Same Geek Channel: ‘Flash’ Episode 122 “Rogue Air”

Mordechai: We’re almost done with the season, folks, and you can totally tell by how much is crammed into it. We’re talking two to three episodes worth of action, folks. Which suits the show well. Ramping up the amount of stuff going on fits a show about a super speedster suits it.

Sadly, there are still problems and places where it drags. Let us begin!

Corrina: I’ve not liked Barry much since the beginning of the series because between the creepy crushing on his sister and locking up people illegally while still claiming the high moral ground, he’s, well, been a jerk.

Mordechai: Agreed. At least Oliver admits he’s one.

Corrina:  I’m glad that the show finally acknowledged this, though bummed it took an entire season of holding people in solitary without any legal basis to say that, hey, maybe this is problematic. Mist, maybe, you could argue he’s too dangerous to be around. But Peek-A-Boo (is that what we’re calling her?) was simply guilty of burglary and theft.

Mordechai: Mist, Deathbolt, Rainbow Raider (ugh), and Mardon all make sense. Peek-A-Boo, not so much. Just keep her in a window-less room. Problem solved.

Corrina:  Meanwhile, Barry lets Cold run around free with *Cisco’s* fancy weapons!

Mordechai: Well, see, he knows Barry’s identity…as now does every single escapee, I assume.

Corrina: It still makes no sense that Barry doesn’t have Felicity zap everything that Cold has on him or that Barry is naive enough to do what Cold wants. Next year, I want someone who was hurt/traumatized by Captain Cold while committing a crime to show up and blame the Flash.

Because it is his fault.

Mordechai: Mark Waid did an absolutely awesome story along those lines with Wally. It’s something the show would well consider adapting.

Meanwhile…the partial accelerator activation is coming from inside the house.

Corrina: One would think they’d have searched every inch of that place when they knew Wells was a phony, if only to gain information. After all, the A.I. was hidden. They should have been going through that place over and over and looking in non-obvious places.

Aside: what happened to the A.I.? And why would Wells leave the power source in the chair?

Mordechai: Because the plot required it be there! But yeah, I know S.T.A.R. labs is the size of a football stadium, but for goodness sake, check the existing evil liar before you run around town!

Speaking of “the plot required it”, A.R.G.U.S. will provide prison and transport to the prison, but no transport to the plane? Stuuuuupid.

Corrina: Why not call up Eiling, who knows all about the prison, to get the other prisoners. He seemed more than capable of capturing dangerous metahumans.

Mordechai: That I do get – Eiling was taking metas for experimentation. Imagine Rainbow Raider all weaponized. Of course, A.R.G.U.S. does that with the Suicide Squad, but let’s assume Barry doesn’t know about that (no real reason he should).

Hooray for the DA telling Joe off. I can’t believe he had the stones to even ask.

Corrina: Yes. I thought they might prove her wrong, though. Like on Blue Bloods, when the female DA is always “follow the law” and the male cops are all “but, mom, please, we can’t capture bad guys like that!” :whine:: (Don’t ask why I watch that show. I have no idea. Okay, maybe Tom Selleck looking grumpy.)

Mordechai: Except, you know, she’s right here. So right. So glaringly right. The first clue that illegal detention is bad should have been that it’s called illegal detention. Also? That the guy who thought it up turned out to be a crazy killer.

How about that “One of their test pilots disappeared” line?

Corrina: Do you think they pointed that out loud enough so everyone could get the reference?

HELLO, WE’RE TOTALLY AT FERRIS AIRFIELD WHICH IS ABANDONED BECAUSE HAL JORDAN TOTALLY STOLE A PLANE AND VANISHED.

Subtle, guys.

Mordechai: They’ve only been dropping the company name since season one of Arrow, right?

I enjoyed the Captain Cold swerve, particularly because in the comics, Geoff Johns tends to play him up as an honorable criminal. Well, now we get a Cold who’s just a bastard. That works for me.

Corrina: I’m good with it too except they seemed to hint that he did save Barry, thus giving him some redeeming value.

Mordechai: Because he needs Barry. For something. Barry has shown himself to be a useful tool.

Corrina: But let’s talk Spartacus. The last time we saw him, he wanted to kill Joe and destroy the city.

Since then, he’s been locked up in solitary. So…he just walks away?

Oh-kay.

At least the teleporter threw up her hands and said “out of here.” Smart.

Mordechai: Seriously, what was the motivation for them not just killing everyone? Okay, Lisa has a gun on Rainbow Raider; why does Weather Wizard care? C’mon.

Joe lecturing Barry for blurring the lines. Whaaat? Like he just started now? Aside from the fact he’s been running a gulag all year, there’s the whole “cut a deal with Cold” thing. Not this one, but the first time. Where were your lectures then, Joe?

Corrina: Uh, because…? I got nuthin.’

Mordechai: “Why can’t I be more like Oliver?” You were – all his decisions are terrible too!

Corrina: I wonder if that was the plan or the writers realized they screwed up? Guess we’ll never know.

Mordechai: Also, the name Golden Glider makes no sense. She doesn’t “glide” at all.

Corrina: Even worse, she was creeping out my Cisco. Hands off, creepy lady with a gun that makes no scientific sense. I hated the implication that Cisco was partially into it. Why would he be? She kidnapped and terrorized him and his brother.

Don’t do this, show.

Mordechai:  Costume ring! Costume ring! I can forgive so many things right now. Tried to snap an image, but they looked horrible, but the actual moment was so worth waiting all season for.

Corrina: Eh, except I was too busy laughing as Ollie coming in via rope. Oh, yeah, unless you had prep time, Ollie, what can you do? Also, why did Eobard stop to even watch the appearance of the team against him?

I hope it was to stall for time until the particle accelerator comes on-line. Otherwise, it makes no sense.

Mordechai: Let’s go with that. Because otherwise, this is the most egregious example of “action stopping for dramatic posing” that this show or Arrow have had, and they’ve had a lot of it.

Speaking of speed, how is it Eobard can outrun Barry, who can outrun lightning (but not bees), but Ollie can nail him with an arrow?

Corrina: Did Ollie? I forget.

Mordechai: Twice! Okay, the second time he was out of it, but the first time? I don’t care how many times you yell “get out of the way, Barry!’ – they’re moving at super-speed. You are not.

And wow, was Firestorm ever jobbed.

Corrina: Iris has gotten somewhat better. Now she’s saving Caitlin. -10 for Caitlin, +5 for Iris.

Meanwhile, all the men in her life once again tell Iris how she feels, despite what she says. Is Iris so much in the habit of lying that no one trusts her when she says something?

Because, it’s not like one can change the timeline or anything. It’s not like Eddie or anyone else has proof that time can be changed and things seen in the future might not happen that way.

Oh, wait. They do. Eddie does.

What the hell, show?

Mordechai: Caitlin does not have a good episode at all.

But let’s move past that and focus on how stupid everyone is being about Eddie and Iris.

Eobard’s future depends on that newspaper clipping staying the same, right? So the best thing that could happen, short of a vasectomy for Eddie, is for Iris to not marry Barry. Seriously, by what logic are they separating?

In-story, Eddie finally has an Iris who says she wants just him, not Barry. But he throws it away for the word of a kidnapper. Not to be egotistical, but my way would cause more angst for Barry and create more conflict with Eorbard.

But nah, Eddie knows best.

Again, this was a great episode, despite the thousand plus words we’re writing about it. Well done. Just you know, it could be better.

Corrina: I’m not as pleased with it. It was a fun episode. But if it was a comic, it’d just be a pretty good comic.

I want great.

I haven’t seen great yet. I’ve seen a lot of things to set off the whole fangirl/fanboy squees, and I’ve seen cool uses of power, and I’ve seen some nice character moments with Cisco, and Eobard is a fine villain, but what I haven’t seen is coherent plotting. Just lots of “hey, it looks cool, go with it.”

Still on the fence about watching next season. Let’s see how the finale goes.