Villainy runs in the family.
Warning: full episode spoilers follow.
While the first two episodes of this season focused on setting up the threat of Zoom and the concept of multiple worlds and multiple Flashes, this week took a bit of a detour. The hunt for Zoom took a backseat to the return of sibling villains Captain Cold and Golden Glider. Luckily, the conflict was entertaining enough, and it didn’t prevent the show from making some progress on the Zoom front. It was only one particular subplot that threatened to drag this episode down.
The main appeal with this episode was seeing a softer, more vulnerable side of Leonard and Lisa Snart. I was actually a little concerned how this would play out given the hammy, over-the-top performances Wentworth Miller and Peyton List delivered in Season 1. Not that Miller’s Captain Cold isn’t charismatic in his own peculiar way, but can he really sell the idea that Snart has a heart of gold underneath that parka?
For the most part, the two pulled it off, though List wound up doing most of the heavy lifting. It helped that the show made a terrific casting choice in choosing Michael Ironside to play their abusive, domineering father. Ironside is, after all, the man who voiced Darkseid in the DC Animated Universe. It’s not hard to imagine that the children of a man who sounds like that and has a habit of inserting bombs into everyone’s heads would turn out a little kooky.
It was a lot of fun to see the dynamic between the Snarts and Team Flash play out and evolve over the course of this episode. We saw more of the grudging mutual respect form between Barry and Cold. Their previous encounter had a slightly sour note to it because Barry essentially let his fear of being exposed force him into tolerating Cold’s criminal activities in Central City. This episode alleviated that concern by proving that Barry is more concerned with the greater good than his own personal safety. He’s willing to risk Cold speaking out of turn, not just because he doesn’t think the man will truly betray him, but because he won’t risk any more lives.
The dynamic between Cisco and Lisa was one of the more enjoyable elements of the evening. This episode built on the previous sexual tension the two shared, but built a more genuine bond between them at the same time. To some extent you always have to question whether Lisa is being genuine when she shows her vulnerable side, but List made it clear through her performance that her character was in real danger and truly felt affection for her rescuer.
Partners in crime.
The climactic heist scene was pretty entertaining as long as you didn’t dig too deep into the logic of it all. You know, questions like, “What were the Snarts planning to do about a tech guy if Barry didn’t show up?” and “Why didn’t Barry just knock out the elder Snart at super-speed before he could detonate the bomb?”. Positioning Lisa as a hostage of sorts helped give this sequence a little added drama. It’s always tough pitting Barry against foes who can’t match his speed and building a credible threat out of the situation, and more often than not hostages are the way to go.
Ultimately, it seems the purpose of this Flash/Captain Cold reunion was to position the latter character for his role in the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow. This episode reinforced the notion that Cold has a code, and a latent desire to do something more with his tools and abilities than rob people. I just hope this isn’t the last we see of the character before he spins out into that show. The Flash hasn’t done nearly enough in terms of mining the complicated relationship between Barry and Cold. As I see it, the three most important Flash villains are Reverse-Flash, Gorilla Grodd and Captain Cold. It would be a shame if this series wound up glossing over that rivalry in its rush to have Cold reform.
I wasn’t thrilled when last week’s episode dropped the last-minute revelation that Joe’s long-lost, supposedly dead wife is back in town. It seemed like exactly the sort of melodramatic twist this show doesn’t need right now. And nothing about the Joe/Francine storyline did anything to dissuade that notion. Sure, it’s nice to see Joe dealing with a conflict that’s entirely his own and not merely tied to one of Barry’s missions. And I’ll even grant that Jesse L. Martin delivered a top-notch performance as Joe wrestled with his latent guilt over lying to Iris. But Martin always delivers a top-notch performance. He’s like Denzel Washington’s younger, more personable brother.
None of that changed the fact that this subplot sticks out like a sore thumb. It needlessly complicates an already busy status quo. And it all seems a little too familiar in light of all the Lance family drama in Arrow. I would rather have seen the screentime devoted to the Joe/Francine conflict instead used to flesh out the Snart family history a little bit more.
Other than that, this was another solid episode, and one that remained fairly lighthearted despite some of the darker elements at play. Seeing Barry, Cisco and Caitlin each deal with their respective romantic hurdles helped a lot in that regard. And with the interdimensional portal now stabilized, it seems Harrison Wells has made his way to Earth-1. For that reason alone, I’m eagerly looking forward to next week.
Despite the relative lack of focus on the Zoom conflict and one subplot mostly getting in the way, this week’s Flash was another entertaining installment. Captain Cold and Golden Glider were put to good use as they formed an impromptu alliance against the devilishly entertaining Michael Ironside. And despite some fairly dark elements, the focus on romantic tension helped keep this episode fairly light and breezy.
