When [The Flash](http://www.cwtv.com/shows/the-flash) first showed up on The CW fans gravitated to the show because it had a sense of fun about it. While there were emotional and dramatic moments it also had a lot of lightness and humor, and many of the superhero situations took inspiration from the “silver age” of comics when things could get a bit wacky. The Flash wasn't a brooding, grim, dark superhero. He was a superhero who realized that it was fun and cool to have special powers.

With season 2 and especially 3 the show took a turn toward the brooding and angsty. Facing season-long arcs that involved seemingly unstoppable foes who wore down our heroes' spirits to the breaking points made it tiring to watch at times.

But with season 4 they seem to have returned to what gave the show its personality in the first place. The “arc” so far this season primarily involves tracking down a bunch of new “metas” that developed superpowers due to an event in the season premiere. This essentially justifies “meta of the week” stories and lets the episodes be more self-contained, less heavy, and gives the writers more room to do other things. They've also embraced some more explicitly comedic elements. For example, they've introduced the character of Ralph Dibny / [Elongated Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elongated_Man):

![RalphAndBarry.PNG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYSwpAXN4qNcN3pJsDpmTHsXhcoN7az2124TbwpmcEqjX/RalphAndBarry.PNG)

He's a sleazy ex-cop PI who has developed stretchy powers. He's played with gusto by an expressive actor, and his character traits play on a lot of familiar tropes. He could easily be a character in a straight comedy, and stretchy powers are tailor-made for humorous effect. For example, the opening scene of episode 6 involves Barry and Ralph encountering some low-level street crime and discussing how to handle it, it's very good superhero comedy.

I found season 3 of the show to be something of a chore to watch, but as I was watching last night's episode I realized I had a big smile on my face. For the first few episodes of this season I had been taking a “cautiously optimistic” stance with regard to the show, but now I'm fully on board again. Hopefully they'll continue to deliver a fun, enjoyable show for the foreseeable future.