Rogue Air Plot:
As Wells (Tom Cavanaugh) once again gets the upper hand on the S.T.A.R. Labs team, Barry (Grant Gustin) realizes he needs to make a big move and reaches out to an old foe, Captain Cold (Wentworth Miler), for help. Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) warn Barry that Cold can’t be trusted. True to form, Cold has his own agenda that involves the meta-humans trapped in the containment cells. As things seem to be going from bad to worse, The Flash gets reinforcements – Arrow (Stephen Amell) and Firestorm (Robbie Amell).
We are just one episode away from closing up a very entertaining first season. We have been with the team as they encountered dozens of different meta humans, revealed Barry’s secret identity to pretty much everyone in Central City, teamed up with other well known DC heroes, and chased after the Man in Yellow. Time to start tying up some of those plot lines and getting ready for the finale.
Moving the Metas
Last episode we learned that Eobard had been hiding out under the particle accelerator and this week we find out that for whatever reason he is planning to turn the damn thing on. While we never figure out exactly what his plan was, this does set in motion a difficult side quest. How is the gang supposed to keep their meta human prisoners safe? Since they are currently being housed in the actual particle accelerator, they have to be moved but who can move them and where would they go? Is it the group’s responsibility to protect these metahumans at all?
The gang is in a tough spot. Joe has been the most outspoken opponent of the prison but even he believes that the metahumans must be dealt with in some way. No one has any particularly good ideas. Joe talks to his contact within the CCPD, but she comes up short. Oliver is MIA. They even reach out to Firestorm for help but that gets them nowhere. The only group that may be able to help is ARGUS so Barry arranges a pickup. The problem is, they need to move the metahumans and they are all out of allies.
Broken Engagement
Do we control our own destinies? In Eddie’s case, the answer is a solid maybe. This week everyone’s favorite punching bag confronted Iris about the wedding news that was revealed to him via Eobard. His knowledge of the future only reinforced what he already believed, which is that Barry and Iris are made for each other. Try as he might, Eddie could never be the most important person in Iris’ life and he is finally ready to move on.
This is beyond great news for the Flash. The love triangle was always the weakest part of the series especially since we know that Iris and Barry are going to end up together eventually. Eddie is a nice enough guy and a fun character to watch but he didn’t stand a chance as Iris’ love interest. Now we can put all of that behind us and possibly have Eddie play a different part in seasons to come. He could make a very interesting villain…
Captain Cold
I know what you’re thinking. What is it about Captain Cold that makes Barry reach out to him for help? Barry doesn’t work well with him. They are pretty much sworn enemies. Cold doesn’t have any previous metahuman experience. All Cold has is his gun and while that is special, it certainly isn’t unique to Cold. Hell, Cisco invented the damn thing. Why not just have Cisco make a couple more just in case everyone gets loose. Because if you enlist Cold’s help, you run the risk of getting doublecrossed and losing all of the metas, which of course is exactly what happens.
In a very fun fight Mist, Peekaboo, Weather Wizard, Rainbow Raider, and Deathbolt all escape from the truck right before they are supposed to be picked up by ARGUS. Peekaboo just leaves. Makes sense. Mist goes straight for Barry who uses his new “arm tornado” power. That leaves Deathbolt to try to take out Joe, Rainbow Raider to go after everyone else, and Weather Wizard to, I guess, watch. He eventually shocks Barry but realistically it doesn’t matter because everyone goes free except for Deathbolt who Captain Cold does kill because he “owes him money.” Classic.
This story, however pointless, did set up a lot of fun to come in the future. The Rogues are easily the most fun supervillain team. Sure, they all have interesting powers but what really makes them special is how much they bicker. We have already gotten a look at that dynamic the couple of times Cold has had to reign Heatwave in. It will only get better with more rogues, especially Weather Wizard who is sure to be a big part of seasons to come.
Reverse Flash Showdown
There has been one constant this season: Barry isn’t fast enough to catch the Reverse Flash. Even while Barry is getting faster as the series progresses, he is always a couple of steps behind Eobard. But this episode posits that Barry doesn’t have to be faster than Eobard to beat him. Barry’s true strength comes from his relationships and when a couple of old friends show up to help Barry out, it gives him the edge he needs to finally stop Eobard.
The fight itself, while short, is epic. We finally get to see someone other than Barry take a shot at the Reverse Flash. Oliver is the MVP. He brings not only a sweet new outfit, but special power dampening arrows courtesy of Ray Palmer that level the playing field. He gets a little hand to hand combat in before Barry and Firestorm finish the fight by throwing the Reverse Flash off of a building. Capturing Eobard was a great moment and puts the cherry on top of a excellent season. Or does it…
Next week?
This would have been a spectacular finale. There a Rogues on the loose. Iris is single. Barry and the gang caught Eobard. Everything is right with the world and there are plenty of fun things to do in future seasons. However, we still have one more episode before the season is over which begs the question…
What’s left to do?
Maybe Eobard isn’t as captured as we thought. Could his whole fight have been part of a bigger plan to get inside the particle accelerator one last time? It also seems like Barry is going to be doing some time traveling of his own. Will he finally get to save his mother and how will that effect everything in our current timeline? Is the next season going to be Flashpoint, because that would be a crazy cliffhanger and a really good setup for the new Legends of Tomorrow series CW is working on.
Whatever the finale episode of this season has in store, this most recent episode has cemented The Flash as one of the best superhero shows in recent memory and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Rating: 9/10
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Matthew Nando Kelly is an incredibly cool and handsome staff writer for Pop-Break who was allowed to write his own bio. Aside from weekly Flash reviews, he writes about film, television, music, and video games. Matthew also has a podcast called Mad Bracket Status where he discusses pop culture related brackets with fellow Pop-Break writer DJ Chapman. He loves U2, cats, and the New Orleans Saints. He can also occasionally be found writing lists on Topless Robot and his twitter handle is @NationofNando
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