With or without his super speed powers, last episode left Barry and Team Flash – as well as all of Central City, and perhaps the world – in a precarious situation. Zoom has gathered a virtual army of metahumans to conquer Earth-One, who can stop them? Meet me after the jump for my thoughts on “Invincible,” and maybe we’ll find out.
Captain Cold and Company
First things first, if you saw “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” last week, you know (sorry, spoilers) that Wentworth Miller’s Captain Cold died a hero to save the rest of the Waverider crew from Vandal Savage. Just as in the comics though, death is not always the end. Cold will return as a recurring character in what has become known as the Arrowverse (“The Flash,” “Arrow,” and “Legends”).
Speaking of the Arrowverse, not only are all three of the above series been renewed, but CBS’ “Supergirl” is moving from its original network to the CW as well. Maybe through some cosmic circumstances, Supergirl will join the Arrowverse too. The Crisis was mentioned in that holographic newspaper in the Braille room after all. Also just announced, bringing it full circle, is that “Prison Break,” starring Wentworth Miller and Dominic (Heatwave) Purcell, is returning to Fox next year.
The Metapocalypse
Per Iris West, they’re calling the dark days when the metahuman army overran Central City the Metapocalypse. We open on the police under siege by so-far-unidentifiable metahumans and the Flash saving the day, but Iris’ recollection, possibly for a Picture News piece is definitely looking back on the events.
To be honest however, we don’t see all that much of an army laying waste to the city. What we see is more or less one at a time, hit and run, with the Flash and the police putting out fires as they light. I know, I’ve been spoiled by the show and have learned to expect more, despite budgetary concerns. Or perhaps Zoom has something different in mind.
Cooling Caitlin
Caitlin is back, assumedly let go by Zoom, a little traumatized. Add in the fact that she keeps seeing flashes (pun unintended) of Zoom is not good. One could blow it off as post-traumatic stress disorder, but the fact is Zoom is so fast he actually could be there. How’s that for scary? What could stop him?
What if she didn’t just run away? What if she has decided to work with Zoom and her return to S.T.A.R. Labs and Team Flash is a set up and a trap? Perhaps he’s urging her to join him, to become Killer Frost. And let’s face it, promotional pics of Danielle Panabaker as Killer Frost from this episode do not ease my fears.
Invincible
Barry is feeling invincible and overconfident, perhaps a side effect of his visit to the Speed Force, but the rest of Team Flash is worried, “somebody has to talk to him” seems to be their mantra. It’s Henry who finally bites the bullet, and it’s a good talk, not just overconfidence and superheroics, but things that needed to be said between father and son.
Barry finally plays the ‘you were never around’ card, and not in anger or to hurt Henry. And he’s also not referring to his being in jail – that would just be cruel. It’s one of the things that’s bugged me about Henry Allen, how he’s been a deadbeat dad since getting out of jail, going off to play hermit for almost a year, what the heck, right?
Both Joe and Iris, and even Zoom himself take turns firing at Barry’s new attitude after returning from the Speed Force. His friends are worried about him, but Zoom, who seems convinced that he is the same as him, feels this heroism is what will allow the villain to beat him once and for all.
The Black Siren
Just when we were all getting over the death of the Black Canary over on “Arrow,” we are hit with this horror. Her Earth-Two doppelgänger, the Black Siren, played by Katie Cassidy, is the leader of Zoom’s army. With one meta-powered scream she puts the hurt on Mercury Labs, bringing the building down. The Flash’s spectacular save of Dr. Tina McGee is a special effects highlight.
The best part is when Dr. McGee thanks the Flash, calling him “Mr. Allen,” adding when Barry looks astonished, “I’m not stupid.” She joins Team Flash at S.T.A.R. Labs afterward. When the Flash meets the Black Siren face to face later in the episode, he again hesitates, mistaking the doppelgänger for the real thing, and she gets the better of him, beating him soundly. Ha. See what I did there?
The Reunion Show
With Amanda Pays back this episode as McGee and John Wesley Shipp two episodes ago, this is like old home week for the 1990s “Flash” series. I squeeed when they shook hands and ‘met for the first time.’ It’s an added bonus with Katie Cassidy here, as her dad, actor/singer David Cassidy played the villain Mirror Master on that show.
So far we’ve had these two, Mark Hamill as the Trickster twice and Officer Bellows from the old series, Vito D’Ambrosio, is now Mayor Bellows here. Wouldn’t it be cool to have more folks from the old series show up, or better yet, since the 90s series has been established as another Earth, to visit there now, a quarter century later. Come on, who wouldn’t want to see John Wesley Shipp wear the red again?
The Kid and the Quick
A whole lot of guilt and maybe just a little of inspiration has Wally out on the street fighting crime, or at least trying. Flash goes to talk to him again per Joe’s request, and really he does nothing but fan the flames of Wally’s need for speed… um, I mean his need to help people and save the city. Thankfully without this pep talk gone wrong however, Wally wouldn’t have saved Flash from Black Siren. And I loved Barry blurring his face so Wally wouldn’t be able to focus on it.
Meanwhile Jesse back at S.T.A.R. keeps getting her genetic structure checked because she’s waiting for it (just like us), knowing she was hit by the dark matter. My prediction is the season finale will have Kid Flash and Jesse Quick standing side by side with the Flash against Zoom.
Bad Vibrations
For once, and maybe it’s the Speed Force talking, but Barry, who when surrounded by scientists we sometimes forget is a scientist himself, figures out how to stop the metahuman army. Going back to principles set by writer Gardner Fox when he created the DC Multiverse, Earth-Two exists at a different vibrational frequency. So if a frequency could be found on their ‘channel’ to do so, they could all be put to sleep, even Zoom.
The chance to use this frequency comes up at the same time Black Siren is threatening to level another building. So if the Flash creates the frequency, thousands will die at Black Siren’s hands while he’s doing it. Cisco however comes up with his own plan, a stupid plan, stupid on a “Jessica Jones” level. He and Caitlin will dress up like their Earth-Two doppelgangers Reverb and Killer Frost, and confront Black Siren. Yeah, this can’t possibly go wrong…
Do or Dye
My first question when the faux Reverb and Killer Frost approach Black Siren was simple – seriously, how long did it take Caitlin to dye her hair white? That had to be a time exhausting process when time was of the essence. I know it’s a minor thing but I couldn’t get it out of my head. Anyway, their ploy is to keep her busy talking and not destroying and killing, by making her think they could overthrow Zoom.
Meanwhile the Flash begins his run to induce the frequency. Black Siren is no fool however and sees through their ruse. She’s about to do them in before the frequency takes her out. However, not before Cisco is able to manifest a Reverb-like concussive blast in self-defense. Maybe it’s like his other powers, activated by stress and danger.
Family
In what at first seems like a happy ending, all of the Earth-Two villains are rounded up and incarcerated either at Iron Heights or the Pipeline (I wonder if S.T.A.R. Labs has a tab at Big Belly Burger to feed them all?), and Zoom has once again escaped back to Earth-Two. Iris puts together a family dinner and invites almost all of the cast. We watch connections made between Henry and Tina, and Wally and Jesse, and despite poor Wally being the only one there who doesn’t know you know what, it seems like a happy ending.
Then Cisco vibes again. All through the episode he’d been seeing dead birds, this time he turns around and sees he’s on Earth-Two, and sees it destroyed. That would have been enough of a cliffhanger, but no, it gets worse. Zoom shows up, takes Henry, and at his childhood home, in front of Barry, to prove they are the same – Zoom kills Henry. Well, if Wally didn’t know before, he does now…
Next: The season finale, and “The Race of His Life!”
