The Flash S1x22 “Rogue Air”

WARNING! SPOILERS!

That was a pretty awesome penultimate episode to say the least, and it really confirms what we already know, which is just how great The Flash has been. With exciting DC Comics series such as the CW’s Legends of Tomorrow and CBS’s Supergirl in the pipeline alongside the already established shows like Fox’s Gotham and the CW’s Flash and Arrow, if you’re a DC fan (unless you’re a Constantine fan, that is, unfortunately), you’re in a very good place right now. And when you add more comic book shows to the mix like Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil & Agent Carter, there’s some exciting times ahead.

It’s safe to say that Rogue Air was a dumb episode, though, now that we’ve got the state of the comic book shows out of the way. There’s so many ways how the prisoner transport could have worked without Barry resorting to Captain Cold who was always going to screw up his plans at some point, but it did see the return of the character which gave us some more time to spend with him ahead of his role on Legends of Tomorrow. (Side note, Cold as Ice was playing in the bar, which was a pretty appropriate music choice given Cold’s powers), and he could have easily called in some ARGUS Agents for backup, or just have let the whole operation been handled by ARGUS in the first place. This did allow for a Dark Knight- style scene where they were transporting the prisoner (in this case a group of depowered Rogues) down an open road with the foreboding sense of something bad about to happen being just around the corner. However, when it did happen, the conflict between Flash and his Rogues was great to see, even if obviously they could have not taken him on at once because that would have been massively over the top. Now that they’re back on the streets it also solves the problem of what they should do with the cooped up supervillains, and now that The Mist, Rainbow Raider, Peekaboo, Weather Wizard and Deathbolt are all back out on the streets it should give The Flash an excuse for some of these villains to crop up again on future DC shows going forward.

Wentworth Miller’s character continues to be one of the best in the show and it’s always a good episode when Captain Cold shows up, as I’ve rarely been disappointed with his appearances and that certainly wasn’t the case here. His exchange with Barry in the bar was fantastic and the exchange “Why’d you shoot that guy?” “He owed me Money,” made the character all the more excellent and one of the strongest additions to the Rogues Gallery. Hopefully his role on Legends of Tomorrow won’t prevent him from guest starring on The Flash every now and again, because it’d be a shame to miss him.

The second part of Rogue Air focused on an equally cool team up between Firestorm (the Ronnie Raymond half), Oliver Queen (in his new League of Assassins gear), and The Flash as they fought Harrison Wells who had been let loose properly now and it was great to see him go head to head against the three heroes. These team-ups are the most exciting parts of The Flash (another reason why I can’t wait for Legends of Tomorrow) and whilst it felt like a bit of an odd switch between the two storylines, the fight sequence was handled pretty well.

However, that said, it did feel like this episode was anti-climatic as it’s wrapped up a lot of loose ends already. Eobard’s behind bars, but the Rogues are out in the open. What’s going to happen next? What direction will the finale go in? We don’t exactly know for sure, but one thing’s for certain, it’s going to be pretty epic if this season was anything to go by. Also, did anybody notice that reference to Hal Jordan as to the reason why Ferris Air was shut down? They’ve been sprinkling references like that throughout the season and whilst it would be impossible to do a character like Green Lantern on a TV budget, it’ll almost be a shame if Hal, or another Green Lantern (because there is a popular theory that John Diggle is John Stewart) isn’t featured as a result of all these teases in some capacity. However, that said, it wouldn’t make too much difference because The Flash doesn’t need Green Lantern to be great. It’s already fantastic.