![]() Wally hasn’t become an integral part of the show yet to the point where his death would hold as much weight as, say, Cisco or Caitlin or Iris. But it also would have helped if a different character was chosen to be Zoom’s hostage in the first place. The writers could have mitigated the problem somewhat simply by not having Zoom free Wally until after he got his Speed Force injection. Is it really so important to stick to a bargain when the other party is a homicidal maniac who will no doubt endanger countless more lives once he has his Speed Force fix? It seemed very much like one of those cases where normally intelligent characters are forced to behave like idiots in order to further the plot. Why couldn’t the room full of geniuses have developed some sort of contingency plan? Why didn’t Wells simply sabotage the Speed Force extractor? What incentive did they even have to stick to their bargain when Wally was no longer in any danger? Barry had already proven he could out-race and outfight Zoom. That said, it was hard to shake the fact that Barry and his friends behaved very, very stupidly in their encounter with Zoom. The character’s undisguised malice and contempt made him seem like a completely different character from the one they had bonded with over the course of several months. It was a lot of fun watching Hunter Zolomon unmasked and interacting with his former friends with all cards on the table. As for the climax, the showdown between Zoom and Team Flash featured some of the strongest and weakest material of the episode. But there was such an earnestness to Valdes’ performance there that the scene worked. That scene could easily have been a tonal disaster, what with the extended Star Wars reference and Cisco comparing himself to Anakin Skywalker. Carlos Valdes also impressed in Cisco’s heart-to-heart scene with Barry. Martin was given plenty of room to shine as Joe, whether it was his awkward attempts to become closer with Wally, his easygoing banter with Barry or his fatherly terror at realizing Wally’s life was in danger. It goes without saying at this point that Grant Gustin impressed as Barry cycled through high and low points. He’s been repeatedly guilty of underestimating Zoom all season long, and this time it proved to be his undoing.īefore discussing the climax of this episode, it’s worth pointing out that a number of actors were especially strong this week. And even ignoring that, it was clear that Barry’s overconfidence was going to be his undoing. There are too many episodes left in the season for Zoom to be defeated now. At the same time, there was a nagging sense that all of this was merely a lull before another big storm. ![]() And there was definitely a sense of satisfaction in seeing Barry outrace his nemesis and put Zoom on the defensive for a change. Between that and Cisco mastering his ability to breach the barriers between worlds, things were looking up for Team Flash for a change. They perfected their tachyon device, allowing Barry to finally meet and even exceed Zoom’s speed levels. Things seemed to be looking up for Barry and friends. If anything, there was an interesting level of tension to the plot this week. But as dark as this episode became, at least it had heart and emotional depth to serve as a counterbalance. In the wake of Batman v Superman, I imagine I’m not the only one wary of too much darkness invading their DC TV shows. The show ventured into some pretty dark territory this week as it explored Hunter’s tragic past and put Barry through another physical and emotional wringer. That theme of family was important in keeping this episode grounded as a whole. But as Barry reminded him, Cisco has his own support network to help keep him grounded. That theme also played into Cisco’s struggle and his fears over becoming corrupted by his power like his own doppelganger did. This episode hinged very heavily on the importance of family in shaping a person and making them stronger. Hunter had no one and nothing to help him rise from tragedy. Barry had Joe and Iris to serve as a surrogate family. It seems the only thing that really separated the two in those crucial early years is that Barry had a support system to fall back on where Hunter didn’t. But the fundamental difference between the two is what kind of man they grew to become. Both were eventually transformed by the particle accelerator accident and became metahuman speedsters. ![]() Both of them had their childhoods ripped apart by similar tragedies. If there’s any one takeaway from “Versus Zoom,” it’s that Hunter Zolomon is Barry Allen’s true Earth-2 doppelganger.
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