In the first part of our trip to Earth-2, we find some very Interesting doppelgangers…and some surprising developments happening on both Earth-1 and Earth-2! There’s not a lot more we can say without being spoilery, so follow us after the jump for more!

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD – YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

After the events of last episode, Barry and Cisco prepare to go with Harry Wells to Earth-2, in an attempt to save Jesse Wells. Before leaving, Barry has been on a mission to close all the breaches between the worlds…except one. THAT last breach will be used for their mission to Earth-2.  Barry, Harry and Cisco leave instructions with Jay and Caitlin to close that last breach in 48 hours if they don’t return…it would mean that Zoom had caught them and that they needed to protect Earth-1 from his return. They move forward, with a lot of interesting glimpses along the path to Earth-2…

Including a vision of Supergirl! Guess they really DID need to get that announcement about the crossover out of the way before this episode aired…

And so, our heroes gallantly go to Earth-2 to save Jesse and end the threat of Zoom. Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

Wrong.

The speed cannon on Earth-1 falls apart as soon as the team has left. With all the other breaches closed, there was too much energy and the speed cannon overloaded. They now have 48 hours to rebuild or lose Barry and Cisco from Earth-1 forever! And, that’s not all…

On Earth-2 the team finds that Cisco’s specs are not calibrated to the different vibratory rate of Earth-2 (nice nod to the original concept of Earth-2 in the comics, operating at a different vibrational rate). That effectively render’s his powers useless until he can recalibrate the specs. And, of course, THAT’S not all…

Because they meet up with Killer Frost and Deathstorm, this world’s Caitlin and Ronnie (and supposedly Professor Stein, though Ronnie hasn’t “let him out in years”). This pair works for Zoom, or rather they work for someone else who in turn works for Zoom…

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It’s the Earth-2 Cisco, a bad guy who has mastered his Vibe powers in ways our Cisco hasn’t even considered! And even THAT’S not all…

Because back on Earth-1 the Geomancer has attacked, calling out the Flash (who is away on Earth-2). This sets up a lot of parallel scenes, flipping back and forth between Earth-1 and Earth-2 at times without warning or comfortable segue.  The Geomancer DOES eventually get  A Flash…Jay Garrick, with the help of Velocity-7. Velocity 7?

As it turns out, Zoom may not be responsible for Jay’s loss of speed…at least, not fully responsible. Jay became hooked on Velocity-6 on his world in an attempt to gain even more speed. That drug is responsible for his sickness. But, Caitlin is developing new versions. We saw Velocity-7 give Jay temporary speed, allowing us to finally see Jay in action as The Flash! The new drug doesn’t last long, so we are already on our way to Velocity-8 (how many want to take bets on Velocity-9 before we’re done?).

By episode’s end, we meet a LOT of doppelgangers. The Barry of Earth-2 is a true nerd, still in CSI and married to the only Detective West in the family…Iris West-Allen! Joe West is a lounge singer at Jitterbug (the Earth-2 version of “Jitters”). We also meet so many other doppelgangers that I’ll leave the discovery of the rest to your viewing (and second viewings, and more).

Not all the doppelgangers end up well. Joe West of Earth-2 dies as a result of an attack by Killer Frost. The Cisco of Earth-2 is killed by Zoom, in the same way Cisco died at Eobard Thawne’s hand in an alternate timeline last season. Even at that, we’re not done with our trip as Zoom has captured Barry! Barry finds Jesse…but Zoom promises they will never leave…and that’s where our cliffhanger hits. We’ll continue this next week on both Earth-2 and Earth-1!

NOTES:

• I loved the version of Earth-2 we see here. It’s ultramodern and retro at the same time, part 21^st century and part 1940’s.
• Jesse L. Martin sings very well – I’ve been a fan of his voice (and acting) since first seeing him in the movie version of “Rent”. In this show he’s singing closer to the higher end of his baritone range, but still sounds great. That being said, if you want to hear him in best voice, go to “Rent” and listen to “I’ll Cover You”.
• The flip-flopping of realities led to some really fun scenes. The Joe West of Earth-2 cannot stand Barry, and the Earth-2 Barry apparently feels the same way toward his father-in-law. Iris and Barry’s Earth-2 marriage provided some truly funny moments as Earth-1 Barry doesn’t want to take advantage of an Iris who isn’t actually his wife. Danielle Panabaker and Robbie Amell do wonderful turns as the villainous Killer Frost and Deathstorm. And, Cisco vs. Cisco was amazing, foreshadowing potential further development of Vibe’s powers on Earth-1. Can’t wait to see that!
• It was great getting to see Jay in action as The Flash. There was an interesting parallel between the two Flashes using different versions of that famous Mercury helmet. Barry grabs a helmet off a Flash statue, using it to deflect Killer Frost’s and Deathstorm’s attacks, while Jay uses the real thing turned around to create a sound wave attack against Geomancer. Both are interesting an fun uses of that iconic helmet.

SUMMARY: My only complaint is that some of the scenes kept flipping between Earths with little warning, making some parts of the show a bit confusing. Other than that, the acting was exceptional. Having a second Earth in the mix allows the writers exceptional freedom with the characters, even to the point of killing some off, which adds to the dramatic tension of the show. I’ll plead guilty to fanboying out any time we can see Earth-2, but this show delivered a vision of Earth-2 that should make even more jaded viewers happy. Can’t wait for next week!

Now, that’s just this reviewer’s opinion – what do YOU think! Leave your comments below!

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