TV Review: The Flash – Season 2 Episode 6 “Enter Zoom”

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

EPISODE 6: "Enter Zoom"

SYNOPSIS: 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-2 Harrison Wells' life was like before coming through the breach.

REVIEW: (Beware of spoilers!):

If The Flash were the STAR WARS saga, tonight's episode would be THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Taking the darkest turn ever on the series, we finally get to see supervillain Zoom at his most evil and he puts to shame any bad guy on this show or Arrow. He may have a lame name, but Zoom is one evil bastard. It is odd that it comes on the heels of one of the goofiest and lightest episodes this year (pun absolutely intended). Directly continuing last week's hour, tonight puts the focus back on Dr. Light and the doppleganger Linda Parks. We also finally get the reveal of Harrison Wells' true motivations in trying to catch Zoom and a cliffhanger that most certainly cannot be permanent.

Barry is obsessed with catching Zoom. After learning about the Earth Two villain from Jay Garrick and Harrison Wells, Barry does not want to deal with another Reverse-Flash and is prepared to do anything to take him down. Jay already left town due to the prospect of Barry being uprepared to face the demonic speedster, but Barry still concocts the ridiculous plan to have Earth One Linda Park don Dr. Light's costume after the Earth Two version turned invisible and skipped town. Despite Linda not being sure she can pretend to be a bad guy, Barry reveals his true identity to her in an effort to convince her to stage a fight and send the Flash emblem through a rift to trick Zoom into appearing. Sounds like a terrible plan, right? Well, everyone is on board as Harrison Wells devises a gun that could disable Zoom's powers.

After some really hammy acting from Barry and Linda, they wait for Zoom who never comes through the rift. The entire sequence is funny and ridiculous and had me wondering if this hour was going to be more funny than exciting. Defeated, Barry realizes that Joe was right and Barry needs to focus on the good things in his life, like Patty Spivot. Patty has been questioning that Barry and Joe seem to be disappearing at the same time and that Joe is suddenly stopping her from searching for Dr. Light. It is not surprising that there are so many meta-humans getting away with crimes in Central City as these detectives are not very good at solving easy crimes. In either case, Barry reunites with Patty while Iris toasts to Linda's help with their plan when Zoom appears and takes LInda to the roof of STAR Labs.

Barry confronts Zoom who has one of the best costume designs I have seen on this show. It is terrifyingly bleak and looks imposing. Barry lets his cocky side fly and tries to fling lightning at Zoom who easily catches it and throws it back at him. Zoom demolishes Barry and when Wells tries to shoot his gun at him, Zoom catches it and stabs Barry. Zoom then parades Barry's beaten body through Iris' newspaper and the CCPD station, proclaiming that the Flash has been defeated. Taking him back to STAR Labs, Zoom stabs Barry in the torso as Cisco manages to shoot him with Wells' gun. Zoom screams and speeds off, leaving Barry. The team work to help Barry while Joe and Wells almost come to blows.

Cisco reveals that he vibed on Wells earlier and that his daughter is alive but in Zoom's control. During Earth Two flashbacks, we see the strong relationship between Wells and his daughter only to be ruined by Zoom kidnapping her from her college, setting Wells on his quest to stop the villain. Wells is relieved to learn his daughter is alive but knows of no other way to stop Zoom without Barry's help. In the closing scene of the episode, CIsco and Caitlyn are relieved when Barry wakes up and they tell him how badly he was hurt. Barry wants to find Zoom but CIsco pats him on the leg and tells him they can wait until he recovers. At that moment, Barry reveals he cannot feel his legs.

While I doubt the showrunners will leave Barry without his speed for that long, it definitely works in showcasing just how powerful Zoom is in comparison to The Flash. More than the Reverse Flash ever did, Zoom truly seems like he is way out of Barry's league. Something tells me that Barry will need to team wtih Jay to fight and stop Zoom by the end of this season, but I almost hope they can't beat him and this menace carries over to next season as well. The Flash has been burning through DC Comics characters and plotlines at a fast pace and it looks like Zoom is one character worth keeping for a longer run. I am genuinely intrigued to know who is lurking under that mask and how he ties into The Flash mythology overall. I also hope that somehow Oliver Queen and maybe the Legends of Tomorrow need to unite to fight this guy. For now, I just hope the series continues from this high point and gets better and better.

FINAL VERDICT:

NEXT ON THE FLASH: "Gorilla Warfare" airs on November 17th: 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. Patty begins to suspect Barry is hiding something from her.