'The Flash' Recap: 'Attack on Gorilla City'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

The last time we left Barry Allen and all of his friends at S.T.A.R. Labs, we were treated to something they've all struggled with as season three has rolled on...teamwork. At times their own interests and their own fears have taken precedence over everything else but the appearance of Clive Yorkin forced the team to pull together, to support one another and make miracles happen once again and it could not have come at a better time, because this week's episode of The Flash put the team in the midst of their biggest challenge to date when it comes to changing the future to save dear Iris.

Because the return of Jesse Quick to ask for Barry's help in saving her father, went far beyond a simple mistake or an accident...it meant the return of Grodd and a risky gambit to save Harry's life, one that went to some incredibly dark places and it made 'Attack on Gorilla City' one of the most intense episodes that The Flash has put together this season, mainly because of the lengths the team had to go to save Harry Wells from Grodd's evil grasp and because of the fact that Barry finally had to face a question that every good superhero has to face at some point or another in their career....is it at all possible for a hero to willingly take a life?

Of course, you're probably wondering, how on earth would Grodd play into a story these days since the last time we saw him, the Flash had marooned him in the Gorilla City on Earth 2 and the answer to that is simple...Grodd used Harry as bait. By sending out a message that was 'friendly' to humankind that only Harry could decipher, the plucky scientist took a team out to that mysterious city, wherein those that came with Wells were slaughtered and only Harry remained and Grodd knew full well that Flash would come to save him and he did indeed, bringing along Cisco, Caitlin and Julian for good measure, only to find himself and his friends captured. But the reason for their capture, was stunning to say the least, since Grodd appealed to Flash's heroic nature, asking for help to defeat the leader of the City, Solovar, to prevent an all out assault on Earth Prime.

That's where Barry was forced to ponder on the notion of murder in the name of the greater good. Because it didn't take long for Solovar to threaten all of their lives, forcing Barry to make a deal to fight Solovar one on one to spare the lives of his friends and well...considering that it was likely going to be a fight to the death...Barry had quite the decision to make; end the King's life, or find a way to fight fair. Of course Barry chose the latter and defeated Solovar only to discover...that seeing Solovar fall, was Grodd's plan all along. By beating their leader, the Gorillas feared man, allowing for Grodd to seize control and assemble an army, before using Cisco's powers to open an breach to take said army to Central City and level it in the name of revenge. But Barry could not allow that to happen, and put himself on death's doorstep with Caitlin's help to stage a daring escape that saved Harry and left Grodd's plan in tatters.  

If anything it truly seemed as though the gang had finally changed the future, and the Gorilla City attack would never happen...but alas, the show continued to pose the question as to whether or not the future can be changed because as it turns out....Grodd had a backup plan. He found Gypsy from Earth 19 and brought her to his world and it would seem, the attack is still coming and there's still a chance that Iris may die and when all is said and done, wow...what an episode. It just seems like the team cannot get a break, and while I'd like to maintain hope that they can change the future...you really have to wonder if that's at all possible at this point. Either way, points to this episode for finding a way to challenge the characters in thoughtful fashion in an episode that really didn't require a whole lot of thinking and I guess we will have to wait until next week to see if there's some way that Barry can prevent Central City from taking any damage when it comes to Grodd's attack if he hopes to save Iris from her unfortunate fate. Until next time.

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