‘The Flash’ Season 2, Episode 23 Spoilers: Barry Allen fights in ‘Race of his life’ as Wally West deals with truth (Review)

Season finale original air date: May 24 on The CW

Actor Grant Gustin is Barry Allen in The Flash on The CW (RTX28VYG) — Actor Grant Gustin arrives at Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards in Inglewood, California March 12, 2016. Reuters/Phil McCarten

“The Flash” Season 2, Episode 22 (“Invincible”) aired May 17 on The CW, killing another character and crushing Barry Allen (Grant Gustin). In the finale episode next week, Barry goes all out versus Zoom a.k.a. Jay Garrick (Teddy Sears). Meanwhile, Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale) has to process what he just learned.

Spoiler alert: This update contains “The Flash” Season 2 spoilers. This is also a quick recap of the highlights of The Flash 2x22. Episode 23 (“Race of His Life”) airs May 24 on The CW.

Henry Allen (John Wesley Shipp) dies in this week’s new episode – so soon after Barry got his speed back, and just when the wrongfully jailed father decided to stick around in Central City. Based on “The Flash” Season 2, Episode 23 promo, his death will hold, i.e. Barry Allen is probably not going to travel through time again for a reset.

‘The Flash’ Season 2 Finale Spoilers: Is Henry Allen really dead?

In The Flash 2x23 promo, Barry swears before Henry’s grave that he will take Zoom’s life. Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) thinks this is outrageous. Ultimately, Zoom wants a big race in the second season finale. Zoom wants to show off and know for sure that he is much faster than Barry Allen. Indeed, it is the race of Barry’s life.

Back to “The Flash” Season 2, Episode 22: Wally West finally learns that Barry Allen is The Flash under very tragic circumstances. When Zoom shows up at Joe’s home and abducts Henry, Barry is left with no choice but to run after them, leaving Wally’s jaw on the floor. Moments prior to this, Wally gets to save Barry from the doppelganger of Laurel Lance a.k.a. Black Canary in Earth-2, Black Siren (Katie Cassidy).

Some episodes ago, Wally has mocked Barry for disappearing when the King Shark attacked. Joe quickly admonished him, but he couldn’t get it. Now Wally knows the family secret. Kid Flash in DC Comics is expected to apologise, and perhaps he would insist even more to join The Flash in his fights. Wally West is not a speedster in The CW version, though. At least not yet, despite being hit by the second particle accelerator explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs.

‘The Flash’ Season 2: Is Henry Allen’s doppelganger the man in the iron mask?

Some fans are guessing that the man in the iron mask, the stranger that Barry vowed to save from Zoom several episodes ago, is a doppelganger of Henry Allen. If this is the case, then John Wesley Shipp is likely to return in Season 3 and explore some prospective connection with Amanda Pays’ Tina McGee.

Henry and Tina finally meet in The Flash 2x22, making fans of the 90s Flash a bit nostalgic. Shipp was Barry Allen in the 90s television, while Pays played the same character. They had chemistry then, and they still have it now. It is a shame Henry dies so soon after meeting Tina in this version.

Incidentally, McGee calls Barry Allen by name earlier in the episode, revealing to the superhero that she knows his secret.

Fans have other speculations on the identity of Zoom’s masked prisoner in Earth-2. They have named some good guys, hoping to see the actors return for “The Flash” Season 3. Ronnie (Robbie Amell) and Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett) are in the mix of fan guesses.

The second season finale of “The Flash” is expected to come with surprises, shockers and an intriguing cliffhanger. Fans might see more of Cisco’s (Carlos Valdes) power. Grant Gustin himself tweeted the dialogue between Cisco and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) in one of the coolest scenes in The Flash 2x22: