The Flash "Going Rogue" Review/Thoughts

This week on The Flash, we watch as Dr. Wells tries his hardest not to fire Cisco, one of The Flash's more famous villains makes his debut, and we are graced with a special guest appearance by THE Ms. Felicity Smoak.

Episode Description: The Flash confronts his toughest enemy yet, Captain Cold, as he plots to steal the Kahndaq Dynasty Diamond using a stolen "cold gun" from S.T.A.R. Labs

High Points: 

• Felicity!
• Valid concerns raised by Felicity (increased aging, potential unknown weaknesses) 
• The "slow-motion" action scenes like The Flash breaking up the truck robbery
• Barry training his ability to multi-task at high speeds
• Leonard Snart! (finally a villain who wasn't put away after one episode)
• Dr. Harrison losing his cool with Cisco (Be careful you don't show your hand Eobard..)
• Cisco pulling a total Batman move by having a contingency plan for The Flash
• The train rescue scene was awesome
• Barlicity! The only acceptable substitution for Olicity or Biris
• The ending features Mick Rory/Heatwave which means The Rogues are forming up

Low Points: 

• There was one too many cold-related puns while trying to introduce Captain Cold
• Passive Aggressive Barry ("I don't feel like talking")
• Eddie losing E=MC Hammer points during trivia night (It's the Millennium Falcon Eddie...pull your head out of your ass..)

Verdict: Lots to be excited about this week. Even though big villains have been implied for weeks now on this show, we finally got our first actual taste of one. Leonard Snart, a.k.a. Captain Cold made his debut tonight and the "cold gun" looked awesome. He was played as a little more trigger happy than usual. He straight up shot one of his crew members just for questioning him, but other than that he seems like the cold-hearted leader of The Rogues that we all know and love. Plus he looks to serve as a good arch-nemesis for Barry in this show, due to the fact that his powers counteract The Flash's, and that he exploits Barry's priority of keeping people safe over catching his man to his own advantage. Also, Captain Colds rendezvous with Heatwave at the end of the episode gave us something to look forward to for future episodes: The Rogues are assembling! It was also a very interesting detail that his gun was actually designed by Cisco, who made it specifically to stop The Flash if he turned out to be evil. Sounds an awful lot like the contingency plans a certain Justice Leaguer has set in place. I'm not saying that Cisco and Batman are connected in anyway, but it was kind of a cool nod to that. And of course, Felicity Smoak came to visit Central City in this episode, and as always she dazzled us with her fan favorite charm that we have come to love on Arrow. With so much excellent ground work being laid this week, and with the promise of Captain Cold reappearing in the near future at the head of The Rouges, this week's episode scores an 8.5 out of 10.

Thanks for reading the review! Let us know how you are feeling after this week's episode in the comments below or on twitter @Caped_Informers. Check back here regularly for weekly reviews of your favorite comic book shows! The Flash isn't airing a new episode next week, but they will return on November 11 with "Plastique". 

The Flash "Things You Can't Outrun" Review/Thoughts

This week on The Flash, Barry wrestles with the struggles of being a hero, we get a glimpse at what happened to Caitlin the night the particle accelerator blew, and Star Labs gets a second job as a super-powered prison for the Flash's enemies.

Episode Description:  Barry and the Star Labs team confront The Mist, a meta-human who can turn himself into toxic gas, while Caitlin reflects on the night the of the particle accelerator explosion, in which her fiancee was killed. 

High Points:

• Barry continuing to deal with everyday petty crime in Central City
• "I'm not asking for a museum in my honor.." (Fun little nod to The Flash museum)
• Quickly addressing the problem of The Flash executing his enemies
• The solution to the aforementioned problem: Star Labs Super Jail
• "I've felt like I've waited for this day for centuries" - Harrison Wells (Sounds like an amount of waiting time that Eobard Thawne would have to endure...)
• Robbie "Firestorm" Amell making his first appearance as Caitlin's fiancee
• Barry continuing to understand the limitations/implications of his powers
• Barry inhaling the toxic gas in a total brass-balled move to get Star Labs a sample 
• Barry and Joe's father-son relationship

Low Points:

• Anything having to do with Eddie and Iris's relationship 
•  The Mist was another one-and-done villain of the week type
• of times before
• To answer my question from last week: It seems Barry will be opening and closing each episode with a statement that is more often than not a bit corny
• The infamous "If I'm not out in time, close the door behind me" plot device that has been used hundreds of times before

Anyone see Godzilla/every other movie involving a reactor of sorts?

Verdict: Now that we are three episodes in, The Flash seems to be settling in to a bit of a pattern of throwing a new meta-human Barry's way, having Barry exploit the villain's weakness (thus beating him) and then concluding with an ominous cut scene of Dr. Harrison Wells. I'm not saying this is a totally bad thing, and the constant hints at Eobard Thawne promise us more over-arching plots in the near future. I just hope the show doesn't get to predictable (and therefore boring) while these bigger evils are set up. Right now it is the smaller things that Barry does as well as the development of the characters that is driving this show. Barry's relationship with Joe is becoming a favorite of mine and tonight we saw him finally break some ground with Caitlin. The only relationship I really can't get myself to care about is the one between Eddie and Iris. That is purely for selfish Barry and Iris Allen reasons though. I am also enjoying watching Barry slowly starting to realize what it truly means to have powers, and how to use them responsibly. It can be fun to see those "Year One" type of story-archs that happen when a new superhero is getting into the groove of things and figuring out the whole act of protecting a city or the world. Naturally, that is the type of story we can expect to continue seeing this season, and personally, if it means The Flash and his friends are constantly being developed into more seasoned crime-fighters, than I for one am all for it. The Flash scores a  7.5 out of 10 this week.

Thanks for reading! As always feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments and on twitter @Caped_Informers. Make sure you check the blog regularly for weekly reviews of other comic-book shows and tune in this time next week for a review of The Flash's fourth installment: "Going Rouge".