TV RECAP: ‘The Flash’ – S02E06 – “Enter Zoom”

11-11-15 • TV Posted by Simeon Cortezano

If there was episode in the season that you could not miss, this was it. Only six episodes into the season, and this week’s could have easily doubled for a mid-season finale. In fact, how do you top this? Well, whatever happens, it’s going to be one heck of an episode. As for this week’s episode, it was titled, “Enter Zoom,” and if you couldn’t tell from the name, our hero finally faces off against the big baddie of the season. Unfortunately, it goes as well as any first time date would go against your toughest opponent. In the end, you’ll find yourself at the edge of your seat, possibly screaming at the television, and asking yourself, “What?”

As usual, this is the part where you’re warned about any potential spoilers. If you come across something you didn’t intend on reading or seeing, then why are you here in the first place? For shame. Look away…now!

Recap

This week’s episode starts with a fight between Dr. Light and The Flash. But wait, Dr. Light was captured last week and thrown into a cell. You’re right. So we have to go back about three days ago starting at S.T.A.R. Labs where the team is currently working on a plan to stop Zoom. According to Dr. Wells, he’s got a serum that will slow Zoom down enough to capture him. Meanwhile, Det. West has asked Cisco to use his powers on Wells to find out what his real motivations are. That’s when we flashback to Wells on Earth-2 talking to his daughter. As she leaves the room he refers to her as none other than Jesse Quick.

Back at the lab, it’s feeding time for Dr. Light, but she’s no where to be found. Cisco opens the door to take a closer look, but is pushed back as an invisible Dr. Light makes an escape. The team becomes worried for Linda Park’s safety and leaves her in the care of Iris. While visiting the two, Barry and Iris have a quick conversation leading him to come up with the idea of dressing Linda in Dr. Light’s clothes and using her to draw Zoom out from one of the breaches. Before Dr. Light made her escape, she told Barry how Zoom promised to bring her home if she could kill the Flash and send back proof of his death. Barry’s plan was to dress Linda up in the suit Dr. Light left behind when she made her escape and stage a scene where she would kill him, thus drawing Zoom out. Cue the training montage.

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Of course nothing goes well, but Barry is completely confident in her abilities. However, Det. West has his doubts and pulls Barry aside. During their conversation, Joe asks Barry what he’s so adamant in taking down Zoom right away. Is it because Eddie was the one who eventually defeated Reverse Flash, resulting in Barry not feeling fully satisfied? This causes Barry to re-examine the current situation.

Later, the Flash makes an appearance at the West house where Linda Park is currently staying. He reassures Linda that she’s fully capable of pulling off their plan. And because she’s putting so much trust in him, he’s compelled to put just as much trust in her. At that moment, Barry takes off his mask and shows Linda that he’s The Flash. Her first reaction, of course, is that she’s made out with The Flash.

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Still going strong, Cisco and Wells continue to prepare for the fight against Zoom. Cisco attempts to help Wells, but manages to spill oil all over the project that Wells is working on. Cisco manages to come into contact with Wells and “vibe” into his life. During his vision, he sees Zoom and Jesse talking. He’s able to see that she’s still alive and being held captive. Dr. Wells, though, is too mad to notice that Cisco has had a vision and goes back to his work while Cisco leaves the lab.

That brings the audience up to speed where the episode started. The fight between Dr. Light and The Flash is actually a staged scene between Barry and Linda in order to draw out Zoom. Well, the two have their fight, but nothing happens.

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After the failed attempt to draw out Zoom, Iris and Linda regroup at their office. When Linda leaves for the night, Zoom shows up and takes Linda. Iris sees the entire thing and calls Barry for help. Proximity alarms go off at the lab and the crew discover that Zoom is on the roof with Linda. Zoom looks The Flash right in the eye and says, “You like to fish with bait. I do to.” Without any hesitation, he takes Linda and drops her off the roof. Barry races down to the ground and manages to catch her with out injuring her. Linda gets away and an epic battle between Zoom and The Flash begins.

Barry starts by generating speed. He plans to throw a bolt of lightning at Zoom. However, Zoom has other plans. As the bolt comes at him, Zoom runs at it, catches it, and throws it back at Barry! Much faster, Barry brings the fight into the sky where both of them are the same speed. The Flash, though, doesn’t account for how much stronger Zoom is, and is quickly beaten.

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Wells tries to get a shot off with the serum gun, but Zoom catches the dart and stabs Barry with it. Badly injured, Zoom takes The Flash around the city. First he takes him to the newspaper office where he shows off a bloody and bruised hero. Next he takes him to the CCPD where a limp Flash is put on display. Finally, he brings him back to the lab where he reminds Wells of his failures to capture him. Luckily, Cisco manages to hit Zoom with one of the serum darts, but is able to get away.

Nearly broken, Barry lays on a bed in the lab. Thankfully, his powers have allowed him to stabilize. There’s a small problem, though. As Cisco taps Barry on the leg, Barry notices something – he can’t feel his legs.

Review

This has obviously been the best episode so far. It seemed to have a little bit of everything: internal conflict, humor, and some great actions scenes. Unlike past episodes, the minor conflicts in this episode didn’t go unresolved. There was the problem between Joe and Barry. That got solved at the end of the staged fight. There was also the issue between Patty and Joe. It kind of got put on the back burner, but it was at least addressed several times. There might be a chance that she could find out Barry is the Flash in a future episode. That may be why there wasn’t a full resolution here, but at least it wasn’t ignored.

So how about that fight between Zoom and The Flash? As soon as Zoom caught the bolt and threw it back at Barry, there was no coming back from the edge of the seat. We’ve seen Barry take a punch and look pretty beat up. But we’ve never seen him look like this. How many of you remember the Death Of Superman comic? In that issue, the Blue Beetle gets beaten very badly by Doomsday. While it wasn’t to the same degree, seeing a limp Barry being put on display by Zoom was an all too familiar sight. The scenes in tonight’s episode may have been pretty heavy for the younger audiences out there, but at the same time, there’s a lot to be said about the show pushing it to that limit.

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Interestingly enough, the training montage, earlier in the episode, may have a lot to do with how the fight between Barry and Zoom may have resonated with viewers. The training of Linda Park was very light-hearted and a lot of fun to watch. It also showed off some of the acting from the cast as an ensemble which is a definite strength of the show. So, to go from a light scene to a heavy one, there is such a contrast that it really sticks out in your mind.

Honorable mentions have to go out to the scene where Barry lets Linda in on the secret. It was a really important moment that conveyed a great message regarding trust, and Linda’s reaction was done well.

As was said before, the episode was great, and there isn’t much to pick on. We’ve got a winner here, folks. Hopefully, the show can keep the oil burning and finish strong at the halfway mark.

“Enter Zoom” overall grade – A+

Check out below for a preview of next week’s episode of The Flash:

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