TV Review: The Flash – Season 2 Episode 20 “Rupture”

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

EPISODE 20: "Rupture"

SYNOPSIS: 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 villainRupture, who happens to be his brother Dante's doppelganger. Rupture came to this Earth seeking justice for Reverb's death. Irisdecides she's finally ready to open up to Barry about her feelings for him.

REVIEW: Once upon a time, television shows could throw shocking twists at us and we would drop our collective jaws in anticipation of what would come next. These days, shocks are hard to come by. But, when executed properly, a twist can still widen your eyes and loosen your jaw even if you know the outcome will rectify everything soon enough. With just three episodes remaining after this week, The Flash showrunners have managed to give us two curveballs for the price of one, one of which will have lasting repercussions for the seried going into season three. The first of these twists though involves the death of Barry Allen, something I doubt will linger much past next week's episode. This is no Jon Snow plot twist, people.

Still reeling from losing his speed, Barry and Cisco open the episode having cooked up a hologram of The Flash which helps keep up appearances that the speedster is still protecting Central City. Things seem to be working well but Barry is still mulling over whether to attempt Harrison Wells' plan to get his powers back: by recreating the particle accelerator explosion. After how the explosion impacted Central City on both parallel Earths, it should come as no surprise that Barry is not jumping at the chance to replicate it, even if it means becoming the best version of himself that he can be. Barry thinks things over and deals with very disparate opinions from his three parental figures: Wells who supports it, his father Henry who is against it, and Joe who will go with whatever Barry decides to do.

At the same time, Cisco vibes and sees a vision of his brother, Dante. Visiting his sibling, he finds they are still as disconnected as they when they had to deal with Captain Cold. As they leave the bar they met at, they are attacked by the Earth-2 villain, Rupture, who turns out to be the alternate version of Dante. This revelation doesn't quite ring true as we soon learn that Rupture is another pawn in Zoom's attempt to take over Earth-1. Caitlyn convinces Zoom not to kill the CCPD and she leaks information about Rupture's impending attack so Barry and Cisco can stop him. Livid at the betrayal, Zoom rushes to Jitters and kill all of the police officers there as well as Rupture. Barry runs in but Zoom reveals on the news that The Flash is a hologram and the city is his for the taking. This reveal is enough for Cisco to reveal his powers to his brother and the pair reconcile. Barry also comes to the decision that he will allow Wells to recreate the particle accelerator explosion.

While these events were coming to a head, Iris revealed her feelings to Barry and told him that no matter his decision, she will still feel the same for him. Wally and Jesse were also locked away at STAR Labs to protect them from Rupture and Zoom. All of these events come together in order to facilitate the ending of this episode: the attempt to get Barry's powers back. There were a couple of small moments between Caitlyn and Jay Garrick that culminated in Zoom distancing himself from the woman he has feelings for. We also heard a brief nugget of information from Henry Allen that Garrick was his mother's maiden name. I am not sure how that will tie into the bigger plot of the series, but could it be that Barry is somehow related to his nemesis? That would be an intriguing turn of events.

Barry's attempt to get back his speed remains one of the most gut-wrenching moments this show has ever done. Convinced that hundreds of metahumans will come out of the woodwork because of Zoom's press conference, Barry enters Wells' device which will focus the dark matter on his body while Cisco uses the Weather Wizard wand to channel a lightning bolt into Barry as well. With Henry, Joe, and Iris looking on, they begin the experiment. Writhing in pain, Barry endures the energy while Zoom witnesses what they are doing and rushes to STAR Labs. At the same time, Wally and Jesse break out and head towards the commotion. Almost at once, the explosion peaks and Barry's body is disintegrated while a flash of energy waves out and hits Wally and Jesse, knocking them unconscious. Zoom arrives and mocks them all for killing Barry Allen. He leaves and our team is left crushed by what they have done.

While Barry's "death" will clearly not last past next week's episode, this twist was notable because it all but guarantees that Wally West will now be a speedster himself. Wally, who became The Flash in the comics after Barry Allen, partnered with Jesse Quick (aka Liberty Belle) who also was called The Flash at one point. Both of them joined forces to defeat, you guessed it, Zoom. The team effort has worked pretty well on Arrow so having multiple speedsters will make for varied storytelling going into next season. While this episode felt like it lacked a worthy purpose for including Rupture, the closing act of this hour more than made up for it. I just hope that this isn't a tease for something that isn't going to happen. Bring on the Three Speedsters!

FINAL VERDICT:

NEXT ON THE FLASH: "The Runaway Dinosaur" airs May 10th – 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.