A song of Ice and Fiery shoes - The Flash S1E4 "Going Rogue"

Holy Smoaks (get it? haha) what an amazing episode this was! Not only did we see our first real crossover between Arrow and The Flash, but the we got our first real super villain from The Flash's Rogue Gallery, and he even manages to best Barry - what a cool villain. 

Alas, before I run cold of good puns, let's have a gander at this episode 

First of all, let's talk about the cinematography - mind blowing. Not only, have the creators of the show managed to showcase Barry's highspeed movement almost flawlessly at this point in the show, but when they showed his movements in ultra slowmotion in the train scene I almost got geekasms. In only 4 episodes, The Flash has managed to start of stronger than Arrow did in it's first season, but that is most likely because the creators have now learned what worked on Arrow and what didn't. 

Also the special effects with the freezing gun Cisco had made also looked real and not too cartoony, so props there as well. 

Speaking of the freeze  gun, this week we saw the appearence of Captain Cold, one of the classic

Flash villains from the comics. But unlike the more comical version we have seen depicted in many cartoons, this guy is truly evil, killing off anyone who stands against him, without remorse. And I loved how they almost made it Cisco's fault for making the weapon in the first place, that also helped spark some intense in-team drama, that a show like this can always use. The best part about this rendition of Captain Cold, is the fact, that he got away, he "won" the first encounter, and in the end scene we see him handing a similar weapon (but as far as I know of fire powers) to another person, hinting at events to come in the future. Good stuff! 

In the same category of villains, our own little schemer Dr. Wells almost loses his cool when he finds out that Cisco had made the gun, and that it was in the hand of a guy who might hurt Barry. For what we know so far, it is Wells' missions to keep Barry alive, because he has some knowledge about the future, but if that was the case, would he then not have known about this gun - or is the fact that this gun exists perhaps a sign that we are not experience the exact same timeline as the mysterious newspaper from the future we saw at the end of the first episode? In any case, with Wells almost blowing his cover with frustrations with Cisco, we might see the first signs of suspicion against Wells. 

With this episode being a crossover, we cannot get around the sexy geek that is Felicity Smoak from Arrow. When she showed up, I knew that this episode could not be anything but good. The effect she has on Arrow, with her "talking before thinking" antics, you can't help but smile everytime she opens her adorable little mouth. The fact that on the last episode of Arrow, she told her new boss that she would be taking a few days off to go see a friend in Central City, and then having her in this episode of Flash, it just makes the two series that more gripping and connected. 

It was obvious that she, unfortunately, once again was there for fan service action. And what I mean by that, is this: When Barry visited Starling City in the second season of Arrow, we saw a spark between Felicity and Barry, and many fans instantly started shipping those two (shipping being a term often used by fans of a serie, that means wanted to couple two specific characters together). And that is what we got in this episode...almost. While Iris is certain that the two of them are made for each other, and we as the viewer sees that as well, it is clear that Barry has his sight on Iris. Even at the end, where Barry catches up to Felicity's train, she says the same thing - and we get the kiss that was long overdue. 

I don't know if this was a one-time thing or not, but with the upcoming 8th episode of both shows being real crossovers, we might see that relationship flourish, though it is clear that Barry will ultimately get Iris...Cartharsis, am I right? 

A common theme to this episode was in many ways "lose", and I liked that. We see that in certain scenarios:

• Cisco losing the weapon, which makes Wells lose his temper 
• We see Barry lose his first civilian right in front of him, being his first life he couldn't safe - this is a huge deal, and will probably help him grow and grasp what is means to be a superhero 
• Barry also loses his first fight against Captain Cold (or you may say two fights, if we count the train incident as a lose as well) 
• We as fans in some way lost hopes in Barry + Felicity...sigh. 
• And I guess the other teams in the Popquiz at the coffee shop lose to team E=MC Hammer 

Once again, a terrific episode, and with the Flash getting a full season slate of 23 episodes this show doesn't seem like it'll get cold feet anytime soon - just look at Barry's Allstars after he showed off to Felicity!

Popcorntroller Out!