Tonight's episode of The Flash may have revolved around the explosive Plastique and the debut of General Wade Eiling, but as usual, it was the episode’s final scene that left the biggest impact. After a tense conversation between Eiling and Harrison Wells, the show flashed back five years to when their original partnership ended. Wells refused to let Eiling subject any more tests on an unnamed subject and orders the general to leave. Wells then heads over to a cage containing a gorilla, telling him that he has a “whole other future” in mind for him. The camera then pans over to the gorilla’s name plate.
Grodd.
Viewers have seen many unusual things during the past five episodes, but to the uninitiated, a gorilla is especially out there. However, Grodd is more than just a common primate. In the comics, he is one of The Flash’s greatest enemies, antagonizing the Scarlet Speedster since 1959. It’s bad enough that he’s a super intelligent being with super strength, but he is also able to control minds. Grodd may not be human like most of Flash’s enemies, but his schemes and attacks have nearly killed Flash on more than one occasion. We only saw a glimpse of the gorilla this episode, but he’s going to play a big part in Barry Allen’s future, and not in a good way.
Of course, this isn’t the first tease of Grodd we’ve gotten in the series. In the pilot, while Barry and Wells were walking through S.T.A.R. Labs, they passed by a ripped-apart cage with Grodd’s nameplate hanging askew. Those not familiar with Flash lore now know what was inside that cage. The particle accelerator will likely be the source of Grodd’s enhanced intelligence, which is a departure from the comics, where Grodd is one of many super-intelligent gorillas who live in Gorilla City, a technologically advanced society hidden from the rest of humankind. But did Grodd escape on his own using his new abilities, or did he get help from Wells? Considering how he defended Grodd from Eiling, Wells obviously cares for the gorilla.
This leaves us with another ambiguous Wells moment, which has become the norm with these final sequences. It’s still unclear whether he is looking out for Barry or has sinister plans in the works; but being from the future, he must know about Grodd’s battles with Flash. Handing the gorilla off to Eiling would have snuffed out that future threat, but he kept him around instead for unknown reasons. Whatever those plans may have been (although they could still be in motion), it is abundantly clear that Grodd will return to The Flash at some point, and our hero will fight his most unusual adversary yet. Cisco, you may want to create an anti-mind control helmet fast!
