It’s been far too long since we last checked in with the Scarlett Speedster, and tonight’s episode is a great way to kick the second half of The Flash’s already exceptional first season. “Revenge of the Rogues” is an exceedingly fun episode that takes a step back from the Reverse Flash mindf— to focus on this season’s other major story arc—the creation of Barry Allen’s Rogues Gallery. However, it is also a momentous one for The Flash: It features the first appearance of Mick Rory, a.k.a. Heat Wave (Prison Break’s Dominic Purcell), The Flash’s first supervillain team-up, and Barry Allen’s first major steps toward becoming the hero that Central City will one day honor with a museum.

Villain of the Week: Mick Rory, a.k.a Heat Wave and Leonard Snart, a.k.a Captain Cold

The last time we saw Team Flash they were licking their wounds from their first encounter with Reverse Flash—who the showrunners and Tom Cavanagh have confirmed is Dr. Harrison Wells. At the top of the hour, the team is back to work and determined to be ready for the next time they go up against the Man in the Yellow Suit. It’s all very “I’ll Make A Man Out of You” as we find Cisco, Caitlin, and Wells helping Barry, who obviously took their defeat the hardest, working his ass off to become as swift—nay, swifter!—than the coursing river the Reverse Flash.

“My name is Barry. I am not the fastest man alive. That title belongs to the man who killed my mother—but not for long.” This must be the show’s shortest opening monologue to date because there’s no time for internal monologuing! Barry Allen isn’t screwing around anymore. Continue reading

When The Flash returns, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) will be determined to take down the Reverse Flash, but it may not be as simple as looking to Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) for answers. Though it has been revealed that Wells is actually the man in the yellow suit, Barry still doesn’t suspect anything amiss with his mentor.

“Barry is still defending Wells and still trusting of Wells at this point,” Gustin tells EW, noting that there’s “still more to find out” about the Reverse Flash reveal that will shock audiences. “There’s a big twist that even surprised me. I’ve seen all the predictions online. No one has predicted the big twist that’s coming at the end of this season.”

When we pick back up with Team Flash, the scarlet speedster is training to match the Reverse Flash, which is no easy feat. “He’s trying to get faster and not just straight up speed, but his agility and maneuvering within it and what he can do with this speed,” Gustin says. “He has a bar set. He has to be at least as fast as the Reverse Flash. That’s what he wants to focus on, but as per usual, other things start to get in the way and Barry has to focus on other things.”

Those other things include the return of Leonard Snart, a.k.a. Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) and the introduction of Mick Rory, a.k.a. Heat Wave (Dominic Purcell), who team up to take down The Flash. “It’s a very powerful love/hate relationship,” Purcell says. “My guy is volatile. He’s a force of nature and he needs to be reined in. Cold has that ability to rein him in.” Continue reading