“Welcome to Earth-2” is episode thirteen of season two of The Flash.
In the previous episode, “Fast Lane”, Wells did end up admitting that he was the one who took Barry’s speed and gave it to Zoom. This was not received well and Wells was locked up in the pipeline. Wells said that they should send him back to his Earth and shut all the breaches using the method he and Barry had tested. Leaving Zoom unable to get through to their Earth. Wells said that Zoom was his problem, and he would try and get Jesse back.
Barry pointed out to the others that Wells did not have to tell them what he had done. He had successfully drained speed from Barry, leaving the others none the wiser, and could have kept doing that in order to save his daughter. But he hadn’t. So Barry made a suggestion and asked the others to vote on it. When they went to see Wells, Barry told him they weren’t sending Wells back to Earth Two to face Zoom alone – they were going with him to help Wells save Jesse.
Wells is dictating into his journal, saying that it will be his last entry on this Earth. They are closing the breaches between the worlds. Wells says that he has been distracted by this Earth, and by the people, but he never lost track of Jesse. She is the reason he has made it so far. Wells tells his daughter to hang on a little bit longer, as he is coming to get her. And this time he is not coming alone.
Barry has closed all the breaches, bar the one on S.T.A.R. Labs. He says he has some things to take care of before going through the breach. Which is dinner with Joe and Iris. Joe asks Barry if he’s told his father, and he says no, because Henry would just try and talk Barry out of it. And would probably succeed. Afterwards, Iris asks for a minute with Barry. He tells her that what he is doing is nuts, but it’s hardly the first time he’s done dangerous stuff. Iris just wants to make sure Barry isn’t doing it because he thinks he has nothing left here any longer. Barry says no, it’s not about Patty. He misses her, but he loves everything else about his life.
At the lab, Jay warns Barry and Cisco that they are going through the looking glass. Things will look the same, but they aren’t. Barry says if they aren’t back in 48 hours Zoom will have them and they need to close the breach. Caitlin says she won’t. Cisco has a letter for Caitlin to give to his parents and Dante. Just in case. You know.
Wells tells Barry that he doesn’t have to do this. He replies that he does. Jay tells Barry to keep his speed up and not get distracted by anything he sees on the way. Which is, according to Jay, everything. Barry sees the Flash (the 1990 series version) and a version of Green Arrow. And Supergirl. And some from Legends of Tomorrow. After they leave, there are some explosions from the speed cannon, which breaks. When asked what happened, Hay thinks that, with all the other breaches closed, the energy surge destabilised this one. Which means Barry, Cisco and Wells are trapped as long as the breach is unstable.
On Earth-Two (which really does appear to have a sky that’s a different colour), Cisco and Barry are looking at devices that Cisco says are only ideas on their Earth. Then they pose for a selfie in S.T.A.R. Labs. Wells would prefer they hurry. Then Henry Hewitt shows up and speaks to Dr Wells and Cisco and Barry react oddly. Explaining, after Hewitt left, that the Hewitt they know – from “The Fury of Firestorm” – is a bad guy.
In Wells’ office, Wells turns on the television and a reporter is saying how the citywide curfew has been extended due to increased Zoom attacks. Increased by Mayor Snart. Cisco puts his goggles on that Wells developed in “The Reverse-Flash Returns” and the other two look at him expectantly. Cisco tells them to back off as they are crowding his space. He tries again, but gets nothing. Then Cisco and Wells check; this Earth is vibrating at a different frequency, so no easy vibes showing them where Zoom is hanging out.
Next on the news is a bespectacled and bow-tied Barry. He is saying that, under the leadership of Detective West – Barry comments that at least Joe is still a detective – the police are closing in on Zoom. Barry realises that he is still a CSI, and goes off and gets Earth-Two Barry. Who wonders who Barry is but gets distracted when he sees Wells. Barry Two is excited to see Wells. Very, very excited. Wells tosses Barry some sort of stunner and Barry uses it on Barry Two. Barry intends to take his doppelganger’s place and see if they can triangulate the Zoom attacks. Barry says that he’ll be fine, and that he can handle it. Which is not quite as bad as asking ‘What could possibly go wrong?’ but definitely up there.
At the precinct, Barry discovers that Captain Singh is actually a criminal and Deadshot is actually Detective Floyd Lawton. And a really, really, really bad shot. The worst in the department, according to his partner. Detective West. Detective Iris West. Who is also married to Barry. Iris’ meta-human alert app – which Wells was demonstrating at S.T.A.R. Labs in Earth-Two in “The Darkness and the Light” – goes off. It has apparently decided that Barry is a meta-human. Must be a mistake.
A couple of bank robbers are being chastised by a woman, who says that this city belongs to Zoom, and those he deems worthy. The woman is Caitlin. A not-nice Caitlin who freezes people sold with a kiss. Who is also partnered with Ronnie Raymond, who seems to still be Firestorm. Some definite evil twin vibes to this episode.
In this world, Barry’s mother is still alive and he talks to her on the phone. Joe – it’s Joseph, Bartholomew – is a singer. He also doesn’t like Barry, saying that he is the most selfish person he has ever met, who made Iris become a police officer so that she could fund his PhD.
On Earth-One, Caitlin and Jay are trying to repair the speed cannon when Joe tells them they have another problem. A meta-human is on the news causing trouble and demanding to see the Flash. Jay recognises the man and says he’s Geomancer, or Adam Fells, who is dead on his world. So, in some cases the same people have the same powers and in others different people were, or were not, affected by the accelerator.
Joe suggest that Jay take Velocity-6, which he did to get his speed back briefly in “Legends Of Today”. Jay doesn’t want to take V6 again. He finally admits why to Caitlin. When Jay got his powers after the particle accelerator accident (it didn’t sound as if he did get them then the first time) he wanted to go faster and tried to increase his powers. There were unforeseen side effects. Zoom apparently didn’t take Jay’s speed (it also didn’t look like that) the V6 did and that’s what has made Jay sick and is killing him.
On Earth-Two there are the typical ‘I can’t believe it’ differences with people Barry knows – and he’s struggling to handle it. He is treating people as if they are the same ones he already knows. Not quite a cliff-hanger ending but things are definitely not wrapped up in this episode.