After a long winter break, TV's best comic book show, The Flash, is back and facing not one but two rogues this time. 'Revenge of the Rogues' brings back Leonar Snart/Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) and introduces Mick Rory/Heatwave (Dominic Purcell) to try and trap the Scarlet Speedster. The former Prison Break co-stars are in great form as they relish their villainy roles, one who’s cool under pressure and one that’s obviously a hothead. They skirt the line of parody with some punny lines but not too many. Meanwhile, Barry and the STAR Labs crew are looking for a way to increase his speed after the run-in with the much faster Reverse Flash.
In a very cool scene, Barry is training, avoiding missiles from one of Cisco's flying drones. At one point grabs one missile and redirects it back at the drone destroying it. The ultra-slow motion sequence was one of the show's highlights.The other great effects came when Barry faces the dastardly duo in the street and the plan to have them cross streams to nullify each other is a hard fought victory. The Ghostbusters movie comparison was acknowledged on the show which isn’t afraid to be self-aware. One of the things the show does is balance great set pieces of action with the human drama of the characters. It doesn’t sacrifice emotional circumstances for stunts and visual effects.
Case in point, Caitlin is still searching for Ronnie Raymond. Her investigation leads to a grad student, Jason Rusch, who along with Dr. Martin Stein worked on a transmutation research project entitled interestingly enough, F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. In comic book lore all three; Raymond, Stein, and Rusch embodied Firestorm in one form or another. It’ll be interesting when we’ll see Dr. Stein and how prominent Firestorm will be on the series.
Caitlin has opened up a lot emotionally since the start of the series. Not only expressing her own feelings about losing and finding Ronnie but advising others with their issues like Barry, Iris, Felicity, etc. She’s become a way more dimensional character. When she gets kidnapped by the rogues she tells Team Flash not to save her during the broadcasted challenge placed on Barry. She's heroic in her own way. Cisco showed he has some heroic qualities as well.
In order to fight the freeze ray of Captain Cold, Cisco develops a self-defrosting shield that Central City's finest can use to help defeat and capture him. The technology comes in very handy for Barry and Eddie late in the episode. It results in Cisco getting recognized and applauded for his genius.
What's amazing about The Flash is its commitment to developing all its characters and giving them room to grow and show their worth. Sure, Barry is the lead and the show is about the "fastest man alive" but it's really more about the relationships around him that sustain the series on a weekly basis. And it does so while juggling a crime of the week, or when there's special guest stars and villains and handles it flawlessly.
The ongoing tension between Barry and Iris for example gets reconciled in a mature manner. There's still a friendly distrust between Joe and Dr. Wells. Wells can sense Joe is on to him but knows does not know enough to be a threat yet. Caitlin's continued search for Ronnie wasn't forgotten and foreshadowed what's to come. With Iris moving in with Eddie that left Joe on his own but and as always the scenes with foster son Barry are endearing. No one on the show conveys emotions on their face like Jesse L. Martin and when he wells up now that Iris was gone it was sweet that Barry volunteered to move back in the house.
It's a lot to steer and organize for writers and showrunners but the folks at The Flash have it down to perfection. This is why it continues to be such a fun and exciting show. It never feels incoherent or disconnected from the world that's been built. It all feels part of the larger story. Welcome back Barry, indeed.
Just when you thought Central City was safe here comes Snart's sister. But will she be called the Golden Glider like in the comics? Only Cisco knows, but first Pied Piper comes to town. Check out scenes from the nest episode:
It's time to pay the Piper. The Flash is all new Tuesdays at 8/7c!
your ranking is legit. and Flash has the broadest appeal. by design im sure.
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