Drama, drama, drama. Family drama, that is. The latest episode of The Flash was all about family drama, both for the Allen/West clan as well as the Snart clan. Isn’t it heartwarming to know that family drama is ubiquitous? Asked and answered. Barry and his frenemy Captain Cold work together to save Cold’s sister, Joe confesses to Iris that her mother is still alive, Patty Spivot misreads some signals from Barry, and more on The Flash: “Family of Rogues.” Spoiler alert.
Family Drama
Things are always complicated when it comes to family; no matter who you are. Look at poor Joe West and his estranged wife, Francine. Last week on The Flash, Francine came back to Central City, apparently looking to pick right up where she last left off with Joe and Iris. Too bad Joe was over her and seemingly had moved on, emotionally speaking—still wearing his wedding band, mind you. Nevertheless, Joe was a good man and decided to hear out Francine, but only to offer her money to get lost for good in an effort to protect Iris from the heartbreak and himself from ever having to confess that he lied about her mother’s death in the first place. Good one, Joe, keep the lies going. Don’t worry, though, he did come clean to Iris by the end of the episode.
Speaking of lies, as Joe was dealing with Francine and wrestling with what to tell Iris, if anything, the Snart family just so happened to roll back into town, bringing with them their usual bit of trouble. This time, Lisa came to S.T.A.R. labs with a sob story about how her brother, Lenny aka Captain Cold, was allegedly kidnapped. Sidebar, can we all stop using the word kidnap for missing grown people? Just saying.
Now, a spiteful grudge-holding man might have turned the other cheek—rightfully so, given everything that has transpired between The Flash and company and the Snarts—but Barry, and especially Cisco, aren’t like that. Seriously, could Cisco be more obvious with his intentions for helping Lisa? Crush much? Little did Barry and the gang know at the time—and Lisa, actually—Lenny willfully went off with their father because he was trying to save Lisa’s life, thanks to their dad turning Lisa into a literal ticking time bomb. Gotta love family, right?
Senior Snart
We all have family, whether we ignore or not. And from what we learned this week on The Flash, it sounds like the latter is exactly what Lisa and Lenny Snart did. Rightfully so, their dad is complete scum. That’s me putting it lightly. Dear old senior Snart aka Lewis Snart apparently beat and tortured his two children when they were younger and living under his roof. Why? Because like I said, he’s scum. Needless to say, Lisa and Lenny, in particular—being the big protective brother he is and all—grew up carrying a grudge towards their pops. So, when dear old dad came back in town to pull a jewelry heist and decided to make Lisa a walking time bomb, it was a no-brainer for Lenny to co-sign just long enough to exact some revenge on the old man. Smart, but risky. Luckily, Barry/The Flash got involved upon Cisco’s urging.
Frenemy or Friend?
After learning the true reason why Captain Cold was helping his scumbag of a father, Barry decided to get involved…just because he likes a good cause and all. And after a brief exchange in a dive bar, it became crystal clear that Barry and Lenny are definitely some sort of frenemies, or would one just call them friends? That’s when Barry got the harebrained idea to just insert himself into the jewelry heist so that he could be close to the situation and protect the innocent. Good plan, right? Of course it worked, but not without a few small hiccups along the way—like him almost taking a bullet.
Just as Lewis confiscated the diamonds—after a rad Captain Cold move where he froze the security lazers and then proceeded to walk right through them, shattering them like glass—Cisco was able to safely remove the micro bomb from Lisa. The funny thing, though, was that once the Flash gave Captain Cold the word that his sister was safe, he still preceded to kill his dad, by freezing him to death, of course. Apparently, forgiveness only lives in the hearts of some, and Lenny isn’t one of them. The best exchange between Barry and Lenny, however, came at the end of the episode when Barry went to visit his frenemy/friend in the Iron Heights prison and Barry acknowledged that they both know each other’s secrets. Holding secrets over your head, yeah, that sounds like frenemies to me. Yet another thing The Flash TV show is keeping consistent with the DC Comics: Barry/The Flash’s convoluted relationship with Lenny Snart/Captain Cold.
Also consistent with the DC Comics, Patty Spivot and her involvement with the Central City Police Department—vis-a-vis the anti-metahuman task force—and a budding friendship with Barry; although, she kind of got some wires crossed a bit there when she misinterpreted their friendly rapport for flirting. Then too this week, Jay Garrick and Caitlin were able to figure out a solution to Jay’s going home problem—the Speed Canon—but luckily for all of us he’s sticking around to help take care of Zoom first. Oh, and Dr. Harrison Wells is back. Seriously, what’s not to like about this show?
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8:00pm EST on CW.