Age of The Nerd
We know that The Flash got a bit of glimpse into this future when last left off in the finale of CW’s “The Flash” season four. We can hardly contain our anticipation for season five and were lucky enough to catch up with cast-members Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Jessica Parker-Kennedy, Carlos Valdes, Danielle Panabaker, Hartley Sawyer, Danielle Nicolet and Tom Cavanaugh and executive producer Todd Helbing while out at San Diego Comic Con this summer.
We can’t wait to see what it is in-store for this coming season, as we know we will finally get to see the highly anticipated Flash ring and learn Nora’s code name, which is XS. The show’s 100th episode will also air this season and we were extremely pleased to hear it will be directed by actor Tom Cavanaugh, which will definitely be a treat as it will also be the mid-season finale, with of course a huge twist.
We had plenty of questions for the cast including talk about the season five premiere, the different places in which these characters now find themselves and just how the baby will affect Joe and Ceciles’s lives.
When speaking about Barry and Nora’s dynamic going into the new season, Grant Gustin tells us, “There is obviously a little skepticism, as we have had people walk in and say, ‘ hey, I’m this guy … ‘ and their not, so I think we’re both operating under gut feeling and the gut instinct tells us this is our daughter.”
Gustin goes on to say, “Iris is really excited that she’s here and wants to connect with her and she’s a speedster and that’s exciting, but I think Barry is a little more worried about why she’s here, because I feel like I probably would have told her to not time travel! It makes Barry wonder why she is here and what the state of things are in the future.”
We also asked Gustin what it was like to explore this new aspect of fatherhood and he tells us, “It’s been fun. It’s less like fatherhood and I think he is going to feel more like a mentor, but to Jessica, it is like a dad and she is playing the daughter kind of role. It’s kind of surreal to Barry, he’s just digesting it all.
He’s also worried about it as these powers and time travel have dictated his life and also robbed him of certain things, that’s why he grew up with his dad in prison, so I think he’s a little worried that her being here now could rob him of the family dynamic in the future.”
Actress Danielle Nicolet, who plays Cecile commented on the situation as well saying that she is “weirded out” by the whole situation, as “usually someone does not meet their grandchild the same day that their child is born” and also, we know she is not used to dealing the metas just yet.
When speaking about the level of tension this season, Nicolet says, “To be honest, going forward, I don’t think there is going to be any. The overarching theme of this season is going to be family and legacy and we are going to see a coming together of this Flash family.”
When talking to us about the fandom of the series and who families often watch together, Nicolet said, “It really is something special … you consider yourself lucky to be on a show that you know is good and people watch it and I’m trying to enjoy every available second of it. It’s the perfect storm situation for everything an actor dreams of!”
Actor Tom Cavanagh then shared some insight into the characters (note the plural) that he will be portraying throughout season five. He revealed, “I can tell you about one that we are going to be revealing shortly, as you know one of the things we do when we try to create new characters is to see what gaps we may be missing and what we can fill. As Reverse Flash in the first season, we weren’t going to do that in the second season, as he was giant antagonist in season one, but ultimately a good guy. The next season we tried to amp the comedy a little bit and that was HR who Harry hated, but HR thought Harry was the best thing ever. So, this year we thought, I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a combination, but there’s room for that comedic element, as well as, room for the intelligence that Harry has and if there is one thing Harry has, is that you can trust him. He didn’t care what anybody thought! He was going to do what’s right.”
Cavanagh goes to say that “it’s a Sherlock Welles character only we are trying to put that myth on it’s ear a little bit and I’m looking forward to doing it.”
It is also exciting news that actor Hartley Sawyer has been bumped up to a series regular this season with his character Ralph Dibny a.k.a. The Elongated Man delving much further into this role as a detective. Sawyer told us he is “very excited to explore those detective aspects of the character”. Sawyer went on to speak about the dynamic between Barry and Ralph, as they started out hating one another and then became very close, nearly like brothers.
He revealed, “I don’t think we are going to see as much of that, especially in the first part of the upcoming season because he is up to his eyeballs in Nora, his daughter, so they are going to be doing a lot of figuring that out. There is going to be a lot of Ralph and Caitlin this season which I really like and I think that is a really great relationship and friendship that they have, there is also going to be a lot of Ralph and Cisco, both being bachelors now!” Sawyer also says that this season is all about Ralph “finding this place on the team”.
Actress Danielle Panabaker, also revealed that she too will be directing an episode of the upcoming season telling us that her time behind the camera will be showcased in episode eighteen. Panabaker also claims that she really hopes that we will get the origin story for Killer Frost saying last season she felt “we didn’t get enough why questions, as well as, her motivations.”
We asked Panabaker what it has been like to explore the various aspects of her character and she tells us, “It’s been really fun. I feel like one of the benefits of being on a superhero show is exploring those various elements to the character.” She also told us what she “nerds” out about in her spare time saying “We ran into Nicole Kidman on the elevator, so that was definitely a geeking out moment.”
Actress Candance Patton further elaborated on the theme for this season which is “legacy and family”, saying, “There will definitely be more of a family dynamic for each character. Nora has come back from the future and we have to figure out why she is back and what the ramifications are and play with the timeline and why she is made at Iris”.
Patton also tells us that she feels that having Nora around “represents the fact that Barry and Iris got the happy ending they have always wanted and despite losing their parents and all the mayhem, they have the family they always wanted.”
When speaking out where we will find his character throughout the upcoming season, actor Carlos Valdes tell us that “Cisco really hasn’t had a lot of time to process the break-up with Gypsy. It was literally the break-up and then all the madness, so you can also expect Cisco to take his first steps towards processing the separation and it takes the form of some very irresponsible behavior.”
Valdes also told us that there will be a lot of focus on him helping unravel the mystery behind Killer Frost with Caitlin and revealed that “Ralph will be getting his hands a bit dirty with that as well!”
To wrap everything up with spoke with Nora Allen, herself, actress Jessica Parker-Kennedy to talk about the scoop for season five and becoming a series regular. She tells us, “I’m going to be a big part of the season. I am definitely stoked about my dad, but not so stoked about my mom, however those reasons will eventually be revealed.”
We were curious to know if the rumored twin brother character will show up and Parker-Kennedy coyly replied, “What do you think?” with a laugh. Definitely makes us wonder!
“The Flash” airs Tuesday’s at 8:00pm on The CW! Be sure to tune in for what we are sure will be a wild ride in season five!
Check out our video playlist for full interview coverage of “The Flash” press room at SDCC!
