This season of "The Flash" has decided to go down a more light-hearted (debatably too light-hearted) route to counter the dark themes of the season prior. As Wally West was ushered out, Ralph Dibny, otherwise known as the Elongated Man, was rather speedily guided in. Numerous descriptions of the character before he was cast stated that he was a wisecracking ace detective whose skills would rival a certain Caped Crusader. Unfortunately, the writing for the character does not reflect this. Here are some of the issues that come to mind when discussing Ralph Dibney.

'Ralph Dibny's' maturity needs elongation

Immediately, we discover that the "ace detective," was actually kicked off of the police force for creating a fake murder weapon in order to frame a suspect that he completely believed to be a murderer. The only problem is that he blames Barry, a man who knows what it's like to watch a loved one get framed for murder, for exposing him. It's not the best way to endear the audience to him.

Even after they work through this, and Barry reveals himself to be The Flash, Ralph, in turn, reveals himself to be one of the most immature characters ever introduced in the series.

Whiny, petulant, and an overall nuisance, it doesn't help that instead of being slowly introduced and incorporated into the season's storyline, Ralph's essentially been force-fed to the audience. He has already appeared in half of the episodes that had aired before the fall hiatus. That's a lot of screentime for a new character, especially one that is being negatively received.

The Elongated Man needs to take being under Barry's mentorship seriously, focus on developing his powers, and stop with the cringeworthy "jokes" in order for him to become more tolerable. In the long run, Ralph Dibny could potentially get in the audience's good graces if his character's maturity stretches from that of a teenage boy's to an adult becoming secure with his special abilities.

The 'Elongated Man's' problematic traits reflect behind the scenes drama

Despite this season of "The Flash" being billed as "light-hearted," the behind the scenes drama reveals to be anything but. According to Deadline, showrunner Andrew Kreisberg had been fired due to sexual harassment allegations, but the show's resident newbie has no problem being sexist himself.

For example, the episode "When Harry Met Harry" has Ralph comically bragging about his flawless skills at measuring women's bra sizes with just a simple glance. This "joke" clearly made both women who became the target's of Ralph's "skill" uncomfortable, but no one around them seemed to care or even put him in his place.

It is unsettling to watch Ralph be perverted and have it go unchecked while the series former showrunner had allegedly gotten away with similar behavior for so long as well.

If Ralph is to become at least halfway likable, he needs to lose any trace of his personality that involves degrading other female characters for laughs.

Perhaps the working of Ralph Dibny has already begun. A report by Comicbook included a deleted scene of Ralph interrupting Barry and Iris's honeymoon. It was arguably the only scene all season where he was more amusing than annoying. While Entertainment Weekly also said that Ralph's strengths and weaknesses were finally being balanced in the fall finale, the damage may already be irreparable. "The Flash" returns to The CW on January 16.
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