Wednesday, May 4, 2016

The Geekcap: The Flash "Rupture"


With Barry still lacking in his speed, Cisco and Iris come up with the idea to project a hologram using Barry under motion capture to stop a police chase. While the criminals prove to be faster than the projection, the team manage to win by circling the car, causing it to stop from the blinding light. Unfortunately, Harry reminds them that eventually the city will discover that the Flash is fake. The only solution he can develop is to recreate the particle accelerator explosion. Cisco and Iris argue against him since the explosion created many criminal metahumans and opened fifty portals to Earth-2, but Harry reminds them that what they’re doing now want stop Zoom or bring back Caitlin. He claims to know exactly what they need to recreate the explosion and contain the threat, but Barry’s still unsure.

Barry goes to visit his father in a remote cabin. Henry is glad to see his son but wonders why a speedster needs a car. Barry reveals that he gave up his speed to save Wally, Joe’s son, but now Jay has taken Caitlin. Henry presses further and reveals that Garrick, Jay’s last name, is his mother’s maiden name. In order to stop Zoom, Barry reveals the plan to recreate the explosion. Henry isn’t excited to have his son struck by lightning and instead questions whether Barry can still be a hero without powers.

At STAR Labs, Cisco, Harry, and Jesse begin designs to recreate the explosion, though Harry is frustrated with Cisco’s lack of progress. Before Cisco can respond, he has a brief vision of his brother Dante. Since he doesn’t understand what it means, he immediately leaves to see what’s wrong. Barry then arrives with his father who plans to stay after being out of his son’s life for so long. Iris is happy to see Henry back, but he’s uncertain about what the lab has planned.

At the CCPD, Wally comes to Joe for advice and help. Wally reveals that since being rescued he believes that fixing cars is not a suitable path for him anymore. Now he wants to help. Joe recognizes the West attitude of wanting to help others but still advises Wally to stick to fixing cars since it’s a much safer option. At that moment, Zoom arrives at the base with Caitlin in tow to take over the city. With their weapons useless, the police are at the mercy of Zoom until Caitlin begs him not to murder them. He spares the lives of the officers but warns death for anyone who disobeys him. The rest of the cops evacuate the precinct.

The team gather to plan around Zoom’s return. Harry recalls that Zoom went through the same process on his Earth by murdering the police. Joe recalls Caitlin talking Zoom out of murdering the cops which is all they can rely on for now. The only thing that can stop him, Harry reiterates, is the Flash. Henry argues against risking Barry’s life while the rest of the team try to come up with a plan to protect the cops as well as Wally and Jesse from being taken once again. Barry suggests to Joe to gather the police at Jitters until they can stop Zoom.

Back at the station, Caitlin is handcuffed to a desk under Jay’s watch. Caitlin warns him that he will be stopped, but Jay scoffs at the idea of Barry being a threat. Caitlin questions why she should be taken to which Jay responds that he won’t be alone. He’s seen the darkness in her like Killer Frost and believes that it’s just a matter of time before it’s unlocked.

Cisco meets with his brother Dante at a tavern to make sure he’s safe. Though Dante still proves to be insufferable to his brother, he is otherwise okay and unsure about Cisco’s worries. Meanwhile, Harry and Joe reinforce the basement hideout to hold Wally and Jesse until Zoom is taken care of for good. Wally still wants to help, but Joe insists he stays and provides the two with a tablet to communicate with them (though, as Jesse notices, no bathroom).

Harry continues to figure how to contain the particle accelerator explosion when Joe speaks to him. Harry still defends his idea, but Joe is unsure how to work with Barry. Henry arrives and further argues against the idea. Harry reminds Henry that the machine is for the sake of thousands of lives beyond Barry, but Henry replies that the plan could still kill Barry regardless. Furthermore, even with his speed, Barry did not prove to be a match for Zoom. Barry arrives to hear the men arguing. While he understands that each man has a point, he still cannot come up with a decision.

At the tavern, Cisco decides to leave after seeing that his brother his safe. Suddenly, he spots the news report on Zoom’s attack on the precinct. He races off back to the lab. Dante, however, tags along to ask for a ride home. Before they can argue, they are blasted aside by a new metahuman named Rupture with a scythe who is after Vibe. Rupture believes that Vibe was the one who killed his brother Reverb, revealing himself to be Dante’s doppelganger. Despite Dante’s shock, the two are able to escape the attack and return to STAR Labs.

Harry fills them in on Rupture’s powers, reminding them that this is part of Zoom’s plan. He will gather the metahumans to take over the city. Cisco further reveals that Zoom must have told Rupture that Vibe was the one behind Reverb’s death, making the metahuman even more dangerous. However, since Rupture gets his power from his scythe, there may be a way they can stop him. Since he no longer has his powers, Barry continues to question what he should do.
Iris then speaks to Barry as he remarks that even with his father here the decision isn’t easy. She then replies that she understands the decision is difficult, mostly because she doesn’t know if she could go through what happened the last time he was struck by lightning. Iris then recalls the time when he planned to leave for Earth-2 where she feared that he was leaving because he had nothing keeping him back. Barry believes it was because of Patty, but Iris admits that she has thought a lot about them. With the two married in both the future and Earth-2, she believes that they might be meant to be. Barry asks why she’s telling him now. She simply responds that she wants him to know that the last time he confessed his feelings she didn’t think of them “in that way.” Now she wants him to know that she cares about him whether he is a speedster or not.

Jesse: Can we come out now?
Joe/Harry: No!

At the CCPD, Caitlin manages to sneak a phone from an evidence bin to contact the team. By a corner, she spots Zoom talking to Rupture about the police. Since the police believe that they have been spared, he plans to send Rupture to kill them all. Caitlin quickly sends the team a warning about Jitters before Jay confronts her. She rebukes him for planning to kill the police, but Jay says he needs to keep his status. She responds that, just like changing his voice, he just wants people to fear him. Jay responds that it is just as she said: he’s a monster. The team at the lab receives the message just as Barry reaches his decision. Barry believes that the city needs the Flash but only until the particle accelerator explosion can be contained. Until then, they need to defeat Rupture without his speed. Meanwhile, the cops prepare to face Rupture.

Cisco plans to help Barry but is interrupted by Dante. He found a letter Cisco planned to send to him before going to Earth-2 and wants an explanation for him going to another universe. Cisco explains that his friends needed him to “vibe” for them, revealing to his brother that he was a metahuman affected by the particle accelerator. Dante wonders why he didn’t tell him, but Cisco responds that they were never really close. He then leaves to help Barry.

With the use of the hologram, “The Flash” faces Rupture. With the Flash speeding back and forth from the blasts, the police attack the distracted Rupture and manage to incapacitate him to the surprise of the team. However, Jay sees the report on the news, realizing that Caitlin warned the team of the threat. He arrives to Jitters and, in a brief second, kills all but Joe and Captain Singh. He even murders Rupture after stating that he was as disappointing as his brother, to the horror of Cisco. Barry runs in himself to stop the villain, but even he knows it’s useless. Zoom then reveals to the city the Flash they have seen is only a hologram since the real Flash has been defeated. He warns the captain against trying another stunt like this again and threatens Barry, despite sparing him for Caitlin.

The team returns to STAR Labs with Cisco tearfully hugging his brother promising to work at being closer together. In the meantime, Wally tries to find a way out of the room to help the others. Jesse advises against it since they don’t have any powers and she doesn’t want to be captured by Zoom again. However, he manages to convince her by reminding her how quick and smart she can be. She could easily think of a way out of the vault. Flattered, she tries her hand at the door.

In the lab, the team is devastated at the new prospect. Harry warns that Zoom will next gather an army of metahumans to fight against the city. The group argues that there can’t be that many left, but Harry reveals an extensive list from his world, and with the Flash no longer a threat, more will surely appear. With everything threatened, Barry decides to go through the process to stop Zoom once and for all. They plan to hook Barry up to the original accelerator, allowing Harry to flood the dark matter to Barry instead of outside STAR Labs. Meanwhile, Cisco will utilize the wand used against the Weather Wizard to create the lightning bolt to strike Barry. Before Barry can go through with it, both Henry and Iris say some words to Barry. Iris reminds him that nothing will change her feelings for him while Henry adds that he doesn’t have to do this if he doesn’t want it. Barry states the Flash is the best he can be, and he needs a chance to become that again. Harry begins the process.

Cisco: Expecto patronum!


Jesse manages to hotwire the door open right when the accelerator is ignited. Wally and Jesse run to find out what’s happening. Harry injects Barry with numerous chemicals as he painfully awaits the lightning bolt strike. The plan is successful as lightning strikes Barry in a spectacle that even Jay spots outside the city. However, right when the lightning stirkes, Barry begins to evaporate in the light, causing a massive shockwave that rattles the lab and knocks Wally and Jesse unconscious. To the group’s horror, they find Barry’s suit, but Barry is gone. Even Zoom arrives and remarks that in their quest to create the Flash, they’ve killed him.

Flash Notes

  • Henry reveals that his mother's maiden name was Garrick. Perhaps there may be a connection between Zoom and Barry after all?
  • The episode ends with Wally and Jesse being blasted by the explosion caused by the accelerator. This could be one step further for the two to develop their speed powers to become Kid Flash and Jesse Quick!
  • Just where did Barry go? In one situation from the comics, Barry actually ends up as part of the Speed Force! That's always an option!

No comments:

Post a Comment