The Flash season 3, episode 3, “Magenta,” saw the return of Earth-2’s Harrison Wells and Jesse Quick… with a twist.
Houston, we have another speedster.
Harrison Wells and Jesse Quick returned from Earth-2 because Jesse developed speedster powers and Wells wanted the S.T.A.R. Labs team to run some tests talk Jesse out of using her powers. Jesse, who in season 2 felt relegated to damsel in distress, is excited to finally have a chance to exercise her agency but her father isn’t having it.
But it’s okay because he’s her father. Or something. Puke.
It takes Caitlin — who we know is hiding her own meta powers — snapping at him that he should help Jesse navigate her powers rather than acting like they will destroy her if he wants his daughter to turn to him.
She’s completely right, though the audience knows she’s not just talking about Jesse. Caitlin remembers how Cisco looked at her after meeting her doppelganger and thinking she could become like Killer Frost, so she’s terrified of the abilities she’s developing.
Wells eventually embraces Jesse’s powers and encourages her to join The Flash in the field. He even gifts Jesse with a Cisco-designed suit at the end, which is awesome.
So, on one hand in this episode we have a character who has completely embraced her powers but a family that does not accept them. Our villain of the week, on the other hand, is struggling against her inner evil self.
Well, perhaps not evil but vengeful; Doctor Alchemy granted Frankie her powers, creating a second personality The Evil Pink Ranger Magenta, so Magenta could get revenge on Frankie’s foster father for being abusive. Once he’s taken care of, though, she wants to completely take over Frankie’s life.
Frankie and Magenta are fighting are internal battle for control of Frankie’s life. On the surface, Frankie is a timid foster child and abuse victim. Magenta is strong and determined. But Frankie is able to fight off Magenta as The Flash talks her down, proving there is far more strength in Frankie than she ever thought she could have.
However, has no memories of what she did as Magenta; things are going to be complicated for her. Will she be able to use her metal powers as Frankie or were those just the property of Magenta? Moreover, while she’s been resettled in Keystone City, Doctor Alchemy killed the last new meta who failed so I hope Frankie isn’t next on his list.
So, while Jesse was looking for external acceptance, Frankie needed to accept herself, pain and all.
And then there is Wally.
Wally, who is jealous of Jesse gaining powers. They were both hit by the particle accelerator blast but only Jesse manifested her powers. He reveals that he’s dreamed of having speed — which is something that also happened to Frankie prior to her getting her powers from Doctor Alchemy.
In fact, it’s a bit over the top how disappointed Wally is with not having powers like Barry or Jesse. Joe tries to encourage him to use his brains to change the world while Barry yells at him when he tries to jump in front of a car to jump start his powers like Jesse did (though hers was an accident).
Those with even passing comic book knowledge know that Wally West is destined to become a speedster, so the reiteration of people telling him that he’s not going to become one just feels silly.
But the setup seems to be that Wally will be another person to get powers from Doctor Alchemy since he had speed in the Flashpoint world. Wally getting his powers in that way will open the door to seeing just what Doctor Alchemy is doing to people and if there are side effects — as well as possibly giving us some more clues about his master plan — so I’m excited to see it finally happen.
As for Barry and Iris, they attempt to have a date and it goes poorly before Barry and Iris are summoned to S.T.A.R. Labs. They try a second time and Barry speeds Iris to a romantic location, which is sweet, but then Barry is called back to CCPD. Iris tells him to go and I just wonder how Iris is going to get home.
Seriously Barry, at least drop her back off in town! Get it together, man. I know that wasn’t supposed to be my takeaway from that scene, but it was all I could think about.
Overall, “Magenta” is a fun rogue-of-the-week episode that isn’t entirely subtle in its setup of future events.
We want to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Write a comment below or submit an article to Hypable.