The Flash
"The Flash" Season 2, episode 14 saw Barry Allen (Grant Gustin, right) desperately try to escape both his nemesis Zoom (left) and Earth-2. The CW

Continuing from its visit to the parallel universe known as Earth-2 from last week’s exciting episode, “The Flash” saw its hero face his greatest challenge yet. With several lives, including his own, on the line, the speedster’s friends pulled out all the stops to save him from certain death in Season 2, episode 14 of the hit CW show.

The episode opens on Earth-2 with the mysterious, still unknown, villain Zoom going on a rampage through Central City in search of Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh). After the events of last week’s episode, the evil speedster knows that the scientist is working with his new prisoner, The Flash (Grant Gustin). Zoom’s ultimate goal is to steal The Flash's speed powers, but he needs Wells to do it. Realizing that his time is running out, Wells instructs all of S.T.A.R. Labs to evacuate and he just barely manages to hide from the villain’s search efforts. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) returns from his very strange encounter with his Earth-2 doppelganger the previous night and explains the whole ordeal to Wells. Not surprisingly, it sounds pretty strange being recited in one breath.

As they’re trying to figure out a way to track Zoom and rescue his other captive, Wells’ daughter Jesse (Violett Beane), they’re interrupted by the only man that can help them with their task. The Earth-2 version of Barry wakes up from getting knocked out the previous day and demands to be released from S.T.A.R. Labs. Cisco and Wells explain the very complicated situation to him and they proceed to enlist the help of Barry 2’s wife, Detective Iris West (Candice Patton). She tells them that it will be impossible to simply track down Zoom’s lair, especially when he’s hunting them. Her police instincts tell her to find someone adjacent to Zoom and get them to flip. Cisco suggests Killer Frost, the doppelganger of their Earth-1 friend Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker). Unlike Zoom, Barry 2 has no difficulty using his skills as a CSI to track her whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Barry 1 is stuck inside Zoom’s prison along with Jesse and a third captive, an odd man in a metal mask that keeps knocking on the walls. After hours of his incessant tapping, Barry 1 figures out that the knocking is an old POW communication code. Using what he remembers from it, he determines that this man has been trying to spell the name of the Earth-2 version of The Flash, Jay Garrick (Teddy Sears). Garrick arrived at the beginning of the season to instruct Earth-1 about the parallel dimensions and Zoom and has been residing there ever since. Before he can finish, Zoom arrives and beats Barry 1 within an inch of his life to stop all the prisoner's chit-chat.

Speaking of Garrick, he’s back on Earth-1 with Caitlin trying to figure out how to stop the villain Geomancer (Adam Stafford). The meta-human with the ability to cause earthquakes has a thing for destroying superheroes, so he calls out The Flash with an attack on a hospital. With Garrick being the only speedstir in town, he takes some of the Velocity-9 serum that Caitlin developed and rescues all the civilians. However, in doing so he leads Geomancer right to S.T.A.R. Labs, where it’s up to Caitlin and Iris to fight him off. Thanks to a lucky shot from one of Cisco’s containment guns, they capture the villain and send him to Iron Heights Prison.

While all this is going on, Wells, Cisco, Iris and Barry 2 head to the woods in search of Killer Frost’s signal. They find her and implore her to tell them where Zoom’s lair is. She reminds them that if she gives that information up, Zoom will kill her. On the other hand, if she turns them in, he’ll likely reward her for plucking the biggest thorn out of his side. A fight breaks out, but the combined forces of a heavily armed Cisco, Wells and Iris are enough to subdue her. After some talk, she agrees to take them to Zoom’s secret hideaway. When the finally reach it, at the top of a giant cliff, they find Barry 1, Jesse and the mysterious prisoner at the top.

Zoom could literally come back at any moment, so Wells wastes very little time with an emotional reunion with his daughter. Their haste isn't rewarded, however, as they find that nothing can break through the glass that’s containing Barry and the masked man. The only way out is to phase through it, but Barry 1 simply can’t muster up the speed to do it. He tells the group to cut their losses, be pleased with the Jesse rescue and return to Earth-2 without him. They’re about to when Barry 2 steps up and gives a very successful pep talk. He tells his doppelganger that he risked life and limb to prove to his wife and himself that he could handle it. He tells Barry 1 that if he can do that, his doppelganger can phase through some glass. Juiced by his alternate-self’s words, Barry 1 escapes.

The effort is moot, however, as Zoom shows up immediately after and attempts to murder Jesse in front of Wells. Witnessing the whole ordeal, Killer Frost finally turns on Zoom and encases him in ice — a very temporary solution. It does buys the gang enough time to escape back to the portal at S.T.A.R. Labs., with just moments to go before it closes for good.

Back on Earth-1, Iris, Caitlin, Jay, and, Joe (Jesse L. Martin) are waiting on baited breath for the gang to return before the portal closes for good. With Zoom in hot pursuit, everyone from Earth-1, as well as Wells and his daughter, race through the portal at the last second. Once they’re safely across, Jay attempts to close to portal, but is stopped by the hand of Zoom, which pokes right through his chest. The episode ends on a very grim note as Jay Garrick’s body is pulled back through the portal to Earth-2, leaving Team Flash, and the audience, completely stunned.