S09.E03: Rogues of War

[Trini]

Barry and Iris start to put together the pieces of what's happening in Central City and believe they know what the Rogues are after. Team Flash works together and recruits some unlikely allies to help, and the plan does not go as Team Flash expects. Meanwhile, Allegra does her best to avoid having a conversation with Chester.

Brenton Spencer directed the episode with story by Sam Chalsen and written by Jeff Hersch & Jess Carson.

Airdate: 2/22/2023

[scarynikki12]

We know Iris and Barry are in France/a French chef's kitchen because of the flag on the wall. Thanks show we wouldn't have guessed otherwise.

Are Chester and Blue Streaks holding mandrake plants? Is this Harry Potter all of a sudden?

I know I've seen every episode of this show and I have zero memory of this serial killer.

If the bad guys go on a timeline destroying crime spree I know just the team who can stop them...I miss Legends.

Clancy Brown automatically makes this an A+ episode.

This would also be a great time to see Snart again.

Chia fusion pumpkin spice latte sounds absolutely disgusting and the man who ordered it should be in jail.

Goldface "true love is a lie". Hahahahaha! What a gem.

Ok I got bored while the rogues and Barry were fighting and mopped the kitchen floor. I could still hear and now I'm wondering if RedNotBat set Barry up to steal the treadmill so they wouldn't have to do the dirty work.

Can't wait to see Gotham.

I thought Goldface knew Barry is Flash? Or maybe since Barry doesn't hesitate to tell everyone, with zero prompting, his "secret identity" I assumed he'd done so here as well.

The scorpion stung Barry. Shocker. Chilldude was pissed at you over Frost and is a villain so OF COURSE he betrayed you Barry. Don't look so surprised.

Red Death should turn out to be Edgar Allen Poe. Just for fun.

I miss Luke. Would have been nice to see that phone call but we had to devote screen time to Blue Streaks being an Earth Mother.

Hey the scorpion stung Chilldude! Nice turn around.

Ok Ryan's clearly under someone's thrall. I still think the Final Bad is Thawne.

[Jediknight]

That was a lot of fun.

Why oh why did it take till the final season to get a long arc of the Rogues?  The Rogues are fun, at least one season should have had them as a main focus instead of a world ending threat.  Maybe season 6, or season 7 till Godspeed showed up.

The heist music for Barry and Team Rogues Flash was pure 80s, and I loved it.

Was not expecting Ryan.

Edited February 23, 2023 by Jediknight

[Trini]

I know it's a running joke at this point, but it still annoys me that everyone and they mama finds out the Flash's "secret" identity. However, I did find it hilarious, and on brand for Barry, that Jaco found out because his Jitters order!

There were some fun interactions within the Rogue team-up. I didn't like that the 'break up' was supposedly Barry's fault (um, no) because of a lack of trust. Sorry, at least two of those dudes were untrustworthy, and then of course Chillblaine proved that he was a backstabber, so Barry was right to be wary. So does this mean that Chillame is out of Team Flash? Because that would be great.

This Chester/Allegra "romance" is just excruciating. They've been teasing them for like 2 seasons? Just put them together and be done with it. Nobody is here this slow burn.

I'm sure she'll have the exact right powers at the exact right time the plot calls for it, but for now, Khione is a waste of space that somehow is allowed to run around STAR labs and be in Team meetings despite being 3 days old.

A few nice Westallen scenes -- LOL at practicing cooking in Flashtime! But I'm side-eyeing the writers writing a story about how Iris doesn't have her own story. Well, whose fault is that, hmm?

The Red Death reveal was good -- would have been better if it wasn't spoiled all over the place for months, though. It's good to see Ryan Wilder again; except for, you know, her being a villain now. I appreciated the Luke Fox mention, but it sucks that the Flash team and the Bat team will never meet. :(

So is Red Death the Ryan that is missing, or did Red Death do something to present-day Ryan?

Never heard of Murmer before; it was cool to see some ASL on the show.

So will we actually see Hartley again? Don't make promises you can't keep show!

With all the talk of Cosmic Treadmills, I thought STAR Labs already had one? I was thinking they need to protect their own equipment.

[cambridgeguy]

If Allegra really wants to avoid Chester couldn't she just, you know, go do her actual job?  She's not a scientist, there's no reason for her to be hanging around Star Labs if there's no active threat.  Being the number 2 should be very time consuming when the boss takes the Bruce Wayne approach and is never around.

[Whatever88]

The doggy bags are mandatary in France since July 2021.

[bettername2come]

Okay, Barry, it's public knowledge you own STAR Labs right? When Goldface starts questioning your awesome setup, you can just say you own it.

I'm glad Joco was able to figure it out on his own. I enjoyed Hartley being a decent team member. I also liked seeing him signing to that other villain - good nod to both him having hearing loss and being good with languages. 

"What happens at book club stays at book club!" Goldface could've made a decent Legend.

[tennisgurl]

Allow me to put on my shocked face to find out that Mark betrayed everyone in his deranged quest to bring Frost back. I am shocked, shocked! Except not really because Mark has always been a huge asshole who couldn't be trusted and I have no idea why Team Flash kept him around when he's shown over and over what kind of guy he is. He isn't another reformed bad guy or a frenemy with a code, he's just a bad guy who's super into one of their team mates and now that she's dead he has no more loyalty towards them. Barry, you know the saying about how when someone keeps telling you who they are, you should believe them? Mark has been telling you he's a dick from day one and nothing has changed. Tell me he's at least kicked off of Team Flash now? I did really enjoy the other bad guys mocking his terrible sense of fashion at the end, that was hilarious and justified. More people should laugh at his stupid outfits. 

I thought that this was a fun episode, the villain team up had a lot of funny moments and the bad guy team has a ton of personality to play off the rogues. Why this show has so rarely used the rogues squad is beyond me, Flash's quirky league of bad guys who he's kind of pals with is one of the best things about his franchise. This confirmed to me my long standing theory that basically everyone knows that Barry is the Flash, even Jaco figured it out on his own. Love how Goldenmask just gave Barry a long look and was like "yeah, I see it now" while Hartley was visibly amused, there was just a lot of fun banter in general, I am such a sucker for a good villain team up. 

I hope that they aren't just teasing us with seeing Hartley again soon, I would love for him to come back for more episodes. He and Barry have great chemistry in a way that Barry doesn't with a lot of his supporting cast anymore, it really is a shame he hasn't been used more. I really liked the bit when he signed to Murmur, nice call back to him speaking a ton of languages and having hearing problems. 

I don't love that Barry got all of the blame for the rogues going...rogue. I'm not surprised that Barry's worried about one of these guys, all being former/current bad guys, might end up betraying him, with so much at stake, and as it turns out, he was totally right to be worried considering Mark really did betray them. 

We got at least a few cute Barry/Iris scenes, the opening in Paris was adorable, but not as much as I would like, as per usual. Too much time spent on this new boring Hippie Caitlin and Allegra and Chester acting like sixth graders with crushes. This attempt at a slow burn is just embarrassing, there is literally no reason for them not to get together, why are they both dragging their feet? I don't really care about them as a couple, but them as a UST couple is even worse. 

Its great to see Ryan again, even if she's clearly been possessed or brainwashed or something. That or she's trying to avenge her murdered show. It would have been nice to get a Luke cameo, it feels weird that he and Mary haven't reached out to Team Flash if Ryan's been missing a week to ask for some help. Are they going to use the Flash to give us some closure for Batgirl? It would be sort of cool if they used this show, as the last Earth 1 show standing, to wrap up some standing plot threads around the Arrowverse. 

[Jediknight]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I thought that this was a fun episode, the villain team up had a lot of funny moments and the bad guy team has a ton of personality to play off the rogues. Why this show has so rarely used the rogues squad is beyond me, Flash's quirky league of bad guys who he's kind of pals with is one of the best things about his franchise.

Yep.  I've been wanting them as the big bads for a season for a long time.

They're a great fun change of pace from other villains.  They do have a lot of power, but they don't want to take over or end the world, they just really want to steal shit.  They'll work with Flash if it's beneficial for them, and Flash will work with them because their goals are just those of thieves.

[Primal Slayer]

I laughed at Iris being so dramatic about having kids. I know irl, it's perfectly normal to fear that but she has a step-mother who works with her full time fighting crime, being a lawyer, and taking care of an invisible infant. 

Just stop with the doom and gloom for her, let her just live her life and be happy. 

Does Hartley not have a sonic scream? I dont understand why he used it once but when it would be REALLY handy, he just sticks to his gauntlets. 

18 hours ago, Trini said:

Never heard of Murmer before; it was cool to see some ASL on the show.

Murmer actually was a villain over on Arrow. Guess this is the Post-COIE version.

[thuganomics85]

What better way to face off against a team of Rogues by... creating your own team of Rogues!  Credit where credit is due, I do think they found a believable group of former baddies to serve as anti-heroes, as both Hartley and Jaco have more or less gone onto be mainly on the side of good.  Goldface is definitely more debatable, but I can at least trust him to do what his best for him, and nothing good would come out of the actual bad guys winning, so I think he's reliable enough going forward as an ally (plus, the actor is so damn entertaining.)

But, of course, Barry's mistake was trusting Mark.  Because Chilllame does what he does best by being the chilllamest he can possibly be.  No surprise that all it took was some likely empty promises from the evil speedster to bring Frost back, and he throws in with that lot.  I can't wait for him to see the "error of his ways" eventually, and somehow be redeemed again because that is how Team Flash rolls!  Until then, I can at least enjoy that even the rest of the Evil Rogues think he's lame.  That's something everyone can agree on, at least!

New Frost's love for nature is strangely giving off Poison Ivy vibes of all things.  Not a fan of this variation of Caitlin, but I guess it could be worse...

Ugh, when will the Chester/Allegra drama end?

First episode not to have Joe and no real explanation, so I guess I can assume he was taking character of their kid or something.

Having Javicia Leslie's name in the credits kind of spoiled the surprise, but it was still a fun reveal.  Since the actual Ryan is missing, I'm guessing this the actual Ryan who got possessed or something?  Wouldn't mind if they used this to bring in some of Team Batwoman.  Mary would liven things up here!

[Cthulhudrew]

Telling the guy who's pining for his dead girlfriend (and has sworn he'll get even with you for not helping bring her back) that you're going after a time machine. Yeah, couldn't foresee that going wrong at all. 🙄

I miss Captain Cold and Heatwave. Instead we get Chillblaine and Jocko. What's the term that is the opposite of "leveling up"?

Edited February 24, 2023 by Cthulhudrew

[Lantern7]

Better. Granted, Javicia-as-Red Death (or whatever she's named) has been news for some time. I'm hoping for something closer to the comics canon, because I don't like the idea of a second Batwoman getting kidnapped and brainwashed. At that point, you'd need Mary to fill out the suit. Or Alice. Either is hysterical in theory, but Mary-as-Ivy was short-lived for a reason. Or how about Ryan's mother? I mean, Robin Givens looks like she takes care of herself. As long as the nutbar psuedo-Joker son of hers is dealt with, why not?

Why haven't we had more of Goldface? He's a fun guy. Solid mid-level Rogue and snarky as hell.

Oh, no, Chillsblaine betrayed the Rogues for the actual Rogues. Anyone else rooting for Red Death to kill him on the spot? Speaking of her . . . Javicia looks like she can nail down the crazy (Flash crazy, not the cool Alice crazy). Also, was part of her hair white? That works with the new look as well . . . though the problem is that she might just resemble a gender-flipped Savitar.

Totally forgot there was a Murmur over on Arrow. Props for making this one resemble the canon. Gender isn't important . . . . as long as the creepy and the slashing are consistent.

On 2/24/2023 at 4:00 PM, Cthulhudrew said:

I miss Captain Cold and Heatwave. Instead we get Chillblaine and Jocko. What's the term that is the opposite of "leveling up"?

Ooof! As one-dimensional as Jocko can be, he's a solid guy. But yeah, the other guy should be called "Chumpsblaine."

The whole "experience life" thing with Keon is gonna get older than it already is . . . and we've gotten two episode of that. *shudder*