There are a lot of things to talk about in this week’s episode, which, despite some minor flaws, stood out as the best episode of the season, so far.

The focal point this week was Felicity Smoak, a character from CW sister show, “Arrow,” who took a trip to Central City to visit her friend, Barry. Felicity’s introduction was unsurprisingly seamless, as we got to see her interact with Barry in “Arrow” last year, but what stood out was how her presence in “The Flash” acknowledged recent plot points in “Arrow.” Recently, Felicity decided not to wait around for romance with Oliver Queen, and she almost said as much when she met with Barry for the first time since he woke from his coma.

Felicity’s arrival on the show, however, transcended mere fan service to viewers of “Arrow” and actually had significant impact on Barry and his friends. An example is the scene where Felicity tells Cisco, Caitlyn and Wells that they need to “have their partner’s back… no matter what.” With only a few episodes under their belts, the protagonists in “The Flash” are still trying to find their footing with one another. Felicity’s arrival addresses the group dynamic in a creative way, by creating a crossover with “Arrow.” Fans of both shows, here, are at an advantage.

I was especially excited to see that several of my issues from the previous episodes were addressed. First, Dr. Wells explained his decision to take Cisco and Caitlyn as his scientists, despite their young age. Even for a superhero show, it seemed a little convenient to have two young geniuses working on a particle accelerator, but, clearly, the writers have taken this trivial detail into account, and they addressed it in dialogue.

The writers also addressed the abundance of meta-human villains on the show. Sure, the particle accelerator explosion reached a large population, but a new super-powered villain each week is too formulaic. This week, however, the writers introduced the first non-meta-human baddie, Captain Cold played by Wentworth Miller, and abandoning the show’s recent trend, the villain was fairly interesting. His character was still very flat, but Miller characterizes him so expertly that it is hard not to forgive the character’s lack of depth.

While “Going Rogue” might have addressed several of the show’s growing pains, it brought the romance plot between Eddy and Iris back to the forefront again in a plot that does not seem to be going anywhere. While the writers have done a good job of giving most protagonists some depth at this point, Eddy and Iris are being notably underutilized.

I was glad when Barry and Felicity had their second goodbye. Having Felicity simply walk out of STAR Labs was unsatisfying and would have been a betrayal of Felicity’s and Barry’s relationship. In a fun twist, this was quickly corrected when Barry catches up to Felicty’s train back to Starling City. The kiss was definitely intriguing. “The Flash” and “Arrow” are so connected, as evident by this episode, that it begs the question, “What repercussions will this have for Team Arrow?” Felicity was struggling with her feelings for Oliver at the beginning of “Arrow” this season. Will this kiss be one of the elements that pits Oliver against Barry in the coming crossover episodes? We will have to wait and see.

This week’s episode really accelerated the characters’ growth as a team, thanks to the fun addition of Felicity Smoak. And in a nice change of pace, this week’s villain brought some impressive acting chops to the table. However, Eddy and Iris are still floating aimlessly down a dilapidated love tunnel in a plot that is incredibly irrelevant.

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