Mirror Mirror, on the wall, who’s the most anticipated villain of them all? It’s Mirror Master’s debut on this week’s episode of The Flash! Does he live up to the hype? That’s up for the debate. Is this the best episode of the season so far? A definitive yes!
People fell in love with the first season of The Flash for its fun, comic book take on well…the comic book. It was a show that had heart and humor, action and adventure. It brought our favorite hero and his rogues gallery to life on-screen. Season 2, while still great, opted for long-arcs that detracted from the fun of it all. “The New Rogues” brings back the vibe of Season 1 and who better to take us there than one of Flash’s most classic rogues, Mirror Master!
Sam Scudder, gaining his abilities from the particle explosion during a confrontation with Leonard Snart (SNART IS BACK! SNART IS THE BEST!), decides that Central City is ripe for the robbing. He’s joined by his equally transformed girlfriend, who becomes a version of The Top who can cause vertigo in others. Having these two classic villains onscreen is a delight, even though the performance leaves something to be desired. There’s no deep dive here into motivation like with Snart or Mick Rory. Scudder robs banks and traps Flash in a mirror to keep him out of the way.
While the gang figures out a way to get Barry back through the mirror, with a freezing and hidden helping hand by Caitlin, the point seems to be less about the baddie and more about everything else going on with the team. Flash has been training Jessie Quick, who is fast but headstrong, turning Barry into an Oliver Queen type of mentor (to his shocked realization). The new hero on the block though is a bit over her head, a distraction that leads to Barry’s mirror entrapment. Her efforts are also complicated by feelings for Wally, who wants to reciprocate but knows that she’s heading back to her home dimension soon. Still, I’ll take that as a real obstacle to a relationship over Barry and Iris’ nonsense. This time, she wants to know why Barry won’t kiss her in front of Joe. Yep. This goes on for the entire episode and gets resolved as you expect.
Thankfully, this episode plays the drama for laughs, with a severely awkward conversation between Joe and Barry. That’s not the only humor. The Earth-2 version of Harrison Wells is a joy to watch. It was particularly great having him interrupt Cisco’s naming efforts for Mirror Master. But nothing was better than the search for a replacement from another dimension, as he’s heading back home. Whether it was cowboy Wells, French Wells or stuffy-English Wells, Tom Cavanagh had me laughing out loud.
Ultimately, they settle on a happy-go-lucky, eccentric Wells from Earth-19. How will the team adapt to this new presence? Looks like we’ll find out next week.
Assorted Thoughts:
– Could a relationship be in Joe’s near-future as well?
– Cisco on Earth-19 Wells: “He’s nice and he’s not evil. And that’s a combination of Wells we haven’t had thus far.”
– The Mirror Master of Earth-2 has a Mirror Gun that warps dimensions. That sounds really cool.
– It looks like Caitlin’s ice powers are starting to spread out of her control. Her appearance is also starting to pick up some of her Earth-2 doppleganger’s traits.
– One more line from Earth-2 Wells: “Did you say riddle? How dare you, sir.”