The Flash – King Shark vs. Gorilla Grodd

By starrymag | March 11, 2019

By: Malasha Parker

 

 

The Flash (Grant Gustin) and XS (Jessica Parker-Kennedy) are laying on the ground as people scream and scatter around them. Gorilla Grodd stands over them as Barry says that he can’t move. Grodd beats his chest and then races towards King Shark.

 

We jump 12 hours back to ST.A.R.Labs. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) announces that they finally have the metahuman cure. Nobody reacts because they’re waiting to here the “but” and it comes when Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) says that they still need to test it before they can give it to Cicada. They want to save the meta’s are targeting and they need to know if the cure is safe. Cisco says that when they made it they had decided that it would always be a choice to take the cure. Sherloque (Tom Cavanagh) offers if someone from another earth can take it. Barry realizes that there is someone still on Earth-1 that came from Earth-2.

 

They got to A.R.G.U.S. and meet with Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson). Barry introduces Nora and they tell her why they need to see King Shark (David Hayter). She tells then she doesn’t know if he’ll take it or not, but he’s a lot more talkative these days.

 

Iris (Candice Patton) and Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) are looking at pictures of Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and Jenna from their trip to see Wally in Tibet. Joe comes in and says that after visiting he understands why Wally left. Iris asks if he’s ever coming back from Tibet, but Joe doesn’t know. He says Wally’s really happy there so if he wants he should stay there. Joe and Cecile share a sweet moment then she leaves to go get the baby. Joe starts talking to Iris about Cicada, but Iris seems a little put off about it. He starts speculating more and Iris diverts the conversation by saying she’ll go make them some coffee. When she gets up to make it, Joe looks after her suspiciously.

 

Barry, Nora, Cisco, Caitlin and Lyla go to the shore to meet with Dr. Tanya Lamden (Zibby Allen). She had been doing research on cases just like King Shark’s. Her late husband is the same man from Earth-2 who is King Shark. She has been figuring out a way to help him communicate more effectively because his brain was becoming more shark-like. She uses a telepathic crown to help him communicate. They tell her that they may be able to turn him human again and ask to talk to him. Tanya puts the earbuds in so that she can talk to him and successfully gets him to come to the surface. He asks if it can really help, but before they can answer King Shark throws the device off of his head and runs away.

 

They don’t know what went wrong, so they invite Tanya back to S.T.A.R. Labs in order for her to fix the device and bring him back. Barry isn’t so sure that the way they’ll have to capture him is going to work anymore.

 

Joe is recapping a story that happened on his Tibet trip when Iris asks her if she can work from their home today. He tells her that Cecile told him about her new office and she makes up an excuse saying that the plumbing is bad right now so she can’t be their. Joe offers to send her a good plumber, but Iris tries to refuse. He says he’ll send it over quickly so Iris says okay and tells Joe she’ll go to the office. She quickly leaves.

 

Cisco and Tanya are trying to figure out how to fix their issue. Sherloque stands to the side and sparks up a conversation with Tanya, suggesting that she may have a more than professional relationship with Shay. Cisco gets a beep and the link up of their devices is working. Barry and Nora come in and Tanya lets them know that all she has to do is link everything up. She leaves with Sherloque while Barry tells Cisco to get the cure ready. Caitlin tells them that they got a location and Barry, Cisco and Nora head down.

 

King Shark comes out of the water and Nora gets the device on his head. Tanya starts to talk to him so that he will know they are not a threat. Instead of responding, he grabs Cisco. Before King Shark can swallow him whole, Barry gets on his back and stabs him with the cure. He drops Cisco. As the cure starts to work, the team watches on as King Shark turns back into human Shay (Dan Payne).

 

They have Shay in the med bay and he wakes up frantic. Tanya manages to calm him down. He asks how he was changed into a human again. He asks if it’ll be forever and they tell him that there is still dark matter and that once they adjust it they’ll be able to make it permanent with the next dose. Sherloque asks if he should be held accountable for his actions and Shay thinks that he should. He starts talking about what he remembers and how he felt. He doesn’t remember what happened today though. When he reaches for Tanya, his arm starts to turn back into a shark fin, realizing that the dark matter in his body is starting to replicate. Barry tells them to let him know when the second dose is ready and walks out with Cisco and Caitlin following after him.

 

Caitlin and Cisco are upset that Barry gave Shay the cure without getting his permission first. Barry tells Cisco that he saved him so he didn’t have any other choice, but Caitlin explains that’s not the point. They agreed that they needed permission before they administered the cure. Barry says it was a win-win situation, but they don’t see it that way. They agreed they would never use the cure as a weapon. Cisco asks Barry if he decided in the moment or was it always the plan to use the cure, but he leaves before Barry can respond.

 

Iris is working at S.T.A.R. Labs when Joe walks up behind her. He says he went by her office, but before she can make an excuse he tells her he knows about the time loop. She tells him that she doesn’t remember anything, but she went and she still feels powerless now that he knows where she’s going to be and where her family is. He tells her to pack up her things because he’s going to take her somewhere she doesn’t feel so powerless.

 

Caitlin sits the device in front of Cisco and tells him Shay experiences something in his frontal lobe that didn’t cause any problems in the device at all. Barry walks in when they’re trying to figure it out to apologize, but before he can say anything, Cisco punches and blasts him. Cisco walks off in a zombie-like state while Caitlin grabs the headpiece and leaves the same way. Barry follows her to see her hand the device to Gorilla Grodd (David Sobolov). He takes it and jumps of the lounge balcony while Killer Frost blasts Barry with ice.

 

Once they’re back to normal they try to find Grodd. Barry asks how Grodd escaped and Lyla shows them security footage of the incident from a year ago. The Enlightenment’s effects helped Grodd escape. They realize that King Shark is the reason that Grodd had trouble controlling Shay’s brain – he’s only controlled humans before. Grodd picked this time because he realized this was his opportunity to get the telepathic crown. The crown will amplify his abilities and he will be able to control the whole city.

 

Sherloque walks up on Tanya looking at Shay on the balcony. He mentions her moments in the med bay and how she was possibly frightened by seeing her late husband’s face again. He suggests she’s in love with him and tells her about his situation. She denies it at first, but he convinces her enough to o talk to him. Shay mentions how his world was dull and gray before he met Tanya. He suggests that she was avoiding him and she tells him she was, but she’s not disappointed in him. The two share a kiss.

 

Joe is trying to convince Iris to start feeling powerful again by hitting a punching bag but she is resistant. He tells her he knows she won’t get full clarity, but it takes time– that’s why he went to Tibet. He went to heal. He says that Wally said Tibet would help him restore himself. He says Cicada isn’t going to break him and he isn’t going to break her either. With that, Iris begins punching the bag and with each punch she visibly gets more powerful.

 

There’s an alert for Grodd in downtown. He’s on top of the tower broadcasting to everyone that they will only know the will of Grodd.

 

They’re trying to figure their best way of action, when Barry suggests using the extra headsets. Nora and Barry leave so that Barry can do an old trick on Grodd. After knocking Grodd down, they try to get the crown off of his head but he wakes up. He incapacitates them. Shay suggests they turn him back into King Shark so that he can fight Grodd without falling to his telepathic abilities. They tell him that if he does it, he can never be turned into a human again. He does it anyway.

 

Grodd is telling the city his plans when King Shark shows up to stop him. They battle it out throughout the buildings in the city. Grodd stops King Shark and hands him from a hanger hook. Barry and Nora conduct enough electricity to shock King Shark back to a woken state. With some of their electrical power still in him King Shark beats Grodd and gets the telepathic crown back.

 

Barry asks Lyla what will stop Grodd from getting out again and she tells him that he is in a structurally induced coma. Barry asks about how they got Shay to go back to King Shark and they explain what happened.

 

Tanya’s watching King Shark swim when Sherloque comes in asking her how she’s feeling. She says she doesn’t know what will happen with their relationship now that he is a shark again. She thanks him and tells him she hopes he finds what he is looking for, too. He leaves and she starts talking to Shay. He tells he their connection is still there.

 

Iris walks the hall to her office and finally steps foot in it again. She turns on the lamp and sits down at her desk. She gets a funny group message telling her about the battle between Kings Shark and Gorilla Grodd.

 

Barry apologizes to Cisco and Caitlin about using the cure without Shay’s consent. He tells them he won’t do it again. They now know that the cure works and Barry gets the idea to offer the cure to Cicada.