Warning: this review contains full spoilers for The Flash: Season 6, Episode 12. If you need a refresher on where we left off, here’s our review for Season 6, Episode 11.
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The Flash finally paid one of its longest-running mysteries this week with the long-awaited introduction of Natalie Dreyfuss’ Sue Dearbon. The series doesn’t always have a great track record with Elongated Man-centric episodes, but “A Girl Named Sue” is a pleasant exception. It manages to tell a lighthearted mystery and throw in a dash of metahuman romance, all while furthering the series’ ongoing Black Hole and Mirror Master threads. In short, the series keeps moving forward at a strong clip in the wake of Crisis.
Sue’s debut and her dynamic with Ralph is easily the biggest selling point this week. DC fans have been waiting a long time to see how one of the greatest romances in all of comics would be handled. The end result doesn’t disappoint, even if it’s clear the show is taking a number of liberties with Sue’s portrayal. For one thing, she’s less faithful wife and Justice League sidekick than she is double-crossing jewel thief. But regardless of how different this incarnation of the character may be, Dreyfuss really brings a lot of life and energy to the role. Her expressive facial work and the terrific rapport she shares with Hartley Sawyer do full justice to that iconic Ralph/Sue partnership. Not since Shantel VanSanten’s Patty Spivot has a new love interest character on The Flash stood out this much.
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Those changes to Sue’s characterization and motivations generally work in her favor. Again, she’s a far less passive character here than in the classic Justice League of America comics. And where the comic book version has become perhaps the most infamous example of that storytelling trope known as “fridging,” this Sue is a woman fully in charge of her own destiny. This episode even seems to acknowledge 2004’s hugely controversial Identity Crisis by pitting Sue against a character called John Loring (presumably a riff on Sue’s former BFF-turned-killer Jean Loring), while completely flipping the script on that rivalry. This is one case where The Flash drastically deviating from the source material is not only welcome, but probably necessary.
Dreyfuss’ Sue is an extremely enjoyable addition to the cast, and one who thankfully seems destined to play a recurring role this year. But it should also be said that Ralph himself benefits quite a bit from being thrust back into the spotlight. The goofy detective noir approach to this episode works well. Ralph’s growing bond with Sue helps highlight his character arc and just how much he’s grown over the past three seasons. He’s now proven himself to be a good man and a proper superhero, and he might just inspire Sue through his example. Is it too soon to ask for this duo to get their own spinoff?
Entertaining as the Ralph/Sue pairing is, this episode probably would have been too thin if it were solely focused on that partnership. Fortunately, the unique structure of Season 6 means the writers don’t have that much room to waste. This episode adds new layers to the growing mystery of Mirror Master. For one thing, we finally meet Eva McCulloch (Efrat Dor) in the flesh. Here again the show subverts expectations. There’s nothing overtly villainous about this version of Mirror Master. She’s simply a very lonely and stir crazy woman trying not to give into the false allure of hope. As far as major Arrowverse villains go, Eva is already among the more sympathetic.
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The series can go in any number of directions with Eva. Maybe she’ll become the pivotal villain of the second half of the season. Maybe she’s just another piece of the puzzle that is Black Hole. Maybe this Eva is heroic, and it’s her mirror doppelganger who spells danger for Central City. It’s hard to predict where this character’s story is heading, and that’s a good thing. That sense of unpredictability helps counter the initially underwhelming reveal that her powers came from the particle accelerator accident. Hasn’t that well run dry yet?
This episode offers a few other tantalizing glimpses of things to come. I mentioned in last week’s review how it was slightly disappointing to see the more assertive, confrontational Iris written off as a mirror doppelganger, but there’s still a lot of potential in this subplot and the potentially lasting harm Mirror Iris can inflict on Barry and Iris’ relationship. It’s also satisfying to see the ongoing Black Hole storyline intertwine so heavily with the debuts of Mirror Master and Sue. The Black Hole material never stood out much in the pre-Crisis half of the season, but now that it’s become a higher priority, it’s rapidly building momentum. The pieces of this shattered mirror are coming into view now, but how they fit together is still anyone’s guess.