Well, this was originally going to be two separate reviews but DOOM had some log-in issues so I couldn’t post until today (mucho thanks to Editor-in-chief John for fixing the issue) so I guess it’s another double-bill of reviews but I did write a full review last week so I guess I only have to do half the work?

Well, if you wanted something half-arsed, look no further than Gone Rogue because OH BOY, the good will that was going to run out eventually. For a split second, I thought something dramatic was going to happen but here we are; a couple days late and little-to-no motivation to continue this show outside of obligation.

Did you know that this episode is the first of this show to feature the word Rogue in the title and not have Wentworth Miller? Because I certainly felt his absence! These jobber Rogues (yeah, I love Troy Jones/Phil Lamarr as Ragdoll but still…) aren’t really a threat and for saying she’s on a dark path, Nora still acts like she’s a lost puppy.

The one moment I actually applaud the episode for is when Cisco is laughing in her face at this pathetic excuse of a heel turn and she goes full ThawneWells vibro-hand on him. That is good stuff! She’s using knowledge of a former ally’s trauma to get her way in the most sadistic way possible! It’s great character work and it’s fucking wasted in this episode!

It reminds of that one scene with FutureBarry/Savitar where it seems like he might actually be open to being talked down but then he reveals it was for shits and giggles (and padding to fill out the episodes) and I’m feeling just as pissed because Nora hasn’t turned heel at all. She’s just using these techy Rogues to rob a place with a meta-dampener.

Flash Fact: McCulloch Technologies, and the Mirror Gun, is a reference to Evan McCulloch, the second Mirror Master. Additionally, the Jenni Ognats identity is a reference to the comic incarnation of XS who is a member of the Legion of Super Heroes.

So yeah, naturally the Rogues betray Nora forcing her dad to step-in and save her in, admittedly, a fun twist using image inducers. The Rogues are beaten and jailed and, naturally, the West-Allen family are reunited and now using Thawne’s plan to stop Cicada II.

Speaking of; Cicada II is related to this episode in a way because she steals the meta-cure from frozen base Cisco developed it in. I can’t remember how she knew where it was but they were more focused on making light of Ralph’s original status as Caitlin’s love interest before Danielle Panabaker put the kibosh on that plot.

But yeah, the meta-cure, coupled with the ice mcguffin from last episode, can be used to spread the meta-cure across Central City and we see Cicada II modifying the device to do just that… while her beloved uncle watches on. I honestly didn’t twig this was just her psychosis until this week’s The Girl With The Red Lightning.

The penultimate episode of the season starts to kick into maximum over-medium pace and we get the final confrontation with Cicada (can’t believe I didn’t come up with ‘Shecada’ or that it took this long for the show to) as she tries to activate her ultimate weapon that will kill every meta in the country.

It’s a pretty small-stakes end to the season-long big bad but everyone on Team Flash gets to have a go and there’s a couple interesting choreographed spots but the aftermath is the real meat.

Also, shout-out to Killer Frost with the best burn of the season!

Throughout the episode, Ralph is wondering aloud about what Thawne’s plan is because if “his plans have plans”, then what the hell does all this mean? And it’s a legit question, shame it’s brought about AFTER we see that Thawne’s timer has run out so it’s obvious that this has all been to spring him. I’m shocked. SHOCKED.

Well, not that shocked. But I’ll probably need this plan explained to me because this time travel plot is ropier than Avengers: Endgame’s explanation! Ha! Topical…

Nora with the Good Lightning is a better episode than Gone Rogue objectively but I was still mostly non-plussed, as all this rushed build-up reeks of last season’s fucking about until the penultimate episode formula. Which is a shame because I should be hyped for Thawne’s return but that was always inevitable and I’m certainly not invested in the Nora/Shecada plot soooo…

I dunno, next week’s finale is going to be an interesting watch. I have to wonder if they’ll finally go back to a speedster villain season since these two were interesting premises that ultimately fell on their respective arses and with a lot of chatter with people leaving after this season, we’ll have to see what the future holds and what will become of The Flash’s Legacy.

Seriously, it’s cold as balls right now and this review is brought to you in association with flu, insomnia, and stress! The Icicle Cometh finally solves the mystery of what happened to Caitlin’s father and it’s just an okay kind of episode.

Now having access to the DeVoe’s satellites, it makes sense that they wouldn’t waste time trying to find Thomas Snow and they don’t, finding him stupidly easily. Makes sense but at the same time… It’s too easy and thankfully the episode plays that up as part of Thomas’s, or should I say Icicle’s, master plan to get Caitlin’s blood to solidify the Icicle personality.

Flash Fact: Alarm bells should have rung with the audience at the mention of not only Harrison Wells, but also Louise Lincoln and Victor Fries, both notorious ice villains in the DCU; Killer Frost II and Mr Freeze, respectively.

While Team OG Flash seeks out Thomas, Ralph and Cecile are hunting down the names of people in the vicinity of the satellite’s dark matter core in order to find Cicada’s real identity. It’s a fun little diversion from the plot because both Ralph and Cecile are great for comic relief.

Iris, Nora, and Sherloque attempt to locate the dark matter core itself and find it. That’s all it is. The one funny moment being when Nora future-swears and apologises to Iris for her language. It’s great that all it took for Iris to gain Nora’s trust and affection was for Iris to swan dive off a building.

Back with Icicle’s plan exposed, the team all rally to try and stop him but all are overwhelmed by the immense cold, save for Caitlin. As Icicle reaches up to his neck with the injector, a blast of cold hits him and Caitlin is replaced by the killer queen herself. And despite Icicle’s protestations, Frost sides with her true family and attacks, driving him off.

While her reappearance is a good sign, it’s not a full fix and using a telepathic booster, Caitlin and Frost are able to talk to each other for the first time, mind to mind.

Cicada makes a small appearance in the show, killing a new meta called Razorsharp who seemingly attacked someone in the hospital where Cicada’s doctor works. I assume this is the writers attempt to make him seem justified in attacking metas, by having the Doctor not outright condemn him.

Overall, this is an okay episode that probably could have used a little more pathos for Caitlin and a little less fucking about with Iris and Nora. We’ll no doubt see Icicle again later in the season but next week the weather’s going to get worse with a pair of malicious meteorological mages in O Come, All Ye Thankful.

My plans for this review series just aren’t going to plan! So what’s happened in the weeks since the last review? Well, I’ve caught up with all of the CW opening episodes and here’s my quick thoughts! Supergirl remains boring as sin, Legends has a weak opening but it’s got Matthew Ryan as Constantine so I’m in. Arrow has an interesting premise and intriguing flash-forwards, and Black Lightning remains the most consistently good out of all the CW DC shows, not hampered by many of the tropes and trappings of the others.

So what’s been happening with The Flash? Shenanigans, mostly. While they’ve skipped the initial mistrust of Nora, I think Barry and Iris are a little too into being parents to this twenty-something they‘ve just met. Zero-to-sixty with the parenting. It’s awkward but since Nora is still an interesting character, I can put up with it. It’s the kind of development and mentorship we should have had with Wally though…

Cisco is still coming to grips with his break-up with Gypsy, being a curmudgeon and generally having a moan. That’s it. That’s his schtick now. Meanwhile, Caitlin and Ralph are going full-on Mystery, Inc and sleuthing the case of the missing dad which gives them a cool dynamic and adds to the Killer Frost Retrieval Arc. Caitlin finds a supposed suicide note amongst her father’s old notes and by using a cipher, decodes the notes to reveal a message from her father. Kinda hoping that this is Caitlin trying too hard to find a connection and the accumulated grief will see her go full Frost once more but probably not.

It wouldn’t be a season of The Flash without a new incarnation of Harrison Wells and I think I’ve finally reached my limit of Cavanaugh’s numerous characters and garbage accents. It was fun for a while but I think this Sherloque persona is one persona too far. The only semi-meaningful thing that he did was set up some doubt in the audience regarding Nora’s intentions. Like, yeah; obviously she’s hiding something, she’s from the future, there’s all sorts she could be keeping from the team.

And on the villain front, Cicada’s death-count is up to two with the deaths of both meta-jobbers, Gridlock and Block. His hostage situation with Joe reveals a lot about his motivation while Nora talks about his legacy; a metahuman serial killer who is never caught but who has clearly lost his family due to metahumans. It’s an interesting villain, for sure, especially since his lightning bolt dagger can even the playing field by stripping metas of their powers but the swerve with Vibe is a huge mistake in my opinion.

While I don’t want to see Cisco killed, it would definitely make Cicada more of a threat and galvanise the team. It’d make Nora step-up since his early arrival is a result of her actions and Barry wouldn’t be holding her hand as much. Plus this is the second time Cisco has escaped the reaper and he’s definitely got it coming.

Flash Fact: The titles of the first three episodes are a secret message that comes to pass at the end of the third; Nora Blocked The Death of Vibe. Not sure if that’s intentional or not but neat none-the-less.

So Blocked and The Death of Vibe aren’t as good as the opening episode but there’s elements that are just interesting enough to keep me coming back. In comparison, Supergirl is boring as sin and the only thing I’m interested in is the Red Daughter-esque subplot that will hopefully go somewhere. Next time, we’ll see things spin out of control in News Flash.

Seriously, Think Fast, while being a cute nod to Barry teaching Cisco and Caitlin how to operate in Flashtime, it also reflects a more cerebral episode.

Those opening 4 minutes were pure perfection. Seeing DeVoe unleash all of his abilities during a long hallway fight through an ARGUS facility was astonishing! It’s one of the highlights of the episode, for sure.

In the sub-plot, Cecile’s gestational telepathy becomes more of a problem when she stop reading minds and outright copies them. Shout out Danielle Nicolet for nailing both Caitlin and Joe’s mannerisms over the course of the episode, I can’t imagine it’s easy to emulate well established characters like that.

Gotta give love to Cisco for having a right go at Barry for his martyr complex. He makes soooo many good points that are bang on. It’s about time someone called him out on it.

Harry and Iris have an interesting side-story where they try to find Marlize DeVoe and while Iris has exhausted every tech option, Harry’s new-found emotional intelligence leads them right to her. It’s a good way to keep Harry involved while he’s the local village idiot. I don’t get Iris’s shortness with him though… Like, how’s she gonna handle kids if she can’t handle Harry’s silliness. I’m sure we’ll find out. But regardless, they find Marliize and seemingly turn her face so she’ll help the team in the finale.

Caitlin asks Cisco to vibe her past and we discover that she’s had Killer Frost since she was a child, despite the particle accelerator explosion happening decades later. This opens up new possibilities as now we can have metas not related to the dark matter explosion at all and don’t need to use it as a convenient crutch. Though this does add more mystery to Caitlin’s past which will no doubt be explored sometime next season.

Finally, after a dozen episodes of fucking about, DeVoe enacts his plan, utilising the the STAR Labs satellite to make up for the one Barry destroyed and, most chillingly of all, Gideon in the time vault. The episode ends with The Enlightenment beginning.

For the penultimate episode, this is more of what I was wanting from the show and I really enjoyed it, which is an odd feeling. I hope the momentum keeps up and we’ll see how all of this season’s elements come together and the identity of the Mystery Girl will be revealed in the final showdown with DeVoe in We Are The Flash.

At the outset of Girls Night Out, I was reticent as the whole premise could lead to really cringey humour, and it did, but what I wasn’t prepared for was some genuine character moments and a great performance from the guest stars.

All of Team Flash are attending the bachelor/bachelorette parties of Barry and Iris but both groups meet adversity but in different ways. While the guys have to contend with a comedy of errors, the girls have to deal with the reemergence of Killer Frost and the new villain Amunet Black.

I’m glad that Ralph is sticking around, he brings a unique, Carey-esque, performance to the show. Ralph drags the gang to a strip club where Cisco gets Barry drunk and Joe has to confront a parent’s worst nightmare; catching his soon-to-be step-daughter on the pole. Joe being Joe, he takes an even-handed approach to talking to Joanie Horton and offers some sincere advice but this has an adverse effect where Joe has to confront that he’s going to be a father at 50 and the notion terrifies him. It’s a nice, genuine human moment for TV’s Best Dad.

Meanwhile, with the Guest-Star Squadron, Caitlin comes face-to-face with Norvack (the goon she threatened in the season premiere) at Iris’s bachelorette party, the secrets of her six-month absence laid bare, we are introduced to the person she was working for; Amunet Black.

Amunet Black aka Blacksmith is played by the gorgeous Katie Sackhoff and I find her performance and British accent utterly delightful. I’m glad that she wasn’t taken down (despite how inherently stupid that is) because we get a brilliant recurring female villain for a change! We’ll probably also see The Weeper (Black’s meta drug source) again since The Thinker recaptured him.

Meanwhile, Iris helps Caitlin reconcile her two sides, speaking with both Caitlin and Killer Frost and trying to amalgamate the disparate personalities into one whole and it seemingly works… Though we thought the cure would work but the idea of Caitlin having better control and becoming more akin to the Frost in the current comics is a good thing.

One thing I didn’t like was drunk Barry. It wasn’t funny nor endearing but hungover Barry was better so it kind balances out?

Girls Night Out was an okay episode, nothing really outstanding but entertaining enough that it didn’t annoy me which is more than I can say about most of the episodes so far this season. Next week we’ll be training Ralph and summoning the Council of Wells’ to figure out how The Thinker’s identity in When Harry met Harry…

Welcome back to Flash Facts, everyone! I’ve missed this and you guys and watching my favourite CW-verse Team but do you know what I haven’t missed?

Barry Allen as god saviour of all. I’ll be straight with you that I was not looking forward to the first few episodes of Season 4 because I knew that they would bring Barry back immediately because it’s not like we have another Flash on the show that’s been steadily developing or anything…

I will admit that bringing him back as an insane amnesiac (avec sick-ass beard) was a neat idea and I wish they’d at least kept him out of the suit for a few episodes if they were intent on bringing him back immediately after his sacrifice. The bizarre language Barry is writing in doesn’t conform with any written language established in DC Comics though it does bear a pacing resemblance to Interlac, the language of the 30th Century. His speech is a whole different beast as, amongst his ramblings, there seems to be a few snippets of dialogue from upcoming events. Again, if this manic state had continued, we could have used Barry as a bespoke early warning system while his mind readjusts to non-Speed Force reality.

Wally and Cisco get it bad this episode and that sucks! Despite clearly being active for 6 months inbetween seasons, we have to watch them act like bumble kings despite them being mostly capable in the previous season. I mean seriously, these guys get jobbed out by Peek-a-Boo and the super obscure Samuroid and THAT’S the impetus to bring Barry back? Boo-urns! You could have at least made it a gathering of The Rogues. I did dig that Wally just knows Japanese, nice little character tid-bit.

As bad as Wally and Cisco got it, Iris got it worse because she was damn good this episode. Candice Patton does a fantastic job playing Iris as a strong leader and voice of reason. Despite Barry’s loss, she seems to be the only one willing to live by his wishes and move forward, actively getting Wally and Cisco to train while acting as their “guy in the chair”. Having her continue her growth without Barry for a while would have been really interesting to see.

Caitlin has gone full Bruce Banner in the 6 months the Team haven’t seen her, now switching between Caitlin and Frost based on emotion. Interesting wrinkle, more interested in that dive bar she was working at and why the manager looks so distinctly unique. Questions for later in the season, probably!

In the final moments of the show, we find out who sent the Samuroid to literally welcome Barry home and it’s the Season Villain du jour, DeVoe aka the Thinkers – looking an awful lot like Metron of the New Gods in his floating chair and futuristic lair. I have to wonder at the design choice here because while Thinker is known for being one of the Flash’s smarter villains, he’s never really stolen Metron’s look before. Maybe it’ll be explained further in the season but for now, just a curious thing to note.

So that was The Flash Reborn, a bit of a tepid return to the series with a rather obvious plot line. It was disappointing but hey, it could have been worse! We could have had a 4th Speedster as the big bad! *shudder* Anyway, thanks for reading, let me know what you guys thought in the comments and we’ll be back next week to see if the show continues to send Mixed Signals.

After months of build up, we finally get to Infantino Street and we see the results of Team Flash’s efforts…

Wah-wah-wah-waaaaaaaah~! Yup, Iris is dead! For real-real, not for play-play. For now and let’s face it, we’re all thinking it. That longing look HR gave to the Savitar splinter was dripping with foreshadowing. Hell, his absence from the event (Joe taking his place), as well as the Plunder news report changing should tell you that while events have played out much like we’ve seen, there’s still room for changes in the timeline.

Speaking of… Leonard Snart brings his trademark cool demeanour back to the series for all too brief a period. Plucked from the first season of Legends of Tomorrow, Snart takes part in a pretty fun caper that allows for Captain Cold, of all people, to remind Barry that The Flash should always be a hero. The irony is delicious.

Meanwhile, the other premonition kicks off as Cisco heads off to face Killer Frost in the woods. Isn’t this where she took his arms in the future timeline? But, considering her villainous personality faltering, as well as Killer Frost in the comics being a member of the Justice League, I’m expecting a face-turn for Caitlin and Cisco is the one to do it.

For the penultimate episode of the season, it’s a pretty mixed bag; elevated by the guest appearances and dragged down by the (hopefully) final showing of Iris’s death. Come back next week when Season 3 of The Flash ends and we cross the Finish Line.

Killer Frost is an interesting episode, indeed. Kicking off with a vicious display of speed, we instantly get a feel for how powerful Savitar is. Being so fast that he’s invisible to regular vision is a nice way to save some money but also acts as a passive display of power. He’s clearly not just a guy in armour either which is interesting.

This is clearly a big bad that will need more than one speedster to deal with and luckily we have at least four, now that Wally’s got his speed. One of the minor missteps of this episode is Wally’s resolution in the final act but that’s an unfortunate story pacing issue that’s not really on Kevin Smith’s shoulders as director.

Flash Fact: Greg Grunburg stars as Detective Tom Patterson and while known for his similar cop role in Heroes, he also hosts AMC’s Geeking Out with Kevin Smith. At least it isn’t Mewes again!

Yes, the Bluntman returneth and while I didn’t really notice any significant jump in camera work like The Runaway Dinosaur, I did like the direction of Panabaker and Valdes’ performances.

If there’s one thing Smith knows how to do, it’s how to direct friends being pissed off with each other and it’s beautifully done here. I like Gustin as an actor but he doesn’t play guilty very well. He’s too much of a scolded puppy who casually admits his faults knowing full well he’ll get away with it. Because he always does. And that makes his performance pretty weak.

Panabaker plays Snow’s schizophrenic dissent into villainy quite well; gradually sloping downwards as she gets angrier at Barry and his time-fuckery, eventually exploding in the pipeline in a diatribe that is absolutely spot-on. He’s selfish and everyone else can only suffer in his wake.

Despite Smith’s involvement, there’s very little fun to be had in this episode but one thing that makes me giggle every time is Tom Felton’s tremendous pratfall after getting socked in the gob. Felton’s got a pretty good role in this episode too. After being taken hostage by Killer Frost, Julian blackmails Barry into quitting the CCPD.

Again, Julian is bang-on with his assessment of Barry, especially from the perspective of someone not on Team Flash. Barry is often absent, acts like an incompetent weirdo and now is going to bat for a criminal. He wants to see justice done and Barry just isn’t pulling his weight and this makes him a fantastic antagonist for Barry, not the Flash, which is unfortunate because…

Oy… I think we can all agree that this reveal was both stupidly obvious and utterly absurd. I mean, we all figured that Julian would be Alchemy but after seeing his character develop, it makes no sense. The coming episodes really need to explain why Julian is Alchemy because nothing so far has pointed to why he would be.

But I imagine that will have to wait because next week will be part of the Heroes vs Aliens crossover between all of the CW shows so, like previous years, come back Tuesday through Friday as we cover…

Seriously, why call this episode Shade when the titular character isn’t even the focus? Hell, he doesn’t get a civilian name, his motivation isn’t explained or if he’s even related to the Alchemy case. For fuck’s sake, writers… The primary focus is on Wally and Caitlin, both of whom are struggling with their emerging powers.

It’s good to see Caitlin finally confide in the team, even if it’s not exactly how she wanted to do it. Super-cool to see the future vibe with Cisco and Caitlin duking it out in full costume, even if it means Caitlin will be turning to the dark side. Interestingly, it’s not the powers or even the knowledge that she was evil on Earth-2 but Barry taking her aside and confessing that Pre-Flashpoint Caitlin never had powers. Nice one, Barry, you played yourself.

Meanwhile, Wally is getting his ass knocked out by Iris! Kapow! I loved that sequence but it really highlights how much power Alchemy has over the Flashpointers (because the show hasn’t given me a catchier name to work with). Even when Wally seems to have regained his senses, he jumps at the chance to become a speedster when Alchemy’s philospher’s stone calls out to him.

Notable by his absence is Julian Albert, who disappears at a crucial moment. It’s established earlier in the episode that he’s got a date with his girlfriend and I hope that leads to a comical reveal rather than what we’re lead to believe; that Julian is either Alchemy or…

This gorgeous Bayformer-looking badass; Savitar. Damn, what an incredible introduction to a new villain. Savitar is so fast that only Barry can see him, barely catching glimpses of his whitish-blue lightning before being bodied hardcore by the self-titled God of Speed.

Flash Fact: Savitar takes his name from Savitr, the Hindu god of motion.

While the episode is light on action, it’s steeped in character development and introduces, arguably, The Flash’s greatest nemesis. Candice Patton does a fantastic job but her coming to terms with her secret doesn’t really have the impact of, say, Alex Danvers in Supergirl this week. Still, a good episode and we’ll see Caitlin truly step out into the cold next week in Killer Frost.