On the other hand, Barry embraces his emotions and the help of everyone around him. His teammates are intrinsic to his success and growth as a hero. There are, of course, moments when he decides being closed off and dishonest is the better path, which is shown time and time again to be a mistake. But "The Flash" could have handled things much differently given the character’s tragic backstory. This sort of toxic, emotionally shut down masculinity easily slides into self-parody.

Through its first season, we watch Barry grapple with his newfound abilities (given to him thanks to a bolt of lightning and the particle accelerator exploding at S.T.A.R. Labs) and the responsibilities they carry, as he tries his best to be a superhero, with the aid of a dedicated team of friends and family by his side. Batman has Alfred and various Robins (although he’s often far more connected to the world than recent incarnations want him to be). Iron Man has Pepper Potts. Captain America has Falcon and Black Widow. Looking at these dynamics, it seems a hero is only as strong as the people he let’s in. But Barry’s comrades outnumber and out-diversify those of his peers. His shifting relationships with them provide the show’s emotional backbone.

The essential group is: Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker), a bioengineer at S.T.A.R. Labs; Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) a mechanical engineering genius at S.T.A.R. Labs just coming into his metahuman abilities; Barry’s biological father, Henry (John Wesley Shipp who actually played The Flash in the 1990s TV adaptation), who has now been cleared of his charges and released from prison, but oddly disappeared for the rest of the season thus far; and Iris West (Candice Patton), Barry’s longtime friend and unrequited love interest. Given the nature of the show across its two seasons we’ve seen characters a part of this team come and go. But it’s the men who act as father figures to him that illustrate the show’s surprising deftness in writing masculinity.

In season one, much of Barry’s development as a hero is at the hands of the brilliant scientist Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), who acts as a mentor at S.T.A.R. Labs. This is true even after it’s revealed he’s really Eobard Thawne/The Reverse-Flash who killed Barry’s mother and manipulated events for his vengeful benefit. The reverberations of this betrayal carry into season two when Barry, at first, can’t fully trust the Earth-2 Harrison Wells despite him being radically different and seemingly there to help with the latest Big Bad that comes from his world. Despite the reveal of Wells’ true identity in season one, his influence and confidence in Barry’s ability is incredibly important to both characters. Losing out on his childhood with his biological parents has left Barry often looking for mentors and father figures, sometimes in the wrong places. Instead of closing himself off from the world, Barry, unlike many heroes, dares to be a part of it, to be radically open. There’s a particularly poignant scene at the very beginning of season two in which Barry comes across a video of the now-dead Wells confessing to his crimes (which then gets Barry’s father exonerated). Barry is too overcome to watch it alone, so Caitlin remains at his side. Several emotions play across his face—longing, surprise, joy—that show just how conflicted he remains over Wells’ impact on his life.