The Flash Review: Magenta (Season 3 Episode 3)

On this episode of The Flash, Barry’s better as a big brother, Julian’s a jerk, Wally’s a woobie, and we finally get more than two women on screen.

“Magenta” finally gets Barry and Iris on the track toward the iconic couple they’re meant to be in 2024. Barry swoops Iris up and takes her to the same restaurant that Ray Palmer bought out in Season 1. How Barry can afford to do the same thing (and drop $300 on flowers) is beyond me, but hey, it’s romantic.

Unfortunately, we see absolutely none of that romance because Flash’s double life gets in the way yet again. The chemistry between Candice Patton and Grant Gustin is palpable, to be sure. Together, they seem like an agreeable couple, equally at ease with each others’ faults and strengths. They’re so used to each other that even when asking each other about their respective days, they both just shrug.

And therein lies the problem.

It’s great that The Flash is figuratively and literally slowing down to show the development of Iris West’s relationship to Barry Allen. It’s not so great that they have nothing non-Flash-related to say to each other.

Barry began the series pining for Iris from afar, every opportunity to court her thwarted either by his job as the fastest man alive or Eddie “My Sacrifice Was For Nothing Because You Resurrected Reverse-Flash Anyway” Thawne. Now, he’s got no obstacles and they find themselves missing the action that led up to their first/second first/third first kiss.

Not the best foundation for a long-lasting relationship.

Here’s hoping they remember what it was that attracted to them to each other pre-Particle Accelerator Explosion (or that The Flash writers figure out how a real relationship works, e.g. Olicity)

Because this show now has loads and loads of characters, this week, we thankfully step outside of S.T.A.R. Labs and take a walk with speedsters-in-training, Jesse and Wally.

It’s such a joy to watch someone else’s joy and seeing Jesse talk about her powers for a moment is a welcome breeze of happiness that we haven’t had since Barry first got his powers. I was a little worried that having too many cooks in the kitchen—or in this case, too many speedsters in Central City—would prove too messy, but if anything, it creates a more interesting dynamic for the team.

Barry has had the weight of the world on his shoulders for so long that he’s forgotten the elation that having powers brings. Jesse treats her gift as exactly that, a gift, and I hope she lightens the entire mood of the otherwise somber post-Flashpoint team.

What bothers me about this episode, however, is Team Flash’s (and by extension, the writers’) cavalier treatment of mental illness. Dissociative Identity Disorder is an actual disorder and, controversial as a diagnosis can be, is still as genuine a problem as Bipolar Personality Disorder, OCD, or Schizophrenia.

If someone with schizophrenia were to ask, “what happens if the hallucinations come back?” the response would not be, “fight it!” Yet that’s exactly what Flash told this young, vulnerable, abused teenage girl with a serious mental disorder.

Barry, honey, that’s not how psychology works. Like, at all.

Even if Frankie didn’t have DID, she’s still foster child suffering from months of mental and physical abuse at the hands of her foster father. That’s not something that can just be fixed by giving her to someone who swears they’re super nice.

Look, I’m not expecting an entire scene devoted to finding Frankie psychological help. Lord knows half the people in the Arrowverse could use one or two sessions.

However, a quick line—maybe from the underused Dr. Caitlin Snow—saying, “We found you a nice foster home and one of the parents is a psychiatrist who can help you manage your dual personalities” would do wonders for the flippant attitude with which the writers handle an otherwise very serious issue.

But, hey, if these guys knew anything about actual science, half these episodes wouldn’t exist.

Overall, I’m glad to see Team Flash expanding and hopefully getting their own story-lines as the show develops.

Bechdel Test Score: U

We came verrrrry close this week. Unfortunately, however, during the conversation between Caitlin and Jesse, both Barry and Harry got brought up.

Bright side: with Caitlin becoming (hopefully not-so-)Killer Frost and Jesse sticking around Earth-1 for a bit, our prospects look much more hopeful.

Cisco’s Pop Culture References

• Primal Fear, a film where Edward Norton plays a man with Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Floating Tankers

• Harrison Wells casually reminds us that he’s told hard-headed Barry several times not to mess with the timeline.
• “She’s calling herself Magenta.” “Meh.” Cisco, where have you gone? Come back!
• Julian should be fired for yelling at a suspect/victim. I’m no cop, but the forensic analyst usually never interacts with the victims on SVU.
• “Wally’s different than you, Barry. You’re like a second daughter; you overshare your feelings.” Laughed so hard, I woke the dog. Finally someone said it.
• Caitlin went OFF on Wells about Jesse. Hiding her powers is starting to get to her. Did I mention how jazzed I am to see Killer Frost again? I don’t think I did.
• Barry’s great at giving advice. The worst at following it.
• Jesse’s outfit in that street scene with Wally sort of looks like the get-up Clark Kent wore in Smallville (which incidentally had its 15th anniversary this past week)
• Cisco built a panic button into their cell phones because they kept getting kidnapped. Genius.
• Not gonna lie, Joey King looks cheesy ridiculous using her powers.
• The conversation between Wells and Jesse sort of read like a father reluctantly accepting his daughter coming out of the closet.

What did you think of this episode of The Flash? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/9c on The CW.

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