This Fall the CW will give us the next in their line of superhero television series with The Flash. Following the success of Arrow, it’s a no-brainer that they bring Barry Allen to the small screen once a week for the world to see.
Arrow fans have already met Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) in his 2 episode arc this season. And we have seen the “accident” that brings The Flash to Central City. We also know that he has a big crush on Felicity, and that she returns those same feelings for the crime scene tech and soon to be speedy hero.
But what we don’t know yet is if Felicity will jump ship to join Barry in his new pursuit of justice in the red suit and lightning bolt.
And even though they would make a cute couple, my gut feeling is no. At least not on a permanent basis. For 2 reasons:
1) Felicity also has some deep-seeded feelings for Oliver (that go way deeper than her crush on Barry) and works too well on that team to leave.
2) Ira West.
Ira West (Candice Patton) is described as Barry’s childhood friend and lifelong crush, which gives The Flash the awkward romantic storyline that it needs to get season 1 going. If we see Felicity I imagine it will be in the first few episodes only and she’ll go home when she realizes that Barry loves Ira in a way that he doesn’t love her. The Barry/Ira relationship could take a while to play out, and I have a gut feeling that unlike Oliver/Laurel, there will be a reveal of The Flash’s real identity. Whether they get together or not, this is going to be the first relationship that needs to play out long form in the series.
We also know that Barry will have a potential ally (or enemy) on the police force in the form of Ira’s father, Detective West (Jesse L. Martin) who has been as close to a father as Barry has had since his own was accused of and convicted for murdering his mother. But because we know that secret identities can not be revealed to the police right away, there could be some weird friction between these two. We also already know that Martin is good at playing a cop from his days on Law & Order, so this casting could be the most perfect in the whole series.
My best guess for first person to know Barry Allen’s secret is Harison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), the S.T.A.R. Labs physicist responsible for creating the particle accelerator that blew up and gave Barry his speed. I am a big fan of Cavanagh as an actor, and can’t wait to see how this all plays out. It makes sense that Barry will look for someone to try to explain what has happened to him, and who better than a top notch physicist to help him figure it all out. I expect to see a lot of lab time with these 2 characters running tests and discovering just what The Flash is able to do with his new super power.
I will fully admit that I am not as excited for The Flash as I was for Arrow, but I am excited. Any new DC stories that make it to the screen and are done well are alright by me. I know that I’ll be tuning in to watch, and I hope that I am not disappointed when I start to see flashes of red across my screen as Barry Allen starts saving the day and building his rogues gallery. This show could be a whole lot of fun, so be prepared to buckle up and enjoy the ride!