Posted in: CW, Preview, Trailer, TV | Tagged: arrowverse, Carlos Valdes, cisco, cw, preview, season 7, The Flash, trailer

The Flash Season 7: Carlos Valdes Talks Fondest Series Memories & More

Tuesday night's episode of The CW's The Flash marks the end of an era for both the long-running series and the Arrowverse as a whole, with Cisco (Carlos Valdes) departing the series after an impressive seven-season run. So that means an hour of heartbreak, humor, and reflection- capped off with Cisco, Barry (Grant Gustin), Iris (Candice Patton), and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) getting the band back together one last time to take on a new and improved Rainbow Raider (Jona Xiao). Now with only hours to go until his on-screen counterpart heads off into new adventures, Valdes is opening up to EW about when he knew it was time to leave, what he'll miss most about the show, and his fondest memory. But no worries- Valdes will be back to help "Team Flash" take down the big bads during the season wrap-up. "Yeah, I'm coming back, baby, for the last two! I think it's really flattering and gratifying to get to do a big old goodbye, and then come in as a surprise at the very end to help the team take down on a formidable foe," the actor explained. Here's a look at some additional highlights:

On When He Knew It Was Time To Leave: "The idea [of leaving] was always there, but I don't think I felt comfortable acting on it until much later. I'm the child of an immigrant, so my whole ethos is "earn your place or card" and I think that's what I did for a long time. I just put my head down and I made it work. And a lot of joy and satisfaction and career rewards and momentum have come from that. And I'm so appreciative of that, but at the end of the day, mental health is important," Valdes explained. "And I was talking to a friend of mine this morning and he said that he thinks our culture is slowly gravitating towards seeking out healing energy. And just as Cisco had to leave his powers behind for the sake of his mental health, just as this morning [Naomi] Osaka had to drop out of the French Open for her mental health. These are highly controversial choices that people are making and it's always really rewarding to see when fans respond positively to those kinds of moves because it gives me hope in humanity and that people understand that mental health is an important priority. And so for me to step away from the show, it's a way of me taking care of myself."

On What He'll Miss Most About The Show: "I'll miss the paycheck. I'll miss the financial security for sure! I will miss the positive influences of the people that I work with — not just the cast but also the crew," he responded. "We currently live in a culture that just consumes content, consumes TV, and I think it should not be lost on people that for every show that they watch there are at least five, six, seven times as many people making that thing on the other side of the camera. And those people are some really, really special people, and the crew on our show is no exception. I think just as much as I'll miss the cast, there are some vital crew members on that show whose energies and spirits I'm really going to miss."

On His Fondest Memory From The Series: "The episodes where our cast got to direct, like when Danielle [Panabaker] got to direct and when Tom [Cavanagh] got to direct, there was something so special about those episodes — and I'm sure they felt it too," the actor responded. "But I could feel myself and castmates just creating a cushion of support for those directing efforts, trying to try to be there for them in whatever way that we could. And that's a really special energy because it transcends the trivial 'businessy' aspect of what we do and it reminds us that at the end of the day, we're here to support each other creatively and not let our egos get in the way. There's something about that energy while supporting each other that I'll really miss."

The Flash Season 7, Episode 12 "Good-Bye Vibrations": CISCO LEAVES CENTRAL CITY – Cisco (Carlos Valdes) and Kamila (guest star Victoria Park) tell the team they are leaving Central City. However, Barry (Grant Gustin), Iris (Candice Patton) and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) don't have much time to digest the news because a new version of Rainbow Raider (guest star Jona Xiao) strikes and OG Team Flash must join together one final time to save the city. Philip Chipera directed the episode written by Kelly Wheeler & Jeff Hersh.

Executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Eric Wallace, The CW's The Flash star Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash, Candice Patton as Iris West-Allen, Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow & Killer Frost, Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon/Vibe, Danielle Nicolet as Cecile Horton, Kayla Compton as Allegra Garcia, and Brandon McKnight as Chester P. Runk- with Tom Cavanagh as Harrison Wells and Jesse L. Martin as Detective Joe West. Produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

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