He used to be the face behind the mask of Barry’s greatest nemesis, the Reverse Flash. Harrison Wells is back on CW’s The Flash and he is a completely different person, except for the fact that he looks, talks and walks exactly like the old Wells. That’s alternate realities and the multiverse for you though, confusing as heck.
Anyway while Cisco called this new Wells just a big ole jerk and not evil, is that really true? Can Team Flash really trust this new Wells? It looks like a question that might be answered in “Enter Zoom” has Barry and the gang go forward with Wells’ plan to draw out the villainous Zoom.
What We Know …
Whether he is evil or not, the Earth-2 version of Wells is not a nice guy. It’s not exactly like the version of Wells we first met was exactly cuddly but at least he was more cordial in public than this new Wells. Yet there is something to be said for someone who is so upfront about their disdain then being devious. This new Wells might not be a pleasant person to be around but his blunt nature and frankness does make somewhat more trustworthy than the original Wells. The guy who tells you he hates you to your face is a lot more reliable than the one who smiles while holding a knife behind his back.
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Yet this Wells does have secrets and things he is keeping from Team Flash. We, as the audience, know that Zoom is keeping Wells’ daughter, Jesse, captive. This seems like it would give Wells every reason to work against Zoom but he has remained quiet about it. Wells is a proud man (obviously) and unwilling to admit faults. Yet when Jay Garrick was yelling at Wells for why he decided to help take down Zoom now, Wells had the perfect retort. It might have been embarrassing or shameful for Wells to admit that his daughter was kidnapped but it also would’ve been the best way to shut Jay up. We just met this new Wells but I’m sure we can all say that if Earth-2 Wells had an opportunity to shut Jay Garrick up, he would take it.
… What Does It Mean
This all seems to suggest that Zoom is blackmailing Wells into working for him. The seasoned TV watcher knows that Team Flash’s plan to trap Zoom in “Enter Zoom” is going to fail. The Flash is a fast moving show (pun intended) but no show moves so fast that it eliminates its villain for the season in episode six. Barry and crew will fail to defeat Zoom so the only question is why and I think we can point our collective fingers towards Wells.
Just because Wells is working for Zoom now, I don’t think that is how things are going to stay. Granted I’m probably the worst judge of character here. In season one, I kept holding out hope that the original Wells wasn’t the Reverse Flash even after we learned he was a speedster. In that respect I am just as clueless and trusting as Team Flash. Sill I can’t see The Flash going through with another evil Wells storyline in season two. They brought Tom Cavanagh back for a reason and can’t be to tell roughly the same story they told in season one.
The much more likely, and more dramatically satisfying, possibility is that Team Flash discovers Wells secrets very quickly and he turns sides. I don’t want Wells to lose his hostile jerk edge because Tom Cavanagh is hilarious and oddly likable at playing an utterly callous individual. I would hope that after the terrible trapping Zoom plan fails in “Enter Zoom”, Wells will confess that his daughter has been kidnapped. The team then all works together making Wells a double agent and they’ll try to save his daughter while defeating Wells.
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But what do you think? Is Wells innocent of all Zoom-related crimes? Is he being blackmailed into working with the newest evil Speedster on the block? Is it more of a partnership? Is there hope for redemption for this Wells?
The Flash season 2 airs Tuesdays at 8pm on The CW.
(Image and video courtesy of The CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
