“The Flash” continues its final run with a somewhat enjoyable episode.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Story
The third episode titled, “Rogues of War”, sees Barry recruiting his own team of rogues to compete against Red Death’s rogues and steal a component that could prevent Red Death from building a cosmic treadmill. This team of Rogues includes the return of Hartley Rathaway/Pied Piper, Goldface, The Hotness, and Chillblaine. As predicted things go off the rails in this Suicide Squad like team when they go on this mission but sets up for their return in the case Barry calls them.
The Good
The dynamic of the rogues was funny to watch and they all played off each other very well. Seeing the return of Goldface in this episode was a cute nod to the former seasons of “The Flash”. His character was enjoyable to watch in previous seasons and nothing changed in this episode. It was hilarious to see how direct Hartley was in this episode and did not let anything slide. Seeing Iris doing investigation into the tech of Red Death’s rogues was very cool and the reveal that it was Wayne tech was well done. During Barry’s first time seeing Red Death, he says “Thawne”. This was a great moment for the character because it shows how Reverse Flash will always have an impact on Barry’s life and Red Death’s lightning reminded him of that.
The Bad
This episode made reference to a very important character from season one, General Eiling. Eiling, played by Clancy Brown, was teased in this episode leading audiences to believe we would see Barry confront him again but unfortunately this idea did not come to fruition causing major disappointment. Allegra and Chester continue to draw out their obvious feelings for one another even after kissing which is a completely unnecessary plotline. Chillblaine continues to be an annoying character that definitely should not have been a series regular. His switch to working for Red Death was no surprise given how much he hates Barry at the moment.
Red Death
Red Death was officially revealed to be played by Javicia Leslie however we still do not know if this is her version of Ryan Wider/Batwoman or a doppelganger. Red Death revealing herself to Chillblaine was single handedly one of the cringiest scenes in the entirety of the series. She says, “I am vengeance” mimicking the recent Robert Pattinson line but it was acted horribly and she was not intimidating at all. While it was cool the twist is possibly Ryan Wilder, her delivery was horrible and we hope the rest of her performance will be like how she delivered that line.
Review
While this episode had some drawbacks, for the most part it was a good time and is not dragging this Red Death arc at all. Episode three is 6/10.