The Flash has his hands full with a new villain–Rupture. We’re on episode 20 of season 2, and things are really heating up. Barry has a tough decision to make, as Zoom invades the CCPD and seemingly has an endless supply of metahumans to bring over to Earth 1. Dr. Wells wants Barry to try to get his speed back. It could be dangerous, and Barry has to weigh his options heavily this episode. Josh provides the recap, then both Josh and Violet share their thoughts about the episode.
- His thoughts on Rupture, Episode 220 of The Flash
- Her thoughts on The Flash Season 2 Episode 20: Rupture
The Flash Recap, Season 2 Episode 20: Rupture
The Flash begins with a high speed chase. Cisco is reporting to Barry on it, and the Flash surprisingly shows up to stop him. Then we see that Barry is on a treadmill. It looks like Barry is operating a hologram developed by Cisco, in order to deter criminals, trying to show that the Flash is still around. Using the hologram, “Barry” runs around the vehicle, causing the drivers to be unable to see. The criminals pull over and surrender to the cops who had been chasing them.
Back at STAR Labs, Iris, Cisco and Barry celebrate their victory. But Earth 2 Dr. Wells seems to think this is just buying time, as people will see through the hologram eventually. Wells says they need to remake the particle accelerator, but the other three don’t think it is a good idea. Wells says he can contain the explosion, but Barry and the rest are doubtful. Dr. Wells is very persistent though, making a good argument–Caitlin can’t be saved without Barry having his speed.
Barry then pays a visit to his father, who seems to be living in a log cabin in the woods. Barry tells his father about his lack of speed now, and how it happened. Turns out that Barry’s father’s maiden name was Garrick…hmm…But back to the sentimental moment between father and son, Henry tells Barry he doesn’t need powers to be the man he is.
Back at STAR Labs, Wells shows Cisco his device to get Barry his speed back. Cisco is not having it though. In the middle of his argument, Cisco gets a “vibe.” In the vision, Cisco sees Dante, Cisco’s brother.
Barry returns to STAR Labs with his father. He seems to be back “for good” according to Barry and his father.
At CCPD, Wally and Joe have a conversation, Wally seems to show interest in joining his father in being a cop. But Joe says that Wally should stick with engineering. Zoom shows up though. Caitlin seems to be back too, and she pleads for Zoom to not hurt anyone. Zoom complies, but tells CCPD that Central City is his.
Joe heads to STAR Labs with the news, and Wells tells Team Flash that Zoom did this on Earth 2–took over the police station, and killed dozens of officers. Joe seems to think that Caitlyn might be able to talk Zoom out of it, but as a precaution, the team suggests having the cops back off to Jitters, the coffee shop nearby. Wells turns back to saying that Barry needs his powers again. Other than that, they seem to have no plan.
Caitlin is chained up in CCPD, and she and Zoom talk about the plan. Zoom seems to be planning to kill a lot of people. He also tries to appeal to Caitlyn–telling her that she can unlock her darker side that he saw with Killer Frost. Zoom takes off, and Caitlin looks around, hoping to find an escape route.
At the bar, Cisco meets up with his brother, Dante. He seems to suspect that Cisco is concerned about him. The two discuss their distant relationship, where Dante says Cisco only seems to only talk to him when there is a problem. Dante puts on the sports game in the bar, and Cisco is about to take off. He sees something on the TV that catches his eye though. He heads out worried. Dante follows him out, asking for a ride home, when a mystery villain blows up a motorcycle nearby. We then see the scythe-wielding villain wanting to take down Vibe because Vibe killed his brother–so he thinks at least. Dante is confused by this “nickname” but Cisco tries to play it off.
Things are pretty complicated though. When this mystery villain takes his mask off, it is revealed who he really is: Cisco’s brother — Earth 2’s Cisco’s brother, that is. Everyone is really confused, but Cisco and Dante head for their van and take off. Turns out this man calls himself Rupture.
At STAR Labs, Wally and Jesse are locked into the secret vault room in the facility by Joe to keep them safe. Meanwhile, Wells is working on some intense math formulas as Joe talks with him. Wells tells Joe that they need to convince Barry to get his speed back. Barry’s father shows up, and seems to think that Barry should make up his own mind, and is worried this experiment could kill Barry. He then argues that if it does work, then he still has to go up against Zoom. Barry witnesses the arguing, and tells the three that he has to make this decision on his own.
Cisco then arrives with the news of this new villain, named Rupture. It seems Zoom is lying to other super villains to get them to attack Team Flash. Again, Wells says Barry needs to get his powers back. Barry decides to walk away as he says he “needs a minute.”
Iris chats with Barry, and says it is a tough decision, and doesn’t know if she can handle Barry being hurt like he was in the first explosion. Iris also tells Barry that she and he might be destined to be together. Barry seems confused as to why he is hearing this now. Iris explains that she wants to have a future with Barry–whether or not he is the Flash.
At CCPD, Caitlin has been trying to make her escape, and she manages to get a phone from an evidence box. But she quickly hides it, hearing something in the distance. Rupture and Zoom meet up and Rupture wants to find Vibe. Rupture is commanded to kill some police officers to “teach them a lesson.”
At STAR Labs, Caitlin tells the rest of Team Flash that Zoom is attacking Jitters using her cell phone from the CCPD. Barry seems to think having the Flash is the best option, but he can’t risk Central City again with the Particle Accelerator. Wells protests, but Barry puts his foot down.
Cisco and Dante talk, and Dante discovers Cisco went to Earth 2. Dante seems puzzled by it. Cisco then tells Dante about his powers.
At Jitters, it looks like Team Flash has a plan. Rupture shows up and breaks into the coffee shop. The Flash shows up–or the hologram, at least. Barry does his controlling of the hologram, which provides distraction enough for Joe to take down Rupture.
Caitlin sees that the officers were saved, and Zoom figures out Caitlyn provided warning. Zoom shows up to Jitters, and takes down all of the cops. Barry shows up and Zoom kills Rupture, to “make his point.” Zoom also tells the media that the Flash seen around the town is a hologram, and tells Central City there is no hope left–from him. Zoom says Barry and Joe are only left alive because of his affection for Caitlin.
Back at STAR Labs, Dante gets a big bear hug from Cisco, who wants them to be closer. Meanwhile, Wally and Jesse seem bored inside the vault. Wally wants to help, and wants Jesse to help as well.
Wells, meanwhile, meets with Team Flash, and seems to think Zoom is going to be bringing more and more metahumans to Earth 1. Now that the Flash is known to be a fake, more from Earth 1 are presumed to come out as well. With all this in mind, Barry decides he will try the particle accelerator to regain his powers.
Wells prepares the machine, and Barry hops in. Cisco explains that hopefully the accelerator will only hit Barry. Wells says there is one more thing–they need to make lightning, using Cisco’s wand that he made, which will channel lightning to strike Barry. Henry, Barry’s father, tells him that he doesn’t have to go through with this plan, but Barry seems resolved to it.
Meanwhile, Jesse has managed to get herself and Wally out of the vault room. They get curious as to what is going on, and wander around. Meanwhile, Wells goes all Mad Scientist, recreating the conditions that turned Barry the first time. Barry seems to disintegrate while Wally and Jesse are both hit by the accelerator explosion. When all is said and done, Barry has disappeared.
Zoom shows up, and mocks Team Flash for killing Barry. Team Flash, Barry’s father and everyone mourn the loss of Barry as Wally and Jesse lay unconscious, with nobody aware of what happened to them yet.
His Thoughts on The Flash, Season 2 Episode 20: Rupture
So there is a lot going on this episode. I had come up with a theory prior to watching this episode that the “man in the iron mask” is Earth 2’s Henry Allen–Barry’s father. There are a couple reasons this makes sense, which I have gone over in the comments of our previous The Flash recap, but it bears some repeating, I think. Towards the beginning of the season, when Zoom was first introduced, I thought that Zoom was Henry Allen. The reason I thought this was because Oliver Queen’s father was the Green Arrow in Earth 2, which we learned through a news story in that universe. I thought that combined with the fact that John Wesley Shipp played the Flash in the 1990s show made it make complete sense. Now that that theory is debunked, I think that Zoom’s prisoner is Jay Garrick, and also possibly Henry Allen. There are a couple a ways that could happen, and a big thing came up this episode about it.
Henry Allen tells Barry that his mother’s maiden name was Garrick. This means that if Henry’s mother had gotten a divorce, and never married but had Henry in Earth 2, his last name could be Garrick. Perhaps Henry was adopted at a young age, where he got the name Jay, rather than Henry.
There is another theory that could be the case–in that Hunter Zolomon has a twin brother, who was separated at birth, and adopted by the Garricks. This would make sense for a couple reasons–Zolomon took the name Jay Garrick as a way to camouflage himself–anyone who would have possibly knew Jay Garrick would know he was a good guy. Additionally, viewers have been calling Zoom’s prisoner the “Man in the Iron Mask.” There are various versions of this story in literature and film, but it refers to a brother or even a twin brother that was locked away in order for the other brother to not be a threat to the free twin’s power. Eventually the Musketeers save the Iron Masked brother, and overthrow the King, Louis XIV of France. Of course there are many versions of the “Man in the Iron Mask,” which you can read about on Wikipedia here.
Moving on, there are some other interesting bits to this episode. The attempt to recreate Barry’s powers felt very reminiscent of Flashpoint, the graphic novel where history has been changed and Barry has to recreate the experiment with the help of Thomas Wayne–who has become Batman due to changes in the timeline. While this episode did not have all the changes in the timeline that the graphic novel does, nor feature any of the other major Justice League members, the experiment certainly was a nod to that really good graphic novel. I highly suggest checking it out if you haven’t read it.
I also have a feeling we are getting two more metahumans though, one of them being Kid-Flash, through Wally West. There have been so many hints to Wally being a speed demon, it seemed a matter of time before that happened. I actually suspect with Barry having mysteriously vanished, that Wally might step in as the Flash for an episode or two, to pick up the slack. I do wonder what Jesse Wells’ powers will be, presuming she gets some.
Overall, this was a pretty good episode. I just want good ole Barry back to his normal flashy speed, but most of all, I want to figure out who this masked man is. Stop holding back on us CW. Give us something!
Her Thoughts on The Flash, Season 2 Episode 20: Rupture
I know there are a lot of WestAllen shippers out there. As I’ve expressed several times before, I’m not one of them, despite the fact that I know they’really supposed to end up married. The brother-sister factor just creeps me out too much. But I won’t go into that yet again. Anyway, so Iris finally decides to declare her feelings for Barry this episode, right before something big happens — kind of like in that Season 1 episode where Iris does the same thing. But then all of that comes undone when Barry travels back in time and relives that day. Now, similarly, Barry has gone — somewhere. Though we don’t know where, or how he can be rescued. I’m wondering if however he gets rescued somehow involves undoing what just happened. That would be very frustrating for WestAllen shippers. It probably won’t though, because the show probably wants Wally and Jesse to keep their powers. Presumably, Barry’s speed powers went into them and created two new speedsters.
So now the question is, where did Barry go, and how can he be saved. Obviously, he’s not dead, though it may seem like he is. They wouldn’t kill off the title character of the show. Or if they did, they will find a way to bring him back. When he returns, will be be changed in any way? Will he have his old powers back? Will his powers be better, worse, or the same? Will Wally’s and Jesse’s newfound powers, combined with Cisco’s powers and the ingenuity of everyone at STAR Labs be enough to hold Zoom off until Barry returns? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Also, this episode again proved my point of how Earth 1 and Earth 2 residents don’t all have the same powers as each other — and therefore it’s been illogical of the Flash Team to presume that Cisco has the same powers that his doppelganger, Reverb, did. His own brother, Dante, has no powers (that we know of, at least), while Dante’s Earth 2 counterpart, Rupture, does! I agree with Dr. Wells that even though people on Earth 1 have a doppelganger on Earth 2, that doesn’t mean they’re the same person. They’ve all had different life experiences. So when Zoom talks about Caitlin unleashing her dark side like Killer Frost, this is illogical.
But anyway, this episode left us with a big cliffhanger, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Scenes from The Flash, Season 2 Episode 21: The Runaway Dinosaur
Next week’s episode of The Flash seems to have Cisco trying to “vibe” for Barry, as Wells seems to think he has teleported somewhere. He seems to be right, as we see Barry alive and well, but where is yet to be determined. Another Earth? Heaven? It is hard to say, but he is certainly seeing familiar faces! Hmm….
Preview of Season 2 Episode 21 of The Flash
I think we’ll definitely see Wally West with his powers before the end of this season. I feel like it’s likely that he already has them, he just has to go through some major event in order to be able to use them.
Hi Serena!
I think you might be right here. Hopefully it comes up soon! I still think that actor is going to be hate being called Kid Flash, if the name comes up though!
I love how they just keep pushing themselves creatively.
That said, Ruptures mask looks awful