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THE FLASH: SPOILER Review 01×04 – “Going Rogue”

The Flash (01×04) –
“Going Rogue”

Written by: Geoff Johns & Kai Yu Ku

Directed by: Glen Winter

While the episode opens with a fun test of Barry’s ability
to think fast, the story actually starts with a Blackhawk armored car.  Unlike the last time we saw Blackhawk
Security, this time they are the victims of a robbery.  The robbery is clearly well planned and timed
as the four men make quick work the armored car’s crew and the door itself
until Barry arrives on the scene.

Barry subdues the
crew in a single pass (even unmasking one of the robbers) but as he comes back
to secure the scene one of the other gunmen shoots a guard.  Left the choice of chasing the robbers or
taking the guard to the hospital, Barry chooses the latter. 

A bit later the police are on the scene with Joe and Eddie
leading the investigation.   It seems
that the item the robbers were after was the Khandaq Dynasty Diamond which was
about to be displayed at the Central City Museum.  Barry arrives and very quickly
“analyzes” the scene and Joe asks if he saw anything when he was
foiling the attempt.  Barry answers that
he saw one of the men’s faces.

At the CC Police Station, we learn that the man Barry saw
was Leonard Snart.  The career criminal
is the son of a bent cop and known for his ability to plot out successful
robberies.  Iris arrives with coffee and
Joe leaves after he declines a cup rather curtly.  Joe is still angry with Iris for dating Eddie
and not telling him about it and giving her the cold shoulder as a result.  Iris and Barry discuss this on the way to his
lab before Iris declares to Barry that she’s started a blog dedicated to
“The Streak.”

Barry does his best to discourage Iris but she replies that
it’s important that the people of Central City know about his alter ego.  They arrive at Barry’s lab to find Felicity Smoak;
Felicity has come from Starling to check on Barry as she hadn’t heard from him
since the night he was struck by lightning.

In his crew’s hideout, Snart is going of the footage of
Barry from the armored car’s camera while his cohorts are in the midst of a
panic.  Snart seems more annoyed than
anything about the robbery’s failure. 
He’s studied police tactics for years as well as response times which
was why he chose the car as opposed to a bank. 

We quickly learn that it’s not even Barry’s interference
that bother’s Snart, rather the man who shot the guard.  Snart has strict rules for jobs and the man
has violated them, Snart deals with him permanently.  His attention returns to Barry’s image and he
seems almost excited that he has a new challenge.

Meeting up with Barry and Felicity, we learn that she knows
about his abilities after overhearing his conversation with Oliver in the
pilot.  At her urging, Barry shows her
his new abilities then takes her STAR Labs where he shows her his suit and
introduces her to the team.   Barry
decides to show off for Felicity on the treadmill and she takes the opportunity
to grill the STAR trio on the effects and possible side effects of Barry’s
abilities.  Wells assures her that
Barry’s well-being is their chief concern.

Eddie and Joe have staked out the museum as Joe believes
that Snart will make another attempt at the diamond.  Eddie tries to talk to Joe about dating his
daughter but he shuts the younger man down. 
Eddie tries to make it clear that he doesn’t want his relationship with
Iris to affect their partnership, but Joe lets him know that his issues lie
more with Iris that Eddie.   After Eddie
unsuccessfully tries to find some music to listen to, the pair end up in an
awkward silence.

Barry and Felicity arrive at Jitters and after some small
talk with Iris, Felicity leaves to check back in with Team Arrow.  Iris quickly goes into “matchmaker
mode” and invites Felicity and Barry back to Jitters for trivia night.

Snart meets with a weapons dealer who deals with very
interesting weapons.  Leonard Snart, meet
the cold gun.  He kills the weapons
dealer with the gun but not before he lets us know the device was stolen from
STAR Labs.

While Barry, Felicity, Eddie and Iris are at Jitters for
trivia night, Snart is at the Central City Museum’s Hall of Heroes, casing the
Diamond.  He’s spotted by a museum
official who calls the police.  At STAR,
Dr. Wells, Caitlin and Cisco have learned the cold gun has gone missing, and
Dr. Well is furious.  Cisco has designed
without Dr. Wells’ knowledge a weapon that’s uniquely suited to hurt Barry.  Wells tasks Cisco with tracking down the gun
and leaves.

Back at the museum, Joe arrives just as Snart is leaving and
chases after him after calling for backup. 
Eddie receives the call and leaves Jitters, shortly followed by Barry.  Joe confronts Snart outside a theater and
Snart begins using the cold gun, first on a cop car then nearly on Joe.

Barry arrives and is hit by the cold gun, which injures
him.  Snart then uses the gun on
bystanders to test Barry’s abilities. 
Barry saves the first few but when Snart shoots at an usher Barry is not
fast enough to save him.

Barry returns to STAR to regroup and receive treatment for
the frost bite he received from the gun only to learn that Cisco built the gun
to stop him.  Barry is understandably
furious but Cisco had built the gun before he had any way of knowing that Barry
wasn’t as crazy as the other metahumans they’ve encountered.  While Barry can understand that, what is
bothering him is that Cisco didn’t trust him enough to tell him and because of
that someone died.  This is now something
that they all have to live with.

Joe returns home and talks with Iris about her and Eddie.  He’s not mad that she’s dating his partner,
he’s not even mad that they didn’t tell him.  He’s worried that because of the nature of
Eddie being Joe’s partner and Iris’ boyfriend he might hesitate in a crisis and
one or both of them could die.

Felicity finds Barry’s on the treadmill.  He’s still shaken by the death of the theater
usher as well as Cisco’s lack of trust. 
Felicity tries to explain that she and Oliver didn’t always trust each
other and that it took a long time build that trust.  He has to give them time to trust him. 

Back in the main lab, Cisco has come up with a way to track
Snart, who he’s now dubbed “Captain Cold,” using the gun.  With Felicity’s help hacking, they activate
the tracker and it’s just in time, as Cold has stolen the diamond and is making
his way to the Central City train station. 
Barry heads off to capture Cold but first turns off his communicator
link.  After Barry leaves, Felicity urges
Cisco and Caitlin to go after Barry to help him while Joe and Eddie confront
Cold at the train but he gets away.

On the train, Cold and Barry banter for just a moment before
he reveals Barry’s weakness, his need to save people, and puts it to the
test.  He uses the cold gun to derail the
train and jumps off.  Barry has to save each
person on the train as it derails and only barely escapes himself.  While he’s catching his breath, Cold shoots
Barry in the back with the cold gun. 
Cold thanks Barry for forcing him to up his game.  Just as he’s about to kill Barry, Cisco
Caitlin and Felicity arrive and scare him off with a “prototype cold gun,”
but aren’t able to scare him enough to give up the diamond.  Before they can take him back to the Lab
Barry thanks Cisco for saving him and the two shake hands, some of their trust
rebuilt.

Cold’s got away after he disabled the tracking program but
Barry promises they’ll find him.  Felicity then announces it’s time for her to return to Starling and after promising to
say hello to the Arrow says good-bye to Barry. 
After Barry and Caitlin leave, Wells turns almost menacing as he warns
Cisco about building weapons again.   Cisco is left alone and worried.

Iris finds Joe in the police station and the pair talks
about her relationship with Eddie.  She
seems to be about to tell him she’ll rethink dating Eddie but Joe stops
her.  Eddie saved his life at the train
station and what he wants most is for her to be happy.  The pair hug and each promise “No more
secrets.”  Barry catches up to
Felicity’s train and the pair discuss a lot of the things they’d avoided talking
about during the episode; his feelings for Iris, hers for Oliver and their own
chemistry before they decide not to pursue a relationship.  Barry and Felicity kiss before he returns to
Central City.

In a darkened diner, Snart meets up with someone.  He says that while the last time they worked
together didn’t go to well, he needs to think bigger to keep working in Central
City and he could use someone like him.  He
shows the man a flame thrower that the weapons dealer from earlier showed him
and asks, “Are you in Mick, or are you out?”

Mick chuckles and says “Yeah buddy, I’m in.”

Full disclosure here; from the time I was a kid watching
Superfriends and reading my older cousin’s pre-Crisis Flash books, I have loved
the Rogues, Captain Cold especially. 
This is the episode I have been waiting for since the Flash was
announced and it did not disappoint.  Cold
was introduced here well, damn near perfectly. 
His intelligence, his planning his leadership all fit with the Captain
Cold I know and love.  They even hint at
the quasi-friendly relationship he and Barry eventually develop in the comics. All
he needs now is a bright blue and white parka and some buddies.

The effects were outstanding, the train sequence is
fantastic and the fight in the theater is just as good.  The only thing that didn’t hold up as well
was the episode’s crossover.  Don’t get
me wrong, I love me some Felicity, but it felt like she threw the cast’s chemistry
off just a bit.  I liked her in this
episode, but I am now doubly glad she’s returning to Arrow.

All said and done, this is a great episode and I can’t wait
for the return of Captain Cold and the introduction of Heat Wave.

Three Things We Learned This Week:

1)     
Despite her complaints two weeks ago, Iris is
taking to journalism since the arrival of the Flash.

2)     
Kahndaq exists in the CW-verse.

3)     
Barry is still learning his powers.

Three Questions:

1)     
Is there a Black Adam/Shazam?

2)     
Has Cold already reverse engineered the Cold
Gun?

3)     
How is Blackhawk still in business?

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