For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.
Plot
Barry assembles an unlikely team of his enemies to counter the new Rogues menacing Central City.
Influences
The Ocean's 11 movies and every classic The Flash comic where The Flash teamed up with The Rogues to fight villains that were actively trying to hurt people instead of just stealing.
Goofs
Unfortunately, Red Death's "I am Vengeance" line falls flat when we still have no idea why they want revenge on Barry Allen.
Performances
The ensemble play off of each other well in this episode, particularly Barry's gang of Rogues.
Artistry
The special effects work for the Rogues' powers is great.
Flash Facts
This episode introduces a new version of the villain Murmur. The original Arrowverse Murmur was last seen in A417.
In the comics, Murmur was Dr. Michael Christion Amar, a surgeon who went insane and became a serial killer. He cut out his own tongue and sewed his lips together after accidentally confessing to his crimes, earning him the nickname Murmur.
The new Arrowverse Murmur is a medical student named Michelle Amar. Apart from the gender flip, the new Murmur is almost identical to the one from the comics, wearing a similar costume and mask. The only other change is that this Murmur either has metahuman sound dampening powers or utilizes some kind of technology that allows them to neutralize the Piped Piper's powers.
The new Murmur is played by a deaf actor, Alexandria Wailes.
Reportedly this version of Murmur is also deaf and is shown to speak American Sign Language.
It is Goldface who dubs the new villain the Red Death, quoting Edgar Allan Poe's story The Masque of the Red Death - "And darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all."
Technobabble
The knife used by Murmur utilizes cutting edge nanocircuitry similar to Owen Mercer's boomerangs. The metal filings they leave behind are almost impossible to see without a microscope.
A temporal scanner measures radioactive half-lives.
A temporal scanner, Roemer accelerator battery, quantum vibration engine and Pied Piper's gauntlets can be used to construct a Cosmic Treadmill capable of using kinetic energy to open quantum wormholes in space and time.
The quantum engine is located in a secure vault outfitted with a heavy-duty meta dampener powered by four different generators, each with their own unique power source. Two of these sources are cold fusion and thermal.
Chester helps Iris by running a comparative analysis on the fragments of Owen Mercer's boomerangs comparing them to the filings from Murmur's knife.
Chillblaine says he can eliminate the need for a fifth person for the heist by building a cryo-circuit to disable the thermal generator.
Dialogue Triumphs
(Goldface has revealed that he got out of prison early by betraying his girlfriend.)
Carver: Goldface's only sidekick is cold, hard cash. He ain't some bleeding heart.
Goldface: Ain't it the truth?
Carver: And he sure as hell doesn't stay up all night reading "Dr. Zhivago," then sobbing when Yuri dies before finding Lara.
Goldface: Damn it, Carver! You were told that in confidence. Book club will remain a safe space.
(Barry negotiates a compromise to get the Rogues to work together.)
Goldface: Hang on. Something's rotten in Denmark. We left the city hours ago. How were you able to catch up with us? And why do we need to disable meta dampeners so you can do "forensics"?
(There is a long pause as Chillblaine and Piper look at Barry expectantly. Barry sighs, clearly aware something has to give and what it has to be. Suddenly, The Hotness laughs.)
The Hotness: Dude, come on. Even I figured it out. Barry Allen's the Flash!
(Everyone just looks at The Hotness, stunned that he apparently figured this out on his own.)
The Hotness: They have the same Jitters order!
Goldface: Officer Chemist is the... Yeah, no, I see it now.
(Chillblaine has revealed himself as a traitor.)
Barry: Why are you doing this?
Chillblaine: You're never gonna help me bring back Frost. So I had no choice but to join up with someone who will. For the record, my new boss found me at O'Shaughnessy's right before you did, Speedo. (laughs) Made me an offer I couldn't refuse.
Barry: Look, I know you feel like you've lost Frost all over again...
Chillblaine: Shut up! You do not know what it feels like to lose the only person who's ever loved you.
(Barry looks to the exit. Chillblaine notices his eyeline.)
Chillblaine: Think you can make it? (charges his gauntlets) Run, Barry, run.
Continuity
In the opening scene, the new Captain Boomerang and new Fiddler team up with Murmur to rob Corbin Taft Industries, stealing a temporal scanner.
Barry and Iris are shown taking a French cooking class in Paris, France.
Iris is shown to speak French.
Barry reveals he and Iris went into Flashtime 40 times to perfect their dish to the satisfaction of their teacher.
Barry and Iris' plans for their babymoon vacation include getting pizza in three different countries, a sunset cruise in Kauai, seeing Big Ben at midnight, camping under the Northern Lights and a mezcal nightcap in Cabo.
Barry and Iris return to Central City after getting called about the Rogues' break-in. Iris decides to report on the crime herself to give Aariz a day off from covering lab break-ins.
Khione is shown to have something of a green thumb and brings plants into spruce up STAR Labs.
Khione is a believer in talking to plants.
Allegra and Chester are avoiding each other after their kiss in 901.
Khione names her plants Kesha and Bob.
Barry figures out that the Rogues are stealing the parts to build a Cosmic Treadmill.
Reference is made to Godspeed's use of a Cosmic Treadmill to time travel in 717.
Barry contacts Pied Piper to ask who might have a quantum vibration engine.
Piper informs Barry that the Department of Defense has such an engine at Fort LUKIA, a military base outside Central City and suggests that Barry offer to use STAR Labs as a more secure facility.
Barry dismisses this idea after learning the commanding officer at the military base is General Wade Eiling, who has not been seen since 121 but is still holding a grudge against Barry and STAR Labs. This leads Piper to suggest stealing the engine before the Rogues can.
Barry decides they don't have time to recruit reliable heroes, even if he could talk them into running a heist on the Department of Defense, given that the next night the base will have less guards than usual due to maneuvers in Masonville.
Barry and Piper decide to recruit their own team of Rogues while Iris investigates the benefactor behind the new Rogues, figuring someone has to be supplying their tech and acting as the brains of the operation trying to build the Cosmic Treadmill.
Khione and Allegra go through the Starchives to see if any old Rogue tech has gone missing.
Jaco "The Hotness" Birch, last seen in 808, is recruited to join the good Rogue team. He is revealed to be working at CC Jitters, but quits his job to go off with Barry and Piper.
Barry and Piper recruit Chillblaine, who reluctantly agrees to help, saying that it is what Frost would want. He refuses to take orders from Pied Piper, however.
The last Rogue Barry and Piper recruit is Goldface, who was last seen in 807.
Goldface makes reference to Barry alias of The Chemist, his criminal alias in 513.
Goldface was released after turning state's evidence on the real mastermind behind the CCPD Hostage Situation - his now ex-girlfriend Amunet Black.
According to Carver, Goldface feels guilty over what he did and stays up all night rereading Dr. Zhivago while crying.
Goldface organized a book club for his gang.
Goldface agrees to join in on the heist after Barry explains the danger posed by the new Rogues and the fact that their heists are cutting into his territory.
The new Rogues are revealed to be spying on Goldface's meeting with Barry and Piper.
Chillblaine robbed Goldface at some point in 2016.
Chillblaine makes reference to The Hotness opening up an active volcano under Central City and being accused of murdering his favorite bartender in 808. (Jaco notes he was cleared of that crime.)
Chester confirms that Owen Mercer's boomerangs, the Fiddler's violin and Murmur's knife were all uniquely designed and made by the same engineer, but he can't figure out who made them.
The Rogues all fight over who gets ownership of the engine once they steal it. Barry says nobody gets it, which doesn't please the thieves. Hotness wants a cut if he's risking breaking his parole and he needs money to put his son through college. Chillblaine wants it because the tech was designed to be used for cryogenics. Piper wants it to power his new and improved sonic gauntlets. Goldface wants it because it is worth at least a million dollars on the street.
Barry's Rogues decide to go out on their own and steal the engine without him when it becomes clear he doesn't trust them.
Iris has had no luck tracking down the benefactor behind the New Rogues.
Iris says she's worried she won't be able to break any more big stories once she is pregnant, which is why she really wanted to help Barry with this case.
Barry reminds Iris that she's supposed to win two Pulitzer's and there's nothing that says she can't win three.
Chester tells Iris he traced the Rogues' weapons to prototypes being developed by Wayne Enterprises.
Allegra admits to feeling awkward around Khione, due to Frost being the closest thing she ever had to a big sister.
Allegra says Chester is a good kisser and she likes him, but she can't get involved with someone.
Khione compares Allegra to a daffodil, saying it needs to be carried on the wind to grow but clings to the stem to avoid being hurt.
Barry comes up with a compromise, saying that Piper can get the engine but will pay the other Rogues $250,000 each to compensate them for their help. When Piper protests, Barry reminds him that he said the money wasn't important to him and that he specifically wanted the tech to protect his employees.
When Goldface asks how Barry caught up with them, The Hotness reveals that he is The Flash and that he figured it out because The Flash and Barry Allen have the exact same drink order at CC Jitters.
After Barry's team disable the meta dampener, Chillblaine turns traitor and attacks Barry, stealing the quantum engine.
Captain Boomerang attacks Goldface.
The Fiddler fights The Hotness, though the two seem to have a mutual attraction. If nothing else, Nine Inch Nails is both their favorite band.
Murmur is somehow able to ambush Pied Piper, despite his enhanced hearing. This, coupled with her absorbing his sonic blasts, suggest that she has some ability to muffle the sound around her. It is unclear, however, if this is a metahuman power or tech-based.
The Red Death appears for the first time and is able to dampen Barry's powers long enough for the New Rogues to escape. Barry briefly mistakes them for Thawne, based on their red lightning.
Goldface, The Hotness and Pied Piper agree to help Barry deal with the Red Death once they track them down.
Barry wonders if the Red Death is the new Negative Speed Force Avatar now that Thawne is apparently dead.
Barry noticed that the Red Death had a bat-shaped insignia on their costume.
Luke Fox confirms that the Rogues' weapons resemble advanced WayneTech designs, but their nanotech foundations are beyond bleeding-edge, so he has no idea who they are fighting.
Luke Fox also confirms that they never fought a villain in a costume like Red Death, but that Ryan Wilder did disappear while on patrol as Batwoman several weeks earlier.
Chillblaine tries to back out of the new Rogues when the Red Death says they will only help him resurrect Frost after their mission is complete.
The Red Death unmasks, revealing herself to have the face of Ryan Wilder, saying that she is vengeance.
Location
O’Shaughnessy Pub on the south side of Keystone City.
Untelevised Adventures
Chester speaks with Luke "Batwing" Fox off-camera regarding the new Rogues' weapons.
The Bottom Line
A fun little heist episode which falters in the closing moment because of the anti-climactic mystery built up around the Red Death.
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