(spoilers below)
The last episode of The Flash before the mid-season break was a doozy, with Barry finally confronting his yellow-clad doppelganger that he believes was responsible for his mother’s death, expressing his love to Iris, and being introduced to a flame-powered Ronnie Raymond (Kaitlin Snow’s presumed-dead fiancé).
The first episode back, “Revenge of the Rogues,” comes out more like a bit of filler after the jam-packed episode prior, with Barry training to increase his speed so that he can outrun the Cisco-dubbed Reverse Flash. The exercise seems to be going pear-shaped, which leads to Doctor Wells starting to get up out of his wheelchair to help, but Barry gets the situation back under control, and Wells’ paraplegic ruse continues.
Later, Leonard Snart/Captain Cold (Prison Break’s Wentworth Miller) and Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell, also from Prison Break) use Snart’s signature freeze-ray to break into a customs warehouse to try and lure the Flash into a trap, but Barry doesn’t take the bait, instead showing up later with Joe West and the rest of the CCPD, where he determines that Snart froze and shattered the door.
Wells warns Barry not to try and bring in Snart, as he needs to train to be able to take on Reverse Flash when he resurfaces. Barry begrudgingly agrees, and Cisco and Wells help outfit the CCPD with special riot shields that can thaw the chilling effects of the freeze cannon. The CCPD is reluctant, given that Wells and S.T.A.R. Labs were responsible for their particle accelerator accident that cost so many lives. Cisco gives a brief, but stirring speech where they accept responsibility for the accident, and promise that they will all move forward together to stop Snart.
Later, Barry comes across Caitlin as she’s doing research on the term “firestorm,” which was one of the few things the resurrected Ronnie said to her before flying off in the last episode. They then share a tender moment where Caitlin consoles Barry over Iris (a relationship that has yet to be very compelling, in my opinion), and she reminisces about how Ronnie and her tried new things together, including Indian food and scuba diving. This reminds Barry that SCUBA is actually an acronym, and he searches the web for F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M., where he and Caitlin find out about research done into transmutation.
Snart and Rory then make a bid to steal a modern-art painting called “Fire & Ice” (natch), where Snart’s cold gun is no match for the heated riot shields of the CCPD. Unfortunately, Rory finally makes his full debut with a handheld flamethrower, and catches the police off guard, allowing the dastardly duo to make off with the painting. Back at their warehouse hideout, the two get into a Mexican standoff, where Snart gives Rory an out: take the painting and leave, or stay with him and rule over Central City. Rory accepts the latter, and inexplicably torches the painting (couldn’t they have split the $25 million and taken over Central City? Wouldn’t their villainous start up need some seed money?) before the duo discuss their plan to go after the Flash…and his “partners.”
Caitlin meets up with Jason Rusch, the writer on the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. paper, and discovers more questions than answers. Rusch nervously talks about how the program’s founder, Dr. Martin Stein, managed to “melt a concrete wall” before he disappeared and the military came in and seized all of their research. Devoted DC Comics fans will note that Dr. Martin Stein is the other half of the dual personality of Firestorm, so the TV show is definitely on track for this character’s introduction. Unfortunately, Caitlin is kidnapped shortly thereafter by Snart and Rory, giving Iris a break from being kidnapped so that she could move in with her boyfriend. Thanks, guys!
Cisco determines that the “absolute zero” of Captain Cold’s ray and the “absolute hot” of Rory’s flamethrower could cancel each other out if they “cross the streams” (which led to a weird mini-discussion of Ghostbusters), and Cisco finally dubs Rory as Heatwave, which leads to Wells responding with an irritated “stop it.” Of course, the villains manage to hijack the airwaves (don’t they always?) and tell the Flash to meet them in the heart of Central City, or else Caitlin will be killed.
Barry shows up, and tries his hardest to get Heatwave and Captain Cold to cross their streams while Cisco and Detective West determine the abandoned warehouse where Caitlin is being held. Unfortunately, Cisco triggers a tripwire-armed bomb, which West manages to pull Caitlin out of range of before its diminutive explosion can gently singe her eyebrows.
Back at the Flash fight, Eddie saves Barry from Captain Cold’s ray using one of the riot shields, giving Barry the opportunity to rethink his speedy strategy. He slows down, allowing both villains to lock onto him with their respective weapons, before dashing out of the way and taking them both down simultaneously.
The episode ends in its usual emotional sense, with Barry and Iris reconnecting after last episode’s “I love you” debacle, and Barry deciding to move back in with Joe in order to facilitate easier comings and goings as the Flash. Finally, in the stinger, we see Cold and Heatwave being taken away to Iron Heights, before their transport is rocked by an explosion. The doors are torn open, and Snart acknowledges the offscreen ally as “sis,” implying that Lisa Snart, a.k.a. The Golden Glider will be causing trouble in future episodes.
All in all, the episode was solid, even though it felt like little more than filler. After the intensity of the mid-season finale, this episode came off as fairly light and breezy, even with the introduction of a new villain. Domic Purcell’s Heatwave is given little time to shine, and his portrayal is delightfully manic, with a creepy admiration for fire (much like many of DC’s pyromaniac villains) and moments of blistering intensity punctuating a menacing, if overly hammy, performance. The breadcrumb trail leading to the full reveal of Firestorm is genuinely exciting, as Flash, much like its contemporary Arrow, does a fantastic job of introducing and integrating other DC characters into their shared TV-verse. There’s plenty of unresolved tension at play here, especially with recent revelation that Dr. Wells was in possession of the Reverse Flash suit, but I suppose that these dangling threads will be tied up over the coming episodes.
The Flash: Revenge of the Rogues
Pros
- Firestorm mystery is starting to get REALLY good
- Purcell's Heatwave is a fun villain.
- Wentworth Miller gives much more gravitas to Captain Cold than the character deserves.
Cons
- Sorely underused Heatwave
- Reverse Flash plot thread is dangling.
- Barry/Iris relationship is still lukewarm.
