Thanks to the work of Cisco and Harrison Wells, Barry has finally achieved running faster. Now that Barry is able to run faster than Zoom, our Scarlet Speedster is itching for a rematch against his Earth 2 nemesis. However should he? With the breaches closed, Wells tells Barry to leave Zoom trapped on Earth 2–but should Barry do that? And if Zoom does escape into Earth 1, what chaos could he cause?
The Positives
“Versus Zoom” pretty much sums up what we are really getting in this episode– Zoom versus The Flash. It’s the rematch we’ve all been waiting for and thanks to Cisco and Wells working a tachyon device, this fight goes differently from before. This is also a coming of age story for Cisco and his powers as well as he finds out that he can do way more than just peeking into different dimensions. Cisco is scared of the revelation because of the immense power of his Earth 2 counterpart Reverb and what happened to him because of it. It’s been an amazing journey seeing Cisco develop his powers and this episode really showcases his abilities.
The Negative
My only complaint about The Flash was the showdown actually between Flash and Zoom. We see Barry literally outrunning Zoom at every chance and turn, besting his rival with every technique he’s learned since their last encounter. Thanks to some of Barry’s preparation and quick thinking, he catches Zoom using a metahuman trap. Here at this point you would think the conflict is over–however this is where Barry actually talks to Zoom about changing his life for the better. Really?! I was literally yelling at my TV for Barry to knock Zoom out and just toss him in the pipeline–but he didn’t. During the conversation between the two, Zoom escapes leaving Barry to go on a city wide search to find him. I find this to be seriously dumb and careless on Barry’s part although I know it’s in his nature to try to see the best in everyone. Not to give too much away about the episode but Barry’s misplaced trust is shattered when Zoom takes someone close to him, and now he must trade his own speed for their safety.
The Verdict
I thought “Versus Zoom” was a great episode however the confrontation and its end were too questionable and obvious. I’m usually not critical of the writers of The Flash because week after week they do such an incredible job, however I feel it could’ve went and ended differently. I mean you’ve literally been training for months to defeat an enemy that has destroyed an entire world, and the moment you have the speed to defeat him–you don’t? It was a question that was hitting my head like a hammer even after the episode was over–however we do know that the rivalry between Zoom and Flash isn’t over so I’m eager to see where this all ultimately may lead.
