The CW’s The Flash season two episode 20 finds Central City in desperate need of a speedster. Unfortunately, Barry’s no longer able fill that role after giving his speed to Zoom in exchange for Wally’s freedom in episode 19. With Zoom now able to travel freely between Earth-1 and Earth-2 with Caitlin as his hostage, episode 20’s set up to be a pivotal turning point in the series. So many questions remain to be answered and there’s only three episodes left after episode 20 titled ‘Rupture.’

The Recap:

Barry (Grant Gustin) is not a speedster anymore but Cisco (Carlos Valdes) has figured out a way to project a The Flash hologram to chase villains in Barry’s place. It has a few bugs but Cisco’s gaming abilities really come in handy when it comes to controlling the hologram and making bad guys think it’s actually The Flash out there on the streets. Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) arrives to toss a wet blanket on the hologram plan, telling Barry, Cisco, and Iris (Candice Patton) that someone is bound to figure it out soon when The Flash doesn’t actually touch anybody or pursue anyone indoors. Talk about your buzzkill, but Cisco’s not going to let it get him down. Wells is stuck on the idea of a new particle accelerator explosion, but the team’s not catching what Wells is throwing down. Yet Earth-2 Wells remains adamant that he knows how to get Barry back his speed and it won’t mean causing any damage to the city. He’ll use all of Earth-1 Wells’ findings to make sure he gets it right. And, most importantly, he reminds them that what they’re doing now won’t bring Caitlin back.

Barry heads out for some R&R with his dad, Henry (John Wesley Shipp). The cabin’s warm and homey, and best of all it’s away from all the problems in the city. Barry explains how and why he lost his speedster powers and that Jay Garrick is Zoom and he has Caitlin. “Garrick?” says Henry, “My mom’s maiden name.” Barry explains that Wells wants him to get his powers back, but his dad doesn’t think that’s a very safe option. He’s proud of Barry, but wonders if he really needs those powers.

Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco cracks a Fringe joke that Jesse (Violett Beane) doesn’t get and then he gets into yet another argument with Wells over the whole ‘let’s zap Barry again’ idea. Cisco vibes and sees his brother in Earth-2 and, upset, he leaves as Henry and Barry arrive. Henry might be back for good.

Joe (Jesse L Martin) and Wally (Keiynan Lonsdale) are at the station chatting about the future and Wally’s newfound desire to help people after meeting The Flash. Joe tells him engineering is much safer and just then his point is proven as Zoom shows up with Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) in tow. She tells him not to hurt them and Zoom actually listens to her but then issues a warning that the city is his. “Anyone who disobeys me will meet their end,” he says.

Joe heads over to S.T.A.R. Labs and Wells says Zoom brought Caitlin with him to show power. On Earth-2 Zoom killed a bunch of policeman then gathered up all the meta-humans to work for him. Those who wouldn’t, he killed. The police are outside the precinct while Caitlin’s inside, and Joe thinks as long as Caitlin’s there Zoom won’t kill any cops. Wells doesn’t think so and even moving the cops won’t save them. Only Barry getting his powers back will save the city. Wells has become a broken record on that topic.

Caitlin’s handcuffed to a desk in the precinct, and Zoom reveals he’s going to kill people – but not everyone. He also says he brought her with him because he doesn’t want to be alone anymore. She, unwisely, says she’ll never be with him, but Zoom’s convinced she will. He thinks there’s darkness inside her. Off he goes and immediately Caitlin looks for a way to free herself.

Cisco meets up with his brother at a bar, letting him know he had a feeling he should check in with him. They talk about their time kidnapped by Snark and the conversation goes downhill from there.

Joe makes sure Wally and Jesse are safely locked up in one of S.T.A.R. Labs’ rooms while Wells continues to work on trying to get Barry his speed back. Henry walks in and is surprised Joe and Wells are still talking about possible ways to make Barry a speedster once again. Henry doesn’t want Barry injured – or dead – and thinks Wells should stop messing with things out of his control. And even if he gets his speed back, Henry doesn’t want Barry to go up against Zoom again. Barry, who has been listening in, tells them it’s his decision to make.

Back at the bar, Cisco’s forced into paying the tab and then rushes out after seeing a news report that Zoom’s at the CCPD. Just as Cisco and his brother are about to take off, a motorcycle explodes into flames in the parking lot and a meta-human appears, announcing himself by saying, “Hello, Vibe.” It’s Dante’s doppelgänger and he’s pissed Vibe killed Reverb on Earth-2. Dante’s freaked out by the whole thing and says, “I knew there was something wrong. Every time I see you we get attacked by lunatics with crazy weapons!” The new meta-human uses his scythe fire-starting weapon to set more vehicles on fire and then breaks into the back of the S.T.A.R. Labs van. Fortunately, Cisco is able to run him over and get away.

Wells says the new meta-human is Rupture, and Cisco can’t believe Zoom lied and said he killed Reverb. Barry says they need to figure out a way to get rid of the scythe, and Wells quietly tells Barry he knows what he needs to do. Barry steps out and Iris follows him, discussing the pros and cons of going through Wells’ process of getting back his speed. Iris admits she doesn’t want to go through seeing Barry hurt again, and then she – finally – tells him she has feelings for him! “I can’t help but wondering if maybe we were meant to be together,” says Iris. When Barry confessed his feelings last year she wasn’t available, but now she is. He wants to know why she’s saying this now and Iris admits it’s because she wants him to know it doesn’t matter if he’s The Flash or not. She wants to see if she has a future with Barry, with or without the speed.

Back at the station, Caitlin’s managed to get her hands on a cell phone when Zoom shows up again. Rupture returns and tells him he’s still hunting Vibe, but Zoom wants him to put that aside for a minute and show the police that he’s not sparing their lives. Zoom tells Caitlin he needs to teach them a lesson. She asks why he changes his voice and he says it’s because he’s nothing but a monster. After he leaves, she texts the Lab to alert them Rupture is going to attack the cops at Jitters (their temporary headquarters).

At S.T.A.R. Labs the message is received and Barry’s decided that it’s just too risky for the entire city if something goes wrong with Wells’ particle accelerator plan. He won’t do it, and they need to get to Zoom without The Flash.

The officers, plus Barry, prepare for the attack. They need to stop Rupture but before he arrives Barry wants to know if Joe thinks he made the right choice. Joe says he doesn’t know, but Barry has to live with the decision.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Dante finds a note that says Cisco went to another Earth. They fight about that, and that he didn’t tell his family that he went. Cisco then has to tell him about his powers…and his brother figures out he’s a meta-human. Cisco says he sees things now and he called his brother because he saw a vision of him during a vibe. Cisco takes off, telling his brother to wait for him there.

Cisco and Barry are set up outside of Jitters when Rupture breaks through the front. The Flash’s hologram takes him on, running circles around him before acting like he took a hit. Distracted, that’s when Joe and the other officers take Rupture down.

Zoom figures out Caitlin warned them and knows she betrayed him. He puts on his mask and takes off to finish the job at Jitters. He kills most of the officers before Barry rushes in. Joe and Captain Singh (Patrick Sabongui) are still alive, with Joe holding onto Rupture. Barry pleads with him and Zoom kills Rupture, telling him he’s a bigger disappointment than his brother. He picks up the TV camera and tells the viewers The Flash is a hologram and there’s no one left to protect the city from him. He looks at Barry and says, “You’re only alive because of Caitlin. Try something like this again and my affection for her won’t stop me from killing you or the rest of the city.”

Dante and Cisco have been watching the broadcast from S.T.A.R. Labs and Dante figures out why Cisco went to Earth-2. They hug it out.

Wells says next up is the recruitment of meta-humans and now that The Flash isn’t around, they are all free to show themselves. “They’ll start coming out of the woodwork,” says Cisco. Wells wants to know what more evidence they need, and Barry says he will do it. He left the city unprotected and now he needs his powers back because he has to stop Zoom, no matter the cost.

Wells is ready and Cisco explains how it works. It’ll be directed just at Barry instead of the whole city, but they’ll also need Barry to be struck by lightning. Wells tells Cisco to get the wand and Cisco asks if he means the one he built for Mark Mardon. “No, the one you built for the Harry Potter convention,” says Wells. “How do you know about the Harry Potter convention?” asks Cisco, and Wells tells him of course he meant the Mardon wand. Up to the rooftop Cisco goes to be a lightning rod. Wells wants him to start a lightning storm, which sounds a bit dangerous to Cisco.

Barry’s clamped in and ready to go. He tells Joe he’ll be fine and Iris says whatever happens won’t change how she feels about him. Henry gives him one last opportunity to stop this, but Barry, crying, says he needs his speed to be the best version possible of himself. Tears streaming down his face, he tells Wells he’s ready. Wells fires it up and the doors close.

Meanwhile in the secure room, Wally and Jesse have figured out a way to break out.

Wells releases chemicals into Barry’s system to make sure he’s exactly the same as he was the night of the accident. Cisco shouts Expecto Patronum and channels the lightning. It’s working, but Zoom sees the lightning strike and races over. Barry’s in the middle of the explosion and he seems to disintegrate. In the hallway, Jesse and Wally are hit with the explosion too and are knocked to the floor, unconscious. Cisco makes it into the lab as the doors to the particle accelerator open to reveal Barry’s gone. Iris cries out, Joe is in tears, and Henry wants to know what they did to his son. In comes Zoom, picking up The Flash’s burnt suit and telling them job well done, they killed Barry.

The preview for the upcoming episodes show Barry is stuck in another dimension or somewhere in the speed force.