After two weeks of episodes lacking the usual Flash flair, this week has gotten us Flash fanatics back on track.

Iris under fire for her investigation of a crooked real estate scam and going airborne out the window only to be saved by Barry is quick start. From there, we’re back at the lab where the gang is taking in the breach housed in their basement. Stein’s out of bed despite his health scare while Jay—new haircut and all—believes he can use the breach as a ticket back to Earth-2. They have rough theories on how the breach works but need to puzzle out how to make it stable.

Joe’s less than enthused by the return of his former wife, Francine

While Joe is dealing with his ‘dead’ wife, Barry and Patty Spivot have another round of flirtage when they run into each other at Jitter’s. But things get really interesting when Lisa Snart, sister of Leonard AKA Captain Cold, bumps into Cisco with a plea to help her kidnapped brother. The gang’s not quite sold on her story but eventually gives Lisa the benefit of the doubt. It doesn’t take Cisco long to locate Snart and the cold gun and Barry checks it out. He finds Snart voluntarily working with his father, Lewis Snart, and gets blasted by Snart during the distraction.

Thanks to the therma-threading Cisco’s woven into the suit, Barry’s able to get out of this frosty predicament. He relays the information to Lisa who’s visibly shaken at finding her brother working with their vile father. In a moment of weakness, she shows the gang a scar on her neck. “I didn’t get this scar being a criminal,” she admits. “I got it being a daughter.” She ends up leaving the room but Cisco follows and the two share another moment where she opens up a bit more to him.

Peyton List returns as the enigmatic Lisa Snart

Barry pays a visit to Snart, trying to get the thief to drop this new job. It doesn’t go too well for Barry, though he is able to offer Joe solid advice on how to handle Francine West’s reappearance. Joe’s fear is losing Iris due to the lie but Barry knows Iris will understand—“you just gotta give her a chance,” he says. Joe concedes and takes Barry’s advice. The emotional talk where we discover Francine’s drug addiction and abandoning her family is tough but Iris, sometimes irrational and reacting on emotion, shows how much her character has grown when she soothes her father’s breakdown with understanding that he was only trying to protect her.

On the bad guy side of things, Leonard, Lewis, and Dave (the tech guy) discuss the particulars of the heist when Dave dismisses Leonard’s involvement. It’s enough to piss off the old man and Lewis Snart shows us why he’s such a bad guy, using a transmitter to make Dave’s head go boom. The next morning, Barry’s on the scene with Spivot and Joe. A quick examination of the headless corpse along with the criminal’s ID gives Barry the break he’s needed on the Snart equation: to force Leonard’s cooperation, Daddy dearest has injected a miniature thermite explosive into his own daughter’s head.

Back at the lab, Caitlin checks in on Jay as he works on the “speed cannon” (the means to stabilize the breach). He’s still missing his speed and being a hero but she reminds him that “being a super hero isn’t always about how fast you can run.” The bond between the two has gotten that much stronger and she volunteers to help him on his speed cannon when word comes in about Lisa’s predicament. Simply put, Barry and the gang need to find a way to get the bomb out of Lisa’s head while, at the same time, preventing Lewis Snart from getting away.

Enter Barry.

He finds Snart and tells him the gang’s working on a solution to Lisa’s bomb-in-brain issue and suggests joining the team as the new tech guy. Snart’s unable to say no before his father comes in and Barry introduces himself as “Sam”. Seconds after the introduction, the trio heads out to complete the heist. Barry does his part bypassing the primary security door only to have Lewis “shoot” him for his trouble. But what’s a bullet to the fastest man alive?  Donning his Flash gear, Barry arrives at the safe before Snart and his father can escape. The latter demands Snart shoot the Flash while Barry waits for word on Cisco’s solution to the bomb problem. When he gets word that Lisa’s safe, Snart fires an icicle through his father’s heart. Barry doesn’t understand why Snart would do such a thing when Lewis had been beaten. “He broke my sister’s heart,” he says unrepentantly, “it’s only fair I break his.”

Breach-52; housed in the basement of STAR labs

In the aftermath, Barry speaks to Snart, now firmly behind bars. “Today just proved what I’ve always known; there’s good in you Snart.” The not-quite enemies part with Snart promising to be seeing Barry soon enough and Joe thanking Barry for his advice on Iris and her mother. Barry and Spivot have another flirtation at Jitter’s and Spivot, taking the initiative, gives Barry her number. Though our titular hero is taken off guard by her actions, he has to know something is there between the two of them…

Just like the something more between Cisco and Lisa, hinted at during their first meeting last year. The two say their goodbyes (for now) with a kiss and there’s a strong chance the two will be fraternizing soon enough.

Finally, we get back to the lab where Jay’s ‘speed cannon’ is up and running. He’s ready to head back home but at Caitlin’s subtle plea (in the interest of working together to take down Zoom), Jay decides to stay. Once Zoom is out of the picture though, he’s going home. As they celebrate a small win, Stein seizes once more but, this time, flames similar to the Firestorm matrix—only blue—surround the good professor before he collapses.

And then, as the breach remains open and unguarded, Harrison Wells emerges…

Flash Facts

  • The best episode of the season so far, the theme of “Family of Rogues” was how our past tends to catch up to us, despite how far we’ve thought to have outrun it. Francine West’s reappearance after two decades in the wind, and the Snart siblings getting a visit from a terrible father are the primary instances of this but also the final scene of Earth-2’s Harrison Wells reinserting himself into our world carries that theme into future episodes.
  • Another common thread was the intimate connections—romantic and otherwise—shared by our characters. Caitlin and Jay continue to bond, both pulled toward one another but, at the same time, not acting on those feelings. Barry and Patty Spivot show great chemistry and it’s only a matter of time before things get a bit more intense between the two, despite Barry’s aloof reaction to Spivot giving him her digits. Lisa Snart has always carried a soft spot for Cisco and this week only solidified that as she opens up to him like she probably hasn’t done to anyone before, even her brother. Despite Leonard being a jerk, he loves his sister and all his actions relating to the now (thankfully) deceased Lewis Snart was born out of that love.
  • Barry’s last conversation with Snart was another not-so-subtle nod towards the former villain’s turn towards sorta-hero in the ‘Legends of Tomorrow‘ spinoff coming this winter. ‘The Flash’ writers are doing a bang-up job peeling away the layers of Captain Cold, ensuring the creation of a multi-dimensional character capable of leading a team of ne’er do well and criminals to help save the world.