It is hard to follow up such an amazing episode like the one they had last week, but it had to be done. Unfortunately the follow up was not nearly as strong as the previous episode. There weren’t a lot of great things this episode and it was mainly a lesson in responsibility for Barry.
Pros:
Cisco is Alive!: Even though going back in time changed a great number of things, this is the one that I think most people, myself included, would have been angry about if it wasn’t corrected.
Barry realizes the truth about Wells: Things moved forward and backward simultaneously regarding Wells’ identity. Cisco no longer knows, which is good for his life, but now Barry knows. This was most likely done to start rounding out the season with a conclusion between these two. Now that Barry has gotten so much more powerful, I can’t wait to see what they have in store for that showdown.
Lightning Psychosis: This was a hilarious description Barry use to explain why he acts the way he does to the people in his life not exactly “in the know.” A convenient excuse, but it still funny nonetheless.
Cons:
Linda Park is gone and so is Iris: Barry somehow managed to lose both of the girls in this timeline. Linda was a given, but losing Iris as well is kind of lame. This obviously isn’t the end for them, but at least Barry hasn’t forgotten her reaction to discovering his identity as The Flash. When the time is right, things should resume and will be presumably better going forward.
Too much was retconned: A pretty large number of plot details from last week were retconned and I don’t feel like it was for the better. The only positive out of all this is the reversal of Cisco dying.
Cold and Heat Wave are still terribly acted: They are still terrible, and I don’t understand why nobody at the studio seems to notice it. I really can’t help but cringe every time these two are on the screen.
Flash has all this power and still acts like a bitch: So Barry was fast enough to run into the casino and snatch Lisa up in a bear trap, but he somehow managed to bitch out the second he found out about Cisco. Lame! He could have knocked her out and then pummeled Cold into the ground before either could blink. I don’t understand why they ignore the power Flash has at his disposal. He just traveled through time and it hasn’t done anything for his superhero self-esteem.
Easter Eggs
Flashbacks: So much was repeated from a different perspective. It is interesting to see what the day was like after the small changes.
First Weather Wizard: This line is almost exactly the same from the pilot when Barry runs into the first Weather Wizard “I didn’t know there were more like me.”
The Santini Crime Family: Possibly a reference to the Rafael Santini crime family from the post-Crisis Batman books.
Cosmic treadmill: Time-travel Barry is on the treadmill!
The Golden Glider: Lisa Snart is finally here and there were a few references to The Golden Glider in this episode. First the wig makes her look identical to the character from the comics. Also, her gun firing gold couldn’t be any more on the nose.
Wells’ comment on wreaking havoc: That is exactly why the Reverse Flash is in this timeline to begin with. He realized that killing the Flash as a boy led to him never becoming the Reverse Flash so instead he tries to torture Barry in every way possible. Could be a taste of things to come.
Hush Comics gives “Rouge Time” a B- . Cisco is still alive, but the realm of time travel was otherwise poorly handled.
All images belong to The CW and DC Entertainment. They are credited to Dean Buscher.
Hush Comics 