‘The Flash’ Season 2 Episode 4 Recap: The Fury of Firestorm

Flash Grant Gustin Victor Garber Danielle Panabaker
Grant Gustin as Barry Allen, Victor Garber as Professor Stein and Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow in ‘The Flash’ (Photo by Cate Cameron © 2015 The CW Network, LLC)

So much took place in The Flash season two’s fourth episode that it’s difficult to pick out just one particular scene or character that stood out. However, many fans of the series (and/or the comic books) seem to be most excited about the episode’s final 10 minutes. That’s when a certain huge fish made an appearance and took over the show. In addition to the appearance of King Shark, episode four included the introduction – or at least the talk of – a new member of Joe and Iris’ family. It also introduced the new version of Firestorm (bye, bye Ronnie) and Harrison Wells from Earth 2. Season two’s fourth episode was one of the show’s best as far as moving storylines along while also creating new paths for our favorite characters to take.

Here’s a recap of what went down in The Flash season two’s fourth episode titled “The Fury of Firestorm:

Flashback to two years ago in the minutes before the particle accelerator exploded and a high school football team is having a great great, with the quarterback earning high marks from scouts in the stands. Immediately after the game, his life changed forever.

And now it’s present day and Professor Stein (Victor Garber) is in horrible shape. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) zaps him back to life but he’s stuck in bed. He needs a new power source because he no longer has Ronnie to help his body remain stable. They need another metahuman to merge with Stein, and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) says she’s found two potential people that could be genetic matches. And off The Flash (Grant Gustin) goes to get blood samples without letting either know.

Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and Iris (Candice Patton) look at old family photos and reminisce about ice cream and doctors. Joe tells her she doesn’t have to meet her mother, but Iris says she needs to. Joe calls her brave and takes off for work.

At the Central City Police Station, Patty Spivot (Shantel VanSanten) shows Barry shark teeth that were found on the street. A witness saw a manshark walking around…which sounds like a bad sci-fi movie. She wants them to investigate the manshark metahuman possibility, but he says metahumans aren’t really his thing. However, he offers to run some tests on the teeth.

Professor Stein’s able to get out of bed and move around, thanks to a cane Cisco made. After testing their blood, Caitlin says they should go with Dr. Henry Hewitt (Demore Barnes) but Barry likes Jefferson Jackson (Franz Drameh) better. Hewitt’s a scientist while Jefferson is a mechanic, so Caitlin thinks Hewitt’s intellectually a better match. Meanwhile, Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) lurks in the shadows.

Barry and Professor Stein go to the garage to meet with Jefferson and…yes, finally!…there’s a reference to Celine Dion and Titanic (nice job, writers). Jefferson knew his dreams of pro ball were over after the explosion. Barry tells ‘Jax’ they’re with the Department of Safety and they’re compiling info on people who were affected by the particle accelerator, but Jax doesn’t want to go to S.T.A.R. Labs with them. He does, however, take their number.

CC Jitters is the setting for the reunion between Iris and her mom, Francine (Vanessa Williams). Joe’s there to introduce them, and Iris immediately wants to know why she’s there. Iris tells her mom she doesn’t hate her and wishes her well, but she wants to continue living separate lives like they have for 20 years.

Dr. Henry Hewitt meets with the S.T.A.R. Labs group and he’s anxious to be part of the experiment. He’s read Dr. Stein’s work and thinks he’s a legend. Caitlin has told him the details of becoming Firestorm and Henry’s in. Barry reluctantly agrees. Cisco explains the process and here goes nothing…literally. They touch hands, there’s a little flame, but no real changes. They touch hands again and nothing at all happens. Caitlin and Cisco don’t know why it’s not working. As Hewitt leaves, his hand lights up without Team Flash seeing it.

At Mercury Labs an alarm goes off in Applied Sciences and it’s Dr. Harrison Wells who has broken in.

Joe and Spivot investigate the break-in and are told it’s a sensitive matter. It’s not what was stolen but that Harrison Wells stole it. They don’t know how he is alive and walking. First a sharkman (although we all know he’s actually King Shark) and now a dead man walking. Joe tells Patty she can’t tell Barry because Harrison Wells is the man who murdered his mother. Patty can’t tell anyone and she’s not good at lying, so she admits this is going to be a problem.

Back at CCPD, Francine meets Joe in the lobby and he tells her she’s not wanted. She has a secret. She started getting weak and she has MacGregor’s Syndrome, something common among ex-addicts. She’s only got a few months left. She just wants her daughter to know her.

The Flash Franz Drameh
Franz Drameh as Jax Jackson

Jax shows up at S.T.A.R. Labs and he’s impressed by the setup. Barry tells him it’s not about fixing his knee, and they explain the dark matter and the changes in his molecular structure. Jax realizes he’s a metahuman and Cisco tells him he can fly but it’s going to take a convergence with Professor Stein. Jax wants nothing to do with it. It’s not his kind of thing. Caitlin takes off to try and get Hewitt back to try again.

Meanwhile Barry tells Patty the shark is human and asks if there’s anything else he can help with. She fumbles and stumbles, but escapes without giving away the secret.

Barry visits Joe’s office and Joe tells him Francine is dying. Barry brings up Patty’s weird reaction when he asked to help on a case, and Joe says it’s nothing. Joe wants to know what’s up between the two of them and Barry says she’s adorable and funny but she’s not Iris. Joe knows Iris was his first love and tells Barry he’ll never feel the same about anyone else, but he can love again.

At Hewitt’s work, he gets in an argument with a coworker who threatens him. The lights flicker and Hewitt spouts flames.

News report says there was a spontaneous energy malfunction at Eikmeier Technologies. So, the gang knows they triggered Hewitt’s powers. Cisco says he had a sealed police record and a history of violence. Professor Stein suffers a mild attack and goes to lie down, and now Caitln’s worried Jax won’t come back. Barry tells her they have to be open to exploring something new.

Joe tells Iris Francine is dying and she still doesn’t want to see her. Joe tells her not to try to protect him, and Iris can’t help but wonder if she’s telling the truth. Joe believes she is and will stand behind Iris’ decision, whatever it is.

Caitlin shows up at the garage to apologize to Jax, admitting they’re desperate and telling Jax about Ronnie. Jax asks if he was the guy who flew into the black hole and Caitlin says he was. Jax doesn’t want to be a hero, just a football player, and Caitlin tells him he can be part of a team that’s working to protect people. “I believe you’re meant to be a hero,” says Caitlin. In walks Hewitt all lit up and threatening Caitlin. Jax knocks him out and they take off for S.T.A.R. Labs.

Caitlin and Jax make it to S.T.A.R. Labs and it’s nearly too late for Professor Stein. Jax agrees to the convergence because he wants to help people, and Barry tells him there’s no going back once he does it. They get Professor Stein out of bed and prepare for the merge. Stein thanks Jax for coming back, they touch hands, and the results are immediate. Jax is Firestorm and Professor Stein is there in his head.

Hewitt’s recharging at the football stadium and Firestorm is immediately put into action. The Flash goes and rescues the players while Cisco cuts the power to the field so Hewitt can’t draw more energy. The Flash warns him to stop, but Hewitt says he deserved the Firestorm matrix. While Stein tries to help Jax calm down and use his natural abilities they learn that the angrier Hewitt gets, the worse he gets, so The Flash and Firestorm team up to piss him off. Hewitt is super angry and throws fire at them both, but they’re able to knock him out. Professor Stein admits he and Jax make a pretty fantastic team. Barry welcomes him on board.


Iris meets with Francine at CC Jitters. Iris checked on Francine and sees she’s telling the truth, but she knows Francine is still keeping secrets. She learns Francine had a son born eight months after she left Central City and she wants Iris to know about her brother. Iris wants Francine to leave forever because if her dad learns he had a son he never knew about, it might crush him.

Stein and Jefferson are heading to Pittsburgh to train and fully realize their potential. Stein says goodbye to Caitlin and Caitlin gives Jax Ronnie’s compass. He feels strange being 50% of someone and Caitlin tells him he’s 100% a hero. Alone, Stein tells Cisco not to be afraid of the power he has. “The very thing that makes you different, makes you special,” says Stein. And then Stein and Jax merge and fly away.

Joe tells Barry that it was one hell of a leap of faith Jax took and there’s a lesson in there for Barry. Barry figures out what he means and as The Flash goes to CC Jitters where Patty is drinking coffe. King Shark grabs him as watching Patty from outside the coffee shop. Patty sees what’s going on, runs out and yells at King Shark to put his fins in the air, which he doesn’t do because he’s on a mission from Zoom to kill The Flash. As things look dire for Barry, Dr. Harrison Wells blasts King Shark and saves Barry’s life.

The Flash Season 2 Interviews: Grant Gustin / Danielle Panabaker / Tom Cavanagh / Carlos Valdes / Andrew Kreisberg