Catching Up: The Flash Episode 419, "Fury Rogue"

Admittedly, after the emotional blows dealt in last episode ("Lose Yourself"), I thought "Fury Rogue" was going to be more of a coast. I mean, they just killed Ralph Dibny (HARTLEY SAWYER) and effectively eliminated Killer Frost (DANIELLE PANABAKER) from Caitlin Snow's persona. Since this episode dealt with the final bus meta being safely transferred to a secure facility, how much excitement could it really generate?

While the episode didn't have quite the level of action as others, the drama was tense throughout. Caitlin still finds notes from her alter ego, Harrison Wells (TOM CAVANAGH) has to admit to Cisco (CARLOS VALDES) that the Thinking Cap has begun the process of eroding his intelligence, and Barry (GRANT GUSTIN) refuses to deal with the emotions of Ralph's death.

The final bus meta in question is Neil Borman, aka Fallout (RYAN ALEXANDER MCDONALD), and he has to be moved in a cold environment to keep his radiation from reaching critical mass. With Killer Frost no longer on hand, they need to find another source of cold. Plotwise, this is unnecessary, but it allows them to go to Earth X and bring over Leo Snart, aka Citizen Cold (WENTWORTH MILLER). Granted, they already had a cold gun at S.T.A.R. Labs, which they later give to Snart to use, so he wasn't really a necessary piece for the move -- but he is a good foil for The Flash, particularly as he's sensitive to people's emotions and can tell that Barry hasn't let himself grieve Ralph's death. He warns him that if he doesn't confront his feelings, they will end up confronting him and at the worst possible time.

That time comes when the prisoner transfer is interrupted by The Thinker (NEIL SANDILANDS), who now has Ralph's elastic body and has formed it to look like his original one. Flash hears Ralph's voice, and locks up, emotionally incapable of fighting. And The Thinker needs him to fight, because Snart didn't come alone from Earth X: he was followed by one of the last of the Nazi holdouts, Siren X (KATIE CASSIDEY), who has all the powers of her Earth 2 doppelganger, Black Siren. She has her own reasons for wanting to capture Fallout, and this -- for the first time -- puts a kink in The Thinker's plans.

Yet Another Laurel. Siren X (KATIE CASSIDY) and Fallout (RYAN ALEXANDER MCDONALD) in THE FLASH.

I will say that the writers put an interesting twist on Laurel's sonic abilities. This one can not only project sound waves, but can also use them subtly to eavesdrop at a distance. Since she is ultimately captured in this episode, one wonders how long until she breaks out and really creates confusion to the storylines of ARROW.

Ultimately, The Thinker gets just what he wants, all the while being more and more condescending to his wife, Marlize (KIM ENGELBRECHT) who realizes her husband can account for all variables except for how someone feels -- including herself. Expect betrayal from that corner to be The Thinker's downfall rather than some brilliant plan from Team Flash. I halfway expect the Devoes to be sitting side-by-side on Dr. Sharon Finkel's counseling couch before this season ends.