The Flash Seemingly Kills a Beloved DC Character

Warning: Spoilers ahead for tonight’s episode of The Flash, titled “Escape From Earth-2.”

Last week’s jaunt to Earth-2 ended on a dangerous note, with Team Flash scattered and Barry the prisoner of Zoom. It was a jarring ending to a fairly light episode, which had been dominated by an unprecedented number of Easter eggs and a lot of fun exploring the new world.

This week wasn’t without its humor — Earth-2 Barry was basically a comic foil for the team, even while he underwent his own mini hero’s journey — but things went from bad to worse a number of times in the episode, and by the time all was said and done, not everyone was left standing.

Killer Frost, who eventually helped Team Flash get back home, spent much of the episode being reminded of her human side — Caitlin Snow. How strongly Caitlin loves, and the damage it caused when she lost Ronnie Raymond, the love of her life, were hit on over and over again in building up a scenario where Zoom’s most trusted aide would finally turn on him.

But, moments after she did, Zoom reached through the final, closing breach between Earth-1 and Earth-2…and literally snatched Caitlin’s current love interest away and out of her life.

In doing so, he phased his hand through Jay’s chest, seemingly killing him, before dragging the (ex-)speedster back over to Earth-2. And in many circumstances, that would be pretty unequivocally dead — especially since Zoom, having just been betrayed by Killer Frost and having lost Barry, can’t be in a great mood.

Of course, we didn’t see him actually DIE, and this is comics TV. There has also been a small-but-vocal contingent certain that Jay is Zoom himself, and while it would be hard to believe given the last ten minutes or so of tonight’s episode (where each was active and visible on different Earths), you would have said that after “The Man in the Yellow Suit” last year, when Harrison Wells got the snot kicked out of him by the Reverse-Flash. And we all remember how that worked out.

Garrick, the original Flash in the comics, first appeared in 1940 and first crossed over with Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash, in 1961. He made his live-action TV debut on Smallville, in a one-episode appearance in “Absolute Justice,” before coming to The Flash as a recurring guest this season starting with the season premiere.