Love is in the air…along with anger, resentment, fear, and loathing…just about the full emotional spectrum is on display as we find more breachers and a LOT of surprises in another excellent episode of THE FLASH!

SOME SPOILERS AFTER THE JUMP

How to talk about this episode without spoiling too much? Okay, let’s start with some emotions:

LOVE

1. Barry and Patty finally have their first date! There is a little snafu with that date we will talk about in a moment (see below), but the date goes well and Barry and Patty seem to be officially an item. The chemistry between Grant Gustin’s Barry and Shantel VanSanten’s Patty is adorable, at least for now…at least until Patty eventually will have to suspect Barry is hiding something. But, let’s not spoil the moment, as this is working very well.
2. Caitlin and Jay appear to be growing much closer, with only two problems. One is interference from the villain of the week, and the other is Jay’s obvious animosity toward his world’s version of Harrison Wells. Maybe we’ll see more of this later…
3. Cisco and…Kendra Saunders? Looks like something is brewing at Jitters (pun intended). At least Cisco has some shot at a social life…for now, as fans of the show should know where Kendra is headed before too long…

ANGER

1. This one is simple…Jay can’t stand his world’s Harrison Wells, and the feeling is mutual. The Wells of Earth Two had his particle accelerator accident take place below ground, so his world is unaware that Wells is responsible for all the metahumans on that Earth. Wells is making a LOT of money off apps that help spot a metahuman (this plays into the plot, of course). Jay resents Wells both for creating the metahumans (including himself and Zoom) and for hiding that fact while making money off an unsuspecting populace. There is even a pretty good fight scene between the two in this episode.
2. Hating Wells is an all-access event, as Cisco can’t stand Wells, either. Wells doesn’t help the situation…he’s a big-time jerk to everyone. It doesn’t help that the other Wells killed Cisco in an alternate timeline. Add to that the reactions of just about everyone else when they first see Wells, including Joe West instantly going for his gun (Barry saves Wells at that point). The team slowly learns to accept Wells, but there still is that underlying distrust…even anger at times.

FEAR

1. We’ve seen Cisco’s fear for some time, the fear of admitting to his own metahuman powers, along with the fear that those powers could somehow make him a bad person. That fear appears to be resolved by episode’s end, and he embraces a new name (three guesses…aw, you guessed it!)
2. Surprisingly, this emotion also is embodied by Jay Garrick. Jay fought Zoom several times on Earth Two and barely escaped with his life, eventually losing his speed to Zoom. He is afraid, somewhat understandably, though Wells calls him out on this in a way that leads straight back to Anger (see above).
3. In a way, this also describes Barry…though not as strongly. Barry has been afraid to move forward with his life, afraid to ask Patty out, and a little afraid when fighting the villain of the week (don’t worry, we’ll get to her). Still, Barry overcomes that fear to go on that date…and to succeed in this battle as well.

OUR VILLAIN OF THE WEEK

The villain this week is Doctor Light, the female version of the character who in this show has been sent to Earth One to kill the Flash. She doesn’t really want to kill, at least at first…until she finds that she has a doppelganger on Earth One who is also named…..spoiler ahead…

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Linda Park! Yep, the same name as Barry’s former girlfriend (sounds odd saying that compared to the comics, but in this show that’s this history). On Earth Two, their Linda was caught up in the particle accelerator effect and gained light-based powers. In her first battle with the Flash, she temporarily blinds him…which plays into his date with Patty, as his only hope of “seeing” her is to have Cisco looking in through a special set of glasses. This leads to a hilarious, and warm, dinner scene. Later, Doctor Light goes after her Earth One counterpart, accidentally killing Linda’s editor in the process, but is eventually captured as the Earth Two Wells guides Barry into another use of his powers!

We finally see Barry using his ability to appear in several places at once by creating after-images, or “Speed Mirages”. It’s good to see another part of The Flash’s power set showing up here. In the end, Light is captured, and Barry agrees to use her to lure out Zoom. This is where Jay and Barry part ways, at least for now, as Jay cannot in good conscience help Barry fight against Zoom while he believes Barry isn’t ready.

We cut to Cisco gaining that name…but it is actually Barry who comes up with it. Cisco likes the name and it sticks. Yay for Vibe!

And that brings us to the epilogue, where we find Zoom on Earth Two talking to a very special prisoner…the daughter of the Earth Two Harrison Wells!

NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS:

This Harrison Wells is very different than his Earth One counterpart…and Tom Cavanaugh once again proves his acting chops by making two characters with the same name and face believable as individuals. This Wells is a class-A jerk…but also a top-level genius, and someone who may be able to bring Barry to a new level of speed. It’s a different type of chemistry for the team, but it works.

In that vein, it’s also great to see the reactions of the cast to this new Wells. It would have been far too easy to simply say, “hey he’s different, let’s all be friends”. Instead, there is an understandable level of distrust, even animosity, and it works here.

It’s also good to see Cisco finally embrace his powers…even if the reveal was not by his choice.

Iris is becoming a stronger character by the episode, almost by the scene. Iris’ actions to protect her world’s Linda Park were acted impressively.

Barry’s dinner with Patty is an amazing scene, and once again I’ll say it – the chemistry here is great.

The special effects for Doctor Light were fantastic. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of this character…or would I be safer in saying we haven’t seen the last of one or another version of Linda Park?

SUMMARY:

This episode of THE FLASH had it all – great emotional content and terrific action scenes, all while driving the main plot (and several sub-threads) forward. We are getting a better picture of Earth Two, a better view of the “new” Harrison Wells, and a better idea of the level of threat Zoom may present. Can’t wait to see where the rest of this season takes us!

What did you think about this episode? Leave your comments below!

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