The Flash Recap With Spoilers: "Rogues of War"

By Nicole Drum

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for The CW's The Flash Season 9 episode, "Rogues of War." Read beyond this point at your own risk.

We open with a heist at Corbin Taft Industries. Boomerang and Fiddler steal something, as aided by Murmur. Meanwhile, in Paris, Barry and Iris are taking a cooking class. They excel at their assignment — thanks to using Flashtime — but are called away by an alert from Central City.

At STAR, Chester tries to talk to Allegra, but she shuts him down. Khione brings some plants into the facility. Khione is aware that there is something going on there. Chester is worried about the situation.  Barry and Iris meet up with Kramer at the crime scene and determine a temporal scanner was stolen. It's becoming clear that the things being stolen are components for a cosmic treadmill, but they don't know why this is happening. Barry is concerned about what this means for the timeline. However, they are missing one major piece — a vibration engine.

Barry and Iris meet with Hartley. Turns out, he wants the engine, too but for his new gauntlets. The Department of Defense has the only one and it's stored outside Central City. Asking the DOD for it isn't an option. Hartley suggests that to keep the villains from it they just have to steal it first. He suggests putting together a team of rogues to beat the bad guys to the punch.

Hartley pitches his plan to Team Flash and they're skeptical. However, Khione is on his side and helps sell the team on the idea that their rogues will do the right thing. Time is of the essence. Iris sets out on trying to find out who is actually behind all of this — the benefactor. While they get to work, Barry goes recruiting. He and Hartley easily recruit Jaco/The Hotness. They then go to recruit Mark, who they find drinking. He's angry at Hartley for destroying the CRC. Barry asks him to help them anyway. He agrees because it's what Frost would want to do. Then, Hartley and Barry go to recruit their last member — Goldface, who has apparently sold out Amunet. They manage to recruit Goldface, but it's revealed to the audience that they are being spied on.

The newly put together team of Rogues meet at STAR to work out the plan, but working things out doesn't go so well. The Rogues have their interpersonal disagreements, Barry is still hiding his identity as The Flash. The tipping point comes when they ask about what happens to the engine. They all want their cut of the "score". As tensions rise, a fight nearly breaks out, but Barry shuts it down and says he's going to just stick with them. This makes the team feel like he doesn't trust them — so they vote him off the team.

Iris and Chester figure out that the tech the bad rogues are using was all made by the same person, but they can't figure out the connection. Barry is stressed. Iris has no leads. She's also stressed about how there is nothing for her to accomplish for herself and she's worried that once they have children there won't be time for her to do so. She feels like she needs to break one more big story before Nora comes. Iris convinces Barry to trust the Rogues and as he races off, Chester figures out the connection for the bad rogues: their weapons are prototypes from Wayne Enterprises.

Khione and Allegra talk. Allegra says she can't get involved with Chester right now and Khione says she's a daffodil and that she needs to let go so she can blossom into a flower.

Barry shows up at the heist and says that they will follow Hartley's plan. Hartley will get the engine, but he has to buy out the rest of the team. Goldface finally figures out that Barry is The Flash — something Jaco had already figured out himself, much to Barry's surprise. The heist begins. The Rogue Squad starts their efforts to turn off the meta dampener and Barry is able to get the engine from the safe. However, Mark double-crosses the team. He's working for the mysterious benefactor. Hartley prepares to go help Barry, but he's engaged by Murmur while Jaco is engaged by Fiddler and Goldface by Boomerang.

Mark confronts Barry and says that he had no choice but to join up with the benefactor who showed up right before Barry did when Barry came to ask for help. The benefactor has promised to help him bring Frost back. Mark knocks Barry out and take the engine. The Rogue Squad fights the bad rogues — including a really cool exchange between Pied Piper and Murmur in ASL where Murmur tries to recruit him, but he declines. Jaco makes a romantic connection with Fiddler over Nine Inch Nails, though she still kicks his butt.

There is a final confrontation outside between The Flash and the Rogue Squad and the bad rogues, but the heroes are taken down by the mysterious speedster — Red Death who takes Barry's speed.

Red Death is apparently using negative speed — they only dampened Barry's speed. The whole situation has now become about more than just the tech, so Barry asks his Rogue Squad for their help, and they agree, telling Barry to find out who the Red Death is, and their weakness then call them. Chester explains to Team Flash that while the bad rogue's tech resembles Wayne tech, it's far more advance. He also reveals that Ryan Wilder/Batwoman is apparently missing.

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At Red Death's lair. Mark wants what he was promised, but Red Death changes the deal. He says he can't trust them because he doesn't know who is under the mask so Red Death unmasks. It's Ryan Wilder with a white streak in her hair and she corners Mark and says, "I am vengeance."

The Flash airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

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