The Flash introduced a major DC Comics character back in Season 2 with a young woman destined to become the speedster known as Jesse Quick. As the daughter of Harrison Wells, she joined her dad when they took refuge on Earth-1 after she escaped Zoom's clutches. The duo went back to Earth-2 after Barry got rid of Zoom, but they'll return in Season 3 for one big reason. As it turns out, Jesse's accidental zapping during the second particle accelerator explosion affected her a lot more than Wells originally thought. Actress Violett Beane had this to say about what brings them back to Earth-1:
You know Harry, he's very protective. Ultimately the reason we come back is to train, to hone in on these powers, and to make sure Jesse isn't being crazy with them. He's the protective father always, that comes first, but at the same time, he does love that she has this ability, and feels good about it.
Like Barry, Jesse gained superpowers and became a speedster quite by accident. Unlike Barry, however, she won't have to work out the kinks of superspeed solely by trial and error. He'll be able to train her to avoid making some of his own mistakes. Ideally, that will include a very long lecture about why time travel for personal gain is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad thing. Perhaps several lectures.
That said, Jesse won't play by all the rules right off the bat. She's a teenage girl who spent a good amount of her screentime in Season 2 rebelling against her father, and she'll be just a little bit too excited by her superpowers to behave herself entirely. Violett Beane went on in her chat with EW to say this about Jesse's attitude toward her new abilities:
As far as handling major situations, she hasn't done too much of the crazy things that Barry has done so far. But as far as helping out the team, I definitely think she runs into things without thinking a little bit more than Barry does, like when Barry first got his powers. You don't really know the capabilities of yourself and what you can and can't do. At the very beginning, at least, she definitely is not really thinking before she runs into situations.
Considering all the shortsighted shenanigans Barry has gotten up to in his years as a superhero, it may only be fair for Flash fans to cut Jesse a few breaks as she kicks off her crime-fighting career. How many of us wouldn't get a little bit crazy if we woke up to discover that we had superpowers? Hopefully Barry won't spill the beans to anybody in Star City that he's training a new speedster. He wouldn't want Oliver to pack up his trusty crossbows to give Jesse the same very pointy lesson Barry got when he was still learning.
We'll have to wait and see what The Flash plans on doing with Jesse Wells as Jesse Quick in the long run. Tom Cavanagh is signed on as a regular for The Flash Season 3, but Violett Beane is only on board for a few episodes. Wells may hang around Earth-1 to help Team Flash deal with the effects of Flashpoint while Jesse returns to Earth-2 to do some good on her home turf. And where does that leave Kid Flash?
Tune in to The CW on Tuesday, October 18 at 8 p.m. ET to see Harrison and Jesse Wells make their grand returns to The Flash. And to see what else you can busy yourself with in the coming weeks, check out our fall TV schedule.
