CW Doesn't Understand Wally West

Wally West was the third Flash. The first Kid Flash. And to many, the best Flash. He had a father-son relationship with his mentor, Barry Allen. More than once, Barry has stated that Wally made him know how it felt to have a son. Wally was to Barry what Robin is to Batman. What Speedy is to the Green Arrow. But still on a deeper level. While both Robin and Speedy had a falling out with their mentors, Wally only grew closer to his. This is the comic character. But the CW really didn't know what to do with the character. I really dislike what they did to Wally on The Flash but it isn't Keiynan Lonsdale's fault. He was great in the role and he really had a perfect charisma for the character. Especially later on in the show. But the writers did Wally dirty. Now, let's get into my problems with The Flash's Wally West...

Wally West was introduced in season 2 of The Flash. During this, he wasn't a big fan of either Barry or The Flash. It was clear that Wally wasn't the character we all know from the comics. When they created Wally for the show, they took inspiration from both the New 52 Wally West and pre Flashpoint Wally West. For those who don't know, before the Flashpoint storyline, there was Wally West who became The Flash after Barry's death. This Wally had a wife and children. This is the redheaded Wally seen in the comics. When DC Comics later rebooted their comic universe and created the New 52, the redheaded Wally West was nowhere to be seen. Instead, they went for an Afroamerican Wally West with a whole new backstory. This Wally was basically a whole new character compared to the other Wally West we had seen. It wasn't until DC Rebirth they reintroduced the redheaded Wally West. Now, they made the two Wally Wests into different characters. And The Flash tv show took inspiration from both of these characters when they created their Wally West. 

Something both the pre Flashpoint and the New 52 Wally West had in common was that they were both mentored by Barry Allen. The first Wally had a closer bond with Barry but they both had a strong bond. The show failed to do this. They never had a real mentorship. We later saw how this mentorship should've looked like in season 5 of the show with Barry and his daughter, Nora. I believe the writers knew they messed up with Wally and decided to do her as a Kid Flash type of character instead. 

Wally never felt like Barry's partner or sidekick on the show. He felt like someone Barry could call when he needed another speedster. And sometimes he took help from Jay Garrick or Jesse Quick instead of Wally. There was no real reason for Wally being around. And that is the in-canon reason he left Team Flash. A crisis happened and no one even noticed that Wally wasn't there. He then left and later joined the Legends of Tomorrow. 

When Wally joined the Legends, I thought we would get him on his own feet. Make sure he steps out of Barry's shadow and quits being Kid Flash. But he didn't. He was in one season of Legends of Tomorrow and then left that show as well. Wally was nowhere to be seen in the Arrowverse except for a few guest star episodes on The Flash. I would've been okay with this if Barry and Wally had a great relationship. But in season 6 when Wally returned for the Death of The Speed Force arc, I truly got mad...

The show tries to show that Barry and Wally have a brother-like bond. But we've never truly seen that on the show before. We haven't seen Barry and Wally develop this bond for it to be for filling when they meet up again. In season 6, Wally also teaches Barry about the Speed Force. This would've been fantastic if Barry had really been a mentor for Wally. A way to show how the tables have turned. But because HR trained Wally more than Barry did, it only makes Barry feel incompetent when Wally knows more than Barry does when Barry had a speedster mentor and Wally didn't. 

Wally deserved more than he got. Keiynan Lonsdale deserved to got really good story arcs for Wally. He was great in the role and at this point, I want them to introduce the redheaded Wally. Mostly because I believe they failed the Wally West we have now. I wouldn't be satisfied to have this Wally later become The Flash because he doesn't have that deep connection to Barry, the original Flash. To me, it would be as if Emiko became Green Arrow after Oliver died in Crisis on Infinite Earths. She might have the skill but she doesn't have the bond with Oliver. 

I really don't like CW's Wally West but what do you think? Did you like Wally on the show or would you've rather had a more comic-accurate version?