Review: ‘The Flash – S1E4’ From The Editor

Back when ‘Angel’ first premiered on The WB, it would more than occasionally feature episodes with characters from the mothership show ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer.’ Buffy, Oz, Willow, and others would pop by for both ratings as well as some sweet inter-show continuity. And when you have the entire DC Universe to play with, it makes sense for The CW to bring the worlds of ‘Arrow‘ and ‘The Flash‘ together from time to time. Sure, these are two different worlds, but one that shares the same sky, and luckily for us, the same Felicity Smoake.

Emily Bett Rickards has been stealing ‘Arrow’ from under Stephen Amell and company for more than a season now, and she’s equally adept at putting those on ‘The Flash’ to shame as well. Ostensibly an episode that establishes Barry Allen’s first long-term nemesis, “Going Rogue” is really a Smoake-tastic hour that not only gives Rickards a chance to shine, but also offer up some meta-critique for world-building in the world of small-screen superhero shows.

Now, “meta” isn’t my favorite flavor of entertainment, as things can get pretty arch pretty quickly. (The divisive ‘Lost’ episode “Exposé” is an excellent example of how things can go from self-depreciating to self-congratulating faster than you can say “Razzle Dazzle!”) But here, it works, mostly because the meta nature of Felicity’s crossover isn’t underlined but rather is understated. She’s useful to Barry’s attempts to catch Leonard “Captain Cold” Snart, but she’s more useful in offering up the denizens of S.T.A.R. Labs a blueprint for potentially functioning as a cohesive unit over the long haul.

Back at base, Felicity tells Barry he has a great team before she heads back to Starling City. Harrison lectures Cisco in creepy fashion, telling him never to do anything like that again.

Iris and her dad have one last discussion about Eddie, with Joe revealing that his partner saved his life and he may have underestimated Thawne. Iris requests no more secrets, a promise that might be hard for Joe to keep.

Felicity is on a train back to Starling City when Barry zooms onto the car to have one last chat. She already knows he is pining after Iris as “it takes one to know one,” and he realizes she’s talking about her feelings for Oliver. They promise to be there for each other if they ever need anything, and … they kiss! Shippers rejoice!

One last scene, as always. Snart is speaking to someone unseen, saying he needs a different kind of crew. He offers the heat gun we saw earlier, asking Mick is he’s in. Mick says he is. That’d be Mick Rory, a.k.a. Heat Wave. Looks like the Rogues are being born right in front of our eyes.

We’re only four weeks in, but ‘The Flash’ has shown great skill at presenting interesting combat scenarios for Barry. Simple brawls simply won’t do here. Tonight’s train rescue might have been more visually impressive than the pilot’s tornado battle, and certainly highlighted what Snart calls Barry’s “weakness”: his need to help other people. That’s hardly an unusual Achilles’ heel, but Snart’s instant recognition of this tendency suggests a keen intelligence far beyond that of a high school drop-out. At some point, villains are going to have to stick around past a single episode in order to make a dent in this universe. And while Wells might ultimately be the Big Bad (to steal a ‘Buffy’ phrase), it will be good to see recurring figures match powers AND wits with the Fastest Man Alive.