The Flash Season 5: 3 Ups & 2 Downs From 'News Flash'

Downs...

2. The Limited Use Of Joe West

While 'News Flash' made good use of many of The Flash's regular characters, there was one who barely received any screen-time at all: Joe West. The long-standing character briefly appeared near the beginning of the episode in the CCPD station before returning in another brief appearance at the episode's conclusion, when Nora turned up at his and Cecile's house to spend the night.

Unfortunately, his lack of a role and storyline in the episode isn't exactly an isolated incident. So far, he has had very little to do this season, often appearing on a sofa whenever he is needed to quote some inspirational lines or protect his loved ones from dagger-throwing villains. Granted, we're only four episodes into the season, but it is a little bizarre that the character has been underutilised in so many consecutive instalments.

Joe West has been a staple of The Flash since the very beginning. Whether he was being a father to Iris and Barry or Central City's most committed detective, he has always been at the core of the show and it would be nice to see him return that kind of prominence in the very near future.