Geekscape Recaps: ‘The Flash’ – The Runaway Dinosaur
Kevin Smith is synonymous with the definition of geekdom in many of our vocabularies. It’s not uncommon to come across some that don’t generally like him or his work, and that’s fine, but I think he deserves a round of applause for guiding what seemed to be the most unique and hardest episodes to direct in the series. The Runaway Dinosaur closed a story thread that had been swinging in the wind for the entirety of the series; And that of course, was Barry coming to peace with making the decision to not save his mother at the end of the first season. So without further ado, let’s get to it!
Nora Allen
Nora Allen’s death was the driving force behind the first season. Of course, the big baddie last season was Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. the Reverse Flash, but it was Thawne’s action in killing Nora Allen that set off the events that would unfold into Barry Allen becoming a hero and defeating his nemesis for the first time. At the end of the first season, we saw Barry had a chance to save his mother and change history as we knew it. This would also mean that Barry’s life up until that point would be drastically different. For instance, he would have never lived with Joe, never would have grown up with Iris, and he would not be the same person he was in that instance.
When Barry made the decision not to save his mother, partly because his future self chimed in with his two cents, Barry had to live with it. His guilt, which was stacked on already losing Ronnie Raymond to the singularity, was evident from the start of this season. You can even get a feeling for how Barry was feeling during this Comic-Con trailer for season two:
I just feel like I made a mistake. I should’ve saved my mom.
Now, after visiting and talking to Speedforce incarnate, Barry seems to be at peace with his decision. It also helped talking to a Speedfroce version of his mother, who was also in communication with his real mother.
Now, feeling fulfilled, we were properly introduced to a new and improved Barry Allen. It’s going to be a blast seeing this new version of The Flash in the next couple of weeks, and next season.
The Speedforce
Last week, I went a little in depth as to where a speedster goes when they transcend our reality. However, in the show, the Speedforce seemed to take on a persona that seems to be immortal and omniscient.
There isn’t much to discuss here other than that the Speedforce will probably making appearances in one way or another from now on. It’s also inspired Barry to take on what he sees as his true calling. Strangely, seeing Barry like this remindes me of Season Six Jack in LOST.
Jesse Quick
Jesse Quick seemingly has some sort of speedster-like powers. This comes after being hit by Barry’s leftover energy, and having some form of energy transferred over to her from Barry.
What’s eerie here, and perhaps means nothing at all, is that this scene was remeniscent of a scene in Episode 20 of Season 1. In this scene, Iris visits Barry in the hospital, some time after Barry is struck by lightning. When Iris lays her hand onto Barry’s, the same shock is present, only, this lightning here is blue.
Zoom Gets to Bring Friends
At the end of the episode, Zoom revealed his army from Earth-2, and possibly other Earths as well. We won’t know for sure unless there’s some evidence presented inferring they’re all from Earth-2.
Some of these villains will look familiar for comic readers, and it’s very exciting to see villains being utilized from deep within DC lore. I can’t wait for next week’s episode!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUKi7JnVt-w
