TV Review: THE FLASH: Season 2, Episode 3: Family of Rogues [The CW]

The CW’s The Flash Family of Rogues TV Show Review. The Flash: Season 2, Episode 3: Family of Rogues became more a family affair as the episode focused on the Snarts and gave some backstory on the West family. Even though the plot with Zoom took a backseat, it didn’t avert from making any development on the new villainous speedster. The episode did provide some entertainment with the return of siblings Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) and Golden Glider (Peyton List), however the subplot dealing with the return of Iris’ (Candice Patton) mother Francine (Vanessa A. Williams) wasn’t necessary and left the episode a little weak.

The main attraction of the episode ‘Family of Rogues’ was that we got to see a much lighter and vulnerable side to Leonard and Lisa Snart. This was a tough act to pull off because of the over-the-top presence that these two have on screen last season. So is it possible to make Captain Cold have a heart despite his cold criminal past? You can bet on it because the episode pulled that off with ease, despite Peyton doing most of the work. Michael Ironside, who is familiar to the DC world after playing Darkseid in the DC Animated Universe, was the perfect choice to play their violent and dominant father. Ironside did a wonderful job portraying a hardened criminal who uses his family to get what he wants no matter what kind of danger he puts them in.

It was enjoyable to watch the dynamic between Team Flash and the Snarts grow over much of the episode. We witnessed more of the growing mutual respect between Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and Cold. Their last encounter left them on a bitter note after Barry was forced to allow Cold to continue his criminal ways in Central City in exchange for him keeping his superhero identity a secret. The episode moved away from that thorn in Barry’s side as the speedster was more concerned over the greater good than his own individual wellbeing. Barry was willing to risk it all for Cold in order to save lives.

The partnership between Lisa and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) was also one of the big highlights from the episode. The episode built on the sexual tension the two shared, but it also created a real friendship between them as well. In a way, it was always hard to know whether Lisa was showing her vulnerability, but Peyton made sure through her performance that her character was in real danger and felt some affection with the genius who saved her life.

The drama built up some tension with Lisa’s life on the line as Barry tried to go undercover into Leonard and his father’s big heist in order to stop them. We always see Barry going against enemies who can’t catch up to his speed, so having a hostage situation and putting Barry in that kind of situation gave him a real challenge. It also seemed like this episode was also prepping for Cold’s future appearance in Legends of Tomorrow. We learn that Cold has some sort of desire to do more in life than using his tools for his criminal activities. Hopefully this isn’t the last time that we see the charismatic villain on this show because villains like him are what make this show work for many viewers.

What wasn’t the best part of the episode was the introduction to Joe’s (Jesse L. Martin) ex-wife Francine, who was back in Central City to see his daughter. This was something that the show didn’t need at this point. The West family storyline did nothing to put something interesting on the table. Jesse did a marvelous performance showing the sacrifices his character made as a father after the mother left the picture. But, this doesn’t change the fact the story could’ve done less of the melodrama with the Wests, or at least have the episode devote the time focusing on them rather than putting this as a subplot with the Snarts’ own family problems.

With Zoom on the back burner and the weak subplot, this week’s installment gave an entertaining hour. It was a solid episode that played light with a few dark elements in play. The romantic tensions with some of our characters made the episode lighthearted despite the dark elements used here. With the interdimensional portal now stabilized, it looks like arrival of Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) will become another hurdle for Team Flash. Even the development with Dr. Stein (Victor Garber) is making us eager for next week’s episode.

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