We are back in full swing from the holiday break and ready to start the midseason premieres of many of our favorite shows. The Flash is kind enough to give us not one, but two villains from his rouges list, not really answer any of the cliffhangers from the mid-season finale, and deliver multiple high and low points.
Pros:
Barry Allen is actively training to become faster: With the events of the Flashpoint Paradox ever looming on the horizon, the Barry we know today is a far cry from the fastest man alive who is able to outrun time itself. What makes this training so awesome is that unlike Smallville, where the manifestation of new powers was often due to puberty or some random stimuli, we see Barry actively and welcomingly trying to push the boundaries of what he is capable of. I can’t wait to see him vibrate through a wall or realize that he is impervious to bullets using the same technique.
We might finally see a real purpose for Caitlin Snow: Caitlin has largely been a useless character for the first half of the season, she isn’t as cool as Cisco nor is she as smart as Dr. Wells, so we are left with a character with a no real purpose. She isn’t even a potential love interest at this point. It was a nice change of pace to see her character get a larger part in a side story that can showcase a little more of her skills.
The Flash is revealed: The Red blur is a thing of the past and now the entire world will know about The Flash and what he is capable of. As with any superhero story, this is very important as it will undoubtedly bring more villains to the city, which is always a good thing because he has so many interesting villains to choose from.
The special effects remain as awesome as ever: As things progress there will always be the possibility that something will be poorly CGI’d or there will be something that won’t translate well from the comics. This has not been the case so far and based on how things have progressed, it won’t be a problem in the near future. I couldn’t ask for more with the way they’ve handled The Flash’s movement and powers overall.
Cons:
Captain Cold and Heat Wave perform some of the worst acting I’ve ever seen: I may be alone in this, but the performances of both Captain Cold and Heat Wave were cringe worthy at best. It is harder to say which was worse, the exceptionally terrible lack of personality from the wannabe Terminator…. I mean Captain Cold or the over-acted craziness of Heat Wave. It gave me genuine discomfort watching acting that was so terrible and forced. It is a real shame because the acting is usually top notch all around.
The situation between Iris and Barry was resolved terribly: I wasn’t expecting Iris to leave Eddie and be with Barry right away, but they made such a big deal about it last episode that sweeping it under the rug feels like a genuine disservice to the situation at hand. You can see the future Barry…….really? At least Barry’s relationship with Joe West is stronger than ever……they are now roomies.
Still no further clarification about Dr. Wells’ alternate agenda: It is obvious that he is trying to help Barry fulfill his destiny, but continuing to raise more questions with almost zero answers can be a little irritating. I know all will be answered in time but they made it such focal point of the mid-season finale and just like the Iris situation, left it poorly addressed.
Easter Eggs:
The Rathaways: We have no son … that statement will come back to bite them in the asses as soon as the next episode. These two were the people who purchased the painting for 25 million and their son will be the villain in next week’s episode. The Pied Piper will show up and while it’s unclear if the parents will be involved in the episode, but it’s an interesting way of foreshadowing the next episode as it could have easily been any pair of millionaires.
The Golden Glider: This episode ends with no introduction, but just a taste of yet another future member of the rouges gallery. Lisa Snart, also known as The Golden Glider, has a few different variations on her character so it will be interesting to see what they do with her as a villain. One of her variations is an astral form, but since Captain Cold is using a gun instead of supernatural powers, it’s safe to say that probably isn’t going to be how she is introduced.
Jason Rush and Mercury Labs: Jason Rush is actually the other half of Firestorm in the comics, so it will be interesting to see how his character develops. It is possible with the way they are manipulating things that he could be an unfortunate victim of that, but who knows. For now it seems he isn’t a part of the Firestorm matrix.
Space Ghost: In Barry Allen’s lost nerd survival kit, there are issues of “Space Ghost Coast to Coast” comics.
Predictions:
The true identity of Dr. Wells: At the mid-season finale, I was convinced that he could actually be Mirror Master, which would explain why he was in two places at once, but after looking at the suit in the very last scene, saw that it looked mechanical in nature. This would point to him actually being Professor Zoom, who got his powers from the suit itself. After this episode, I am pretty convinced that he is the actual Reverse-Flash as he was about to stand up and save Barry with super speed that he wouldn’t have had time to get from the suit. Both Zoom and Reverse-Flash wanted to make Barry a better Flash, so it will be interesting to see how they go forward with this character. Maybe they will blend the two villains into one.
Gorilla Grodd!!: He was briefly mentioned and actually shown last episode, but we have no mention of him this episode. I think we will definitely see him this season, though.
Hush Comics gives “Revenge of the Rogues” a B for a great return, but the acting held back the episode from its full potential.
All images belong to The CW and DC Entertainment. They are credited to Dean Buscher and Cate Cameron.
Hush Comics 