Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: 2015, Andrew Kreisberg, arrow, candice patton, Carlos Valdez, cw, Danielle Panabaker, entertainment, The Flash, tv, wondercon, Wondercon 2015

Chatting With The Flash Cast At WonderCon '15 – Killer Frost, Vibe, And Reverse-Flash (Oh My!)

Published Wed, 08 Apr 2015 08:15:54 -0500

by Cameron Hatheway

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With only six episodes left in The Flash's first season, things are definitely heating up for Barry Allen & Company as they approach the finish line. Prior to their panel at WonderCon on Sunday, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg and a handful of the cast answered questions from the press, ranging from battling the Rogues, accidentally traveling in time, and hinting at what's to come next season.

First up was actress Danielle Panabaker (Caitlin Snow). "When you look at it from the perspective of there's this huge particle accelerator explosion, and Caitlin stayed with Dr. Wells. I imagine that she had great faith in him. Everyone else left him when she and Cisco stayed," she said when I asked if she thought Caitlin putting a lot of trust in Harrison Wells could come back and bite her. "She really believes that they can change the world together, and if someone says otherwise, it's definitely going to be hard for her to believe. She's going to push back a little bit." She went on to confirm that while Ronnie Raymond would be returning, there might be some more romantic turns for Caitlin in the future, including more scenes between her and Barry and Ronnie that will satisfy both the "SnowBarry" and "SnowStorm" fans out there.

When I asked if she'd be thrilled or devastated of Caitlin eventually turning into Killer Frost, she said she'd be thrilled. "Thrilled, I would be thrilled! It's so exciting, it's so cool, to be in this comic book world and to have someone with that potential is great. I think I make Andrew [Kreisberg] crazy when I'm like, 'Sooo, when are we going to do it?' The truth of the matter is that it will be sooner than I expected…my expectation was that we would not see Killer Frost for a couple seasons, and you will see her sooner than you think."

She went on to tease that we'll see some flashbacks of a colder Caitlin, and she'll be interacting with Iris West for a bit, as well as interactions with some more familiar faces from the shared Arrow and Flash universe. She also got to interact with Grodd at one point, so hopefully we won't see him carrying her up the Empire State Building in a future episode. "I'm always impressed by our writers. They were ambitious enough to bring Grodd into season one, and he is more than you could ever imagine. The stuff with Grodd is scarier than you could imagine, some of it is also funnier than you could imagine, so it's great. I can't wait to see him!"

Next up was Carlos Valdes (Cisco Ramon), and right-off the bat he was asked if there was a good chance seeing him become Vibe at one point. "Yes. In comic book shows, always consider anything possible." He went on to say that he and Kreisberg have had lengthy talks about the character. "We have talked about it. We've talked about the potential for Killer Frost might be happening, so that potential in a sense is definitely very strong and I think it's being heavily considered, but I don't think anything's been committed to yet. I would love it if it happened, because who wouldn't want to don a super suit?"

When I asked him what it was like to die on set for an episode, he said it was very emotional. "It was crazy! It was emotional. I was very excited about it when Andrew first told me about it weeks before we shot the episode. He said, 'So you're going to die in this episode,' and I was like, 'Awesome!' Because who doesn't want to die on camera? That's a cool experience. He was very quick to assure me that I would be back to life in the next episode, so that was good. I thought I was being fired in some sort of passive-aggressive kind of way." He also hinted at the timeline where he dies would be revisited in a very cool way.

I asked if he ever thought at times that Cisco was too smart for his own good, he said no. "There's no such thing. I think he pushes himself to know more and to learn more, not just about his field in engineering and technology but also about himself. And I think that's what defines him as a hero." One thing that both Valdes and Panabaker touched on was Brandon Routh was the nicest person to work with, and he's loved by all on set. Both actors get plenty of interactions with his character in the upcoming Arrow/Flash crossover episode.

After Valdes it was Kreisberg's turn to dish what was coming up for both Arrow and Flash. He talked a bit at first about the role time travel plays on the show, and how it's been present since episode one with Wells' newspaper. "Whether people realize it or not, they're not watching The Flash, they're watching The Flash Begins." He dismissed any possibility of another dimension where Barry's dad (John Wesley Shipp, the 1990's live-action Flash) is the Flash, saying it would be a little too meta. When I asked if there would be any possibility of the Flash traveling to the future now that he's accidentally traveled to the past, he said no. "We don't have any trips to the future planned, per se, but what will be cool in the last half of the year is you will hear a lot about the future, and you're going to hear a lot about certain people's futures. That in a way is more interesting than going to the future, because then it becomes a question of, 'Well is it true?' and is this person telling you the truth, and if they are telling you the truth, can you do anything to change it? So a lot of the characters are going to hear about where they end up, and a lot of these last five or six episodes are going to be about whether or not you're accept that, or you're going to fight against it."

Last but certainly not least was Candice Patton (Iris West). I asked her if Iris were to get superpowers for an episode, what powers would she prefer. "Maybe the power to heal," she said. "I think Iris is such a kind, loving, goodhearted person. And I think we see that in her working at Picture News, she just wants to find out what's going on in Central City and she wants to do her part to help her city. I think something about her is very nurturing and healing, so the power to heal." When asked about if Iris was going to discover information that everyone else already knows, i.e. Barry's secret, she predicted that Iris would be angry and betrayed that everyone is keeping secrets from her. While she did get the chance to say "I love you" to Barry one episode, she teased that while things are currently different with the new timeline, that will they/won't they relationship will always be present in the background. "I think it's a love of a lifetime, and you can't really—what can you say?" As for the future, we can expect to see Iris grow closer to everyone in the S.T.A.R. family.

When I asked who her favorite guest star has been so far, she immediately responded Mark Hamill. "He's amazing! He has energy for days. We were shooting kind of late into the night, and he could out-energize me. I don't know how he does it. He's a consummate professional, and he's constantly entertaining, and he's so kind to people and fans. He kind of reminds me of no matter how big you get, there's no reason not to be cool." Everyone on the show would love to see Hamill back in a future episode. In regards to the upcoming crossover with Arrow, fans can expect to see a double date with Ray and Felicity with Iris and Eddie, and Barry will be the awkward fifth wheel as usual. Patton loves the different dynamic between the characters on both shows, making for great television whenever they're together. Given the opportunity, Patton said she'd love to see Iris go snooping around in Starling City for an episode.

The Flash returns April 17^th to the CW. Special thanks to Benjamin Brown for setting this up.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NojgY48FOHE[/youtube]

Cameron Hatheway is a reviewer and the host of Cammy's Comic Corner, an audio podcast. You can challenge him to a footrace (unless your name is Barry Allen) on Twitter @CamComicCorner.

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