The Flash: Going Rogue
October 29, 2014 9:34 PM - Season 1, Episode 4 - Subscribe

Barry gets a visitor from Starling City, but there's little time for socializing. A new criminal is in town, with powers that come from an unexpected source. The team's bonds are put to the test, and they begin to learn that even superheroes have limits.

For everyone who wanted a scene showing what happens to Barry's civilian clothes when he's running - now you've got one.
posted by soundguy99 (30 comments total)
 
Finally!
posted by homunculus at 9:40 PM on October 29, 2014 [7 favorites]


I feel like, just like with Laurel in the early seasons of Arrow, Iris is kind of the weak link here--they just don't seem to know what to do with her besides have Barry fawn over her. I hope the journalism thing gets going soon, or else that she figures out it's Barry soon and gets on Team Flash, because having ONE character who doesn't know just doesn't seem to work.
posted by leesh at 6:02 AM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


Also, as a working reporter the fact that Iris doesn't seem to actually have any passion for, or even do, her job is kind of bugging me. Possibly I've been spoiled by Lois Lane adaptations.

Other than that (and the initial confusion of the guest star from a show I don't watch), dang, what an episode. I friggin' LOVE the Rogues.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 6:30 AM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


Isn't Iris just a journalism grad student, though? I'd swear she's said something more than once about her "The Red Streak" investigation/blog idea being a thesis or final project or something. And she definitely works in the coffee shop.

the guest star from a show I don't watch

In the larger picture, it could be interesting to see how much crossover there will be between Arrow and The Flash, not least because so far Arrow has pretty much stuck to borderline-plausible human abilities and not really gone Full SuperPower.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:13 AM on October 30, 2014


"I feel like, just like with Laurel in the early seasons of Arrow, Iris is kind of the weak link here--they just don't seem to know what to do with her besides have Barry fawn over her."

The whole nice-guy-unrequited-love-for-best-friend thing is just terrible. I hate every single minute that it's on the screen. I hate that he says that Iris is "only his friend" when he should have said that she's his foster-sister. I hate that this isn't something that he's considered might be a problem. I hate the contrived, trope-y predictability of it, the gender politics of it, the way that it's the stupidest and most boring aspect of the show. I want it to die in a fire.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:17 AM on October 30, 2014 [14 favorites]


the way that it's the stupidest and most boring aspect of the show.

Agreed. On the other hand, I loved the scene where Barry chooses to rescue everyone on the train. Idealized heroism is a guilty pleasure of mine and I'm glad to have a chance to indulge it.

He says while watching with trepidation as B v S slouches toward its release date.
posted by audi alteram partem at 11:33 AM on October 30, 2014


That was very decently written and performed. I gave up on this show after the first two episodes, but after trying this one I may take up watching it. Especially after figuring out the secret, which is that it's always safe to skip any scene consisting of Iris + one other person, no matter who that person is, because that scene will not just be unwatchably bad, but it's almost guaranteed not to serve the plot or have cool effects.

I'm not sure where they're shooting this on the ground, but it feels Canadian. But Portland Oregon is standing in for the aerial shots, with Star Labs CGI'd in on the South Waterfront. Whenever you see a map that's Portland as well, at least in general layout.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:47 AM on October 30, 2014


" On the other hand, I loved the scene where Barry chooses to rescue everyone on the train. Idealized heroism is a guilty pleasure of mine and I'm glad to have a chance to indulge it."

That was pretty great.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 12:04 PM on October 30, 2014


The "multitasking" opener was really similar to the first Quicksilver scene in X-Men: Days of Future Past. I liked the X-Men one better because of the subtler effects, higher speed and the fact he was playing ping-pong with himself.
posted by George_Spiggott at 12:13 PM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


The biggest problem with Iris is that she goes from "not very useful" character to "actively bad" character because of the way Barry treats her. The idea of having a foster sister who was your best friend before she was your sister and remains your best friend is SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING than pining for her. Even if she was kept in a secondary, damsel-in-distress for any of the three male heroes (Joe/Barry/Detective Boyfriend) who love her (as a daughter, sister, or girlfriend) to rescue as necessary, it would be much better than where we are at now. Her presence is making the main character less likeable.

And he's so fucking likeable otherwise. That little smile with a twinge of regret but also sparkle that Barry gave Felicity after they kissed on the train before he ran off was like the human embodiment of every bad relationship decision* I've ever made.

* that I don't really regret
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:14 PM on October 30, 2014 [2 favorites]


All that said so passionately, the Barry/Iris doesn't really bother me because despite it's continued presence, the show doesn't really seem that committed to it either. Barry pines and looks all sad-eyed but it doesn't really drive the plot. I'm hoping it's just one of those things that kind of does a soft fade out soon so they can make a meta-joke about how dumb Barry was about it in Season 3.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:22 PM on October 30, 2014


In regards to Iris, they are walking a line. On one side is Moonlighting with the end of the Will They/Won't They and the other being Lois Lane from the 60s comics where she spends every issue being a Reporter by way of Revealing Superman. I hope they figure out how to walk it as the whole sad sack longing thing doesn't fit the tone of the rest of the show. I know Arrow takes liberties with established canon, but breaking up the inevitability of Barry and Iris seems like a race too far.

Otherwise, I liked this episode - the addition (and survival!) of a non-blast affected Rogue is sweet, made sweeter by the fact he is actually competent and will be a good lasting villain. I like the Rogues (Cold, Mist) we've seen so far that have not been initially trying to kill Flash. That goes a long way towards the idea that Flash not only manages crime and accident in his city, but the crooks as well.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:49 PM on October 30, 2014


Once again, beware of Harrison Wells potentially standing up.

OMG MAKE FELICITY AND BARRY HAPPEN UNIVERSE
posted by Kitteh at 5:05 PM on October 30, 2014 [5 favorites]


In the larger picture, it could be interesting to see how much crossover there will be between Arrow and The Flash, not least because so far Arrow has pretty much stuck to borderline-plausible human abilities and not really gone Full SuperPower.

I think it's inevitable that Captain Cold is going to show up on Arrow, especially since he doesn't have superpowers, just an advanced weapon.
posted by homunculus at 5:31 PM on October 30, 2014


There's something a little off about conferring a downright flattering supervillain name based on a weapon you knocked out in your spare time on a guy who stole it from you and probably can't even figure out how to change the batteries and whose superpower is that he's asshole enough to use it. Seriously, his name isn't Captain Cold, it's Hey Asshole Give Me My Thing Back And Oh Yeah Go To Jail.
posted by George_Spiggott at 5:56 PM on October 30, 2014 [5 favorites]


I have mixed feelings about this episode, mainly because I think they brought Felicity and Barry back into each others' orbits a little too soon, both for the characters and also for the show itself. For one episode, the producers basically let Emily Bett Rickards (through no fault of hers; she's just that appealing) upstage the entire supporting cast at the same time that they're all supposed to be making their first impressions on us. It would have been better to let Cisco and Caitlin bear the heavy lifting as cute science-sidekicks for a few more episodes before letting Felicity adorkably insta-hack everything in sight. Similarly, it would have been nice to give Iris a bit more time to show us why Barry is so hung up on her before muddying the waters with Felicity. I understand the desire to cross-promote the shows via crossovers, but I think only four episodes in is a bit too soon.
posted by Strange Interlude at 6:35 PM on October 30, 2014


I like this show so far, which is why I'm going to complain about some aspects of this ep (and in some cases, others too). Namely:

1) The villain of the week goes from chastising his henchman for shooting the armored car guard to being willing to kill any random passerby/cop at the drop of a hat. What?
2) Maybe this is just a necessary thing for the show to have any dramatic conflict, but The Flash does some dumb stuff. A guy that can move so fast you can't even see him (and is as smart as Barry is) should not be stopping to chit-chat with a villain holding a weapon, he should be disarming the guy in an eyeblink, preferably before the dude even knows he's there. I get that there has to be some kind of back-and-forth, but the writers need to recognize that the audience has a brain.
3) Also, in the opening, why does the Flash run sufficiently far past the armored car, after initially punching all the bad guys or whatever, that he gives the one a chance to shoot a dude. I mean, other than the writers not having a good way to let the villain of the week get away.
4) Didn't Felicity just break up with Oliver Queen, like, ten seconds ago? It felt a bit quick to be teasing a romantic relationship for her with Barry, even if they sort of ameliorated it in that last scene on the train.
5) Maybe the Star Labs geniuses could store their super-weapons somewhere safer than what amounts to a YMCA locker?
6) Detective Boyfriend doesn't know the name of the Millennium Falcon? The show pretends like that's obscure Star Wars trivia. POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT: This guy who will become an enemy of the Flash needs to probably not be dumber than a box of rocks.
7) As others have pointed out, Iris is boring and cliched. Make it stop.
posted by axiom at 7:34 PM on October 30, 2014 [3 favorites]


My issue with this episode was that "trivia night" seemed to be occurring in mid-afternoon. Either that or central city is in the arctic circle.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 10:03 PM on October 30, 2014 [5 favorites]


4) Didn't Felicity just break up with Oliver Queen, like, ten seconds ago? It felt a bit quick to be teasing a romantic relationship for her with Barry, even if they sort of ameliorated it in that last scene on the train.

They also teased the romantic relationship last season on Arrow.
posted by Pendragon at 1:50 AM on October 31, 2014


My issue with this episode was that "trivia night" seemed to be occurring in mid-afternoon. Either that or central city is in the arctic circle.

I know, right? Shepherd and I--both fans of trivia nights AT BARS WHERE THEY PROPERLY BELONG--were like, "Wait, Eddie just said he would go get them all more drinks? Like, more coffee?? How much coffee can you drink for trivia night? And $75 in cappuccinos for first prize? Fuck that. A bar tab is better."
posted by Kitteh at 6:29 AM on October 31, 2014 [2 favorites]


The worst part about the timing/location of the trivia "night" is that it made the trope of having Felicity be over-dressed absurdly implausible. No one dresses like that for a coffee shop at 3:30 in the afternoon. No one thinks that makes sense.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:59 AM on October 31, 2014 [7 favorites]


For reals. What a waste of a good dress. I mean, is it totally implausible that maybe Barry and crew might like a pint after their day? (And honestly, that still isn't a dress you wear unless you're meeting someone at a fancy restaurant.)
posted by Kitteh at 7:06 AM on October 31, 2014


Nothing about that dress was plausible.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:44 AM on October 31, 2014 [2 favorites]


(Also, I play a lot of trivia. Trivia night is one guy sitting at a regular table holding a crappy microphone and keeping score on his four-year-old laptop. There is no scoreboard, there are no flashing lights, and there are most definitely no complimentary iPads.)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:46 AM on October 31, 2014 [5 favorites]


Yes, there was agreement that Central City trivia afternoon was a lot fancier than our trivia nights.
posted by Kitteh at 7:56 AM on October 31, 2014


I really wish superhero shows (and to some extent crime shows in general) would stop using whatever formula they have for who is allowed to stop a villain/hero. Oh, this guy only has 3 lines? Not a threat.

This Captain Cold guy acts like he's read the script and knows he can't possibly be offed by just a henchman or lab nerd.
posted by ODiV at 8:50 AM on November 3, 2014


To be fair, the Rogues' entire thing is that they've read the script. Rather than being desperate lost souls with tragic backstories, they're career criminals who were genre-savvy enough to realize that once superheroes arrive the only way to not get taken out as the two-page introduction to some larger story is to become supervillains instead. But not the genocidal world-conqueror kind, just the ones who rob banks and get taken to super-jail when they lose.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:24 AM on November 3, 2014 [2 favorites]


When Iris suggested the trivia night with Barry and Felicity, I was hoping her ulterior motive was bringing along the two nerdiest people she knew in order to win the trivia prize. Alas, she remains as dull and nice as ever.
posted by creepygirl at 8:42 PM on November 3, 2014 [1 favorite]


As a fan of the first season of Prison Break, I am happy that Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell will be appearing on-screen together again.

A guy that can move so fast you can't even see him (and is as smart as Barry is) should not be stopping to chit-chat with a villain holding a weapon, he should be disarming the guy in an eyeblink, preferably before the dude even knows he's there.

Yeah, that really bugged me too.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:40 PM on November 17, 2014


Only two years late to the party, but what if instead if sending a fake update to the freeze gun, they just sent one that bricked it?
posted by papayaninja at 8:04 AM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


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