The Flash Episode 3 Review: Faster Than a Flying Ocean Liner

By Daniel Schwartz

Contributing Guest Reviewer

Speedsters, Speedsters everywhere. Once Barry received his super speed, it seems like everyone wanted to join the party. First there was Reverse Flash, then Zoom, then Jay Garrick, then Trajectory, the Rival, then Kid Flash, and finally Jessie Quick last night.

Deciding that Earth-1c (Earth-1a was the original timeline and Earth-1b was Flashpoint) would be a great place for a vacation, Harrison Wells and his speedster daughter Jessie come through the dimensional portal from Earth-2. Under the guise of performing testing, Dr. Wells attempts to have team Flash talk Jessie out of using her newly-acquired powers to be a superhero. Fortunately, this does not go well for him and he eventually accepts her heroic aspersions while gifting her a superhero costume.

While Harry is struggling with his acceptance of Jessie’s powers, Team Flash is busy dealing with a powerful villain known as Magenta (spelled strangely similar to the Marvel villain with the same powers). This tragic figure is a victim of domestic abuse and Doctor Alchemy’s developing plan. With an evil split personality, she tests both Barry and Jessie before Flash is able to defeat Magenta with words instead of fists.

This episode had plenty of interesting moments. From Wally’s reaction to Magenta’s description of having dreams to Barry and Iris’ awkward date, episode 3 covered a lot of ground.

While the Barry and Iris subplot felt like necessary filler, the rest of the episode was quite entertaining. Jessie’s arrival and Magenta’s split personality were enough to keep me watching the entire hour. Throw in some more references to Flashpoint and Barry’s first glimpse of Doctor Alchemy and you have a very good hour of television.

Not only was there great speedster action, but there were also several hints dropped for future plot development. It is obvious that Doctor Alchemy will be visiting Wally West and attempting to return him to his Flashpoint abilities. It is also revealed that Alchemy will be harder to fight than previously thought as he took out the Rival while appearing as a floating light.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

There were some fun scenes with Barry and the team and the flying cargo ship provided a legitimate danger. The only downside was what seemed like the forced relationship between Barry and Iris. If they can make the flow of their relationship more natural, it will be more believable and fit the tone of the show.