Dr. Light Is A Familiar Face On 'The Flash'

I'll admit that I was nervous when I heard that The Flash was exploring alternate universes. The DC world is already expansive on The CW (and to some extent CBS), covering all of the action in Central City and Star City, facilitating crossovers, and laying the groundwork for Legends of Tomorrow. Keeping track of what was going on during each show is already a full-time job, so throwing in alternate worlds with new character doppelgangers seemed like a pretty tall order. Luckily, this is still the same show that made Grodd (a giant telekinetic gorilla) feasible and sympathetic, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that it's done a good job rolling out these complex concepts so far. However, things are bound to get even more complicated when The Flash introduces Dr. Light in Tuesday night's new episode.

We already know that the singularity that caused a black hole to form over Central City also created a portal between worlds — Earth 1 and Earth 2. So far, the portal has been largely one way, with metas coming through the breach in search of the Flash. Our main connection to Earth 2 is Jay Garrick, a former speedster who has chosen to stay on Earth 1 to train Barry, help defend his world, and flirt with Caitlin Snow. Jay has been helping the S.T.A.R. Labs team take down each meta that comes from his world and will soon help them track down Dr. Light, a meta with a very familiar face. If you want to know more about this doctor, proceed with caution, because spoilers for this week's “The Darkness and the Light" are ahead.

Everyone remembers Barry's ex-girlfriend Linda Park, right? She's the sports journalist who works at Central City Picture News. She and Barry dated for a bit during Season 1, but she dumped him because of his (very obvious) feelings for Iris. Then she popped up in the beginning of Season 2 to quickly congratulate Iris on making the front page of the paper. Overall, she was a nice side character if a little dull for The Flash. But that's all about to change as Dr. Light comes barreling through the portal — stay with me, it's all connected.

In DC Comics there is a character named Kimiyo Hoshi, a scientist who acquires the powers of light manipulation and transformation, as well as flight. In the comics, she is a hero (and not meant to be confused with the male villain Arthur Light) who fights alongside Superman and The Justice League. A modified version of the character will appear on The Flash, and according to the Australian trailer for "The Darkness and the Light," as pointed out by CinemaBlend, Dr. Light is the Earth 2 version of Linda Park. Although she is a hero in the comics, I think it is very likely that this version of Dr. Light will be out to get Barry — since every other meta we've seen from Earth 2 (except for Jay) has tried to kill him.

This will be the first time we've seen an alternate universe version of an existing character on The Flash, but I doubt it will be the last. After all, who isn't waiting for Caitlin to appear as Killer Frost this season? Still, there's no telling how long Dr. Light will stay on Earth 1, or if the team will get her to turn over a new leaf and help them track down Zoom. One thing is for sure, it's going to be a lot more complicated hunting down a woman who looks just like someone they all know and care for. Check out the Australian promo below for more information on the Dr. Light reveal and what exactly she wants from Linda.

Images: Cate Cameron/The CW (2)