Too much is riding on The Flash Season 2 finale, "The Race of His Life." Barry must not only stop Zoom, but somehow save Earth-2 if Cisco’s planet-splitting vision turns out true. Still grieving after the death of his father, The Flash can’t fight this alone. With special help from Vibe (and hopefully a new sidekick in either Jesse Quick or Kid Flash), Barry is also obligated to rescue ‘The Man in the Iron Mask.’
“Invincible” solidified Vibe’s importance in the finale episode. Vibe's finally harnessed the ability to create sonic blasts, but Barry and Cisco may have a new sidekick in the making. After being sparked by the particle accelerator, will Jesse Wells and Wally West transform into the speedsters their comic origins suggest?
Wally’s transformation into Kid Flash has been teased around every corner. When Black Canary’s doppleganger, Black Siren, nearly beats The Flash to death, Wally officially becomes a part-time vigilante. He swoops in and literally runs her over with his fancy whip. To appease Joe, Barry ‘tried’ to convince Wally to stay out of The Flash’s way, but the youngster is determined to help protect Central City. Wally finally learns Barry’s true superhero identity, and considering his current obsession with The Flash, he’s definitely going to start looking up to Barry as more than an adopted brother. As Wally said himself, “The Flash can’t be everywhere at once.” Barry is also on board with Wally’s impending transformation. “I’m not going to stop him from being the hero he’s going to become,” Barry told Joe.
The Jesse Quick teasing appears to have come to a close for the time being. Even though The Flash jolted her back to life with the speed force, the Kid Flash story arc is picking up more steam. Harrison Wells tells his daughter, “You're not a metahuman,” and Caitlin’s tests on Jesse come back negative (for now).
Even if Wally and Jesse don’t end up gaining powers in the finale, The Flash has a new city-saving partner in Cisco, who’s just recently figured out how to harness his cosmic energy into powerful sonic blasts. Carlos Valdes, who plays Cisco, took it a step further during an interview with IGN when he said, “They actually end up serving a fundamental purpose in the finale.” As we’ve seen before, Cicso’s vibrational powers can disrupt the speed force, which poses an extreme threat to Zoom if he can figure out how to turn his control of the multiverse into a weapon.
If Cisco’s vision is actually the future, Central City won’t be the only place that needs saving. Cisco’s flashforward showed Earth-2 with a soul-sucking black hole hovering above the city. The Flash may have stopped Zoom’s metapocalpse, but the evil speedster undoubtedly has a few more tricks up his sleeve even after breaking Barry’s heart by killing his father, Henry Allen, in the same place the Reverse Flash killed his mother, Nora. The finale synopsis says Zoom will reveal his true plan, and chances are it has something to do with the ‘Man behind the Iron Mask’ he’s been keeping in his lair all season.
Who is the Man behind the Iron Mask? The entire cast has teased the reveal is unpredictable and has a huge ‘wow factor.’ Guest director Kevin Smith warned that you may want to flip a table. Here’s our best guesses:
Eddie Thawne: He may have been sucked into a wormhole, but it would be far from the first time a character has incomprehensibly come back from the dead. Zoom says to Barry at one point, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Seeing Eddie is presumed dead, it would blow our minds if he’s been alive this whole time. Barry and Iris are officially together as of last episode, so Eddie’s return would certainly shake things up moving forward into Season 3. But, what’s so special about Eddie that Zoom not only needs to hold him captive, but cover his face?
Wally West: We have yet to meet or hear about Wally’s Earth-2 doppleganger. Wally could already have his speedster powers on Earth-2, and Zoom may have already sucked the speed force out of him, which would explain why he’s being held captive and why he’s needs a mask to conceal his identity.
Henry Allen : Before he died, Earth-1 Henry Allen revealed his mother was a Garrick. This is particularly suspicious considering we still have no idea who the real Jay Garrick is. Originally thought to be The Flash on Earth-2, it was later revealed that was Zoom’s disguise all along. Zoom, whose real identity is Hunter Zolomon, killed the ‘Jay’ that was a figment of a past version of himself from an alternate timeline. Could Earth-2 Henry Allen’s name be Jay Garrick?
Future Barry Allen: It’s long been known Barry goes missing in 2024. A Central City Citizen headline reads “The Flash Missing, Vanishes In Crisis.” Could Zoom have captured future Barry and is now coming back to kill current Barry to erase him from existence? Yes, this one is a little far fetched. Why would future Barry have tapped out ‘Jay’ on the glass?
‘The Man in the Iron Mask’ could also be someone else entirely. Sometimes the biggest ‘wows’ come from out of the blue, and personally, I’d love to see a new character freshen up Season 3’s cast.
Tom Cavanagh (Harrison Wells) and Jesse L. Martin (Joe West) both teased a tear-jerking finale, and it’d be sad to say goodbye to another member of Team Flash so shortly after Henry Allen’s death. Do you think another beloved cast member will perish in the hands of Zoom? Let us know in the comments below.
The Flash Season 2 finale, “The Race of His Life,” airs May 24 at 8 p.m. EDT on The CW.
