Wentworth Miller’s interpretation of Leonard Snart will go down in history as one of the boldest, weirdest creative choices ever on TV. Though Miller has ceased being the character on a regular basis, his one-off episodes, including this week’s The Flash, are such a delight that it’s kind of insane the producers aren’t doing everything they can to keep Miller around. Even with Katie Cassidy allowed to go full crazy as Nazi Black Siren, Miller’s finely-tuned delivery can stop anyone cold.
In the newest episode of The Flash, “Fury Rogue,” Barry (Grant Gustin) struggles to let himself grieve the loss of Dibney (Hartley Sawyer), whose body was absorbed by DeVoe (a rotating group of actors, but Neil Sandilands is back). But when Team Flash need to transport a nuclear meta, again, the S.T.A.R. Labs crew enlists the help of Leo Snart, the all-good “Citizen Cold” of Earth-X.
A lot has changed on Earth-X since the November crossover. The Nazi regime have been practically wiped out, save for “Siren-X” (guest star Katie Cassidy, pushing the bad side of her character even further than she normally does as Black Siren on Arrow), who sneaks through Cisco’s breach and decides to tear shit up on Earth-1. Once again, The Flash has an Evil Katie Cassidy loose, and though Cassidy was practically born to play villainous fatales, Miller’s performance eclipses even Cassidy’s dependably excellent work as the Siren.
"Aw. I was supposed to be the special guest."
It’s the little things that make Miller’s Snart such a magnet for attention. The way his voice dips down a hill before settling into a valley, while his eyes dart around the room before landing on someone to pierce their soul. This was obvious even back on Legends of Tomorrow, but it takes a true talent to look at an interesting at best, functional at worst comic book villain and make him a legitimate enigma. “Leo Snart,” who is actually a good guy and not an ambiguous like Leonard Snart was, lacks the complexity that made Snart’s earlier performances so rich. But being a one-off episode, just having the guy around again is welcome.
More important than the guest stars, however, is Barry himself. Never forget the show’s name is called The Flash for a reason, and finally The Flash lets its hero do something other than fuck up for plot reasons. After the end battle, Barry’s cold exterior towards losing Dibney melts away. Just because Barry has experienced loss before doesn’t make it any easier to endure again. Thankfully there was an old, friendly face to cheer things up for an hour.
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern on The CW.
