The Flash: “Rogue Time” Review

The Flash Season 1 Episode 16

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Max Mielecki in Drama, Reviews, Superheroes // 1 Comment

Flash has to contend with the return of the Rogues after being sent back in time a day.

The CW

BACK TO THE PRESENT

Note: The following review goes into detail about the episode. SPOILER ALERT!

“Rogue Time” had a lot to do, considering that it had the unenviable task of following the bombs dropped at the conclusion of “Out of Time.” While the Flash’s latest adventure proved to be a fine chaser to that episode, time travel allowed most of the big revelations of the previous episode to be wiped away, and because of that, the rest of the episode didn’t quite satisfy on the level that it should have.

Resuming the action right where it left off, this episode saw Flash thrown one day into the past after breaking yet another speed record trying to defeat Weather Wizard. This made for some great moments, with Barry and Harrison Wells examining the situation and a few scenes straight out of Groundhog Day. Barry soon decides to avert the tsunami from “Out of Time” by capturing Mark Mardon early and jailing him beneath STAR Labs. This of course alters time, with events playing out slightly different this time around. Mark Mardon’s absence allowed for the return of the Rogues, whom now count Leonard Snart’s sister, Lisa, among their ranks. Wentworth Miller again brought the bravado as Captain Cold, luckily offering a slightly more balanced take on the character this time around. Peyton List was able to provide a suitably hammy performance as his sister (though, unfortunately, she’s yet to obtain her comics alias of Golden Glider.)

The CW

The Rogues plot did hit a few bumps, however, with their plans hinging on a kidnapped Cisco and his brother building them new guns, despite the fact that Leonard Snart has on several occasions noted that he knows how to put one together himself. While it was nice to see a Cisco-focused story, it didn’t really go anywhere, with he and his brother’s forced reunion feeling more rushed than earned. It did, however, fare better than the latest Barry/Iris plot, which saw Barry breaking it off with Linda in anticipation of Iris confessing her feelings for him, again. Needless to say, things didn’t go as planned, and it all remained pretty uninteresting.

THE BREAKDOWN

This episode was an enjoyable romp on its own, but didn’t quite satisfy as a follow-up to “Out of Time.” “Rogue TIme” dealt with all the plot developments of last week by writing them out of existence, essentially making Eobard Thawne’s reveal and Cisco’s death a self-contained “What If?” story. While the presence of the Rogues was enjoyable, both the main plot and the Barry/Iris material didn’t quite land. It’s great to see the show embrace time travel, but let’s hope when it’s used next there’s more consequences than Harrison Wells simply killing a different persona in the finale.