The gang is reunited back on Earth-1 in The CW’s The Flash season two episode 15 titled ‘King Shark.’ The episode picks up just minutes after the events of episode 14, and while Earth-2 and the devastating loss of Jay is still fresh, it’s metahuman Killer Shark and his directive from Zoom to kill The Flash that’s the focus of the episode.
The Recap:
Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) insists Jay’s not dead but despite Barry (Grant Gustin) urging Harrison (Tom Cavanagh) to reopen the breach, there’s just no way to retrieve Jay. Earth-2 is forever closed to them, according to Dr. Wells. It’s over and there’s no going back.
Caitlin’s in sad shape and won’t leave the lab, and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) and Barry are worried about her emotional state. Harrison says she’s strong and will get over it but suggests Cisco and Barry don’t mention the dopplegangers they met while on Earth-2.
In a voiceover, Barry moves the story forward by explaining they don’t talk about Earth-2 and are just getting on with their lives while coping with their losses. Jay’s death left them scarred, especially Caitlin, and Barry keeps running while waiting for a metahuman threat to distract him.
At A.R.G.U.S., King Shark tricks the guards into believing he’s dead. Diggle (David Ramsey) and Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson) learn about the breach in the aquarium and show up to find all of the guards dead and King Shark chowing down on their bodies. Needless to say, Diggle’s shocked.
A quiet night at home with the Wests finds the gang stacking cups. Barry’s not in the mood to play and so Wally (Keiynan Lonsdale) takes the title as fastest stacker. Joe (Jesse L. Martin) knows something’s up with Barry and suggests he take some time to get to know Wally now that he’s back from Earth-2. After Barry leaves the room, Joe and Iris (Candice Patton) compare notes and discover Barry hasn’t said anything about Earth-2 to either of them.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin’s been working 24/7 and Cisco thinks she needs to go home and rest. Caitlin snaps at Cisco and leaves, and Cisco tells Barry she’s been ‘cold’ (he’s getting a Killer Frost vibe from her). Barry’s not worried Caitlin will become Killer Frost and he just thinks it’ll take a while for her to heal. Just then in walks Diggle and Lyla who are in town to give Team Flash a heads-up about King Shark. Apparently his mission is still to kill Barry and Cisco gets in a Jaws reference, saying, “We’re going to need a bigger Flash.”
As A.R.G.U.S.’ new director, Lyla’s job is to clean up the place and King Shark was a mess left behind that she’s supposed to take care of. The old regime was checking to see if he could be weaponized but now that King Shark’s heading toward Central City, Diggle suggests they let A.R.G.U.S. handle it. However, Barry wants to go after him first. King Shark was marine biologist Shay Lamden before he changed, and Harrison will try and track him down. The gigantic man-eating shark will need to be semi-close to water in order to rehydrate. Caitlin and Cisco head out to see if King Shark’s Earth-1 doppleganger’s widow (got that?) will be able to help them. Dr. Tanya Lamden, coincidentally, studies sharks. As he’s heading out, Cisco asks about Diggle’s helmet and tells him he’ll work on improvements.
Joe tells Barry that Wally needs his help on an engineering project, but Barry lets him know King Shark’s back and he’s busy. Then he changes his mind and agrees to meeting up with Wally.
At Nautilus Laboratories Caitlin and Cisco question Dr. Lamden and she says her husband changed in three days into something not human before he died. Caitlin says there’s a metahuman in town who’s mutating the same way but didn’t die. They need her research on sharks demands Caitlin who’s in full-on bossy mode. Cisco has to continually apologize for her attitude. After Dr. Lamden leaves the room, Caitlin wants to know why Cisco’s been acting different toward her.
Diggle, Lyla, and The Flash check out the nearby bodies of water looking for King Shark. Barry just wants to put Earth-2 and Zoom behind him by catching King Shark, and Diggle tells him he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders just like Oliver does. Meanwhile, King Shark eats two of the A.R.G.U.S. men who were part of the search team before he takes off once again. Barry hopes Wells can track him but he can’t work on that problem as he’s promised to meet up with Wally. He races away and Diggle’s still amazed by his speed.
At home, Wally shows Barry, Joe, and Iris his plans for a turbine supercar that runs on bio-diesel. Barry looks through the plans and points a couple of things out, which irritates Wally. Barry apologizes and they sit down to go over the plans.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Cailtin thinks it’s hopeless looking for King Shark using Dr. Lamden’s research. Cisco offers to help and once again Caitlin shuts him down. They finally get into it and Cisco tells her it’s freaking him out. Then he says too much, telling her she has an “icy look in her eyes” just like she did “over there.” She figures out he met her doppleganger and he tells her he’s not supposed to say anything. He quickly caves when Caitlin uses his full name, telling her all about Killer Frost – a metahuman who enjoyed killing. Caitlin says she’s not a metahuman and he says she’s acting just like one. She explains she has to act cold because she witnessed Jay being killed just when she was starting to love again. It’s a defense mechanism because if she lets the pain and anger out it will never stop.
Harrison’s working out a formula and in walks his daughter, Jesse, who wants to know what he’s doing. He explains that he’s trying to figure out where King Shark is and she wants to help. He’s reluctant but finally gives in and it turns out she’s got a lot to contribute to the solution.
Wally and Barry are going over the design, and Wally’s a little upset that Barry’s taking over and not letting him work on his own project. They finally get to what’s really bothering Wally, with Wally opening up and telling Barry he’s perfect and is in every picture in the West house. Just then King Shark rips through the roof of the West house and asks, “Where’s The Flash?” King Shark knows The Flash is there because he can smell him. Joe starts shooting at King Shark which just pisses him off, but it buys Barry enough time to race outside to confront him. Barry tells King Shark the breaches are all closed for good and there’s no more Zoom. King Shark can’t go home. The Flash races around his legs but King Shark bats him away like a fly. “You might be fast but not as fast as I am in water. You’re not going to catch me, Flash,” says King Shark before running off. The A.R.G.U.S. team drives by racing after King Shark.
Meanwhile, Wally, Joe, and Iris get to work cleaning up the mess. Joe’s pretty sure his homeowner’s policy won’t cover a Sharknado attack and Wally’s wondering why no one is really surprised about what just happened. Iris says lots of weird things happen in Central City. “Weirder than a talking shark in pants?” asks Wally. Barry comes downstairs and Wally thinks he was being a coward and hiding during the attack. Joe tells Wally that’s enough and Wally leaves. Barry wants them to tell Wally he’s not perfect and that he makes mistakes. And now it’s Barry’s turn to break the promise. He tells Joe and Iris he met their dopplegangers, and that Iris was a cop. Joe’s surprised he was a lounge singer who hated Barry. Barry lets slip that he and Iris were married, and he tells them about Joe’s death at the hands of Zoom’s meta-henchmen. “I knew that it wasn’t you, that none of that was this life. But watching it happen in front of me, living that, it didn’t feel any different because it was all still real,” explains Barry, getting very emotional as he talks about the events on Earth-2. Barry blames himself for Earth-2’s Joe West’s death, Zoom, Jay’s death, King Shark…all of it he believes is because of him. He also believes he left an entire world at the mercy of Zoom.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco is still his witty self commenting on King Shark’s appearance in the suburbs. They still can’t track him but Caitlin says King Shark’s been sensing the bio-electrical potential around Barry’s body. They’re going to flip things on the big guy, and make him the prey not the hunter.
Team Flash and the A.R.G.U.S. gang start to work on tracking King Shark, with a fake Flash tied to a buoy. Although King Shark will be stronger in the water, Barry’s determined it will end tonight even if they have to fight him on his own turf. After a few hours King Shark finally shows up and snaps the fake Flash off the buoy, but their plan doesn’t work and King Shark heads to the docks leaping out of the water while everyone shoots. He brags that guns won’t kill him and he’s going to kill The Flash, but The Flash is equally determined to end this battle once and for all. The Flash races off across the water, electrifying the water by racing in circles. Inside the circle, King Shark is being struck repeatedly by electricity and is finally rendered unconscious, floating to the surface.
King Shark will be transported back to A.R.G.U.S. where he won’t be made into a weapon. Caitlin suggests Lyla talk to Dr. Lamden about her shark research. Barry thanks Diggle for his help and tells him he understands what it’s like to lose a friend. The guilt can tear him apart and he needs to get control of it. He needs to learn to use it to help guide him.
At CC Jitters, Joe’s reading Wally’s plans for a supercar he can run off of bacon grease. He’s impressed with Wally’s ideas and Wally admits Barry helped him. Joe tells him Barry’s backstory and why he’s been so protective of him all these years. Things could have gone very differently for Barry, and Joe and Iris are just proud of the way he turned out. Joe says he’s his son, just like Wally is.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco’s working on the goggles from Earth-2. Caitlin touches his arm as he’s working and her hand is ice cold. “Caitlin… I’ve always hated that name,” says Caitlin. Cisco backs away from her, telling her it’s happening and she’s starting to become… “Killer Frost?” she says, finishing his sentence. But, she can’t hold it in and bursts out laughing. She says he deserves it for thinking she could ever become like her Earth-2 doppleganger.
Team Flash is assembled and Barry apologizes to them all. His choice to go back in time had a lot of consequences that will haunt him. “Zoom, Jay’s death…it’s all because of me,” says Barry. He tells them they brought Zoom here but they will also be the ones who ultimately stop him, saying the breaches aren’t closed forever and Jay’s death is not in vain. Barry swears they’ll meet Zoom again and he’ll beat him.
Back on Earth-2, the man in the iron mask watches from inside his cell as Jay’s body is dropped on the floor. Zoom removes his mask and it’s Jay Garrick!
The Review:
So, how many Jays are there? Is Jay the man in the iron mask and if so does that mean there are three Jays? Are there two sets of twins – one set of Jays, one set of Hunters? Is Hunter on Earth-1 just a red herring and it’s all about the Jays? And, when will all of these questions be answered?
Teasers for episode 15 didn’t lead The Flash fans to believe there would be this huge reveal in this episode. If anything, the teasers with King Shark made this particular episode seem like one that it was okay to skip for now and catch on DVR when there’s an hour to kill and nothing better to do. But, no, The Flash writers pulled off a major unexpected twist that made the slower parts of episode 15 worth sitting through. Episode 15 of season two also features one of Grant Gustin’s best performances as a tormented Barry who believes everything is all his fault.
GRADE: B-
Season 2 Recaps: Episode 1 / Episode 3 / Episode 4 / Episode 5 / Episode 7 / Episode 8 / Episode 10 / Episode 11 / Episode 12 / Episode 13 / Episode 14
