The Crisis on Infinite Earths has changed Barry’s world in surprising ways…and those surprises keep on coming. How does Barry deal with an Earth-Prime that conflicts in so many ways with his own memories? We get to see a little more of just how much the world has changed through the mind of none other than Gorilla Grodd! Notice I didn’t say the eyes of Grodd – that’s an important part of the story. And, we will look at more than one character in a whole new way before this episode is through. Wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Apologies for the late review – family medical emergency that looks to be turning out okay. I just didn’t get to see THE FLASH until Wednesday night. Let’s get to the review!
Barry is dealing with a whole new world (and if you hear the “Aladdin” music in your head right now, I apologize). Let’s hit some of the highlights of Earth-Prime:
- Barry cannot find his parent’s graves, as the cemetery is no longer where it used to be
- However, there is a train at 52nd and Broadway, where there was no train before. Glad Barry can phase through the train…else we would have ended the episode very, very early.
- Hartley Rathaway, the Pied Piper, is no longer Barry’s friend. In fact, there is some terrible event in the new history of their relationship that ruined everything.
- …oh, and Pied Piper can fly now!
- Gideon has figured out how many changes there are…3.725 Trillion changes in the time line!
- And, Kamilla and Chester are on comms at S.T.A.R. Labs, since the rest of Team Flash is otherwise occupied.
Chester tried to help Barry in upgrading Gideon. He does help…but it goes awry and Barry is out cold. He “wakes up” to find he is now…
…in the mind of Gorilla Grodd!
Grodd spends much of the episode trying to win Barry’s trust. Grodd has been in a mental coma ever since his last appearance, but he was able to re-examine his life and realized he had been wrong. He is sorry now, and wants Barry’s help. Can Barry trust this? He certainly does not at first.
Eventually, the real world Barry is found. Frost and Chester hook up the machine that was used to mentally match up with the girl who would become Cicada II. This time, they find two sets of brainwaves – Barry’s and Grodd’s! They realize the danger here…
The mindscape that Barry and Grodd share cannot sustain two sets of brainwaves for long. If that mindscape collapses on them, both Barry and Grodd will die! The problem is in trying to escape that mindscape. There is a guardian of the way out that Grodd can’t beat…and neither can Flash. The guardian is a construct of Solivar! Grodd needs Flash’s help, and eventually convinces Barry that he really has changed.
How can this be? Grodd’s mind was unaffected by the Crisis. He remembers everything, and even understands much of what has changed. Most important to Grodd, he knows that Gorilla City is now on Earth-Prime – and that’s where he wants to live. He no longer wants raw power. He just wants to live in peace.
Eventually Barry believes him, and joins forces with him to defeat “Solivar”. He does this in a more literal sense, merging brain waves with Grodd and symbolically merging into Grodd’s body in this mindscape. There is just one more danger…
If they do manage to escape, their brainwaves must be separated at the exact moment the go through the portal. Failure to do that would result in their becoming just one entity, one body. This is where Chester comes in.
Chester is looking for a second chance. His attempt to help Barry is what caused this mess to begin with. But, he has a plan. Use Gideon to help separate the brainwaves of Flash and Grodd at just the right time. It works! Barry is back to normal, and Grodd is now awake. Fortunately for Grodd, A.R.G.U.S. gives him probation, with the opportunity for freedom and the chance to prove he has really changed.
What did we learn? For both Grodd and Chester, they deserved that second chance. And, each made the best of that chance. Chester idolizes the Flash and was happily surprised to learn that Barry Allen is the Flash. He now gets the chance to be on comms and to assist Flash on his adventures. Grodd gets some measure of freedom, and the opportunity some day to go to Gorilla City. As for Barry? He learns that he can’t obsess over how things were before the Crisis. He needs to move forward with this new Earth-Prime.
Now, there were two other story threads, each with a BIG surprise tonight:
- We find that Eva is not what she seemed. Eva actually created the fake Iris! Eva is using every possible stunt to keep the real Iris from escaping, while using the fake Iris to gather more and more dirt on Joseph Carver. This new Mirror Master has been finally revealed to the audience for who she is…even if the real Iris still has no idea at this point.
- Nash has been odd around Allegra because she looks just like her doppelganger from Nash’s world. His daughter? Not sure. But what we are sure about is that Nash continues to see visions of other Wells. The big twist? One of the additional Wells gets glowy red eyes and states, “He…Is…Coming…”! We will see more of Eobard Thawne this season! What comes next? We’ll have to wait for the next episode to find out.
NOTES:
- Candace Patton continues to knock it out of the park in her dual roles. Glad to see a storyline that gives her the opportunity to shine.
- I should have noticed this before, but Ralph’s detective office is on the same floor and very near the offices of the Central City Citizen.
- The use of CGI for Grodd came across exceptionally well this episode.
- Chester does eventually find where Barry’s parents are buried in this new version of Earth. Does this settle whether Henry and Nora are actually dead…or will we revisit this sometime soon?
SUMMARY:
This episode gives us a great perspective on the post-Crisis world, and firmly establishes that…nothing is firmly established any more. That’s a great thing for future episodes, as everything is up for grabs now. As for this episode, I’ll give it a 9/10. But, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!