The Flash - King Shark - Review: ' We're gonna need a bigger Flash'

Episode 215
Written By Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes
Directed By Hanelle M. Culpepper

Just when you thought it was safe in Central City, the breaches all closed, Zoom has gone, a big man shark returns.
Strangely though it is just what Barry Allen Aka The Flash (Grant Gustin) needs to distract him.
With a few friends from the Arrow universe to help and several Jaws jokes, it proved to be quite and entertaining episode.

Events that happened in Earth 2 and the apparent death of Jay Garrick at the end of the last episode have our hero once again questioning himself.

We pick up directly after the events of the last episode, Cisco(Carlos Valdes) comforts Catlin(Danielle Panabaker) but is worried she will start turning to the dark side. Doctor Wells (Tom Cavanagh) warns both Barry and Cisco not to talk about what happened while on Earth 2. They both keep quiet and get on with things. That’s what they do.The Flash running around the city and Cisco keeping a watchful eye on Caitlin.

In Star City the newly appointed director of A.R.G.U.S, Lyla Michaels (Audrey Marie Anderson) and her hubby John Diggle (David Ramsey) are walking around the facility but in the Aquarium things do not go as planned. We all remember the Man Shark Zoom sent to kill Barry; well he is alive. Fooling the guards with the old dead fish in a tank routine he escapes. Lyla and Diggle arrive just in time to see him dive into the ocean.

Meanwhile, Barry wants anything to distract him from his thoughts. He seems to be taking not only what happened with Jay pretty hard but the events in Earth 2. A family night with Joe (Jesse L. Martin), Iris(Candice Patton) and Wally West(Keiynan Lonsdale) only seems to add further strain between Barry and Wally.

Diggle and Lyla arrive to warn Barry that the Meta Human, King Shark, half man half Shark, who A.R.G.U.S led Barry to believe was dead, isn’t and his goal is the same as before…… kill Barry.
They explain Lyla is trying to clean up her predecessor’s mess (you will remember Waller was shot in the head on Arrow). Seems she wanted to weaponize the Meta Humans. Diggle wants A.R.G.U.S to handle it but Barry won’t sit back as he is the last Earth 2 Henchman. Wells provides some insight to who King Shark was before he became a Meta human shark man. He asks Wells to see if he can track him.
They will station themselves near water and wait for him to surface, they also look up this earth's doppelganger, seems he died and didn’t transform but his wife is still alive and in the same field, Marine Biology they hope she may have some insight that could be helpful. However, Caitlin’s frosty approach doesn’t get them very far until Cisco steps in.

As well as trying to find the Shark Joe is desperate for Barry to have a relationship with Wally. Wally is doing a project and would like Barry’s input.

Watching the waterfront all seems quiet and Diggle and Barry ask about Felicity (I like how these shows work seamlessly into each other). Also, Diggle tells him to stop taking everything on his shoulders as he is always telling Oliver. When the Shark does surface he kills some Agents and disappears again before even The Flash can get there.

The evening with Wally goes from bad to worse, Barry clearly is in a funk and Wally has issues regarding Barry.

Cisco try’s to talk to Caitlin about her behaviour and ends up telling her about Killer Frost. Caitlin is just trying to hold things together. Wells and his daughter try to work on a formula to track King Shark.

Barry has some ideas for Wally’s project but things get very tense. They are interrupted by King Shark giving the Wests home an unplanned skylight. Barry appears to run upstairs but, in fact, is turning into the Flash. The confrontation doesn’t go well leaving Barry bruised.

Wally is clearly rattled and while a man-shark tearing the roof off and running around in pants is something that doesn’t shock the rest of the group he has yet to experience all the meta glories of Central city. Joe’s Sharknado comment did make me laugh. Wally accuses Barry of being a coward and leaves after Joe intervenes. Barry isn’t himself and despite the warning tells Iris and Joe what happened on Earth 2. His guilt over Earth 2 Joe and later Jay’s deaths and leaving that world to Zoom seems to be consuming Barry.

Cisco is really going for it with the Jaws comments but Barry wonders how he managed to track him to the suburbs. (I never knew my qualification in Marine Biology would help with a Flash review). Seems Caitlin is thinking the same thing and how they can use this to make a Flash size lure to catch him. Yes, it the electric current and unfortunately why poor divers working on electric cables in oceans get attacked.

I do think the ending was quick, Barry creating enough electricity and frying the shark but we may get a sequel with A.R.G.U.S taking him away again. I suppose I was hoping for a bit more of a battle.

Barry gives a speech to them all that Oliver queen would be proud of and isn’t going to stop going after Zoom.

The twist at the end as we go to Earth 2 has everyone talking. Zoom is a version of Jay Garrick…..
With that, we are left to ponder until the Flash returns on 22nd March and I will definitely be brushing up regarding The Flash comics.






Will they be able to return to Earth 2?

Is it another version of Jay Garrick in the Iron Mask?

Wally West we know from comics is a speedster… will this come about?

Please post in the comments below

About the Author - Zandarl

Zandarl a Writer and avid TV and film buff ,once described as a wilful hedonist, has travelled all over and lived in the states for a short time. Now based in the UK she attends cons when able and meets stars from her favourite shows .Her first start in fandom was Xena and since then has admired tv shows that portray strong women. Her current favorites being Rizzoli and Isles and Once Upon a Time as well as anything comic book related. A regular movie goer she watches most genres but never ask her to watch a horror movie.

Recent Reviews (All Reviews)