***SPOILER WARNING!***

Barry Allen and the Star Labs crew have returned to the CW with their mid-season premiere! There’s a lot that’s going to generate the buzz to finish off the rest of the season. Aside from Wally West being a staple, and Jay Garrick is still trying to recover his speed, so far more questions arise than we get answers for. Furthermore, there is also a lot of mystery surrounding Earth 2, but for now let’s recap the episode with spoilers, and talk about key takeaways.

Spoilers Follow Below

As the episode opens with a romantic scene, it’s quickly killed by Zoom dropping Patty from a building and ends with Barry waking up screaming for his life. Zoom haunting Barry’s dreams is the least of the teams worries, as we discover a new meta-human Cisco dubs “Turtle.” In his ever classic fashion, his nicknames and jokes continue to add the spirit needed to make us shake our heads. We can all take solace in the fact he’ll always be comedic and insightful.

Joe and Wally are still trying to figure out what they want from each other—if anything at all. It’s hard to develop a relationship with someone who wasn’t’ there on both sides. Being a father to Barry and Iris was all he knew, for over 20 years. Although paternal instincts never die, his patience to rediscover them has. We see him jump immediately into a father mode when he discovers Wally’s source of income from his Flash themed Dodge Challenger. Wally defends his hustle with a brisk and abrupt answer: I’m the man of this family.

It wasn’t said to be disrespectful as much as him asserting himself as the head of his household. Joe wasn’t there, and Wally raised himself to take care of his mother the only way he knew how: The street life. Thankfully, he wasn’t selling drugs, or killing people, but in Joe’s eyes anything short of punching a clock for finances is illegal. It’s an old concept that many in our generation have discarded, and ignore.

It’s completely understandable why Wally can’t accept Joe’s way of life. He was raised without a father, or any knowledge of his existence. He survived by hustling and found his way around mechanics and racing, (hopefully, we’ll see Wally and Firestorm race) to help his mother survive. To have someone you have never met, or knew about suddenly appear and tell you to change your way of earning is a difficult thing to hear. Both will find the balance they seek, especially if Joe keeps Kung Pao Chicken around.

Barry keeping his foot on the brake too long with Patty was only going to end one way: the way it did. Patty left Central City thinking Barry didn’t love her, and wants nothing more than to start over. She caught her father’s killer, created a task force with Joe West to catch meta-humans, and had her heart-broken by a co-worker. Her best defense is a strong offense and intense front by moving.

They often say career driven women are dangerous, and resilient in their pursuits. We can tell Patty’s going to be back in a domineering positing when she does cross paths with Barry again in the future, possibly before he decides to marry Iris, or becomes chief of the CCPD. We could also see her as Lady Flash on Earth 2, or a villain.

We have finally seen the return of the OG Reverse Flash. Although Tom Cavanaugh isn’t playing him, Eobard Thawne is a serious force to be reckoned with. We saw his return burst through the screen in a quiet suburb with his questioning of where the hell he was. It’s too early to rule out whether or which incarnation of the Reverse Flash he is, or even if he is Eobard Thawne.

All that’s left to ask is what’s going to happen now that we have so much Speed force nearby in Central City? At the time of writing this, I can confirm more surprises are in store. We have covered almost all the important aspects of the premiere, so let’s take a look at the key takeaways on what might be happening for the rest of the season, and a few possible answers for viewers who are as inquisitive as I am.

Barry is getting faster but will it be enough to defeat Zoom?

As comic history has proven time and time again, Barry Allen was the predecessor to the Flash family tree, but it was actually Wally West as Kid Flash who took the mantle of the fastest, then Bart Allen. With Barry fighting to be faster than Zoom, and possessing the ability to travel up to Mach 2, can he pull it off in time by the end of the season? That’s the big question. Another thing to keep in mind is that we’re not done with time travel, or crossing earth’s. We could see Earth 2’s Barry Allen offer insight to speed secrets since Jay Garrick is their Flash, or we could see other speedsters offer a hand such as Jesse Quick, or Kid Flash.

Zoom is the fastest Speedster on Earth 1, but we can’t say that for sure about Earth 2, especially because there are more rouges, and heroes to introduce we haven’t seen yet. Gorilla Grodd, Capt. Boomerang, and even Copperhead could still be in the mix.

Jay Garrick is dying and needs his speed force back

This is a touchy subject for many Flash fans since it was not really canon until the cinematic universe. Jay Garrick was the Golden age Flash, and a founding member of the JSA (Justice Society of America) in the 1950’s. This is one reason why when Earth 2 is shown it looks retro. Even though it’s revealed that Jay is dying, we don’t know from what—or if his condition was prior to the speedforce accident.

What we do know is that if his speedforce keeps it at bay, or eliminates it, we might see his speed return before the end of the season. Another point is that his being a mentor to Barry is very important to Jay, but it looks like he’s still taking a back seat to his training vs. allowing his knowledge to be absorbed. He has said he didn’t want Barry to have the life he did, especially because he’s fought Zoom countless times and narrowly escaped death each time.

Dr. Wells is doing Zoom’s bidding

The scariest thing about this episode had to be when Dr. Wells monologues his desire to recover his daughter. It shows that parents will always put the needs of their child above their own, but at what cost? Obviously, Dr. Wells is nothing compared to Zoom, but does he have a way to stop him now that he’s stealing meta-human DNA as his predecessor was? Only time will tell.

Having a backup plan is essential for Dr. Wells, he’s gambled many times and lost already with Zoom. As far as Zoom is concerned, he might be wanting to fatten the goose so to speak, until Barry is ripe for the picking. If that’s true, Barry could transcend what Zoom expects and defeats him once and for all by stealing his powers first.

Reverse Flash origins will be revealed

If you’ve already seen the promo trailer, or know your Flash history, Eobard Thawne is back on Earth 1. This time around Tom Cavanaugh will not be playing him, instead we’ll see the original incarnation Matt Letscher assumes the role. Even though his time on-screen was brief this raises a stout amount of questions about the rest of the season.

• Is Eddie Thawne alive?
• Does this mean he’ll want revenge on Barry again?
• Will he fight Zoom?
• Will he be an ally?
• Is he from the future or Earth 2?

The only thing we know about this week’s episode is that we’ll see how Eobard Thawne came to be, and how he got his powers. As far as Eddie Thawne is concerned, we could still see him return as Cobalt, since that’s what was on the time capsule, when he was swept into the vortex on the season one finale. However, that has yet to be revealed if at all.

There are a lot more things in store for the Flash before the finale hits. One of the most exciting things will be the showdown between Zoom, Barry, and any other speedsters involved. And as far as Flarrow crossovers go, we know that Felicity can be ruled out as a death for its finale as seen on the premiere of that show. We want to know what you think is going to happen this season, and what surprises we can look forward to.

So feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on my post in the comment section down below, and don´t forget to share it online!

Kenay Peterson
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheDark_Mage

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Tags: DC comics, Jay Garrick, Teddy Sears, The Flash, The Flash mid season premiere