They say any hero is only as good as his villains and this week The Flash proves that sentiment by offering the action packed “Revenge of the Rogues.” Wentworth Miller reprises his role as Captain Cold and this time he’s joined by his older brother Lincoln Burrows, Dominic Purcell as Heat Wave, and the chemistry these villains share carries an otherwise standard episode to fantastic heights.

Well, let me start off by saying yes, I’ve caught up with The CW DC world and while I was once against The Flash, I’m now into it. I found the pilot to be almost laughable. By the second episode my laughs turned to groans and I gave up. But, here I am charmed by Grant Gustin’s boyish good looks. The show is actually coming into its own in a great way and has managed to create likeable characters (except Sisqo) in perhaps the most fully realized superhero world brought to screen.

So hot off the heels of the last episode we’re greeted with a pretty stellar training montage of Barry upping his speed. He’s training to catch “The Man in Yellow” or “Reverse Flash” as Sisqo calls him, and since I’m fond of calling Sisco, Sisqo, I think its only fair to use his nickname. The beginning is a nice reminder that we’ll have another showdown before the season’s end. But you know what? Captain Cold could carry this show’s antagonism on his own.

Wentworth Miller is phenomenal in this role. He’s detached and cold (heh) and perfectly in control opposite his new buddy, Heat Wave. Together the chemistry these two share make each of their scenes together an absolute joy to watch. From the beginning their partnership is tumultuous  and its clear Heat Wave is the lackey in this equation.

Captain Cold has a weird obsession with bringing The Flash to the forefront of the city. He wants to destroy the scarlet speedster once and for all so he and his new pal can reign as kings. Of course, Barry has to spend time weighing his options. He’s convinced not engaging Snart will push the cold bastard to give up. Of course Leonard has other plans to lure The Flash out. This leads to a pretty great showdown in an airplane hanger between the rogues and the police. Joe takes the baddies on with his police force, and only sustains limited damages thanks to Sisqo’s great shields.

Meanwhile Barry is torn between training for Reverse Flash and mending his heart over Iris. Surprisingly he takes the higher road and chooses to accept Iris’ choice to move in with Eddie. It shows a great leap for his character and his acceptance of his own responsibility. Already Gustin has sunk his teeth into the role and shown a tremendous amount of growth over just ten episodes. With this newfound attitude in tow he uses it to attack Heat Wave and Captain Cold, who can’t stop reigning havoc on an empty street.

Despite a police barricade on either side and seemingly nothing for these rogues to do, Barry ventures forward to willingly make his presence as The Flash known to everyone. This showdown is the highlight of the episode despite not making a whole lot of sense. There seems to be no reason for the police to stay out of the fight, and they allow these maniacs to spray their fire and ice just about everywhere.

The theme of episode seems to be about slowing down, as Barry defeats these two power hungry maniacs by going slower. It’s a fantastic moment that really shows his growth as a hero and a character. Let’s hope he has to use the same principles to defeat Professor Zoom, Reverse Flash, Yellow Man or whatever Sisqo calls him next.

Throughout all this we had Caitlin’s oddly motivated quest to find Firestorm. Which really didn’t progress enough for me to define itself against the backdrop of everything else going on.

The final scene between Iris and Barry was made a little laughable thanks to Joe asking if they needed a moment alone, only to sit on the couch about three feet away in perfect earshot. But! Barry and Joe living together. That’s a show in and of itself. I’d love to see a bottle episode where they’re locked in, broing down, and eating pizza.

This week’s episode of The Flash was fun and filled with exciting action. Wentworth Miller is a delight as Captain Cold, and the final scene was a beautiful tease for what’s to come.

GOLDEN GLIDER!