TV Review: THE FLASH: Season 2, Episode 15: King Shark [The CW]

The CW’s The Flash King Shark TV Show Review. The Flash: Season 2, Episode 15: King Shark may actually be treated more as part of the Earth-2 storyline despite it also being a metahuman-of-the-week type of episode. We are all back on Earth-1, but the trip has deeply affected Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) after their return. This brought some drama between our characters along with a huge villain and a major reveal on Zoom that kept us wanting more as we reach another month-long break.

This week’s episode gave King Shark enough screen time that he deserves after that short appearance earlier this season. The show utilized whatever budget they had to create a visually stunning villain that felt more like a movie than what you get on TV. Similar to their work on Gorilla Grodd, King Shark looked so much real and detailed than we care to admit. Even his movements were good, leaving a big mark on screen. Even the climactic battle between The Flash and King Shark was mind-blowing, making it one of the best presentations of Barry’s abilities. The show has really gone all out with the budget to make this a great watch, and it paid off.

The episode was also a crossover of sorts as it brought in Arrow’s John Diggle (David Ramsey) and Lyla (Audrey Maris Anderson). It didn’t really help bringing them into the episode, but it was great to see the shared universe being used to connect the shows once in a while. It’s fun to see Diggle’s reactions to fighting against a metahuman shark and always being amazed by Barry’s super speed, especially now that Lyla gets to experience that first hand. It’s weird that Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) didn’t offer much help since he was the one who first took the big shark down in the first place.

King Shark turned out to be a fun villain rather than a formidable one. The characters even had the chance to make some shark jokes. Using the humor really balanced out with what turned out to be a moderately gloomy and ominous episode. Barry was dealing with a lot of heavy stuff after his return from Earth-2. Some of these problems even relate to what went down towards the end of the first season. Barry blamed himself for opening the breaches between their Earth and Earth-2, causing Zoom to enter the picture. He seemed to be afraid of what he saw Earth-2 Joe (Jesse L. Martin) die in front of him and feels responsible for it.

Despite what happened, this was a very demanding episode for Grant Gustin, and he truly pulled it off. He portrayed a depressed Barry during the first half of the hour before pouring out all emotions onto Joe and Iris (Candice Patton). Diggle was right to point out that Barry in some ways is similar to Oliver in that he keeps carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Barry still has a lot to learn as a superhero by accepting that one person’s death doesn’t make you responsible. Barry seems to have evolved from that by the end of the episode after that moving speech he gave to the team.

We also got to see Barry bond with his soon-to-be sidekick Wally (Keiynan Lonsdale). It looks like the show’s take on Wally may be a little different from the comics, but what remains the same is the familial connection between him and Barry. Wally doesn’t seem to look up to Barry yet as a mentor, but the show seems to be going in the right direction regarding the two of them making a connection. Hopefully we see more interaction between them as Wally continues to be a part of his life.

Cisco also had some problems of his own as he was haunted by the thought of Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) becoming more like Killer Frost after the loss of Jay Garrick (Teddy Sears). It obviously won’t happen with her, and it’s good that Caitlin cleared that with Cisco once she found out the truth. Seeing Cisco worried for Caitlin proved that their friendship is stronger than anything that life throws at them. Even though Caitlin assures Cisco that she won’t go down the same path as her doppelganger, but there seems to be some premonition into that happening. It will be a while until we know for sure if that’s the case.

The episode ended with a big major twist for fans, where they finally revealed the identity of Zoom. The man behind the mask turned out to be none other than Hunter Zolomon, who is also another version of Jay Garrick. The reveal may have been somewhat of a disappointment only because there were other suspects in play like either Joe or Henry to give that huge impact on Barry once he finds out. However, there’s more than meets the eye. There’s also the issue with the mysterious man in the iron mask. There’s still so many questions surrounding this big reveal, like if Jay knew more than he was letting on about his doppelganger or if Jay and Hunter may both be Zoom at different timelines. There’s a lot to go over before the show comes back from hiatus.

‘King Shark’ pulled in all the stops with all that transpired after coming out of Earth-2. Having King Shark gave some great visuals and an awesome fight between Barry and the metahuman creature. All of the fun elements also mixed in with the drama that was happening with Barry and Cisco. The big reveal towards the end should keep viewers invested for a while until the show’s awaited return in a few weeks.

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