TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews The Flash Season 1 Episode 3: Going Rogue

If there is one thing that Flash had going for it over Arrow it’s that The Flash has one of the most robust rogues gallery ever. Villains that are not only memorable, but significant, and pose a true threat to the hero they fight. In fact, in some circles The Flash’s villains are only beaten by the galleries of Batman and Spider Man. That’s saying something.

“Going Rogue” was not only a callout to the most famous of Flash’s villains, The Rogues, but the introduction of the leader of the group. A man who is very popular in the DC universe at this time in the comics: Captain Cold.

From almost scene one we got to see Captain Cold (aka Leonard Snart) in all his glory. And boy did Wentworth Miller nail this character. Calculating, meticulous, powerful, and yes, cold. This is the villain that Flash needs, especially after lackluster performances from the villains of the first three episodes. The best part about Snart though was his acceptance that he needed to evolve to beat the Flash. This was just a “why would God rob a bank?” kind of thing. Snart saw the truth, and made sure he was ready when Flash came back. Seeing him wield the cold gun and use it on both Barry and the civilians was cool (no pun intended!!!), especially when he used it against Barry in order to escape.

Now many a fan will critique that Snart didn’t make the cold gun himself. Just from the recent Forever Evil storyline in DC Comics we got a line from him stating that once he made the gun Snart assembled and disassembled it for six months until he could do it blindfolded. In case he ever had to make one on the fly like in the arc. This however was fine as it was revealed that Cisco made the gun to counter Barry in case he went rogue. Props on the epic science lesson by the way.

This not only caused tension on the team (which you could argue they needed), but it led to several epic scenes with Wells chewing out Cisco for doing this. The question is: why? I have a theory. It’s simply that Well didn’t know who made the cold gun. He’s from the future, so he no doubt heard of Captain Cold, but would the news outlets have stated who made the gun? I don’t think they would’ve. So when he found out Cisco made it, and the implications it meant for Barry, he went into overload. This proves something important about Wells. He knows a LOT of stuff about Barry and the future…but he doesn’t know everything.

I loved the ending fight scene for many reasons. It again made full use of Barry’s powers and showed him being an absolute boss. But also, Cold got away, and he heard his name via Cisco, and he laughed! He’s totally Captain Cold now. And his line about “don’t push your luck” as he walked away was priceless.

The other be guest on this weeks episode was Felicity. And yes, she was just as awesome on Flash as she is on Arrow. I really liked the interactions she had with Team Flash, especially Wells. Makes you wonder how much he knows about her future…

Anyway, it was nice to have her there, but I wish it was more than just a “get these two together!” kind of thing. Iris playing matchmaker was annoying at times, especially with how painfully oblivious she is to how Barry feels about her. The one thing that was great in regards to that was the train scene at the end. Where they both admitted to having feelings for each other, and to Ollie and Iris. It was also great to see Barry have the same reservations that Ollie has in regards to relationships.

And of course, the now must have ending scene. Where instead of Wells we get Snart showing his process for evolution once again by recruiting future Rogue Heat Wave to his team. This is going to be fun.

In the end, “Going Rogue” pushed Flash into territory that it needed to go into. Recurring villains, moments of failure, and potential for the future. This show is doing well, let’s see what happens when it returns in two weeks…DANG ELECTIONS!!!!