Coming off his huge sojourn into the Speed Force, I presumed that Barry, like he and others on Team Flash say, became a changed man. A humbled man. A leader for Team Flash for sure, but the idea now that he's putting his mind and full resources to beating Zoom, and not just flailing wildly.

 

 

At first glance after the events of "Invincible," it's clear that Barry still needs to work on certain aspects of his leadership of Team Flash. Those close to him are seeing it now. They're all certainly glad to have Barry back, especially now that Zoom has unleashed his army of Earth-2 metahumans to menace Central City and the world of Earth-1, but they have to rein him in. They do that to a certain extent, although I would argue a more effective approach would have been to gang up on him with all of their collective concerns rather than having each individual father figure do a pep talk for him. Those one-on-one pep talks, which now take the feel of warnings for Barry, are right in the wheelhouse of what the show does. Change things up.

 

I am advocating some kind of change in both the show and Barry's methodology because actions taken in "Invincible" coming out of that methodology aren't always consistent. Barry assures Joe and Henry and Iris that he'll try to exercise caution, reeling back his optimistic viewpoint in light of his experience in the Speed Force, but at times, it comes off as still cocky. I have to resign myself during those times to the thought that Barry will always remain too cocksure of himself, so much so that he will rush into situations without really thinking. Humility just isn't a big part of Barry's personality. The budget constraints of the network factor into what the Earth-2 metahumans are doing in destroying parts of Central City, but Barry takes care of them a bit too easily. The season has been so poorly paced and portioned out that the feeling of a "metapocalypse" (a term I don't care for) raining down on Central City doesn't quite have the desperate feeling that the show wants from the plot.

 

 

Time and plot has to be saved for introducing Earth-2 Laurel Lance, aka Black Siren, as Zoom's top lieutenant. This development is much-anticipated since most fans of the DC TV universe haven't really recovered from Laurel's death on Arrow. The sad thing is that, while Katie Cassidy tries her hardest to imbue Black Siren with some kind of presence, the character comes and goes within the plot that involves Zoom's larger plans for defeating Barry. Black Siren just can't fill the hole that was left by Laurel's physical departure. Like the other Earth-2 metahumans, there just isn't enough time spent with the character to make a real deep impression. Also, it doesn't help that Zoom basically has Black Siren -- whose screaming power seems to be occurring naturally rather than with the aid of some device like Black Canary used -- bring down certain buildings in Central City just to draw Barry into certain frays. The scene where Caitlin and Cisco fool Black Siren by impersonating Reverb and Killer Frost was the one bit that felt like the show having fun with the construct it has created this season, but the masquerade had to come to an end just as it was beginning to get interesting.

 

All of the episode's various misdirects are designed as subterfuge for the real purpose to Zoom's plan: To get Team Flash to let their collective guard down. They think they've won by eliminating all of the Earth-2 metahumans from Earth-1 (using a very inventive solution of releasing a vibrational shockwave that knocks out everyone from Earth-2), put a defeated Black Siren in the pipeline, and celebrating with a big dinner at home. When Cisco vibes the total destruction of Earth-2's Central City, that's where everything goes downhill. Seeing the birds on the ground was actually a brilliant misdirect for the audience, as I thought it was a prelude to Black Siren's arrival. The larger picture is much more dire, though it makes me worry that the season finale will be entirely focused on a battle between Zoom and the Flash on Earth-2. But Barry can wait for that showdown, right? No, Zoom forces his hand by kidnapping Henry, luring Barry back to his childhood home, then coldly murdering Henry as he says his goodbye to his son.

 

 

In the immediate reaction to what occurs, it registers the requisite shock, but that doesn't last very long. This feels like a cheap way to ratchet up the stakes right before the season finale. Plus, the episode had kind of telegraphed the death without outright saying it. The way Zoom paraded around, repeatedly telling Barry that they were leading parallel existences, as well as how Henry's character became redundant in his advice aimed towards humbling Barry. The fact that the Man in the Iron Mask from Earth-2 is Earth-2 Henry Allen is now the frontrunner for his true identity. So, like Laurel Lance's brief return here, Henry Allen's death might not truly be permanent. The episode leaves on a puzzling, if rather abrupt, moment, one that leaves the season finale with no foreseeable margin of error. "Invincible" is better than most of the second season has been of recent, but it can't escape the nagging feeling (from myself at least) that everyone left something on the table.