As it hurtles towards its climax, this first season of The Flash has been delivering epic twists at quite a rate, so here's a quick catch-up - Iris knows Barry is The Flash, Eddie knows Iris will marry Barry at some point in the future, and everybody knows Dr Wells is the Reverse Flash.
'Rogue Air' offers yet more surprises and also ups the thriller aspect, with Wells's madcap plot approaching its end-point - the villain skilfully manipulating our heroes every step of the way.
"He hasn't been one step ahead of us, he's been a thousand!" vents a frustrated Barry - and it's certainly true that every time the STAR Labs team appear to have the advantage, they're swiftly outmanoeuvred by their cunning foe, forcing The Flash to go to extreme lengths in an effort to get ahead.
Case in point - defeating escapee Peekaboo and rescuing a captive Eddie, our downtrodden team seem to have scored a win at long last, but no such luck. Wells reactivates the notoriously unstable particle accelerator, rendering STAR Labs a ticking timebomb and endangering the lives of its metahuman inmates.
Forced to hold off on hunting down Wells, Barry and friends must also find a new location to stash their prisoners. If only there was another high-tech prison in existence, designed to contain super-powered scoundrels...
Yes, 'Rogue Air' sees The Flash cross over with Arrow once again as our heroes hatch a plan to transfer the inmates to "Oliver's own private Alcatraz" of Lian Yu - and from here on out, the treats just keep coming for dedicated fans.
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In its penultimate outing this season, The Flash has produced something of a Greatest Hits piece, as (deep breath) Weather Wizard, Rainbow Raider, The Mist, Deadbolt, Golden Glider and Captain Cold all follow Peekaboo in coming back for another round.
Amidst all the madness, the standouts are Wentworth Miller as Cold / Leonard Snart and Peyton List as Glider / Lisa Snart - the former delivers another wonderfully tongue-in-cheek performance, while the latter matches her on-screen sibling with an infectiously fun performance.
Cold's uneasy alliance with Barry also serves as an example of how the character might operate as an anti-hero of sorts in this fall's new series Legends of Tomorrow - even if the events of 'Rogue Air' make it abundantly clear that this is not a man you should place your trust in.
Snart's sabotage restores the powers of the metahuman inmates mid-transit, provoking an epic face-off between Barry and assorted antagonists - and that's not even the most spectacular showdown that this episode has to offer.
In its final scenes, 'Rogue Air' has the Reverse Flash take on his nemesis, plus Oliver Queen and a returning Firestorm and it's a pretty breathtaking bout. As these superheroes soar in a colourful and dramatic battle with their rival, it's hard to believe this whole thing began with the more muted and grounded early episodes of Arrow.
If you've ever dreamed of witnessing the Justice League in action on television... this is the closest we've ever come.
After a hugely impressive first season, you wouldn't hold it against The Flash if it decided to take a breath ahead of the big finale and just revel in its own glory a little.
'Rogue Air' certainly revels, but it's far from complacent - appearing to hold little back as it delivers the climactic battle between Barry and Wells we've all been waiting for.
Celebrating all that's been great about this season, without sacrificing pace or plot progression, this is a breathless but hugely enjoyable 42 minutes and The Flash will have to deliver a hell of a finale to top it.
FlashPoints!
- With so much going on, there wasn't even room above to discuss the other big development this week. So here goes...
- Eddie breaks up with Iris, not just because she's 'destined' to marry Barry, but because he's always known deep down about her feelings for her 'brother' - and it's hard to question his reasoning. The poor guy was always fighting a losing battle for her heart.
- 'Rogue Air' is an insanely busy episode, granted, but why no reappearance for Dominic Purcell's brilliantly brainless Heatwave? With practically every other villain returning for an encore, his absence felt odd.
- Love how the comic book concept of a super-suit springing from a special ring was incorporated into this episode - could've been hokey, but the visual absolutely worked.
- I have no idea how the Arrow / Flash crossover chronology is supposed to work anymore. Oliver was still trapped at Nanda Parbat last we saw him, so is 'Rogue Air' set after the Arrow season 3 finale?
- Ferris Air shut down after "one of their test pilots disappeared" - all this Green Lantern teasing had better be heading somewhere!
