BWW Recap: Jay Garrick Gives the New FLASH a Crash Course

Back in the 1940s, there was another superhero named THE FLASH whose adventures captured the imaginations of the comic book-buying public. Eventually discarded in the 1951, a new character bearing the name THE FLASH was introduced in 1956. Writers decided it would be cool if the old Flash could meet the new Flash. The Flash #123 (September 1961) not only brought the two characters together for the first time, it also introduced us to the DC multiverse (well, Earth-2, anyway).

DC used the concept of multiverse --basically parallel universes-- to explain (among other things) why the World War II era Wonder Woman wasn't the same as the modern Wonder Woman, how Batman and Catwoman could have a daughter named Helena (aka The Huntress) and why Jay Garrick could also be a guy named THE FLASH who also has super speed.

Is it confusing? You betcha, considering DC didn't just stop with just one or two parallel worlds. The device was used over and over again until 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths cleaned house, erasing 40 or more years of continuity errors and multiple universes with it. Some characters like Garrick were popular enough to stick around, though.

Suffice to say, THE FLASH has a lot riding on how they handle Earth-2. They could potentially confuse and alienate viewers.

We're in good hands, though. The title of SE202 is "The Flash of Two Worlds," a direct reference to the 1961 comic book and the episode recreated its iconic cover with THE FLASH (Grant Gustin) and Earth-2 Flash (aka Jay Garrick, played byTeddy Sears) racing to save a damsel in distress. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We pick up where we left off last week. Garrick has managed to evade S.T.A.R, Labs' beefed up security and reveals that he knows who everyone is and in a flashback it is revealed that Garrick was losing a battle to Zoom. Zoom was about to finish him off, when a Barry ripped open that hole between universes. It sucked in Garrick's helmet and then Jay himself (so, Barry saved Jay). Oh, and he's lost his speed ability.

Barry remains skeptical and tells Jay he'll need to be tested (just how, I'm unsure --Jay doesn't have any powers).

Elsewhere in Central City, another breach opens up. Zoom deposits Eddie Slick (aka Sand Demon, played by Canadian stage actor Kett Turton). Zoom tells him if he wants to return to his own world, he's got to kill THE FLASH.

Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, with Ronnie missing and assumed dead, Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) uses Jay to satisfy her shirtless hero fix. She asks him how he got his powers. It was in a freak accident in his lab (much like Barry's). Caitlin glosses over the similarities because she's psyched he is a fellow scientist. The two actors have chemistry. I say we dub them a couple (SnowJay, perhaps?).

Iris (Candice Patton) and her dad Det. Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) are having a hard time digesting the whole multiuniverse thing. Dr. Stein (Victor Garber) attempts to illustrate the concept of multiuniverses, and viewers who are also confused are given Det West to live through. No matter how many diagrams, West doesn't understand it. But, hey, Stein dubs Jay's world Earth-2 (just like in the comic books).

Caitlin rejoins the group. The shirtless medical exam wasn't just flirtatious, she had him hooked up to a lie detector and Jay appears to be telling the truth .

Joe heads back to the precinct and is immediately approached by Patty Spivot (Shantel VanSanten). She is interested in joining the anti-metahuman task force. Joe tells her no.

Barry still doesn't trust Jay and locks him in a cell. Jay tells Barry he's going to need his help. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) interrupts them to inform Barry of a fire. Barry zips off.

THE FLASH makes short work of putting out the fire, but then is attacked by the Sand Demon. Everytime he tries to punch the Sand Demon, sand falls away. Sensing a losing battle, Barry retreats.

Later, Joe and Barry are investigating the fire and Barry is cheesed he can't find any trace of a metahuman. Patty enters with some curious sand. Joe still doesn't want her on the task force, though.

Back at the lab, Caitlin watch Jay run at normal speed on a treadmill. She's clearly smitten. Cisco takes offense when Jay dubs the bad guy Sand Demon (the whole naming-the-bad-guys thing is Cisco's thing). Jay offers to teach Barry how to stop the Sand Demon, but Barry isn't interested and promptly returns Jay to his cell.

In another part of the lab, Stein has gone all "Beautiful Mind" and is frantically writing on a blackboard. He thinks he has figured out a way to prove Jay's story and it involves finding exotic matter that leaked from one world into the other. A special camera might be able to capture the leaked matter. Fortunately, Cisco saw such a kit in the fabrication room (really? They have these things just lying around until needed?). Stein goes off to fetch it, leaving Cisco to study the sand sample.

It causes Cisco to have one of his vibrating visions (foreshadowing: his character eventually becomes the superhero known as Vibe in the comic books). He sees a portion of Barry's previous fight with the Sand Demon.

Joe, meanwhile, has actually been doing real police work and has been watching Sand Demon. He phones Barry to let him know, but before Barry can meet him there, Sand Demon has finally noticed Joe watching him and starts running. Joe runs after him, but it's Patty who gets the collar. She asks Joe again to be on the task force.

At the police station, Joe interrogates Sand Demon and tells him they now have cells to hold metahumans. Barry and Patty, meanwhile, bond over their mutual love of MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (note to writers: given Gustin's previous musical stage work, you missed a potential SPAMALOT reference). Barry offers to put in a good word for her. Task force, here she comes.

The Sand Demon they have might not be the sand demon. Turns out this Mr. Slick has an alibi (meaning there is another possible Slick with metahuman abilities roaming the streets).

Back at the lab, news breaks about Star City's newest hero Green ARROW (see last week's ARROW recap). Cisco has the line of the night with "I hate it when they put a color in their name." He also tells Barry the sand sample isn't sand at all. It's human cells.

Barry still doesn't trust Jay (though the rest of Team FLASH does). Iris confronts Barry. She doesn't recognize him. After being betrayed by Wells all last season, it is understandable he might have some trust issues. She tries to convince him that he needs to believe in his team.

Joe has to release the Eddie Slick they were holding and he's no sooner done that than the other Eddie Slick throws a sand punch at Joe, knocking him out. He then kidnaps Patty.

This leaves Barry with no alternative but to trust Jay. Jay tells him that Barry is going to hurl lightning that he generates when he runs at the Sand Demon.

In an abandon warehouse, Patty is tied up. She tries to tell Sand Demon he's not special and that THE FLASH will save her. Sand Demon is sort of counting on it, though. He has a concussive bomb ready to go off.

Of course, Team FLASH doesn't have an idea where the two are holed up until Cisco touches the sand and has another vision. They just need a diversion so Barry can use lightning to take Sand Demon down.

Jay offers to be the decoy, seeing as the Sand Demon won't know that he has lost his speed force. Only problem is he has lost his helmet. Team FLASH returns the helmet to him.

The plan goes off perfectly for the two seconds it takes Sand Demon to realize that Jay no longer has super speed. The bomb goes off, Sand Demon decides to kill both heroes, starting with Jay. Barry generates some lightning and Sand Demon turns to glass and shatters.

Patty wakes from the blast and calls out for Flash. Both men run to her. It is a shot-by-shot homage to the comic book cover. I couldn't be more thrilled.

Back at the Lab, Jay is having a hard time dealing with not being a superhero. Caitlin tells him he was courageous and the whole loss thing is something they have in common. SnowJay is going to be a thing, I swear.

Back at the precinct, Patty still isn't letting the task force thing go. We get the real reason: Mark Mardon (aka Weather Wizard, seen last season and played by Liam McIntyre) killed her father. Joe tells her she starts on the task force on Monday. He's about to head back upstairs to his office when he is then confronted by a woman (Vanessa Williams of "Soul Food" fame). She wants to know how Joe is doing. Oh, and how's their daughter. Yep, meet Mrs. West.

Stein confronts Cisco about his earlier hunch. Cisco comes clean about his powers. Stein wants to study them, but agrees to not mention them. Instead, they present their findings to the team. There wasn't just one or two breaches, but 52 (possibly an homage to "The New 52" DC comic book series). Stein collapses mid-speech.

We then get a glimpse of another Earth. School kids are touring an undestroyed S.T.A.R. Labs. The tour guide gushes and introduces Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh). "Hello, kids," he says as the episode comes to a close. While the multiuniverse is still a bit confusing, I thought it was handled really well. Your thoughts?Comment below and follow me @triggercric and follow @BWWTVWorld for all the latest updates, scoops and recaps.

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