EPISODE 10: "Revenge of the Rogues"
SYNOPSIS: Still reeling from his encounter with Reverse Flash, Barry has to decide what takes priority – his training, or hashing it out with Captain Cold and his fiery new partner, Heat Wave.
RECAP (Beware of spoilers!):
It's been six long weeks since we had a new episode of THE FLASH, which was a hard pill to swallow after that awesome mid-season finale. Our one consolation is that in this period of time, The CW announced that it was renewing THE FLASH for a second season (no surprise there). However, while we viewers may have had a small holiday hiatus, Barry and co. weren't as lucky. "Revenge of the Rogues" picks up shortly after the previous episode left off. Now that Barry has met his match (and then some) in Reverse Flash, he has to train even harder to hone his powers if he wants to stand a chance at beating his powerful rival.
But, of course, the underbelly of Central City isn't going to wait long to make their next moves and Barry is forced to choose between his training and battling his first return villain "Captain Cold" (Wentworth Miller), who has now teamed up with his fiery counterpart "Heat Wave" (Dominic Purcell). Cue the reunion excitement. Much like their roles on PRISON BREAK, Wentworth’s Captain Cold is the brains of the operation while Purcell’s Heat Wave is, well, a hot head. Captain Cold sets up a robbery to draw The Flash into a trap, with the hopes of finally killing his biggest adversary. This would give the villainous duo free reign over Central City. But surprisingly, when the silent alarm trips and police are on their way, The Flash is nowhere to be seen.
As it turns out, Barry is practicing the age-old superhero lesson of prioritization. Which victims should be saved and which bad guys are the bigger threats? This question ramps up the rivalry between Dr. Wells and Joe, with both men representing two different sides of the coin. Dr. Wells believes Reverse Flash is the biggest threat, meaning training is most important (though we know Wells has ulterior motives). Joe, on the other hand, believes Barry should help the people of Central City deal with any and all threats.
Barry has continued to be haunted by his encounter with Reverse Flash. After all, RF's victim count alone has the potential to be much more severe and personal than any other villain he has faced. So, Barry chooses to continue training and leave the Heat Wave/Captain Cold problem to Cisco, Dr. Wells, and the police. Cisco and Dr. Wells create a temperature shield to protect against the effects of the gun, which also serves to restore the police officers’ trust in S.T.A.R. Labs. But why couldn’t Barry use a fight against Heat Wave and Captain Cold as training? What’s the difference between a lethally armed drone and two lethally armed bad guys? Especially since by the end of the episode we see what a work out these guys give Barry.
Meanwhile, Caitlin has been busy researching the last word Ronnie said to her, “Firestorm”. Thanks to some help from Barry, she realizes that Firestorm is actually an acronym for a really long project name that involves transmutation, or altering matter on the molecular level. She tracks down Jason Rusch, a researcher on the project, who points her in the direction of the team leader, Martin Stein (our first look at the other half of the Firestorm entity, played by Victor Garber). Unfortunately, Stein hasn’t been heard from since the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. paper was published and the government seized all of his research. A dejected Caitlin walks back to her car, where Captain Cold and Heat Wave are waiting for her.
Of course, Barry can’t stay out of the Heat Wave/Captain Cold fight for long, especially after the duo injure police officers and take Caitlin hostage. The villains take to TV broadcasts to show they have Caitlin and demand The Flash finally show himself in public. After all, before this, “the streak” was only an urban legend. Oddly enough, they don’t ask The Flash to also disclose his secret identity. Anyway, Joe and Cisco rescue Caitlin while Barry shows up for the fight, proving to the world that he exists. In order to beat his adversaries, Barry has to get their guns to cancel each other out by crossing streams a la GHOSTBUSTERS. But even at his top speed, Barry can’t make the guns cross, so he slows himself down and lets the hot and cold rays hit him. He then speeds away, and the streams cross, leaving the villains incapacitated and in police custody.
Again, my least favorite part of the episode was the Eddie/Iris/Barry saga. Yes, Eddie put his feelings aside and saved The Flash, but I don’t think his motivations were completely altruistic. There’s an evil twist brewing with his character, mark my words. Also, the one-off scene between Caitlin and Barry had tons more chemistry than anything involving Iris and Barry. I just don’t get or care about that relationship. Hopefully now that Barry’s feelings for Iris are out there and the awkwardness has kinda worn off, their relationship will get back to “normal” and Barry can move on. But I suspect that since Barry has decided to move back in with Joe, the love triangle reprieve will not last for long.
STINGER: While on the way to Iron Heights Prison, the police transporter is attacked, freeing Captain Cold and Heat Wave. The villains' liberator turns out to be none other than the Golden Glider herself, Lisa Snart (who will be played by Peyton List).
DC UNIVERSE EASTER EGGS:
The Rathaways mention their son Hartley Rathaway (aka Pied Piper). Pied Piper, who we are supposed to see in next week’s episode, is a member of the Rogues, which includes many villains we have seen so far on this show and on ARROW: Weather Wizard (part 2 coming soon, played by Liam McIntyre), Heat Wave, Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, and the upcoming Golden Glider. Might this, along with the title of the episode, be another clue that we will see a larger Rogue gathering in a super-charged upcoming episode?
Another Easter Egg was inside one of Barry’s old backpacks aka his “nerd survival pack” (in Flash red and yellow might I add). Here, he finds a Space Ghost comic, which Iris thinks may be worth something.
In the comics, Jason Rusch, the guy Caitlin talked to about F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M., actually becomes Firestorm after Ronnie Raymond dies.
COOL ALTERNATE USE OF "THE FLASH" POWERS: If you weren’t already convinced that Barry would make the perfect friend/roommate, I hope tonight’s episode sealed the deal. He could help you move in a matter of seconds, clean the house, and do some serious speed reading/skimming.
FAVORITE QUOTE: Of course, anything with GHOSTBUSTERS had to make the cut. Not only that, but we get to see some personality from Dr. Wells. Even though he’s evil, he can apparently still appreciate GHOSTBUSTERS. But do you think he cheered for Zuul?
Cisco: To [get the guns to cancel each other out] you would have to get them to cross streams.
Barry: Like GHOSTBUSTERS?
Cisco: That film is surprisingly scientifically accurate.
Dr. Wells: …and quite funny.
FINAL VERDICT: