Last season left many fans of the hit CW television show “The Flash,” wondering if Barry Allen was “Fast Enough” (as the season finale episode title states) to save his city from a vortex commonly referred to as the “singularity.”
Allen, portrayed by Grant Gustin, runs up the side of a building and jumps into the singularity, hoping to contain it. However, the audience is left with a cliffhanger for a show that took a five month break between seasons.
The recap at the beginning of the season two premiere reminds fans that Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett) shot himself, so that the man impersonating Dr. Harrison Wells, who actually is the Reverse-Flash (Tom Cavanagh), can no longer exist. Caitlyn Snow (Danielle Panabaker) and Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell) finally get married as well and a teaser to Jay Garrick, the first-ever version of the Flash, is shown in the form of his helmet being thrown out of a time vortex of sorts.
Six months after the events of the season one finale, the mayor decides to award the Flash with a key to the city and dubs him as “The Man Who Saved Central City.” However, it is revealed that Raymond and Dr. Martin Stein, together as Firestorm, were also heroes that day, but only Dr. Stein survived the singularity leaving Raymond’s body missing and Snow as a widow.
With S.T.A.R. Labs no longer in operation, both Snow and Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdez) have found new jobs: Snow at Mercury Labs and Ramon with the Central City Police Department as a metahuman specialist.
The relationships between everyone have also clearly changed from the last few months as well, causing awkward tension between the characters when they interact or even mention the Flash being a hero.
It isn’t until a new villain, of course, steps into the picture in the form of the Atom Smasher (pro-wrestler, Adam “Edge” Copeland). He is implied to be from another world and attacks during the “Flash Day” ceremony.
This is when the characters join together to snap Allen out of his guilt and back to the reality of who he is, without focusing too much on the drama between the characters of course.
A few other key things that happened in this big opening episode all hint at the wonderful things to come this season like seeing Ramon as Vibe, since his powers continue to affect him randomly, showing him interacting with characters in other dimensions.
The biggest reveals are saved for the very end of the episode where Wells confesses that he murdered Nora Allen, freeing Barry’s father from his 14-year stay at Iron Heights Prison. (Fun fact: John Wesley Shipp, who plays Barry’s father, originally dawned the red suit as the Flash from the early 90s TV series!)
Jay Garrick (Teddy Sears) finally makes a full appearance proclaiming that Central City is in danger unlike it’s known before.
Overall, season two’s premiere episode left many questions unanswered but not in a bad way. It picked up the pieces from the season one finale with a smooth transition back into the world of the Flash, rather than jumping forcefully into it. Each subtle hint leads the audience to believe that it will be answered as the season progresses, and one can only hope that the season doesn’t put viewers into cardiac arrest due to excitement.
If this season is just as strong as the last, then each episode will eloquently reveal something new and not overload viewers with too much information and plot holes.
Moving forward, the sophomore season of “The Flash” promises to be full of new characters and will keep viewers on the edge of their seats… and ready to run.
“The Flash” on the CW network every Tuesday at 8 p.m. and season one is now available to view on Netflix.
