PaleyFest 2015: The Cast of 'The Flash' Dishes on Their Character Arcs, Upcoming Episodes and Time Travel

Nora Dominick ‘17/ Emertainment Monthly Assistant Stage Editor

PaleyFest 2015 continued on Saturday, March 14th with a star-studded panel by the CW hit series The Flash. The cast stopped by to discuss the back half of season one, their characters’ progressions, and becoming such iconic characters. Emertainment Monthly has rounded up the top discussion points of the panel.
Aisha Tyler, a devout The Flash fan and known for her work on The Talk, Whose Line is it Anyway? and Friends, moderated the panel, which featured Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Jesse L. Martin, Tom Cavanagh, Rick Cosnett, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes and creators and writers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg. The panel opened with Greg Berlanti talking about the cast and the history of The Flash as comic books and a character. He says, “There is a sense of family on the show. People are fortunate to have this cast and that’s what makes our show different from the comics and other versions. Kids growing up today will see Grant [Gustin] as The Flash forever so that is really cool.”

Grant Gustin went onto talk about transforming into The Flash and how it was very cool how he got to test the character out on Arrow prior to the show. He says, “I got to get my feet wet and guest star and really feel out the character. I had a little bit of freedom with him as well. It’s been a roller coaster. Barry has definitely found more confidence now on The Flash.” Off of that, Tom Cavanagh discussed Harrison Wells and how he’s the shady character on the show. He says, “Harrison Wells is just a guy that wants to get home. If a couple people need to shuffle off then it’s necessary.”
Eddie and Iris are also two characters who have gone through a lot. Rick Cosnett says that fans will learn more about Eddie and his darker side. Candice Patton discusses how Iris is one of the few characters that do not know the Flash’s true identity. She says, “Everyone is lying to her. As an actress, it’s fun to play and frustrating. There’s something really interesting in playing the Iris West or Lois Lane character. It adds excitement and mystery of what it will be like when she finds out.”

Danielle Panabaker discusses Caitlin’s emotional story arc and how her character has already grown a lot in this first season. She says, “She has a great arc. She starts sad, cold, and grieving. And she is now open and there is more to come… And I get to make out with Robbie Amell, which is always a bonus.” Panabaker also plays a very strong scientist, similar to Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards) in Arrow. Greg Berlanti talks about creating such strong and smart female characters on both Arrow and The Flash. He says, “We like all our characters to be smart and diverse and it makes it look more like the real world. We like to make them more dynamic and interesting as possible.”
A lot of the panel discusses the ramifications of the recent episode when Barry Allen finds out he went back in time as The Flash. Time travel seemed to be a common theme on this PaleyFest panel. They will continue to explore the ramifications of time travel and there is a concern that if certain events change it will affect who the characters are now and their relationships with each other. Other aspects of upcoming episodes were discussed. In terms of the metahumans, an upcoming episode will ask the all-important question of “Who is feeding the locked up metahumans?” The S.T.A.R Labs team will also begin to think about playing the judges and jury when it comes to imprisoning the metahumans.

Other stories the writers of The Flash would like to explore are more backstory on The West Family. More specifically, where Iris’ Mom is and what events transpired to have her leave Iris and Joe behind. Andrew Kreisberg also discussed Episode 9 of this season and how a lot of the questions raised in that episode will be answered in upcoming episodes.
The panel concluded with Grant Gustin discussing coming from a musical and theatre background. His singing has preceded his reputation on The Flash and he says, “If we can justify singing I would totally be down to sing. The Flash is unlike anything I’ve ever done. I could have never imagined it happening.” Although a lot transpired during the panel, the entire cast was out shined by an adorable young fan who asked the final question. Wearing a black suit jacket and a The Flash T-shirt, he takes the mic and recites the entire opening to The Flash episodes. What a way to end such an amazing and fan-filled event!
The Flash airs on Tuesdays at 8/9c on The CW.
For more PaleyFest info visit: http://media.paleycenter.org/paleyfest-la-2015.