Main Cast:
Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash and Barry Allen
Candice Patton as Iris West and Detective Iris West-Allen
Danielle Panabaker as Dr. Caitlin Snow and Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost
Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon/Vibe and Cisco Ramon/Reverb
Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West
Tom Cavanagh as Dr. Harrison "Harry" Wells and Professor Eobard Thawne
Jesse L. Martin as Detective Joe West and Joseph West
Recurring Cast:
Teddy Sears as Hunter Zolomon/Zoom and Hunter Zolomon
Tony Todd as Zoom (voice)
Shantel VanSanten as Detective Patty Spivot
Violett Beane as Jesse Quick
John Wesley Shipp as Dr. Henry Allen and Jay Garrick/The Flash
Patrick Sabongui as Captain David Singh and Singh
Victor Garber as Professor Martin Stein/Firestorm
Vanessa Williams as Francine West
Wentworth Miller as Leonard Snart/Captain Cold
Amanda Pays as Dr. Tina McGee
Demore Barnes as Dr. Henry Hewitt/Tokamak and Dr. Henry Hewitt
Ciara Renée as Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl
Malese Jow as Linda Park and Linda Park/Dr. Light
Michelle Harrison as Nora Allen
Rick Cosnett as Detective Eddie Thawne
David Ramsey as John Diggle/Spartan
Matt Letscher as Professor Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash
Robbie Amell as Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm and Ronnie Raymond/Deathstorm
Adam Stafford as Adam Fells/Geomancer
Tone Bell as Scott Evans
David Hayter as King Shark
Season Two Episode Listing:
| # | Episode name | Directed by | Story by | Teleplay by | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Man Who Saved Central City" | Ralph Hemecker | Greg Berlanti &Andrew Kreisberg | Andrew Kreisberg andGabrielle Stanton | October 6, 2015 | |
| Picking up six months after the Singularity attacked Central City, Barry is still struggling to forgive himself for Eddie’s death. Concerned about putting his friends in danger, Barry has pushed everyone away and has chosen to protect the city on his own. When a meta-human named Atom Smasher attacks the city, Iris tells Barry that he needs to let his friends help him protect the citizens of Central City. Meanwhile, Cisco helps Joe with his Meta Task Force. | ||||||
| 2 | "Flash of Two Worlds" | Jesse Warn | Aaron & Todd Helbing | October 13, 2015 | ||
| Jay Garrick, a mysterious man from Earth Two, appears at S.T.A.R. Labs with a dire warning about an evil speedster named Zoom, who is set on destroying The Flash. Barry and the team must decide if they can trust this stranger even as they face yet another powerful meta-human. Meanwhile, Joe must deal with a determined officer named Patty Spivot who wants to join his meta-human task force. | ||||||
| 3 | "Family of Rogues" | John Showalter | Julian Meiojas & Katherine Walczak | October 20, 2015 | ||
| When Barry and the team find out Captain Cold has been kidnapped, they form an uneasy alliance with his sister, Lisa. However, Barry feels double-crossed when he finds out Snart is working with his father, Lewis Snart on a heist. Meanwhile, Joe is faced with a difficult decision. | ||||||
| 4 | "The Fury of Firestorm" | Stefan Pleszczynski | Kai Yu Wu & Joe Peracchio | October 27, 2015 | ||
| Barry and the team look for another Firestorm match for Dr. Stein. When the team meets Jefferson "Jax" Jackson, Caitlin has her reservations about whether Jax is the right match for Dr. Stein. Iris surprises Joe Westwhile Barry and Patty Spivot grow closer. | ||||||
| 5 | "The Darkness and the Light" | Steve Shill | Ben Sokolowski & Grainne Godfree | November 3, 2015 | ||
| Barry learns a new breacher, Dr. Light, has come through the portal and sets off to capture her. Jay tells Barry that Dr. Light was not a threat on Earth Two and that Barry can reason with her. However, during a fight with The Flash, she blinds him and drops some shocking news about Zoom. Meanwhile, Barry and Patty go out on a date. | ||||||
| 6 | "Enter Zoom" | J.J. Makaro | Gabrielle Stanton & Brooke Eikmeier | November 10, 2015 | ||
| After recent events, Barry decides it's time to confront Zoom and comes up with a dangerous plan. Caitlin sides with Jay and deems it too dangerous for Barry to engage with the speed demon. However, Iris shows her support and brings forth a surprising ally. We see what Earth Two Harrison Wells' life was like before coming through the breach. | ||||||
| 7 | "Gorilla Warfare" | Dermott Downs | Aaron & Todd Helbing | November 17, 2015 | ||
| Grodd returns to Central City and kidnaps Caitlin. Barry and team race to find her before it's too late. Meanwhile, Cisco plans his first date with the new barista at Jitters, Kendra Saunders and Patty begins to suspect Barry is hiding something from her. | ||||||
| 8 | "Legends of Today" | Ralph Hemecker | Aaron & Todd Helbing | December 1, 2015 | ||
| Vandal Savage arrives in Central City and sets his sights on Kendra Saunders. After Vandal attacks Kendra and Cisco, they turn to Barry for help. Realizing how dangerous Vandal is, Barry takes Kendra to Star City and asks Oliver and team to hide her until he can figure out how to stop Vandal. However, things quickly go from bad to worse when a man with wings AKA Hawkman shows up and flies off with Kendra. Meanwhile, Harrison develops a serum to make Barry run faster and asks Jay to test it out. | ||||||
| 9 | "Running to Stand Still" | Kevin Tancharoen | Andrew Kreisberg | December 8, 2015 | ||
| When Mark Mardon AKA The Weather Wizard returns to break Leonard Snart AKA Captain Cold and James Jesse AKA The Trickster out of Iron Heights, Barry must stop these rogues from taking over Central City during Christmas. Meanwhile, Joe and Iris meet Wally West. | ||||||
| 10 | "Potential Energy" | Rob Hardy | Bryan Q. Miller | January 19, 2016 | ||
| Now that they've grown closer, Barry considers telling Patty that he is The Flash. Meanwhile, Joe and Iris try to get to know Wally, and the team hunts down a meta-human who can slow time itself. | ||||||
| 11 | "The Reverse-Flash Returns" | Michael Allowitz | Aaron & Todd Helbing | January 26, 2016 | ||
| When Cisco gets a vibe of Eobard Thawne, Barry and the team don't believe it. But, after an attack at Mercury Labs, Christina McGee confirms that the Reverse-Flash is back. Meanwhile, Iris and Francine share a nice moment that brings Iris closer to her brother, Wally. | ||||||
| 12 | "Fast Lane" | Rachel Talalay | Brooke Eikmeier | Kai Yu Wu and Joe Peracchio | February 2, 2016 | |
| Barry teams up with Wells to figure out a way to close the breaches, but they are distracted by a meta-human nicknamed Tar Pit who can transform into liquid asphalt. Iris is concerned for Wally's safety after she finds out about his drag racing hobby. When he refuses to stop she makes a bold move that puts her in danger. | ||||||
| 13 | "Welcome to Earth-2" | Millicent Shelton | Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg & Katherine Walczak | February 9, 2016 | ||
| Barry, Harry and Cisco journey to Earth-2 to rescue Harry's daughter, Jesse from Zoom. Barry is stunned when he runs into Earth-2 Iris and Joe, but nothing prepares him for meeting Killer Frost and Deathstorm. Meanwhile, back on Earth-1, Jay has to take over the Flash's responsibilities when a meta-human nicknamedGeomancer attacks Central City. | ||||||
| 14 | "Escape from Earth-2" | J.J. Makaro | Aaron & Todd Helbing | February 16, 2016 | ||
| On Earth-2, the team races to find Zoom's lair and asks for help from the most unexpected source. Meanwhile, back on Earth-1, Caitlin rushes to perfect Velocity-9 so that Jay can stop the Geomancer. | ||||||
| 15 | "King Shark" | Hanelle Culpepper | Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes | February 23, 2016 | ||
| When King Shark escapes from an A.R.G.U.S. holding tank, Lyla and Diggle travel to Central City to warnBarry. King Shark shows up at the West house and attacks Joe, Iris, Wally and Barry. | ||||||
| 16 | "Trajectory" | Glen Winter | Lauren Certo & Lilah Vandenburgh | March 22, 2016 | ||
| Deciding to blow off some steam, Barry and the team head out for a night on the town only to encounter an unexpected speedster who is up to no good. Iris is challenged by an assignment from her new boss, and is surprised when friction turns to flirtation. | ||||||
| 17 | "Flash Back" | Alice Troughton | Aaron & Todd Helbing | March 29, 2016 | ||
| After the shocking revelation that Zoom is Jay Garrick, Barry is more determined than ever to get back to Earth-2 to stop Zoom forever. Desperate to find a way to increase his speed, Barry decides to travel back in time and masquerade as his earlier self in order to get his arch-nemesis, Dr. Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne, to teach him how to run faster. However, things don't go as planned and Barry is stunned to face familiar foe Hartley Rathaway, as well as old friend Eddie Thawne. Iris makes peace with her past in order to embrace her future. | ||||||
| 18 | "Versus Zoom" | Stefan Pleszczynski | Joe Peracchio & David Kob | April 19, 2016 | ||
| Equipped with the tachyon device, Barry believes he is fast enough to stop Zoom and wants to open the breaches to catch him. Harry strongly advises against that plan but after Barry convinces him, Harry reveals that Cisco has the power to re-open the breach. Meanwhile, Hunter Zolomon's painful story on Earth-2 is revealed. | ||||||
| 19 | "Back to Normal" | John Showalter | Brooke Roberts & Katherine Walczak | April 26, 2016 | ||
| A meta-human with super strength named Griffin Grey mistakes Harry for Earth-1 Harrison Wells and kidnaps him, demanding that Wells cure him from his current condition. Realizing another brilliant Wells could help track Griffin's location, Barry asks Jesse to help. Meanwhile, Wally corners Joe about The Flash. | ||||||
| 20 | "Rupture" | Armen V. Kevorkian | Kai Yu Wu & Lauren Certo | May 3, 2016 | ||
| Zoom arrives back on Earth-1 intent on taking over Central City. Barry and Wells come up with a plan to stop Zoom once and for all but it's extremely dangerous. Unsure if he should take the risk, Barry reaches out to both fathers for advice. Henry is adamantly opposed to Barry risking his life again but Joe thinks he can handle it which puts the two men at odds with each other. Meanwhile, Cisco is shocked when he vibes the Earth-2 villain Rupture, who happens to be his brother Dante's doppelgänger. Rupture came to this Earth seeking justice for Reverb's death. Iris decides she's finally ready to open up to Barry about her feelings for him. | ||||||
| 21 | "The Runaway Dinosaur" | Kevin Smith | Zack Stentz | May 10, 2016 | ||
| With Barry gone, the team must figure out a way to handle the return of an old enemy – Girder. Realizing Girder is retracing his steps from his last attack, Iris volunteers to act as bait to trap him in S.T.A.R. Labs. Meanwhile, Barry fights to return to his old life. | ||||||
| 22 | "Invincible" | Jesse Warn | Greg Berlanti &Andrew Kreisberg | Brooke Roberts & David Kob | May 17, 2016 | |
| After Zoom unleashes an army of Earth-2 meta-humans on Central City, Barry is shaken when he sees their leader is the Black Canary's Earth-2 doppelgänger, the Black Siren. Meanwhile, Wally takes to the streets to help The Flash stop the meta-humans, which worries Joe. Iris and Henry are concerned about Barry taking on Zoom. | ||||||
| 23 | "The Race of His Life" | Antonio Negret | Aaron & Todd Helbing | May 24, 2016 | ||
| After Zoom reveals his true plan, Barry vows to do whatever it takes to stop him. | ||||||
The Verdict:
I really hate having to revisit my thoughts on this season as it’s just pissing me off all over again.
At the end of Season 1, I was pissed off. At the end of this season, I was more pissed off here than I was at the end of the first season and I couldn’t fathom that the series’ writers would dwell into this level of stupidity.
Wait, wait… I’m getting ahead of myself here, so let’s start at the beginning.
Hot off the heels of closing the dimensional breech from the cliffhanger ending to the Season 1 finale, Barry Allen is coming to grips of the pressures of living up to everyone’s high expectations of his heroism after defeating Reverse Flash (not really) and saving Central City (again not really). I say not really because in both situations, the world was saved due to forces outside of Barry’s control and he just happens to get the credit for the heroics. Eddie Thawne defeated Reverse Flash by “erasing” him from existence after killing himself and Firestorm was the one who saved the city by closing the breech. Barry starts off the season moping around until we’re introduced to the first of many dimensional breechers, Atomsmasher (played by WWE alumni Adam Copeland AKA The Rated R Superstar, Edge). After an anticlimactic battle, it’s revealed that Atomsmasher was working for another speedster known as Zoom. Soon enough, Barry is befriended by another speedster, The Flash of Earth 2 – Jay Garrett, along with the Harrison Wells (the REAL one) of Earth 2, who both are there to warn and assist Barry of the pending threat of a new evil speedster, Zoom.
Doesn't this sound familiar to the plot of Season One with Reverse Flash/Thawne? That's why this season frustrated me. It ultimately follows the same pattern. Jay Garrett isn't who he really say he is and ends up being the enemy in disguise - namely Zoom himself and was using Barry in the same fashion as Reverse Flash to gain his speed for his own purposes. The villains of the week end up being various "breachers" as dubbed by Cisco from Earth-2 that were recruited by Zoom to kill The Flash. Most of them prove to be only minor conveniences until the audience was treated to a trip to Earth-2 where everything is a bit "reversed" in comparison to the normal Earth that we've been used to this point. Barry's married to Iris, who is a police officer instead of her father, in that reality while the Flash support team are the supervillains Reverb (Vibe/Cisco) and Killer Frost (Caitlin) working for Zoom. Barry's Earth-2 counterpart doesn't have any powers either. Those two episodes proved to be one of the better standout episodes of that season.
Once Zoom exposed his identity of being an impostor and being really Hunter Zolomon instead of Jay Garrick and stripped Barry Allen of his speed, Barry found himself going down a path of self-discovery of his own worth as a person and as a hero. This ultimately led Barry to go to the extremes to regain his powers by recreating the experiment that gave him his powers in this first place. It seemed to kill him but instead it took him into the Speed Force itself. In a special Kevin Smith directed episode, Barry reunites with his mother and truly becomes one with the Speed Force after truly understanding the depth of his powers.
Between this episode, the ordeal where Barry went back into the past and altered the past to prevent the deaths of his allies in this season's crossover with Arrow and the heroes set to star in Legends of Tomorrow, and the Season One finale where Barry had a chance to prevent the death of his mother, one would think that Barry has come to terms with the death of his mother and how all of these events up to this point have shaped him into the hero he is today. Wells along with Thawne/Reverse Flash warned him about tampering with time travel, yet Barry tampers with it once again. Here's where my frustration with this show reaches its peak. Barry doesn't learn from anything. He makes the same mistakes time and time again - not because he is a nice guy or a genuinely good person. No, it's because he's a stupid person. That's the impression that the writers of this show have painted a picture of. Look, I can understand his pain of losing both parents due to the actions of Zoom and Reverse Flash, but what he's not realizing that every time that he or someone else tampers with time and the Speed Force it only creates another evil speedster - one more dangerous than the last. First we had Reverse Flash in Season One, then Zoom in this season and it looks like they have ANOTHER one set to debut in Season Three. Not to mention they teased and set up the potential origins for Wally West to become Kid Flash and Jesse Wells to become Jesse Quick down the road and a potential return of the other minor evil speedster in this season, Trajectory.
I have to mention the subplot where Barry Allen was hitting it off with Patty Spivot, then the show unexpectedly threw that relationship to the curb and put Barry back in the pursuit of Iris. It came off really awkward in that transition when Barry and Patty seemed to have a really great thing going and the show just wrote it off - pretty early in this season if I may add. I was left wondering if they were going to come back to this character later in this season but to no avail.
This situation sums up the season perfectly though. It seems great on the surface and potentially to lead to something wonderful in this series, but ultimately falls flat. This season gets your hopes up on something cool then immediately lets you down with the payoff. It's a recurring theme throughout this season from premiere to the finale.
Watch it or Don't Bother?
If you watched season one, you might as well see where things go from there. Everyone else, I suggest not bothering. This isn't a good point to jump into the show if you haven't been following to this point and if these CW DC Comics-based superhero dramas aren't your cup of tea then you might not become a fan after the poor writing in this season.Ultimately, this show keeps running around in the same circle. Barry finds himself pitted against an evil speedster and finds himself along with his loved ones in the cross hairs no matter what he does. In the conflicting battle between the two speedsters, lives are lost, people are hurt, and someone dear to him dies. As a result, he tries to change the past despite the warnings and previous experiences of doing so proves to go horribly wrong. Barry does it anyway without heeding the warnings and goes through an absent-minded process where he doesn't realize the magnitude of his actions until it's too late.
I can't really put the blame on the cast for this show as even though there's times I can't fucking stand Iris West's character and can't fathom Barry Allen's stupidity at times, the actors are only working with what they are given. They do a superb job for what they given. Tom Cavanagh is still the best among the cast as Harrison Wells (again) this season with a rigid edge to his character in this season while Grant Gustin following a close second as you cannot help but love his performance as Barry Allen. Carlos Valdes' delivery makes Cisco's jokes and wisecracks stand out even more while there's moments where you want to give both Danielle Panabaker and Candice Patton a hug for their heart-felt moments and vulnerability. Teddy Sears really offers nothing major as a stand-out villain in this season compared to Cavanagh as Thawne/Reverse Flash in the first season. That alone makes me scratch my head why would they retread familiar territory when Sears couldn't live up to Cavanagh's impact as villain in the premiere season of this show.
After season one, I thought the series creators would learn from their mistakes and provide a better product after growing from what they have learned from the original season. Instead, the writers, much like Barry Allen/The Flash, refuse to learn from their mistakes and continue running into circles, destined to repeat the same mistakes and shortcomings time and time again. That being said, with the premiere of Season Three around the corner, I don't have much faith that they will do anything different with the television adaptation of the popularized Flashpoint storyline even though Barry's tampering with the fabric of time will effect every show in the CW's DC Television Universe in some shape or form going forward.
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