A time quake brings the team back to the old west. Not surprisingly, this makes for something of a sequel episode to "The Magnificent Eight". Jonah Hex even makes a return appearance.
This episode handled him a lot better, to be honest. Last time, it seemed like he was just along for the ride and gave some exposition. Here, he plays a more active role and the script gives him more to do while also fleshing out his character to a much greater extent.
The real show stealer here, though, is Nate. As this is his first venture into the old west, he naturally spends a lot of the episode geeking out and invoking western movie tropes. He gets a lot of the best lines and starts to form a closer bond to Ray, which I'm surprised took this long given that both are idealistic dorks. I do find his lamenting his role as research guy to be a bit odd, given that that is what he offered to bring to the table when he first joined the team. I get the logic, given his sheltered upbringing and the possibility to go out and be a hero, but it still comes off as odd
Also odd is the direction the episode went with Mick. Seeing him get along swimmingly with Turnbull was a great bit, but the idea that he is still the crazed pyro that he was when he first started seems like a step backward.
Speaking of Turnbull, he made for a decent villain. A lot of credit goes to Fahey, who gives the character enough energy and charm to make up for his thin motivations. The dwarf star bullets were also a nice way to level the playing field and make him a credible threat to the team, while also giving Ray what he needs to put the A.T.O.M Mk II suit together.
I was surprised that Barry's message still wasn't revealed. It's mentioned, but with the mention of an oncoming war, I figured it was setting up the crossover. Considering that the crossover is coming next, it's continued secrecy is surprising. Then again, it's possible that my original theory was correct and it deals with Eobard. You'd think that if it were Eobard, that Stein would have said something given that he helped take down Reverse Flash before. Or maybe the message gets brought up in the crossover itself, we'll have to see. The episode's end does make for a nice lead in, though, as Sara reveals that their friends in 2016 need their help.
There are areas where this episode certainly improved on what we saw in "The Magnificent Eight". It still has the fun, as almost every character gets in a solid highlight or one-liner. I don't know if it quite hits the same heights (which is odd, given the aforementioned improvements) but it is certainly a worthy follow up.
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