Warning: spoilers for The Flash are ahead!
Barry Allen’s had mixed experiences when it comes to mentors and father figures on The Flash. On the one hand, his father Henry and Joe West haven’t steered him wrong, but on the other, he got burned bad when he learned that his idol Harrison Wells was really Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. the Reverse-Flash. Following the reveal at the end of “King Shark” that Season 2 baddie Zoom is actually Hunter Zolomon, a.k.a. Jay Garrick, Barry’s going to add another “horrible experience” notch to his belt when he learns the truth.
With only eight episodes left until The Flash Season 2’s conclusion, Barry will learn Zoom’s secret identity soon, and Grant Gustin told EW that he won’t handle it well. Gustin said:
It’s betrayal and disappointment in himself. Because it’s almost like he’s been through this before, and he can’t believe he let himself go through it again.
Barry and Team Flash watched Zoom seemingly kill Jay Garrick at the end of “Escape from Earth-2” before pulling him back to Earth-2. The final minutes of “King Shark” showed Zoom peeling back his mask to reveal Jay Garrick’s face as he stated, “This is a complication.” His identity is still a mystery to the main characters, but once Barry catches up with the viewers, it makes sense that he’ll be upset by the truth, even though it’s not quite the same situation as in Season 1.
Actually, this whole Zoom thing is way more complicated than it was with Reverse-Flash. Eobard merely assumed Harrison Wells’ identity and masqueraded as him for 15 years. With Zoom, not only do we have Hunter Zolomon, but Jay (or at least the man who has been passing himself off as Jay to Team Flash) appears to be dead, and no official explanation has been given for why these two look alike. And lets not get started on the Man in the Iron Mask. At this point, there are more questions than answers for Barry's current situation.
Aside from learning who Zoom really is, Barry also has the added problem of not being able to beat the demonic speedster yet. Zoom proved how much more powerful he was in “Enter Zoom” when he nearly killed Barry and humiliated him around Central City. On top of that, Barry is slightly slower after Harry Wells stole some of his speed in “Fast Lane.” So Barry will either have to increase his speed significantly or steal some of Zoom’s speed in order to finally end his reign of terror across both Earths by the Season 2 finale. As for Season 3, should a new mentor figure come into his life, Barry might want to consider running a multi-universe background check on them before getting too close.
The Flash will return with new episodes on Tuesday, March 22 at 8 p.m. EST on The CW.
