By: Ashley Binion (@ashleybinion)
After a rough couple of episodes to start the season, “Magenta” feels like a throwback to the first season of The Flash.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Overall, “Magenta” was a great improvement over the first two episodes. The episode was largely a character episode where Barry was not a downer, time travel was not explained (thank you!), and the villain had an actual motive besides just being evil.
Wells returned. That’s the biggest and most important development of “Magenta.” As I was watching the episode, I realized why the first two episodes of The Flash’s junior season were so rough: the absence of Tom Cavanaugh’s Dr. Wells. Let’s point to exhibit one: His monologue at the end of the episode. No one could have pulled that off, except Jessie L. Martin, with so much emotion.
It’s scary to see how much the series needs the actor and the character he portrays. He provides the series with both a gravitas and a fun it needs. It helps that his character has a unique interaction with every other character on the series. This makes for great character dynamics. At least he and Cisco still have a somewhat fiery relationship in this new timeline.
And, I now understand why The Flash fought so hard to keep the doctor on the canvas after the first season. Without him, the series just doesn’t function the way it should. Sure, Barry already has a father figure in Joe and had one in Henry before he died, but to me Dr. Wells will always be the most important father figure who created the hero we have come to love: The Flash. It’s because we saw the evolution of that relationship from the pilot episode. Even if he isn’t technically the same character, to Barry he is and that’s all that matters.
I continue to not care about Barry and Iris romantically connecting. The show doesn’t know what to do with Iris, or Caitlin for that matter (but that’s a whole different discussion), so she is regulated to being Barry’s love interest. The series has demonstrated that they can write for her quite well, they just choose not to. It’s very disappointing. I do like how the show is trying to show if and why the relationship would work besides “It’s fate.” And, Barry just leaving her wherever they traveled to? Not cool. At least take her back to where you left from.
Magenta was a great villain. Not because she had cool powers, because let’s be honest she was just a rip off of Magneto, but because she had an actual motivation for causing havoc. And, the fact that Team Flash actually tried to rehabilitate the villain instead of putting them in the Star Labs’ prison was a plus.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Matt Goodman
via The Nerd Machine
http://www.thenerdmachine.com/the-flash-magenta-review/
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