“Rogue Time” is episode sixteen of season one of The Flash.
In the previous episode, “Out of Time”, Cisco had discovered that, when they thought they had caught the Reverse-Flash in “The Man in the Yellow Suit”, it was only a recording. Then Dr. Wells had walked in. Wells introduced himself – his name is Eobard Thawne. A distant relative of Eddie’s. Wells/Thawne/Reverse-Flash explains how he was able to be in two places at once, and admits that he did kill Nora Allen, Barry’s mother, but it was an accident – he was actually trying to kill Barry.
Wells has been training Barry to go faster because that’s the only way he can get back to his own time. He vibrates his arm and sticks it through Cisco’s chest – he really doesn’t appear to want to do this, but won’t let anyone stop him. Wells apologises to Cisco but explains that, from his point of view, Cisco has been dead for centuries. It appears that Wells is from the future.
Mark Mardon had, in the mean time, kidnapped Joe and was launching a tsunami at the city. Iris finally admitted that she had feelings for Barry as well as the other way around. Caitlin told Barry that the way to stop the tidal wave was to run really fast to create a vortex. Which meant that Barry revealed he was the Flash to Iris. Barry was doing so and then went through a blue portal. Earlier in the episode, when Barry was running to the morgue, he saw himself running next to him. Wells said that this was probably a speed mirage (which is something he demonstrated to Cisco just before he killed him) but it appears it isn’t.
Barry has actually gone back in time. There is only one of him now and he has some knowledge of future events (although he doesn’t know what happened to Cisco). Once he realises what’s happened anyway. Cisco is speaking to Barry and telling him that he needs to get to the morgue. Barry says he already went. The conversation gets a bit confused, although it looks as if Wells may know what is wrong. Barry heads to the morgue, as Barry not the Flash, and knows what happened and is going to happen.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin and Cisco are arriving. Cisco doesn’t want to go to his brother Dante’s birthday party; their parents think that Dante can do no wrong and Cisco can do no right. Caitlin tells Cisco that Dante is his brother – not by choice is his reply. So she offers to go with him.
As they are discussing the Weather Wizard, Mark Mardon, Barry keeps saying things as others are saying them. So Wells asks for a word with him. In private, Wells tells Barry that he ruptured the time continuum, and wants to know when it happened. Dr. Wells is essentially panicking; he tells Barry not to tell him anything. That time is an extremely fragile construction and that messing with it could have cataclysmic consequences. Wells wants Barry to do everything the same way and not tell anyone. After Barry leaves, Wells goes to his secret room and checks with Gideon to see if the future is still intact. It is. As Wells would appear to be from the future, he probably doesn’t want anything to happen that could alter his own future. Or past, as it were.
As to doing everything the same way, Barry fails miserably at it, going straight to Mardon and bringing him back to the lab. Wells realises that Barry has acted on his knowledge of the future, and tells him that whatever tragedy Barry prevented, time will find a way to replace it, and that it could be much worse.
Leonard Snart/Captain Cold and Mick Rory/Heat Wave are brought in to see Don Santini. Both were freed by Snart’s younger sister Lisa in “Revenge of the Rogues”. Santini wants to know what Snart is doing back in town, as he told him that next time he saw him he would put the hurt on him. Snart tells Santini that it’s his town, and that the Santinis need to leave. Santini wants to know what Snart and Rory can do without their guns; it seems they are still quite capable of taking people out without them.
Barry and Wells are trying to duplicate the time travel effect, but failing. Wells says that there are a whole bunch of factors that could be involved. Then Joe arrives and wants to know what Barry is acting weird – as in weirder than normal. This time Barry really can’t tell Joe why.
Barry meets up with Cisco after the latter left his brother’s birthday party. Then Cisco gets approached by a girl who claims to be interested in him. Sadly for Cisco, the girl is Lisa Snart. Snart wants his guns back, or he will hurt Cisco’s brother.
As Iris kissed Barry in the previous timeline, he decides to use this knowledge, break up with Linda and get together with Iris. Barry expects this to all go smoothly; in fact, he’s planning on it. It does not go well at all. There are perils on acting on knowledge of the future, especially if events that didn’t actually happen may have affected things.