‘The Flash’ continued this week with what could be considered part 2 of its premiere.

Image via The CW

TURNING ON THE SPIVOT

Note: The following review goes into detail about the episode. SPOILER ALERT!

Season 2 of The Flash rolled on this week, and “The Flash of Two Worlds,” in addition to recreating an iconic moment from the comics, brought with it something the season opener didn’t really have: a truckload of exposition. While “The Man Who Saved Central City” smartly decided to cut to the chase and get this season’s arc running, “The Flash of Two Worlds” deals more with the how-and-why of things, and feels almost like a second half of the premiere because of it.

With the arrival of Jay Garrick at STAR Labs, Barry is unsure if he wants to trust another Speedster (given how poorly that worked out last time), and Joe West finds an eager new recruit in the form of perky CCPD officer Patty Spivot. Meanwhile, another metahuman has been dropped off by Zoom, and this one is the aptly named Sand Demon. (He controls sand.) The whole key to this episode was the relationship between Barry and Jay, as Barry has trouble trusting a guy who drops out of the sky and mysteriously no longer has powers. While Jay’s lack of powers will surely be addressed in time, it did feel a little on the nose that everyone kept pointing out that Jay could fill the Wells’s mentor role, especially considering how much the show’s early episodes relied on a formula. Sand Demon was also somewhat of a flat villain, although he wasn’t meant to be a baddie like Atom Smasher, but rather a means to make the two Flashes work together while providing yet more background. Luckily, Garrick feels different from Reverse Flash.

Image via The CW

Where the episode really shines, however, was in its introduction of Patty Spivot, a love interest from the comics turned supernatural detective on the show. While the show’s revamped origin for Jay Garrick somewhat awkwardly grafts Barry Allen’s science background onto him, Patty’s motivation of hunting metahumans in memory of her brother feels both genuine and a natural progression for the character. Shantel VanSanten imbues Patty with confident, vibrant energy, and makes her one of the show’s best new additions in recent memory. For his part, Teddy Sears does fine work as Jay Garrick, although it is a shame “The Flash of Two Worlds” didn’t give him more to work with.

THE BREAKDOWN

“The Flash of Two Worlds” was a fine way to settle into the groove this season, although it seemed a lot more concerned with setting up the conflict rather than letting the character dynamics speak for themselves. That said, the conflict they did set up is an intriguing one, and now that the exposition is out of the way, it’ll be great to see where a newly-expanded Team Flash heads next.

Was it great to see Jay Garrick? What did you think of Zoom? Tweet me @MaxMielecki. And be sure to follow us @YouNerded.

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