# The Flash S02E20: Rupture **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2016, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870 "2016-05-04T09:46:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/1 "2016-05-04T09:46:20Z")
Most of the episode was a predictable, by-the-numbers story, unfolding pretty much as Wells said it would. Did anyone really think Barry _wasn’t_ going to choose regain his powers? It’s like the writers had a checklist of plot points. They even brought back Henry Allen just so Barry’s three dads could explain to the viewer Barry’s dilemma, as if we didn’t already know: Wells: Barry, you have to do it! Henry: Don’t do it, Barry! Joe: Do what you think is right! It was getting so predictable that I thought that they were going for a fake-out and _not_ have Wally and Jesse get caught in the particle accelerator explosion as everyone was expecting. Nope, they had to check off those boxes, too. Then came the ending. I did not expect that ending! That was worthy of being the cliffhanger for the season finale. In fact, last season ended with Barry disappearing into the wormhole. This season, Barry’s disappearance is just the setup for the last three episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/2 "2016-05-04T10:59:26Z")
I did not see that coming, either, and it’s the bit that redeemed the episode from banal predictability. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/3 "2016-05-04T12:52:35Z")
Wonder if there’s going to be any mention of the military going after Zoom. I know Thawne murdered the general who was weaponizing metahumans, but did anybody else pick up on his work? You have to figure somebody other than the CCPD is trying to figure out how to stop him. I kept thinking they were going to forget the chemicals that Barry was originally exposed to. Glad they didn’t. Which reminds me, did they ever establish how long Barry was in his lab unconscious after being struck by lightning? I know he was in a coma for nine months, but he was working alone. Did someone else in the building know he was there and go up to check on him, or even just hear the breaking window? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/4 "2016-05-04T14:19:02Z")
So… A) Was that Future-Joe or Evil Earth-3 Joe at the very end? I’m assuming evil E3. B) Barry’s paternal grandma’s name was “Garrick”? So…the man in the Iron Mask could be the real Jay Garrick E2 and Zoom just swiped the name. C) Cisco’s brother is a huge douche–“Sure, I’ll make up with you Cisco. All you have to do is save my life a few times and we’re good for a week or so” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/5 "2016-05-04T15:41:21Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > C) Cisco’s brother is a huge douche–“Sure, I’ll make up with you Cisco. All you have to do is save my life a few times and we’re good for a week or so” :rolleyes: His derisive skepticism about Cisco having superpowers wouldn’t have made me raise an eyebrow, except it happened right after totally buying in on Cisco having journeyed to an alternate Earth. It’s like, _okay, you went to a parallel universe and came back and didn’t mention it, but you expect me to believe you can do amazing stuff?_ ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/6 "2016-05-04T15:54:04Z")
To be fair, Cisco’s metahumanness doesn’t involve either visible powers or visible physical changes. It makes it just a bit harder to be convincing. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/7 "2016-05-04T16:21:01Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > To be fair, Cisco’s metahumanness doesn’t involve either visible powers or visible physical changes. It makes it just a bit harder to be convincing. As I recall it, he didn’t show his brother a videotape of Cisco And Friends walking through a portal into another world, either; it’s just something his brother heard, and believed – but soon thereafter, the very idea that Cisco is one of the metahumans in this city that has metahumans in it, it is to scoff. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/8 "2016-05-04T16:24:18Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > So… > A) Was that Future-Joe or Evil Earth-3 Joe at the very end? I’m assuming evil E3. To me, Earth 3 is Supergirl’s Earth, and I don’t think Barry’s there again. So it’s possibly E-4 Joe. If it were Future Joe, I think he’d be obviously older. However, I don’t know that he’s evil. I wasn’t getting a “bwah-ha-ha” vibe (so to speak). He may just want to protect Barry. I’m hoping they show when Jesse and Wally are found. Heaven help Harry then. Something else occurred to me: they assumed that all the metahumans are evil, and have just kept their heads down out of fear of the Flash. I’m betting a few are good, and will step up next season. Wonder what Green Arrow will think about this whole situation? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/9 "2016-05-04T16:35:37Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > To me, Earth 3 is Supergirl’s Earth, and I don’t think Barry’s there again. So it’s possibly E-4 Joe. If it were Future Joe, I think he’d be obviously older. However, I don’t know that he’s evil. I wasn’t getting a “bwah-ha-ha” vibe (so to speak). He may just want to protect Barry. I may have missed something, but: are we sure Barry vanished to a literal other world? Like, is he maybe in a nebulous kind-of-like-the-afterlife-or-a-dream realm, complete with a spirit guide who’s taken A Form You Are Comfortable With, plus there’s swirling energies behind the painted backdrop that lo only _seems_ to be the reality we know but truly 'tis the raw stuff of imagination and metaphor? You know. One of those. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/10 "2016-05-04T16:48:26Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I may have missed something, but: are we sure Barry vanished to a literal other world? Like, is he maybe in a nebulous kind-of-like-the-afterlife-or-a-dream realm, complete with a spirit guide who’s taken A Form You Are Comfortable With, plus there’s swirling energies behind the painted backdrop that lo only _seems_ to be the reality we know but truly 'tis the raw stuff of imagination and metaphor? > > You know. One of those. You may be right. Remember the series finale of **Quantum Leap** when Sam “leaped” into that bar? Oh, and I know they won’t do this, but wouldn’t it be funny if Zoom went to Earth 3 figuring he could conquer it easily, and ran into Supergirl? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/11 "2016-05-04T16:57:40Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I may have missed something, but: are we sure Barry vanished to a literal other world? Like, is he maybe in a nebulous kind-of-like-the-afterlife-or-a-dream realm, complete with a spirit guide who’s taken A Form You Are Comfortable With, plus there’s swirling energies behind the painted backdrop that lo only _seems_ to be the reality we know but truly 'tis the raw stuff of imagination and metaphor? > > You know. One of those. Where he meets Hurley, Dumbledore, the first Slayer, and Boothby who all advise him to “believe in the ball and throw himself” ([https://memegenerator.net/instance/58795032](https://memegenerator.net/instance/58795032))? Could be… ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/12 "2016-05-04T17:12:31Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I may have missed something, but: are we sure Barry vanished to a literal other world? Like, is he maybe in a nebulous kind-of-like-the-afterlife-or-a-dream realm, complete with a spirit guide who’s taken A Form You Are Comfortable With, plus there’s swirling energies behind the painted backdrop that lo only _seems_ to be the reality we know but truly 'tis the raw stuff of imagination and metaphor? > > You know. One of those. Ahh yes, the ending for “Contact” one of those. ---
**Author:** ![CorneaGenii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@CorneaGenii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CorneaGenii)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/13 "2016-05-04T18:54:58Z")
For what it’s worth, my interpretation of next week’s scenes with Barry was that he was actually inside the Speed Force instead of an alternate Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/14 "2016-05-04T21:53:34Z")
Right, as in the comics, he has become one with the Speed Force and will return faster than ever and with additional powers. And Kid Flash and Jesse Quick are born. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/15 "2016-05-04T22:24:19Z")
Come to think of it, Barry may be able to take out Zoom simply by giving Zoom more power than his body can handle, shorting him out or killing him. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/16 "2016-05-04T22:35:41Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Come to think of it, Barry may be able to take out Zoom simply by giving Zoom more power than his body can handle, shorting him out or killing him. That’s pretty much how Trajectory killed herself, by ODing on Velocity-9. ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/17 "2016-05-04T22:59:06Z")
So, I missed the preview for next episode. WHat happened? Never mind, I found it on youtube. He is asking Iris ‘please let me go back’ too… probably some sort of vision or being living in the speedforce that’s taking their shape? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/18 "2016-05-04T23:08:33Z")
Not sure. Apparently Barry gets to talk to his dead mom. Kevin Smith directed the episode. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/19 "2016-05-05T20:08:26Z")
So why did Zoom, uh, zoom in, deliver a line of expository dialogue, and then dash off? How did he know about the experiment? (Or is he Cisco’s patronus…?) ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870/20 "2016-05-06T01:51:17Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > So why did Zoom, uh, zoom in, deliver a line of expository dialogue, and then dash off? How did he know about the experiment? (Or is he Cisco’s patronus…?) JayZ saw the sudden change in weather centered on S.T.A.R. Labs and realized what was up. By the time he got there, Barry had become one with the Speedforce. To everyone it looked like they had just incinerated him so of course Zoom just had to mock Team Flash in his psychopathic way. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-s02e20-rupture/753870.md?page=2)