"It represents to me that people with lots of money buy dumb stuff."
After a short break, The Flash returns with a pretty fun episode that does a solid job juggling several plots points. It also starts with one hell of an awesome sequence -- one which reminded me why I'm loving this show so much. After Barry Allen's encounter with Reverse-Flash, you can bet he wants to push himself harder than ever before. He was wrecked in the last episode, so he wants to make sure the rematch with the man in the yellow suit will be a less embarrassing experience. So, having Barry evade one of Cisco's drones was such an exciting way to open the episode. It had jaw-dropping spectacle, tension, humor, and just a wee bit of heart. Plus, the use of slow motion was reserved for what is without question the coolest sequence in the entire episode. Once I saw that, it immediately made me so happy this show is back on the air.
The Flash may stand out because of the powers and what not, but it's handling the drama extremely well. Instead of going all mopey and overly CW ("insert sad music and forced arguments here") with the Barry and Iris situation, it handles the scenario in a far more natural way and even manages to sneak in some laughs. Even when you feel bad for the dude, the show is just oozing with charm. Yes, there's been some frustrating moments between these two, but this one left me with a smile on my face and feeling happy. Who would have thought I'd experience that after such a dramatic midseason premiere? And whoever decided to cast Jesse L. Martin as Joe West made a brilliant decision. He and Grant Gustin have great chemistry and the more emotional and lighthearted material between them is so impactful. You could have an episode of these two spending a "casual" day together and they could make it memorable.
The focus on Captain Cold and Heat Wave seriously felt like a comic book brought to life. It may seem too cheesy for some of you, but I was totally embracing it and thought it was a blast. It felt purposely over-the-top and it really worked. The dynamic between Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell works especially well since they successfully pull off the drastically different personalities. Miller's Captain Cold is *ahem* cool and collected, and Purcell's Heat Wave is -- just like a flame -- wild and out of control. This is obvious enough but it's still a whole lot of silly and comic booky fun. Some scenes dragged on a little too long (like the bit between Mick and Caitlin Snow), but it was a good time and offered a nice balance to the relationship storyline.
My biggest complaint is the handling of the action. Aside from the opening sequence, this one had me scratching my head quite a bit. Look, I get Barry can't always obliterate his opponents or move as fast as he does in some of the comedic moments, but it's impossible to feel like he isn't being blatantly downplayed when the obstacle isn't being handled in a creative manner. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened in this one. Both Barry and the police seemed totally incompetent. How many times did Barry run right past his two opponents? Like, three or four times at least, right? Why go for the elaborate way to defeat them when you just had numerous opportunities to end it so easily. Every single time he raced past them, disarming or pummeling them would have been effortless for him. I mean, he was right next to them and we've seen so many times just how fast he's moving! The way it played out made the "cross the streams" plan seem like a totally foolish approach. That said, I'm a sucker for a Ghostbusters reference, so at least there's that.
I'm sure many of you will love it because it's just building the hype, but it seemed like the talk about Firestorm could have been reserved for another episode. It was just exposition to help casual viewers somewhat understand what's going on with the character, but it felt very disconnected from everything else. I would have much rather seen that time used to flesh out the other story arcs.
The handling of the big showdown left a lot to be desired and required a huge amount of suspension of disbelief, but that doesn't counter just how enjoyable everything else was all that much. Overall, "Revenge of the Rogues" is a nice reminder of what this show does so well. Humor and charm? There's plenty of that scattered throughout. Embracing the source material? It's right there with the villains and the buildup. Satisfying drama? The cast delivers big time. Popcorn entertainment? The opening will make you want to cheer. Sure, the debut of the Rogues may not be as epic as many of us wanted it to be, but it's still a great episode and, of course, ends with a strong teaser. It's good to have you back, The Flash.