“Thanks for nothing, Harry!”
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Tonight’s new Flash episode had a fairly big hurdle to overcome right out of the gate. It’s not fair to tease viewers with a King Shark appearance one week and then not follow up on that appearance the following week. Despite that rather glaring omission, “The Darkness and the Light” was ultimately a satisfying experience. This week brought new players into the fold and added a little darkness into Barry Allen’s world while also taking care to offset that darkness with a little innocent romantic comedy.
The appeal of King Shark’s brief cameo last week wasn’t even the character so much as the spectacle. Not since Season 1’s Gorilla Grodd episode has the series impressed that much with the quality of its special effects. The cost and time involved in rendering such a massive and outlandish villain are probably the exact reasons why he was absent this time. I’ll grant that that effort is probably better saved for when Grodd makes his next appearance. But it was also strange that the show basically glossed over the first meeting between Barry and Earth Two’s Harrison Wells. Whatever shock, dismay and anger Barry might have felt upon glimpsing his old enemy in the flesh were pretty much left up to the viewer’s imagination. It’s almost like there’s a lost mini-episode linking “The Fury of the Firestorm” and “The Darkness and the Light.”
But again, this episode quickly found its footing despite skipping over a vital chunk of time. Seeing another glimpse of Earth Two was definitely a great way to start things off this week. I’m impressed by how much effort is being put into differentiating the two worlds in terms of architecture and fashion design. There’s a sense from looking at the people inhabiting this space age-inspired, Art Deco world that Earth Two is a more innocent place. Or at least it was, until Zoom mucked everything up.
The biggest takeaway from this episode is that it’s a great thing to have Tom Cavanagh back in the fold. I don’t think I even realized how much I missed having Wells around until he finally returned. And it’s a testament to Cavanagh’s performance that this Wells came across like a profoundly different character. Where Earth One’s Wells was calm and methodical, Earth Two’s Wells is agitated, confrontational and not at all concerned about riffling the feathers of everyone around him. Yet we still saw some trace of Harrison Wells the mentor – the man who can coax Barry into unleashing his full potential and using the Speed Force in ways no one else would dream.
Just about everyone in the main cast enjoyed some strong material with Wells this week, whether it was Joe going all Dirty Harry, Iris grappling with seeing her fiance’s “murderer” in the flash again, or Jay butting heads with his longtime nemesis. This last element was particularly intriguing. We got a much better sense of who Jay really is this week. He may be brave and selfless, but he’s also hindered by a crippling fear of Zoom and a guilt over his repeated failure to stop the villain’s rampage.
Kendra hasn’t gotten her wings yet.
Amid all the Wells drama, this episode also delivered a new villain with a familiar face in the form of Doctor Light. The twist that Linda Park’s alternate universe self is a metahuman trapped in Zoom’s thrall was certainly an interesting one. Compared to some of this show’s less developed villains, she had a pretty clear set of motivations and desires. Her goal wasn’t villainy for villainy’s sake, but merely to usurp her counterpart’s life and hide from Zoom. Her showdown with Barry was an exciting way to cap off the episode, especially as Barry began testing his newly acquired Speed Mirage ability. You do have to question why Barry never thought to have Cisco whip up some sort of protective eye gear, though. Or heck, why not just wear Light’s helmet himself? At times it defies belief that a man who can run several times faster than the human brain can think would have so much trouble dealing with some of these villains.
I’m interested to see the general reaction to the Doctor Light twist and how much the character was changed compared to the source material. That aspect didn’t bother me as much as Arrow’s handling of Anarky a few weeks ago. But given the lack of significant Asian female characters in the DCU, it was a little disappointing to see Linda Park and Kimiyo Hoshi rolled into one (especially since the two characters have completely different nationalities and backgrounds). That said, in the context of this series, the change worked. Linda has basically floundered as a character after her short-lived romance with Barry. This at least allows her to become a more integral player again. Judging from the teaser for next week’s episode, Linda will have a big part to play in the hunt for Zoom. And to be fair, there’s no reason one of these shows can’t introduce a more comic-accurate version of Doctor Light later on. Just preferably not the Arthur Light version.
This episode also offered a proper debut for Kendra Saunders (played by Ciara Renée) following her quick cameo in the Season 1 finale. There was little indication that Kendra is anything other than a new love interest for Cisco here, but honestly, that’s enough right now. This episode got a lot of mileage out of the various romantic subplots. Barry and Patty’s first date was obviously the big focus. Their dinner together was cute. The whole “Barry trying to fake away his blindness” thing was a little sitcom-y, but at least Patty saw through the ruse and acknowledged how stupid-but-sweet it was. Cisco playing wingman was an added bonus for this scene. Luckily, as pitiful as he came across for most of the episode, his victory with Kendra offered him a much-deserved happy ending. There was also a bit more progress on the Caitlin/Jay front as the latter allowed his vulnerable side to show. Again, all of this material was great about keeping the episode on an even keel and preventing the darker elements from overwhelming everything. That sense of balance always been one of this show’s greatest strengths.
Tom Cavanagh’s Harrison Wells was one of the best things about this show in its first season, and the same could easily prove true for the second. It was great to have Wells back in the fold, and especially because this version of the character is so different from the one we know. This episode also benefited from an intriguing new take on Doctor Light and liberal use of romantic comedy elements to balance out the darker story elements. The lack of resolution to last week’s big King Shark appearance was disappointing, but as a whole this episode was strong enough to make up for that omission.
