As the title of The Flash season two episode 13 indicates, most of the action takes place on Earth-2. That means The Flash fans were treated to a lengthy look at Killer Frost and Deathstorm, as well as surprise doppelgangers galore. ‘Welcome to Earth-2,’ which aired on February 9, 2016, was the first half of a two-parter that left our Earth-1 heroes in grave danger at the hands of Zoom.
The Flash Recap:
The breaches are being closed and Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) is ready to return to Earth-2 and find his daughter with the help of Team Flash. With one breach open, Barry (Grant Gustin) just needs to say goodbye to Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and Iris (Candice Patton) before taking off on this adventure. Iris is understandably concerned but Barry tells her he needs to help Dr. Wells and he’s not doing it because he’s trying to escape his life.
Jay (Teddy Sears) warns Barry up is down and down is up, and whatever he does he should not let himself “get sucked in emotionally.” Barry reminds Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) and Joe that he and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) should be gone no longer than 48 hours, but if they’re late Caitlin should close the breach (she says no way). Barry gets a hearty hug from Joe and Cisco leaves Caitlin with a letter to give to his parents if something happens.
Harrison, Barry, and Cisco head into the breach, with Jay warning Barry to keep his speed up. Cisco has a panic attack but doesn’t chicken out. And off they go! Unfortunately, the breach falls apart after they’ve gone through. They’ll have to find a way to make it stable again or else Barry and Cisco will be trapped on Earth-2.
The trio arrive on Earth-2 and Cisco and Barry are overwhelmed by this bizarre yet familiar world. They take selfies and are amazed by inventions that are just ideas back on Earth-1. And then it happens, they run into Dr. Henry Hewitt – an evil meta-human on Earth-1 who’s a friendly-as-can-be lab assistant on Earth-2. After getting over that shock, they head to Dr. Wells’ S.T.A.R. Labs where Cisco puts on his special googles but they don’t work. Did he lose his powers? No, Earth-2 is vibrating at a different frequency. Up pops a news report with a geeky-looking Barry explaining what the CCPD is doing about Zoom. Barry figures out his doppelganger is doing the same job he does on Earth-1 and quickly formulates a plan. He speeds out, grabs Earth-2’s Barry, and brings him back to the lab. E-2’s Barry is completed overwhelmed, but he’s always wanted to meet Dr. Harrison Wells and geeks out. They knock him out and E-1’s Barry takes his place.
At E-2’s CCPD, Barry sees the Captain is now a criminal and Floyd Lawton/Deadshot is now a cop who can’t hit the broad side of a barn. He’s also Iris’ partner (she’s a detective). And, Barry and Iris are married in this world! Iris’ metahuman alert app shows Barry is a metahuman but she thinks it must be on the fritz.
And now we get to meet Killer Frost (Danielle Panabaker looks amazing in this costume!) who’s a complete badass. She makes bad guys tremble in fear for good reason: her kiss is deadly. As she’s getting rid of two bad guys in strolls Deathstorm (Robbie Amell) fully engulfed in fire. They exchange a passionate kiss and she says, “Good thing the only man I can kiss is the only man I want to.” He tells her people just came through the breach and she’s excited she gets to kill someone from another Earth.
E-2’s Barry and Iris arrive at home and Iris starts taking off her clothes. Barry looks away, and Iris wants to know why he’s acting weird. She tells him his mom called and Barry is stunned. (The names listed on the old-fashioned phone’s speed dial are Dad, Mom & Dad, Eddie, Bruce, Hal, and Diana.) He calls his mom and can’t speak when she answers. He finally says, “Mom,” but gets emotional as they talk. He can’t tell her why but the call’s definitely affected him, especially when she brings up the possibility of being a grandmother. She tells him she loves him and he says it back before they hang up.
Back at E-2 S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco and Harrison are getting on each other’s nerves as usual. Cisco really wants to find his doppelganger and he hopes he’s like an Elon Musk in this world. Harrison wants Barry back before Zoom appears, but Cisco’s not worried about Barry.
Barry and Iris go to Jitterbugs night club where Joe’s the singer. Barry’s once again shocked. E-2’s Joe demands to be called Joseph by Barry – and he calls Barry Bartholomew. This Joe’s not a fan of Barry’s relationship with his daughter. Joe calls Barry selfish and says it’s all Barry’s fault that Iris is a cop in the first place and not a writer.
Back on E-1, Jay and Caitlin work on putting back together the speed cannon. Meanwhile, a new metahuman is on the loose. Adam Fells/Geomancer (Adam Stafford) is wreaking havoc while The Flash is away and Joe wants Jay to dose up on Velocity 6 so he can take down Geomancer. Joe says Barry is protecting Earth-2 and Earth-1 needs a Flash right now. Joe leaves and Jay confides to Caitlin that being the fastest man alive wasn’t enough for him on E-2. He’s taken V6 before and there are definitely side effects. V6 is what’s killing him – not Zoom taking his speed. Caitlin promises she’ll figure this whole thing out.
Joe sings “My Funny Valentine” and Barry really wants Iris to explain why he and Joe don’t like each other. Suddenly, all of the metahuman warning apps go off as in walk Killer Frost and Deathstorm. Barry can’t believe his eyes. Killer Frost wants to know who is the ‘breacher’ and no one says anything. Iris tries to put them under arrest and Barry suddenly says, “Caitlin.” Killer Frost says she hasn’t heard that name in ages and hates the name, shooting icicles at Iris which Barry stops. Iris makes a run for it but Deathstorm throws fire at her, with Joe taking the hit so Iris wouldn’t get hurt.
Barry uses his speed to remove Killer Frost and Deathstorm from the room, taking them outside where they can face off without innocent people getting hurt. Killer Storm’s been dying to kill The Flash, but she can’t hit him with her ice. Deathstorm can’t hit him with fire either, but Killer Frost is really getting off on this battle. The Flash wins this round but the bad guys promise they’ll be back.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco can’t believe Caitlin and Ronnie’s doppelgangers are evil but he does approve of their nicknames. Harrison’s mad they got involved in this battle and that Barry got involved in the lives of the E-2 doppelgangers who are not the people he knows on Earth. Harrison knows it won’t be long before Zoom figures out they’re there, ruining the element of surprise. But Barry’s determined to help E-2’s Joe and Iris, against Harrison’s wishes.
Back on Earth, Joe and the Captain are trying to figure out what to do about Geomancer.
On E-2, Joe’s in bad shape when he comes to in the hospital. The only thing he hates more than metahumans are hospitals. The dislike between Joe and Barry is gone because Barry saved Iris. Joe tells Barry to take care of Iris and then dies.
Iris and Lawton gear up to go take down Killer Frost and Deathstorm. Barry arrives at CCPD with Cisco who greets Iris – but Iris doesn’t know him. Barry introduces him as a friend from S.T.A.R. Labs who built a weapon they can use to neutralize Killer Frost’s powers. Iris won’t let Barry go with them because she just lost her father and won’t take a chance on losing her husband. Cisco says he can handle himself and he’s the only one who can use the weapon, so Iris grudgingly lets him go with them to take on the metahumans. Of course, E-1 Barry is going to help Iris, but Iris doesn’t know that.
Back on E-1, Joe and the CCPD confront Adam Fells/Geomancer who doesn’t believe The Flash will show up and thinks Joe’s making empty threats. Geomancer hits the ground, causing shockwaves when suddenly Jay shows up as The Flash (he used Velocity 7). Unfortunately, the V7 wears off before he can neutralize Geomancer. Fortunately, a few gunshots to the body make Geomancer run away.
On E-2, Iris, Lawton, and Cisco investigate a warehouse where Killer Frost and Deathstorm are supposedly holed up. The tip was right and Killer Frost and Deathstorm confront the trio, telling the cops to drop their weapons. They do, and Cisco secretly picks one up. Cisco asks if Martin Stein is inside him and Ronnie says he hasn’t let him out in years. Cisco says he can’t believe they work for Zoom and a stranger enters, announcing they work for him and he works for Zoom. It’s Cisco’s doppelganger!
Iris wants to know what’s going on, and E-2’s Cisco says he knew E-1 Cisco was coming even before he went through the breach. E-2’s Cisco goes by Reverb – E-1’s Cisco is Vibe. Reverb is disappointed with Vibe, and Vibe knows the feeling. “I’m not sure what’s worse, the fact that you’re part of Zoom’s gang or that weird Samurai situation you’ve got going on on top of your head there.” Reverb wonders what would happen if Zoom wasn’t running the show anymore, telling Vibe that he doesn’t even understand his own powers. “You could be a god. We could be gods,” says Reverb.
Killer Frost interrupts and Reverb quickly shuts her up (she’s obviously aware of how powerful he is). Reverb wants to know if Vibe wants to run Central City and Vibe yells, “Flash, save us!” A fight ensues and Vibe says he isn’t going to the dark side with Reverb. Lawton tries shooting Reverb but completely misses, and Reverb easily flings him aside. Vibe is impressed and wants to know if that’s something he can also do. It is, and Reverb can show him how to do it. The fight rages on around them, with Deathstorm throwing fire at The Flash and The Flash dodging. Reverb and Deathstorm team up on The Flash and he’s down for the count. Killer Frost makes them stop before they kill him because Zoom wanted The Flash alive. She warns them that they know what Zoom will do if they don’t obey him, and suddenly Zoom’s there and he takes down Deathstorm. Zoom also takes down Reverb because they didn’t leave The Flash unharmed. As Cisco and Iris watch, Zoom speeds off with Barry.
Back on E-1, Caitlin patches up Jay and says she’ll work on Velocity 8. They need to work on the breach and they only have one day left to do it.
On E-2, Barry comes to and he’s in a glass cell next to Harrison’s daughter. He promises they’ll get her out and Zoom shows up to tell him not to make promises he can’t keep. “Look around. This is the last place you’ll ever see,” says Zoom.
Season 2 Recaps: Episode 1 / Episode 3 / Episode 4 / Episode 5 / Episode 7 / Episode 8 / Episode 10 / Episode 11 / Episode 12
The Flash Season 2 Interviews: Grant Gustin / Danielle Panabaker / Tom Cavanagh / Carlos Valdes / Andrew Kreisberg
