The Flash, S2 Ep07 – Gorilla Warfare

“Gorilla Warfare” sees the return of Grodd to Central City, but after last week’s bout with Zoom Barry is helpless to stop him. Fortunately for Barry he’s not alone, and as usual has his team of friends by his side to assist until he is back in shape and ready to fight. Putting Barry out of commission for a little while allows other characters to shine including Cisco, Earth-2 Dr. Wells, and Caitlin.

Barry’s dad returns to lend a hand

Throughout the majority of “Gorilla Warfare” Barry is still healing from having his back broken by Zoom. As the episode progresses he does fully heal physically, but emotionally is another story. We eventually get the sense that Barry is embarrassed and disappointed in himself for allowing Zoom to take him down. After this season’s premiere The Flash is seen as the hero of Central City and was even given the key to the city. He feels as if he’s let his city down, and this is preventing him from running at full speed despite his spine being fully healed.

It’s tragic seeing Barry go through this, but his tragedy is over almost too quickly once his dad returns to Central City to help return Barry’s confidence in himself. I had thought the writers would milk this story line a bit more before putting Barry back into action. That being said, considering how he freezes up later while face to face with Grodd, it’s safe to say Barry isn’t completely back to normal despite hearing his father’s words.

Grodd, being back in town, begins to mind control scientists and steal pieces of tech. He eventually mind controls Caitlin and brings her to his secret lair, where we find out about Grodd’s true motives. He requests that Caitlin make more Gorillas like him. We are now able to sympathize with Grodd as we see he is not just a monster, but a one-of-a-kind gorilla who is alone and wants other gorillas to relate to. Caitlin, being the one Grodd chose to help him, seems to sympathize most with him and her sympathy allows her to assist in taking Grodd down later on.

After seeing actor Tom Cavanagh briefly sport his Reverse-Flash costume and allowing Earth-2 Dr. Wells to trick Grodd and rescue Caitlin, the team comes up with the plan to send Grodd through a breach leading to Earth-2. Dr. Wells implies that there is an area in his world where Grodd may feel more at home. By this point in the episode Barry has gained his speed back, thanks to the help of his father, and sends Gorilla on a foot-chase around Central City, luring him to a breach. As stated before, Barry does freeze up, but Caitlin is able to finish the job and lure Grodd closer to the breach. Without Grodd’s trust of Caitlin they may not have been able to stop Grodd from continuing his mission.

Gorilla City

Every time we get a glimpse into Earth-2, it seems like that world is closer to comic book canon than Earth-1. I would hope to see more of that world as the season progresses. This time around we got to see a brief shot of Gorilla City, which in the comics, is a large ape community ruled by Grodd. Seeing Grodd make his way to Earth-2 Gorilla City was awesome as a DC Comics fan. Hopefully, this won’t be the last time we do see it.

“Gorilla Warfare” also introduced an element that will lead to the upcoming Arrow/Flash crossover, and the eventual premiere of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Cisco gets a little friendlier with the barista he met in last week’s episode, who we all already know is Hawkgirl based on the promos for The CW’s upcoming spin-off. He vibes when he is by her and sees her in full Hawkgirl getup. Her story, as well as the introduction of Hawkman, will be delved into deeper in next month’s crossover episode, “Legends of Today”. Click here for the promo.

Overall, “Gorilla Warfare” was a very satisfying episode. I would’ve liked Barry’s broken back dilemma to last a little longer, but as I stated before, he may not be fully recovered emotionally. It’s always nice seeing other characters shine while the leading hero is out of commission, and the inclusion of Gorilla City was a delightful treat. Also, while the CG isn’t perfect, Grodd always looks amazing on screen. I’m definitely looking forward to the next episode, which unfortunately will not air until December 1. Until then feel free to let us know what you thought about “Gorilla City” in the comments, and share any predictions on what’s to come in this season of The Flash.