The Flash - S1E22 - Rogue Air

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Previously on The Flash, ‘Grodd Lives’

Wells narrates our opening for the first time. He asks you to imagine everything you have and known is taken away in a flash. What would you do to get it all back? He would do anything. AN-Y-THING. And he’s talking to Eddie, who is looking rough. This all happens as we see everyone else sitting around with a serious case of The Sads.

Barry meets Iris at Jitters where she’s looking at the return address labels she ordered. They have both her and Eddie’s name on them. Apparently, Iris and Eddie are the only people left who actually mail enough shit through the post office that these labels are necessary. Iris misses Eddie and Barry promises to find him even though he hasn’t found him yet. Then Barry gets a call from Cisco and has to leave Iris there with her sadness and labels.

You Can’t Get That at Radio Shack

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco has figured out why Wells faked needing a wheelchair. Hidden inside of the chair is a power source which looks very much like Gideon’s. The reason he was always so much faster than Barry is because he was sitting his ass on a super battery. No word yet on why he faked glasses. I guess maybe the real Wells needed glasses. Or the glasses were his battery charger. I know I’m always misplacing my iPhone cord.

Anyway, the accelerator turns back on suddenly. Not only is it on, it’s been rebuilt. Cisco, Joe, and Barry go to investigate. They open it up and just as Cisco’s orange slushie begins to float, Wells runs out and Barry takes off after him. Peekaboo is released from her containment pod and attacks Joe and Cisco, locking them in the accelerator. She encounters Caitlin in the hallway and is about to shoot Caitlin in the face while using her foot to pin Caitlin against the wall (I guess she does yoga), when Iris saves the day by cracking Peekaboo over the head with a ridiculously large wrench.

Peekaboo is put back in her pod, and they’re preparing to lock up the accelerator again when Joe hears Eddie calling for help.

They find Eddie in a room in the accelerator and he’s looking rough. I told y’all Wells’ petty ass wasn’t feeding him! Joe helps Eddie up the ladder while Iris looks around. She finds Grandma Agnes’ ring. Meanwhile, Barry is chasing Wells through the streets, but is unable to catch him.

Eddie is checked out by Caitlin. He’s okay, just dehydrated. Barry returns from his failure to catch Wells, and greets Eddie like Eddie hasn’t been held by a homicidal maniac from the future. “Oh, hey Eddie.”

Eddie says he doesn’t know why Wells took him, but says Wells told him they were family and his real name is Eobard Thawne and everyone reacts like this is new information. Barry side-eyes Iris and Eddie touching hands, and after Eddie throws some shade about missing clues right in your face, Iris takes Eddie home.

The accelerator starts up again and Cisco finds the power source (the key Wells inserted last week and what Eddie told them about).  He can’t risk removing it, but in about 36 hours the accelerator will be fully functional. The meta-humans stored there will be killed if that happens, so Barry suggests moving them to the island where Oliver Queen spent five years of his life. ARGUS’ super prison is there.

While Cisco works on something to keep their powers in check during the transport, Joe goes to Cecile (District Attorney) to get a route to the airport cleared for the transfer. She won’t do it and warns Joe he needs to be careful. Joe and Barry discuss the latest developments. Joe thinks they can only do so much, and they may have already done too much. At what point, he asks, do they become just as bad as the villains if they keep breaking the rules? Barry counters that because they break the rules to help people, it makes them different, better.

Cold Favor & Cold Shoulder 

Barry turns to Captain Cold for help. At first, he’s not too keen on helping Barry against his enemies, but Barry explains that the city he claims to love will be destroyed if he doesn’t help. Cold writes down a demand on a napkin. Barry takes one look at it and says he can’t do it. He tells Cold to think of something else he’d want. Cold agrees to think about it and get back to him.

Iris corners Eddie about avoiding her and going back to work so soon after being kidnapped. He needs to focus on something constant and it’s not them. She asks him about the ring she found and he says he changed his mind because Wells showed him a future in which she is married to Barry. Stunned, Iris watches as he walks away.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Joe is furious that Barry went to Cold for help. Since they only have 16 hours until the accelerator is fully operational, Barry didn’t feel like he had a choice. Then, in strolls Cold because, apparently, they’re still not locking doors up in that place. Cold will help, but he wants his records deleted from all databases, including the CCPD. Barry says yes, and Joe orders Barry into the next room.

Joe is all, “Bad idea. Super bad.” And Barry is all, “You got better ideas? I’m not letting people die.”

So, Barry rushes to the CCPD and does as Cold asked. He delivers boxes of the paper records to Cold, whose sister immediately turns the boxes to gold. Time to go shopping! 

Team Meeting

Cold and his sister meet with the team in S.T.A.R. Labs. Caitlin is about to twitch herself to death because she’s so offended by their presence, as is Joe. Cold comes off as maybe slightly trustworthy when it’s revealed Barry is still wearing his mask because Cold promised not to tell who he is, and that includes to his sister. Speaking of which, Cold’s sis wastes no time flirting with Cisco. He rebuffs her, though he clearly wants to buff her.

Cisco has built an energy dampener in the back of the transport truck. It will keep the metahumans from using their powers while in the truck. Cold’s sis will drive the truck because she’s a badass. After knocking out the metahumans with gas in their cells, they prepare to move them. Barry runs ahead on their route, redirecting traffic to give them clear passage.

The metahumans wake up in the truck, and it’s not long before they’re arguing and threatening each other. Once they’re at Ferris Air (Green Lantern shout-out, y’all), Cisco finally gives sis her nickname: Golden Glider. Just as the transport plane arrives, the damper Cisco created malfunctions and Mardon takes out the plane. The metahumans escape from the truck.

After much fighting - in which Caitlin is infected by one Prism, which causes her to kick Cisco’s ass for his part in Ronnie’s death - a few of the metahumans escape (including Peekaboo). Simmons is about to kill The Flash, but Cold kills him with his gun. Cold and Golden tell Mardon and Prism to bounce.

Barry figures out this was Cold’s doing and Cold schools him on trusting a criminal: Don’t do it. He wishes Barry luck and then leaves with Golden.

I Told You So

Back at the Labs, Barry admits he was trying to be like Oliver - do whatever it takes to help. Joe explains that’s not who he is: he’s the kind of hero who knows right from wrong and doesn’t need to walk on the dark side to do the right thing. Barry promises he won’t. Then the accelerator fires up.

Iris confronts Eddie at work, again, all loud. She wants to prove to him the future he was shown is bullshit, but he says Barry has always been in between them from the very beginning. Everyone knew it, even he did. If she loves him, she’ll let this end. So, she lets it end.

Showdown 

Now that the accelerator is up and running, Wells arrives at S.T.A.R. Labs and tears down the gate we didn’t even know was there considering how everyone and their mama just walks up in that bitch. Everyone watches this on the security cam they never use considering how everyone and their mama just walks up in that bitch. Joe warns Barry not to go out there, but he does, because that’s the kind of hero Barry is.

Wells is impressed with Barry’s attempt to save the metahumans, and admits it was not a part of his plan at all. He teases that if Barry were to look back at everything he did - every wheel he put in motion - he never did more than he had to or less than he had to. This makes me feel like there’s still something (or things) we’re not yet getting about how motives and what happened 15 years ago.

He offers to show Barry why he needed the accelerator active, but Barry has had enough of trusting bad guys. Wells starts in with that whole You Can’t Beat Me ying-yang bullshit, when Ronnie arrives all aflame. Then Oliver glides in from the heavens, apparently. Wells is amused Barry brought back-up, but still isn’t intimidated.

Wells presents his ring and it lights up. The heroes prepare for battle and then the Reverse Flash suit comes out of the ring and Wells runs into it.

WHAT? WHAT? I need to watch scene on a loop for all eternity.

Oliver can’t get a clear shot because Barry and Wells are zipping around leaving nothing but streaks of red and yellow light. Wells throws Barry clear, and Oliver gets an arrow in Wells’ leg and Ronnie blasts him with fire. Wells makes a wind tunnel with his arms, which sends Ronnie flying. Barry rushes to catch him.

Oliver explains his arrow infected Wells with nanites from Ray Palmer’s lab. They’re emitting a high-frequency pulse, which takes away Wells’ speed. The two fight hand-to-hand, with Oliver doing the best. But Wells vibrates the nanites out of his body and is about to vibrate hand Oliver to death when Barry arrives and stops him.

They fight up to the rooftop, where Ronnie blasts Wells again, sending him flying onto a car below. There, Oliver tags him with another arrow which knocks Wells out. Before they leave, Oliver tells Barry he’ll need a favor from him soon. Then Barry stands over Wells’ body and says, “I got you.”

Overall Thoughts & Questions:

• Why are there so many cars in the S.T.A.R. Labs parking lot? Who’s working there?
• Why the hell did everyone act like they didn’t already know Wells called himself Eobard Thawne? Did they not realize that when Cisco said as much while lucid dreaming?
• What did Cold ask for the first time?
• So glad I wasn’t the only one wondering “Why the wheelchair?”
• Why didn’t they just distribute enough gas/tranquilizers to keep the metahumans knocked out for the duration of the whole trip?
• #DatRing
• Was Eddie wearing that necklace last week? Clearly, I don’t trust his ass.