‘The Flash’ Stars Reveal The Wide Reaching Effects Of ‘Flashpoint’
The premiere of The Flash turned out to be an important episode for a couple of reasons. First, the episode, titled “Flashpoint” after its comic book inspiration, provided an opportunity for Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) to fix the timelines and set everything right. That was vital to moving forward on The Flash, but even though the timelines were repaired, Gustin shared the news that the events in “Flashpoint” will have far-reaching effects throughout the rest of the season.
The Flash‘s Grant Gustin On How “Flashpoint” Will Influence The Rest Of Season 3
Fans of The Flash comic books were disappointed to see that the “Flashpoint” story arc was quickly disseminated in a single episode, considering the potential for a longer running story arc, but, as Grant Gustin told IGN, that doesn’t mean the series is finished with the events from that first episode. Instead, The Flash will be dealing with the consequences of the “Flashpoint” events throughout the entire season.
“His journey, this whole season now, is accepting his choices and his present and now knowing that he can time travel doesn’t mean he should use it to fix whatever he feels like fixing,” said Gustin. “That lesson is learned pretty much right out of the gate this season.”
As Barry is beginning to learn, one can’t tinker with time without unleashing a chain of events that will ultimately affect the present, even in his own timeline. The first indication that there would be unforeseen changes came, when he saved his own mother’s life. That alteration caused Barry to experience an entirely different childhood, one in which he didn’t grow up to be the Flash. In fixing that change, the Flash inadvertently caused Iris to become estranged from her family.
While he has learned to stop trying to fix things through a manipulation of the timelines, Gustin’s The Flash character will continue to see even more consequences of the changes he has made. Gustin says the Flash has learned his lesson about trying to manipulate the present by changing the past, so, no matter how badly his friends cajole him into making their lives better, the Flash has learned to leave things be.
Candice Patton Opens Up About How “Flashpoint” Changes Her Romance With The Flash
As The Flash closed out Season 2, Iris and Barry had finally given into their chemistry, locking lips for the first time in the finale, but as “Flashpoint” opened up a new world of possible changes to the present, that kiss may not have even occurred. In fact, Candice Patton told Cosmopolitan that parts of the conversation which led up to that kiss haven’t happened for Iris, or at least, she doesn’t remember it. Patton wouldn’t reveal exactly what is different or how that might affect the rest of The Flash‘s third season, but she did reveal that there’s still hope for a Barry/Iris romance.
“But in this other timeline that’s been created, Barry and Iris are still working toward having a relationship, so I don’t think fans have to worry too much about them not going in that direction, or at least trying to go in that direction,” says The Flash actress.
Candice adds that she’s not really promising anything. She says it’s difficult to say, because there’s no telling what plans the series writers have for The Flash. Ms. Patton feels there’s hope, however, because Iris and Barry seem to end up together in every different timeline seen in the series so far. She feels that one premise for The Flash is that these two characters do belong together.
“But we’ve alluded over the last two seasons that Barry and Iris have this kind of relationship that stands the test of time and different earths,” The Flash star says. “No matter where you see them, they’re destined to be in each other’s lives.”
The next episode of The Flash airs on Tuesday, October 11, on The CW network.
[Featured Image by The CW]
