TV Review: THE FLASH: Season 1, Episode 10: Revenge of the Rogues [The CW]

The CW’s The Flash Revenge of the Rogues TV Show Review. The Flash: Season 1, Episode 10: Revenge of the Rogues, places Barry (Grant Gustin) in a hardcore dilemma. Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) has returned and brought a friend along and Barry must decide to either train so he can have a rematch with Reverse Flash (Tom Cavanagh) or go toe to toe with Captain Cold and Heat Wave (Dominic Purcell).

After a long 6 weeks, the show returns with an elevation in story, visual fx, plot and performance. Yes, this episode was on fire. Before we dig into that, congratulations are in order. The CW has announced it’s renewing The Flash for another season and this did not surprise me, they totally earned it. Fans of the show will be very happy to hear this news. The other cool news is actors Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell, from the TV Show Prison Break, will be reunited in this episode.

When we last saw The Flash, he had taken a few beatings. The first was emotional. After exposing his feelings towards Iris west (Candice Patton) and her not really giving him a response, she left him hanging and had decided to move in with her boyfriend Eddie Thawe (Rick Cosnett). Looking deeper, this turns out to be a good thing for Barry. His character needed to grow up and fast. With all of the challenges he was facing coming out of the gate, there was a level of maturity that needed to be developed. This was a wake up call for him. Also, if he wants to get the girl, she will respect him more now. The second hard knock came from the Reverse Flash. Not only did he beat Barry up good, he also proved to be faster than him. I noticed Barry even changed the line in the intro about being the fastest man alive and giving that honor to Reverse Flash. I mention these things because Barry’s character is hitting his points where his character will grow and his character arc will become more evident. We see him right from jump being more of an adult about what’s going on. He has rededicated himself to raising his speed and performance. That beating was a serious blow to his ego and has motivated him like never before. Even when he was losing in the battle with both Captain Cold and Heat Wave, that maturity kicked in and he found a solution to defeat them. The writing has matured here as well. There was a touching moment between Barry and Iris that played out nicely. There was also a nice exchange between Barry and Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin). Their relationship is part of the backbone of the show. Well executed.

Captain Cold and Heat Wave make a very cool entrance into the episode. It just doesn’t get any better than that. On the list of cool characters Barry has faced…they are 2^nd and 3^rd after Reverse Flash. The conflict between them was really well worked and they sell it. I guess the weakest point was the fact that their power lay in the weapons. Without the guns neither man was a match for The Flash. That said, Leonard Snart is the kind of able strategist who keeps bringing it. After they are captured we see his plan was only beginning to unfold. This should be very interesting.

With all that was going on, Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) found herself doing some research on the last word Ronnie (Robbie Amell) said to her…”Firestorm”. Being the relentless character she is, she finds out Firestorm is an acronym for a project that deals with transmutation. She then finds a researcher, Jason Rusch (Luc Roderique) who was a researcher on the project. He makes it clear this project was a top secret. He also reveals a character by the name of Martin Stein. This man was the team lead and has disappeared. Before she could get any further with this she found herself becoming a hostage. The good thing about this was Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) and Joe West come to her rescue. Everyone gets some valuable screen time.

What I can see happening here is clear. The writing is getting stronger and the show is finding it’s true strengths. Barry is responding pretty well to the tremendous weight that is being placed upon him. Responsibility is no light creature…it has to be dealt with. In this case…it’s working.

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