. Barry and Cisco also have a mission, a really important one, but keep getting distracted by trivialities.

After a while, you want to scream in their faces, "Get over it and move on with the plot!"

I'm back to reviewing the Flash and man, this episode was a great one to start with. Everything here is top-notch, and this just might be in my top three favorite Flash episodes. I loved exploring different characters and how they could've ended up. Seeing the alternate version of Kailtlin was interesting, but probably my favorite alternate character here is Joe. His new dynamic with Barry is one of the best things this episode had. I loved how Earth-2 looked, and the CGI looked really great this time. The episode also did a good job with our Earth-1 characters, with Jay's arc especially. The Wells-2 arc was also great, even though Barry's character arc was kinda flawed this episode. I think he would think that what happened to Joe is his fault. Him finding out about his mom, however, was amazing. Sure, this episode has some writing goofs, but it's amazing overall.