The Flash Season 3: 5 Ups And 3 Downs From 'Magenta'

A new villain and a new speedster arrive while Wally West acts the fool.

by Andrew Pollard
Flash Magenta Ups Downs
The CW

With The Flash’s third season having hit the ground running, this week’s episode looked to continue the momentum gathered during two impressive outings for the Scarlet Speedster & Co.

As the mysterious Doctor Alchemy continues to pull strings from the shadows, this week saw the debut of the villainous Magenta. A reluctant villain, this rogue is the possessed Frankie Kane who looks to take out her frustrations at years of abuse from her no-good stepfather.

Elsewhere, two familiar faces return to the world of Earth-1 Central City: “Harry” Wells and daughter Jesse.

Whilst Harry may be as Harry as ever – with Tom Cavanagh on brilliant form once more – Jesse has undergone some pretty major changes. Not least, now having her own superspeed as she edges ever closer to becoming her comic book counterpart, Jesse Quick.

And if all of this wasn’t enough for our titular hero to contend with, this week’s episode of The Flash also found Barry Allen doing his best to woo Iris on their first ‘proper’ date.

So with all of that said, let’s take a look at the Ups and Downs from Magenta.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.