Less than 5 – Skip it, 6 – OK, 7 – Good, 8 – Great, 9 – Phenomenal, 10 – You owe it to yourself to watch this episode!
Coming off of the phenomenal “The Man in the Yellow Suit”, “Revenge of the Rogues” had a lot to live up to. While not as excellent as its prior episode, The Flash’s return does continue the shows great run and further solidifies it as the most entertaining comic inspired show on television! Marking the return of Wentworth Miller as Captain Cold and reunion with Prison Break star Dominic Purcell, “Revenge of the Rogues” features a number of memorable (bordering on psychotic) performances and serves as a nice reminder of what went down when last we saw Barry (Grant Gustin) and the gang.
Captain Cold was never my favorite Flash villain but his portrayal on the show is starting to bring me around. Miller’s portrayal as the leader of the Rogues is a little over the top but when put beside the even more unstable Heatwave it’s just pure fun. The duo of Miller and Purcell look like they are having a blast with these new characters and watching the Rogues form in live action is a treat for fans of the source material. Both of their powers get a nice showcase here. The final fight was impressive considering the TV budget and it was really cool to see the progression in Barry’s powers (him running along the side of buildings without hesitation was simply awesome).
Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell as Captain Cold and Heatwave in “Revenge of the Rogues”
It also allowed for Thawne (Rick Cosnett) and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) to show off a bit. Thawne jumping in to save Barry was a nice moment for him making fans of the comics even more confused as to his place in the future of the show. Cisco’s habit of wheeling out new inventions (the drones and the temperature shields) has to be a clue as to his eventual transformation into Vibe. What with Firestorm already setting himself up as a Flash ally it would be a little soon for yet another super to show up but just knowing that Cisco has the potential is pretty exciting.
If this episode doesn’t confirm the identity of the man in yellow once in for all I don’t know what will. With the reveal of Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanagh) as Reverse-Flash in last year’s mid-season finale everyone was expecting some kind of follow up and they sure got it. Every word out of Wells’ mouth was dripping with double meaning. His motivations are still unclear and how he ties into the death of Barry’s mother is still a mystery, one that I am looking forward to getting solved, but if he keeps hinting at his nefarious alter ego every time he talks the character will begin to feel a little grating. It’s not a major issue at the moment but if it persists for more than another episode it can become a problem.
In addition to the follow up on Reverse-Flash we also got some more information on Firestorm (or F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M.). Caitlin’s (Danielle Panabaker) search for her now meta fiancé has been a fun subplot thus far, if the showrunners can continue to strike the balance of Flash content with the search for Ronnie (Robbie Amell) I won’t mind the occasional distraction.
Grant Gustin gets a bit “Flash fried” in a confrontation with the Rogues!
Aside from the cool action between Flash and the Rogues some of the best moments in this week’s episode came from Barry’s interaction with Iris and Joe (Candice Patton and Jesse L. Martin). Barry’s confession of love was a big character moment and to see that decision still effecting him was a nice touch. I would have liked to see their strained relationship go on for a few more episodes but it was handled well. Candice Patton does a great job conveying the tension she feels when asked if she is ready to move in with Eddie and her decision to take the picture of her and Barry at the end further enforces the fact that she is starting to catch feelings. Moving away from the love triangle for a moment, the final scene with Joe and Barry sharing a beer was one of my favorite moments of the season thus far. I have always like the dynamic between these two characters and the chemistry between Gustin and Martin is just awesome to watch. With more heartfelt moments like these to offset the sometimes crazy comic book elements the show will remain grounded and fun for a long time.
While it didn’t move things forward all that much in light of the huge reveals of the mid-season finale, “Revenge of the Rogues” does a solid job of continuing the trend of quality work on The Flash.
Overall I give this episode 7/10