Carlos Valdes not returning for 'The Flash' series finale
Team Flash will be missing one of its most beloved members when the CW series says farewell.
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Grant Gustin says goodbye to 'The Flash' — and the Arrowverse
'The Flash' star Grant Gustin explains why he decided to end the CW's last remaining Arrowverse show after nine seasons, and teases what to expect from next week's epic series finale.
ew.com
'The Flash' stars on why they decided to leave the series
'The Flash' stars Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Carlos Valdes, and Tom Cavanagh look back on why they decided to leave the series.
The Flash stars on why they decided to leave the series
Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Carlos Valdes, and Tom Cavanagh open up about what led to making that difficult decision.
By Sydney BucksbaumMay 19, 2023 at 05:57 PM EDT
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As The Flash gears up to cross the finish line in next week's series finale, the stars are looking back on not only the end of the show, but also their own personal runs across nine seasons.
Grant Gustin and Candice Patton tell EW in our latest cover story that they both came to the decision to leave The Flash after season 9 regardless of whether the series would end at that point. Gustin actually tried to leave sooner at multiple points but was convinced to stay a little longer. "Initially when we all signed on, it was a six-year run that got extended to seven," he says. "I got married in season 5, I had a kid during season 7, so obviously you start thinking about life changes at that point. Arrow had ended with season 8, so I thought, 'Let's end with season 8.'" After a conversation with executive producer Greg Berlanti, the man behind all the Arrowverse shows, Gustin was convinced to stay for season 9.
Grant Gustin as the Flash
| CREDIT: COLIN BENTLEY/THE CW
When Gustin decided two weeks after wrapping season 8 that season 9 would be his last, he had no idea if the show would continue on without him as the titular hero, or if his decision to leave would also mean the end of The Flash. "I just knew it was time for me to step away, have more time with my family after season 9, and just enter this next chapter of my life," he says. "But I think I would've really questioned my decision if they had done a season 10, and I knew the whole family was still together and I was somewhere else, so I'm glad we all finished at the same time. I'm not really a FOMO person, but I would've for sure had FOMO about that."
He was relieved when it was decided that The Flash would end with a shortened, 13-episode final season rather than continue on without him. "It was just really nice to hear because I had given everything I could to this show, and it was through super early formative adult years of my life," he says. "I grew up doing this show and it was my priority No. 1 until I started a family, which is when my perspective started to shift on everything. But I took a lot of pride in the role. I knew how much the show meant to so many people before I even had anything to do with this character, and I took that really seriously and put probably at times too much pressure on myself to show up and do my best."
When Gustin broke the news of the show's ending to the entire cast, he started with Patton, his partner-in-crime for the past nine years who plays his onscreen wife Iris West-Allen. "Grant gave me a call around summer of last year to give me a heads-up," Patton says. "I knew it was going to be my last year too, whether the show continued or not, so I was definitely relieved that Grant was on the same page about ending the show. This is a good time to wrap things up, and I definitely didn't want to leave the show before everyone else — I wanted to end it with everybody else, so I was just really glad."
Candice Patton on 'The Flash'
| CREDIT: BETTINA STRAUSS/THE CW
Patton had also been struggling with the same thought process as Gustin for years, wondering if she should follow the lead of original cast members Carlos Valdes, Tom Cavanagh, and Jesse L. Martin, who all stepped away from the series at different points over the past few years. "You don't really realize how much of your time in life you're taking up and giving away and your relationships struggle," she says. "I had conversations with other actors who had left before me, about if they missed the show, if they regretted leaving, how did they know when they wanted to leave, when was a good time? It was good having those conversations with Tom and Carlos and Jesse."
Patton ultimately came to the same conclusion as Gustin to leave after season 9, unaware that the show was going to end. "I was just thinking about how much longer can I give to this character, how much longer can I live in Vancouver, away from the States, and how much longer could I keep this going and have a positive contribution and attitude toward the show?" she says. "I feel like I was living out of a suitcase for nine years, never having a sense of normalcy. I get teary-eyed knowing that when I buy groceries now, they're in my fridge, and I get to eat them without them spoiling or going to waste because I have to get on a plane. I knew in my heart that I was ready to pack it up and end on a good note."
Knowing that season 9 would be the last allowed Patton to appreciate the experience even more. "I just kept thinking about the good times and the fun moments, and I'm really glad I made all of those memories," she says. And on her final day of filming the series finale, she got more emotional than she expected.
"When they say, 'That's a series wrap on Candice Patton,' it's just the weirdest thing to hear, that it's really over and tomorrow I won't be coming to work," she says. "I made a little speech just to say thank you, and mostly it was to the crew — often I can be having the worst day ever, and the crew doesn't know that those small little conversations they'd have with me really got me through. Crew members are so selfless, they're always trying to help, they're there to make us look the best, and we reap the benefits of that. I just wanted to give my gratitude to them for treating me really kindly over the last nine years and really trying to make a not easy job and not easy circumstances for me as easy as it could be."
Carlos Valdes on 'The Flash'
| CREDIT: KATIE YU/THE CW
In the months since the show ended, Patton's had many dreams about going back to set. "I'd be waking up like, 'Oh my God, my alarm! Am I late for work?'" she admits with a laugh. "It's taken a month or so for me to relax into it and really realize that it's over. I'm not on hiatus and I won't be going back in July and it's time to move forward. It's nice living a normal life, waking up whenever I want to, going wherever I want to, whenever I want to. It's really nice to just relax and make my own schedule and do a lot of things in my personal life that I haven't been able to do for a decade."
Patton doesn't plan to watch the series finale when it airs on Wednesday. "I haven't watched the show since season 1, and I don't think I'll be able to watch the finale just because it's such an emotional ending for me," she says. "I definitely want to watch the series maybe five years down the line when I'm separated enough from it so that I can just enjoy it for what it is and give myself a pat on the back."
Meanwhile Valdes, who exited The Flash in season 7 and did not return for the final season, tells EW of his decision to leave, "I really did feel a heavy tug inside me of fan service and really trying to honor the show by sticking with it and seeing it through. But ultimately, I had to do what was best for me and my mental health."
Valdes explains that he eventually realized he had given the show "everything [he] was capable of giving" after seven years. "I just felt like I hit my spot with that show, and it really felt like the time that made the most sense for me to go off and do other things," he says. "Even though it was a really tough decision for me, you have one life to live. Life is too short. I have to keep moving. So I really had to follow my personal compass on that one."
Tom Cavanagh returns in 'The Flash' series finale as Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. the Reverse-Flash
| CREDIT: JACK ROWAND/THE CW
While making that choice was difficult in the moment, Valdes has never regretted it. He has since gone on to star in Hulu's musical rom-com Up Here and landed a recurring role on Starz's Gaslit. "I made the right call, and that's not to say I didn't have pangs of missing the process and missing the people," he says. "I met some amazing people courtesy of working on that show, and not just my co-stars, but crew members. That really broke my heart, not really being able to wake up in the morning and get to work and see everybody that makes that show possible, hair and makeup and grips and camera. That was really tough. I definitely had those pangs of missing those pieces every now and then."
As for Cavanagh, who exited as a series regular after season 6 but has returned every season since then including in the upcoming series finale, he's grateful he's been able to step away and come back as often as he wanted.
"There's only a few that pulled a decade of duty, and I'm not one of them," he says. "Carlos and I made a decision to head out at the same time, both of us proceeding from gratitude at what we've been given, but also the sense of trying not to overstay your welcome. And that sometimes is difficult, but in my case, because I'm the Reverse-Flash, I've got to stir the pot and destroy Central City now and again."
Knowing that his character would always be needed made it easier for him to leave after six years. "Lex Luthor, Joker, and Reverse-Flash — there's only so many huge archenemy nemeses out there," he says. "And I never would've expected that I'd be tapped to play one of them and to put on a supervillain suit. It's still boggles the mind that in a course of an acting career that started doing a decade of musical theater, then I got to do that. To be invited back over the course of season 6, 7, 8, and now 9 made that in many ways an ideal situation. I didn't have to overstay my welcome, but also I got to come back and play with my pals now and again, and the finale was that. I'm grateful for it."
The Flash series finale airs Wednesday, May 24, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the CW.
The Flash showrunner says series finale is similar to The Office, Lost, and Angel finales
"If you look at The Office series finale and our series finale, you might actually see some similarities in the strangest way," executive producer Eric Wallace tells EW.
By Sydney BucksbaumMay 19, 2023 at 09:30 AM EDT
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Crafting a series finale is no joke. And when that episode is meant to wrap up not only 10 years of history for an iconic, beloved character, but also an entire interconnected TV universe along with it, all in a satisfying way for diehard fans? The words "daunting" and "downright impossible" come to mind. But that's exactly what showrunner Eric Wallace faced when developing the finale of The Flash, so he turned to his favorite series-ending hours for ideas.
"Before sitting down to even conceptualize and write this, I watched a whole bunch of series finales, and I'll tell you the ones I loved and used as inspiration: Lost, Angel, and The Office, ironically," Wallace tells EW in our latest cover story (speaking prior to the writers' strike). "I love the Lost finale so much because it was two hours and it's full of emotion. They cried and I cried and everybody cried. But the one that I went back to as being a perfect series finale in my opinion was Angel, the Buffy spin-off. Man, I still remember the feelings I had watching that Angel finale — it just blew me off the planet."
Grant Gustin on 'The Flash'
| CREDIT: JUSTINE YEUNG/THE CW
Wallace knows those series may not have much in common with The Flash, but he's not talking about the plot. "I thought a lot about it, what's really good in this, and what do we need to pull out?" he says. "I'm not saying it's the same storyline — i's not even close to the same storyline, but it's all about the feelings. There's similar feelings in that series finale that I wanted to get across, and same thing with Lost."
And though he knows it sounds even more bizarre, he reveals that The Office series finale is a major inspiration for The Flash's ending as well. "People think as I like horror movies and action that I don't like comedies, but The Office was a great series finale, and if you look at The Office series finale and our series finale, you might actually see some similarities in the strangest way," he says. "As a viewer who had been watching The Office for nine seasons religiously, I wanted so badly for [Steve Carell's] Michael Scott to come back to that show, and I recognized that feeling that I got when he showed up. I'm like, 'I have to deliver a similar feeling in our series finale.' That's when I decided there had to be a lot of faces from the past."
Wallace knows that loving the Lost series finale is quite a hot take, but he stands by it — and is proud of how he emulated The Flash finale after it. "All my friends, they yelled at me about that, but I had a very emotional experience with those characters over six seasons, and to me, it was pay off for the emotion," he says. "To me that's more important than paying off a particular plot strand."
As for Angel, which ended on a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers as the surviving characters rush into a battle with a demonic army that they likely won't win, Wallace considered ending The Flash the same way. "I could end it with them mid-battle, and some of them are going to die," he says. "That worked really well for the tone of Angel. I don't think it would work very well for The Flash, but how do we get that same feeling? And so, I did a little twist on it."
The showrunner still promises that he did end the series "properly" in the finale. "It has a conclusion where there's no cliffhangers in that sense, but we threw in a little thing right at the end of the series finale," Wallace adds. "No spoilers here, but let's just say it directly hints at what the future of The Flash could be. And that's what I got out of that Angel finale: I wonder what happens next? And I can write my own story from there. I thought that was so clever, and we have something like that in our series finale."
The Flash series finale airs Wednesday, May 24, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the CW.
How 'The Flash' series finale is like 'The Office,' 'Lost' finales
'The Flash' showrunner Eric Wallace tells EW that next week's series finale is actually similar to 'The Office,' 'Lost,' and 'Angel' finales.
ew.com
Grant Gustin says goodbye to 'The Flash' — and the Arrowverse
'The Flash' star Grant Gustin explains why he decided to end the CW's last remaining Arrowverse show after nine seasons, and teases what to expect from next week's epic series finale.
ew.com
How Grant Gustin runs The Flash — and the Arrowverse — across the finish line
The actor explains why he decided to end the CW’s last remaining Arrowverse show after nine seasons, and teases what to expect from next week’s epic series finale.
By Sydney BucksbaumMay 18, 2023 at 12:00 PM EDT
Barry Allen's lightning bolt ring has gone missing.
Brought to the DC Comics superhero from the future (the year 2049, to be exact) to store his superhero suit at the beginning of The Flash season 5, the gold accessory is one of the most iconic props from the CW's last remaining Arrowverse show. That's why, on the penultimate day of filming the series finale in March, star Grant Gustin chose it — along with several other recognizable items, including the red STAR Labs helmet he wore in the pilot — for EW's cover shoot bidding the show goodbye. But as the actor packs up Barry's supersuit, gold boots, and other memorabilia from the past nine seasons into a box on the speed lab set, he slips the ring into his pocket and never gives it back to the props guy waiting in the wings.
"I knew I was going to keep one thing, but I didn't know that it was going to be the ring," Gustin tells EW two months later in Los Angeles. "Right as we were finishing, I was like, 'This is going to stay in my pocket.' Now it's in a drawer at home with all of my important jewelry. I put it on, actually, the other day." It doesn't matter to him that the ring doesn't actually fit — "I have fat knuckles and skinny fingers," he admits with a laugh — he just wanted to keep a piece of Barry Allen with him forever.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Television
Deciding to steal Barry's ring was easy. Deciding to end The Flash on May 24 after nine seasons, however, was a whole different story. Gustin first debuted as the Scarlet Speedster in Arrow's second season in 2013 before spinning off onto his own series created by Greg Berlanti, Geoff Johns, and Andrew Kreisberg in 2014 — beginning the CW's interconnected comic book universe dubbed the Arrowverse.
Five additional shows, two web series, and nine official mega-crossover events later, the Arrowverse is one of the biggest and most complex shared universes on TV (Marvel, take notes!). "When it came to the greater Arrowverse, the scale of it was something that was really lost on me for the majority of the run," Gustin says. "It's something I won't fully understand or appreciate for years and years and years, to see what the impact that Greg Berlanti and [executive producer] Marc Guggenheim and all of these guys were able to have on the TV landscape. It was unlike anything that had ever been attempted in television."
Super producer Berlanti admits he had no idea what he was starting when he decided to introduce Barry Allen sans speedster powers in the two-part midseason finale of Arrow's second season. "We all loved these characters so much, and as we began working on [Arrow], more characters would come up and other possibilities opened up to us creatively," Berlanti told EW in an email prior to the writers' strike. "I had always loved Barry Allen as a kid — and I guess in the back of my mind, the hope was to include him in some way in Arrow, but obviously we knew that would take our show into the realm of superpowers. We had to find a way to do it that worked in our creative reality, and in [the] time and the budget of a TV show."
The Arrowverse's first superhero remembers that origin story quite differently, however. "This was right after the first season [of Arrow]," says Stephen Amell, who played Oliver Queen, a.k.a. the Green Arrow. "Greg Berlanti called me into his office and said, 'Hey, we're going to be introducing Barry Allen. He's the Flash. We want to spend the next bit of time building the Justice League on TV.' And that's precisely what they did. I mean, I think DC gets a lot of s--- for not building this interconnected [film] universe, but I just think people need to look at what they did on TV." That sentiment is shared across the board between Arrowverse stars and showrunners past and present, as they all praise Berlanti for pulling off the impossible. "Crossovers had been done before, they'll be done again, but the scale to which we did it was unprecedented," Amell adds.
Stephen Amell as Green Arrow and Grant Gustin as the Flash | CREDIT: KATIE YU/THE CW
That said, nothing lasts forever. As the Arrowverse grew exponentially, it eventually hit its peak in 2019-2020's massive "Crisis on Infinite Earths" saga, marking the beginning of the end. Arrow concluded its run shortly after in 2020, Supergirl and Black Lightning followed suit the next year — and in 2022, Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow were canceled (too soon!). When Superman & Lois declared in its season 2 finale that it no longer exists on the same Earth where the shared universe takes place, The Flash officially became the last standing Arrowverse series.
So when Gustin made the call to end The Flash after season 9, he unintentionally ended the Arrowverse along with it. As for why Gustin decided to hang up his supersuit, "It just felt like time," he explains. "A lot of people wanted us to get to 10 seasons, but in my mind we did 10 years — it was 2013 when I was cast as Barry Allen, and we finished in 2023. We had done everything we needed to do, the characters were in a good place, and we had reached the conclusion."
It's clear Gustin is at peace with his choice. But it took him a long time — and several false starts — to get there. The actor actually tried to make the call a few different times during the past nine seasons, but was always talked out of it. "Initially when we all signed on, it was a six-year run that got extended to seven," he says. "I got married [to physical therapist and trainer Andrea LA Thoma while filming] season 5. I had a kid [daughter Juniper Grace Louise] during season 7 — so obviously you start thinking about life changes at that point. Plus, Arrow had ended with season 8, so I thought, 'Let's end with season 8.'"
After a conversation with Berlanti, Gustin was convinced to keep going for just a little while longer. But two weeks after wrapping season 8, he called up Berlanti, The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace, then-CW president Mark Pedowitz, and Warner Bros. TV CEO Channing Dungey to share that season 9 would be his last. At that point, he didn't know if the show would continue without him as the titular hero, or if his decision to leave would also mean the end of The Flash. "I just knew it was time for me to step away, have more time with my family, and just enter this next chapter of my life," he says. "But I think I would've really questioned my decision if they had done a season 10 — if I knew the whole family was still together and I was somewhere else — so I'm glad we all finished at the same time. I'm not really a FOMO person, but I would've for sure had FOMO about that."
Gustin was relieved when all the Powers That Be decided to end the series with a shortened, 13-episode final season rather than go on without him. "Grant was so incredibly thoughtful in his decision, and I understood it completely," Berlanti says. "The reason he's such a great Barry is he exudes the same goodness on screen that he possesses in real life."
That's why Gustin felt it was his responsibility to break the news of the show ending to the entire cast himself, starting with Candice Patton, who has played his onscreen partner-in-crime, Iris West-Allen, for all nine seasons. But unbeknownst to Gustin, "I knew it was going to be my last year too, whether the show continued or not," Patton says. "So I was definitely relieved that Grant was on the same page about ending the show. I definitely didn't want to leave before everyone else, so I was just really glad."
Grant Gustin, Danielle Panabaker, Danielle Nicolet, Kayla Compton, Brandon McKnight, and Jon Cor in 'The Flash' series finale | CREDIT: BETTINA STRAUSS/THE CW
Gustin's conversation with Danielle Panabaker — the only other series regular aside from him and Patton who has stuck around for all nine seasons (albeit in three different roles: scientist Caitlin Snow, metahuman Killer Frost, and goddess Khione) — went a lot differently than Patton's. "I laughed at him, because that was not the first time that Grant had told me that he was done with the show," Panabaker says of their FaceTime chat. "Many times over the last nine years, he's gone so far as to make phone calls and tell people that he was ready to be done. I really believed season 8 was going to be his last year, so I've heard this song and dance before. When it broke in the press, I texted him and I said, 'Okay, I believe you this time.'"
The rest of the cast, while disappointed to know the end was finally coming, all supported Gustin's decision. Wallace, however, was hoping for one more season — the showrunner had already sketched out plans for seasons 9 and 10 to end the show on episode 200. But he pivoted, leaving a lot of his original ideas on the cutting room floor to end the series on episode 184 instead. "My initial reaction to finding out that it would be not only the last season but a shortened last season was bittersweet and a lot of disappointment," says Wallace, speaking to EW prior to the writers' strike. "But we are the lucky ones — we got a year of knowing this is the end, so let's make this the greatest end we possibly can."
But the showrunner is careful to clarify he didn't write a definitive ending for the Arrowverse in the Flash series finale. "I still am hopeful that the Arrowverse is not over," he explains. "I've approached it as The Flash is over and I want to make the best Flash series finale as possible." He knows how that sounds — he's definitely in denial. But despite the facts, he just isn't ready to say goodbye. "I'm going to have lunch with [Superman & Lois showrunner] Todd [Helbing] in the next couple weeks," Wallace says. "And I'm going to tell him, 'If you get a fourth season, you've got to sneak some Arrowverse in there. You are now carrying the torch.'"
Helbing (who served as showrunner on The Flash for seasons 2-5) smiles as he thinks about the potential of keeping the Arrowverse alive if Superman & Lois reverses its decision. But he doesn't know if he'll even get that chance, as his series hasn't been renewed yet and the CW's slate of original shows continues to get slashed by new owner Nexstar. "I will say this, it sure is a lot easier now that the other shows aren't on the air, people's schedules are a lot easier to work around, so… maybe," he says "I would love to bring Grant on, and I think it would be a lot of fun to have Candice, to have Iris with [Elizabeth Tulloch's] Lois Lane. So we'll see."
But for now, whether he likes it or not, Wallace is bringing the Arrowverse to a close when The Flash series finale airs Wednesday, May 24, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. "I've wrapped up a lot of things in the series finale, and it ends on a very hopeful note that shows you how the future of the Arrowverse could continue in some way, shape, or form," says the showrunner. "It hopefully gives people closure, but also some hope for the future, because otherwise, it's very sad to think that there won't be an Arrowverse after May 24."
***
Over nine seasons, Barry and Team Flash have battled and defeated many big bads, both speedster and non, but quite a few of them return in the last hour of the epic, four-part series finale (which kicked off May 3). The familiar faces bring the story full circle while the episode still delivers the signature three facets of every Flash episode: Heart, humor, and spectacle. "I'm very proud of the last episode," Wallace says. "It's a love letter to the audience."
It's also a touching parallel to Gustin's own life. "It is poignant that it finishes as Barry and I are both starting a family," says the actor, whose Barry saw Iris go into labor in the second hour of the four-part saga. "I had a lot of figuring things out to do over the course of the nine years, and same for Barry. None of us knew what we were getting into when this started or how big it was going to be, and I'm just proud of the way we all grew together and always continued to show up for the show and do the best we could. I think we really finished on a high note."
Grant Gustin and Candice Patton on 'The Flash' | CREDIT: BETTINA STRAUSS/THE CW
Wallace is most excited for finale viewers to see how he's "leveled up" Barry Allen to "his full comic book potential, to almost godlike status," something both he and Gustin had wanted to see for a long time. "He's not the same person who got struck by lightning way back in 2014," the showrunner explains. "Look at what he's become over nine years, which is a message to the audience: Look at what you all can become. Everybody can fulfill their full potential if you just take a heroic path."
But of course, that path won't be easy for Barry and the rest of Team Flash. "They wrote the s--- out of those last four episodes, and the way they're bringing all these characters and everybody's favorite villains all back in the finale, it's going to be insane," says Brandon McKnight, who joined the series in season 6 as Team Flash member Chester P. Runk. Joining all those villains is resurrected season 1 ally Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett), breaking bad as DC Comics supervillain Cobalt Blue. "What Rick did coming back as Eddie blew me away," Gustin teases. "I'm excited for fans to see that storyline unfold because we were building to those moments for a long time."
Along with some surprise cameos from Teddy Sears as Zoom and Karan Oberoi as Godspeed (pictured below), previously announced returning cast member Tom Cavanagh also reprises his original season 1 role in the episode as Eddie's distant relative Eobard Thawne. Cavanagh, who exited as a series regular in season 6 but has returned as a guest star every season since then, is thrilled that he got to suit up one final time as Barry's archnemesis Reverse-Flash. "The last day I did, there was blood and glass and destruction and things blowing up — it's a good way to go out," he says. "It seems appropriate."
Teddy Sears, Karan Oberoi, and Tom Cavanagh in 'The Flash' series finale | CREDIT: BETTINA STRAUSS/THE CW
There was one return that couldn't happen, however — in any timeline. Original cast member Carlos Valdes, who played Team Flash's resident tech-genius-turned-metahuman-superhero Cisco Ramon, left the series in season 7 and does not make a cameo in the finale. It's not for lack of trying though. He tells EW that he wanted to appear in the final season, but scheduling conflicts made it impossible (he was filming Hulu's musical rom-com Up Here around the same time). "Honestly, there was no way to make it happen," he says, "which was really heartbreaking to me because I thought, if I decided to step away from the show, at the very least I have to be there for the finale to round this thing out."
The Flash was dealt another curveball while filming the series finale, as the titular superhero faced one more, unexpected villain. "I didn't get COVID for three years, and we were six days away from finishing and I somehow got COVID," Gustin reveals. "And God bless them, they somehow made it work and shifted some things around on the schedule. We shut down for a day. I was so close to the finish line and ended up having to do the full 10-day quarantine because I was still testing positive. And I felt fine! I just had to sit at home and wait to do my last few days for a while."
While Gustin was in quarantine, production continued as best as it could without its star. "There was some creative filming that had to be done and they were going to have to add him in later on green screen," Panabaker says. As a result of the reshuffling, an extra day was added to filming to complete the finale. "It felt like they were trying to keep me here," Gustin jokes. "We just prolonged the end."
***
The end of the world is looming. It's the third-to-last day of filming back on the Vancouver set, and angry red lightning flashes outside the windows of CC Jitters. Barry has reached his breaking point — he's just been told his plan to save everyone is impossible, but he refuses to accept anything less than no casualties. He eventually explodes, yelling at his own allies in a rare moment of devastating fury from the usually optimistic hero. As the director calls cut, emotions remain dialed up to 11, but for a much different reason: John Wesley Shipp just had his series wrap after more than 30 years of playing the Flash (first as the original Barry Allen on CBS' 1990 show The Flash before returning decades later to play Barry's father Henry Allen, along with multiple older versions of the comic book hero, on the CW).
The two Flashes, both clad in their respective superhero suits, are now hugging as the crew emerges onto the set, applauding the milestone. But the Golden Age Flash is only focused on the younger Flash for a minute. "I never would've anticipated in 1991, when I swore I'd never get into another superhero suit, that I would have it end that way, in the last season, saying goodbye to Henry Allen and then Jay Garrick, both in and out of the suit," Shipp says. "I tried to thank Grant, but then my voice cracked. And that's when he came over and gave me a big hug. And that said everything that needed to be said."
This moment on Thursday night isn't the first emotional series wrap of the week, and it won't be the last. Original cast members Jesse L. Martin and Cavanagh's final scenes the day before were the first moments where people got visibly choked up. That sentimentality ramps up on Friday as the rest of the series regulars finish filming. First up is Patton, and while the details of her final scene are top secret, it's not a spoiler to reveal that tears flow nonstop throughout her entire last take, from both Iris and Barry and Patton and Gustin. "There were just so many tears, and I just had a good long cry in my trailer afterwards," Patton remembers as she talks to EW on the phone in April. "I don't know that there's a way that you can prepare for a day like that because it doesn't feel real."
A few hours later, the rest of Team Flash — Panabaker, McKnight, Danielle Nicolet, Jon Cor, and Kayla Compton — stand with Gustin in the speed lab for both a goodbye and a reunion. It's their final scene, but they think they still have more time. "We didn't know it was the last take until it was over," reveals Compton, who plays metahuman Allegra Garcia a.k.a. Ultraviolet. "They called cut, and then all of these people just started to walk on set, and that's when it hit us, 'Oh, we're done. This is it. We're being clapped out.' I just started crying."
"Normally on a set, when it's the last take of the day, someone calls out 'martini,'" explains Nicolet, who plays metahuman D.A. Cecile Horton. "Well, no one called 'martini.' As soon as they started clapping us all out, my Flash life flashed, pun intended, before my eyes." Cor points out that he kept his emotions in check until he was alone in his trailer. "The only meltdown that I had was privately, and nobody knew," says the actor, who plays supervillain-turned-hero Mark Blaine a.k.a. Chillblaine. "I couldn't stop, but I had never been happier."
As for the Flash himself, Gustin was surprised by his own reaction a day later while filming his very last scene, running on a green screen. "I thought it would be more complicated for me, emotionally. I thought I'd have more of a struggle," he says. "And I wasn't emotional. I was almost feeling guilty, like, 'Why am I not crying more every day like everybody is?' And I know Stephen was that way too when Arrow was ending. I'm a very sensitive person and very honest about my emotions, but I think it just spoke to how it was time for it to end and I was ready."
It's only now, sitting in EW's studio two months later, that it's all finally starting to sink in. "Wow, I'm getting a little emotional talking about it now," he says with a smile. "Now I'm feeling the emotion more than I did that week. I don't think I felt everything on that final day as I should. But I felt really at peace that whole last episode, as I did for most of that season. I just was really taking it in and appreciating that I got to be the one to wear the suit, because it could have been anybody else, and I was the one lucky enough to get to do it."
Gustin is quick to clarify that the Flash costume had its downsides, of course — recalling how the cowl used to be glued directly to his face back in season 1, and he was actually forced to eat meals and take naps with it on — which is why he's surprised at how much he's actually going to miss suiting up. "The suit is tough to work in, but it was never lost on me that a superhero suit was made for me to put on, and I got to go to work and do that," he says. "Knowing it was the last season, just putting the boots on and zipping it, I knew that I was running out of time. I knew one of these times, it's going to be the last time I take it off."
Grant Gustin as the Flash | CREDIT: COLIN BENTLEY/THE CW
And when that moment came, Gustin didn't take it for granted. His wife and daughter had come to set to watch his final day ("The last thing we shot is the last shot you see of the series, which was cool," he reveals), and they were with him in his trailer after he wrapped. "As I was finishing taking the suit off, I handed my wife my phone and was like, 'Film me hanging this up,' because it was just a moment I knew that I'd want to have," he says.
Sharing that moment with his family is something he'll cherish forever, especially as he looks ahead to his future post-Flash. "Now I'm going into this next chapter in my life where I don't know what's going to happen professionally," Gustin says. "And I've said for years, this may very well be the pinnacle of my career — and how cool, if it is, that I got to do this. But I get to now go into the unknown with my family. Now I'm just husband, and dad, and not the Flash anymore."
That's why, when he's now approached by fans asking if he's the Flash, he loves giving a new answer. "My response has been, 'I used to be,' which is weird to say, but true," he says. "And it also kind of feels good." But he's also aware that he's prolonging the end for himself even more. "I think maybe it'll also hit me more and more as I watch this final season. It's not over for me yet."
He's also excited to finally participate in fan conventions, now that he suddenly has some free time in his schedule. "We're still talking Flash, I'm still going to get to meet The Flash fans, and it's a new chapter of The Flash era now, so I don't think it's ever really going to end," he says. "The filming chapter is closed, but I still get to be the Flash." He pauses, then smiles as he continues: "So I shouldn't say I used to be the Flash. I should just say yes when people ask me if I'm the Flash."
He does still have the ring, after all.
'The Flash' star Grant Gustin 'had no idea' he appeared in 'Titans'
'The Flash' star Grant Gustin didn't know he made a cameo on 'Titans': 'It's old footage, obviously.'
ew.com
Like I and many others said months ago they saved most of the budget for the final episode. Some good fights, visuals and a couple of surprising moments.
Some cheese around the edges and at times it felt like I was watching Guardians of the Galaxy 3 the way the writers pulled back from committing to a couple of moments that would have been impactful. Characters suddenly becoming OP...HILARIOUS
I did enjoy the peek at what could have been if this series went on for at least 2 more seasons or what could have been instead of all the filler episodes
Season 9 debuts on Netflix this Thursday June 1.
I’m home this week, so I plan on knocking it out before returning to work and hitting the road Saturday.
Will give my review after watching.
I’m home this week, so I plan on knocking it out before returning to work and hitting the road Saturday.
Will give my review after watching.
I watched the series finale..I'm glad that this show had finally ended!!..This show should have got cancel years ago!!...
Cecile finally getting super powers..and alsoThe appearance of the trans Kid Flash from DC Future State
Season 9
Episodes 1 - 5
Started watching these this morning on Netflix.
It pretty much picked up where last season left off and continues with the same flow since the beginning. The season starts off bringing back major/minor characters from the past 8 seasons.
A new Captain Boomerang debuted. Caitlin/Killer Frost returned as a new person named “Snow”.
The Red Death, a new speedster is the main villain for the first five episodes. Red Death’s identity is interesting.
Barry’s “Rogue Squad” did a good job giving him a reality check finally and coming straight with him. The first time anybody actually did it and meant it in this series.
Got other shit to catch up on. Will get to the other episodes here soon.
Episodes 1 - 5
Started watching these this morning on Netflix.
It pretty much picked up where last season left off and continues with the same flow since the beginning. The season starts off bringing back major/minor characters from the past 8 seasons.
A new Captain Boomerang debuted. Caitlin/Killer Frost returned as a new person named “Snow”.
The Red Death, a new speedster is the main villain for the first five episodes. Red Death’s identity is interesting.
Barry’s “Rogue Squad” did a good job giving him a reality check finally and coming straight with him. The first time anybody actually did it and meant it in this series.
Got other shit to catch up on. Will get to the other episodes here soon.
Season 9
Episodes 6 - 9
The season continues bringing in characters from past seasons. Barry and Iris continue on with the news of her pregnancy.
Mark and Chester work together to figure out what’s up with Khione and discover some interesting stuff about her.
And we got a reunion of Diggle, Arrow, Flash and Kid Flash working together.
Four more episodes to go, looks like those 4 are a four-parter to close out the series.
Will get to them later, got other shit to do and other stuff to catch up on.
Episodes 6 - 9
The season continues bringing in characters from past seasons. Barry and Iris continue on with the news of her pregnancy.
Mark and Chester work together to figure out what’s up with Khione and discover some interesting stuff about her.
And we got a reunion of Diggle, Arrow, Flash and Kid Flash working together.
Four more episodes to go, looks like those 4 are a four-parter to close out the series.
Will get to them later, got other shit to do and other stuff to catch up on.
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Season 9
Episodes 10 - 13
Started these this morning. Looks like 9 months have passed since the last episode.
Khione has discovered a number of powers and abilities that she has.
Eobard and Eddie Thawne return in the final episodes.
Nora returns in the final episodes.
The Negative Speed Force turns out to be the primary villain and brings on all the past Bad Guy speedsters Reverse-Flash (w/Harrison Wells) Godspeed, Zoom and Savitar to go against Team Flash.
Chester discovers he has powers as a result of him connecting to that Black Hole some seasons ago.
Iris gives birth to Nora.
Khione finally discovers her true purpose and moves on. And Caitlyn returns in her place.
Mary J. Blige “Love Is All We Need” is played at the start during the final get together scene of the main character’s.
Adult Nora holds her Baby Nora self…which is odd…
Captain West proposes to Cecile and she accepts.
Barry makes a decision to share the Speed Force to 3 selected individuals.
And that’s it……
Nothing shown connecting the series to the upcoming Flash movie, we won’t know until the film comes out this month.
Overall, it was a good series. Lots of seasons and storylines were dragged out and could have been shortened, but it was an entertaining series.
Episodes 10 - 13
Started these this morning. Looks like 9 months have passed since the last episode.
Khione has discovered a number of powers and abilities that she has.
Eobard and Eddie Thawne return in the final episodes.
Nora returns in the final episodes.
The Negative Speed Force turns out to be the primary villain and brings on all the past Bad Guy speedsters Reverse-Flash (w/Harrison Wells) Godspeed, Zoom and Savitar to go against Team Flash.
Chester discovers he has powers as a result of him connecting to that Black Hole some seasons ago.
Iris gives birth to Nora.
Khione finally discovers her true purpose and moves on. And Caitlyn returns in her place.
Mary J. Blige “Love Is All We Need” is played at the start during the final get together scene of the main character’s.
Adult Nora holds her Baby Nora self…which is odd…
Captain West proposes to Cecile and she accepts.
Barry makes a decision to share the Speed Force to 3 selected individuals.
And that’s it……
Nothing shown connecting the series to the upcoming Flash movie, we won’t know until the film comes out this month.
Overall, it was a good series. Lots of seasons and storylines were dragged out and could have been shortened, but it was an entertaining series.
Excellent breakdown of the closing...
Still sad as f*ck no connection to the movie
And worse?
No Cisco.
That one to me makes it difficult for me to even watch the final season.
Now That I've Seen The Flash, I'm Extra Mad Grant Gustin Doesn't Cameo
Where's the Scarlet Speedster synergy?
www.cinemablend.com
Apparently Warner Bros. Asked For That Ezra Miller CW Cameo Late In The Game
This was not something planned out in the early stages.
www.cinemablend.com
Don't forget
The Flash: Did Grant Gustin Film a Cameo? Kevin Smith Has Us Confused
On the Fat Man Beyond podcast, Kevin Smith said he heard (not confirmed) that Grant Gustin had filmed a cameo for The Flash. So which is it?
bleedingcool.com
The Flash Movie: Teddy Sears Weighs In on Doppelgänger Cameo Confusion (Exclusive)
The following contains cameo spoilers from the DC Studios movie The Flash, now in theaters. Teddy Sears would be the first to admit that the Golden Age speedster glimpsed in the new The Flash movie…
tvline.com
Who Is Grant Gustin's Wife? All About LA Thoma Gustin
Grant Gustin and LA Thoma started dating in 2016, got married in 2018 and welcomed a baby girl in 2021. Here's everything to know about The Flash actor's wife
The Flash Movie Snubbing Grant Gustin Is Made Even Worse By This BTS Cameo Reveal
Grant Gustin would've been great for The Flash.
screenrant.com
Grant Gustin and Lucy Hale find love in 'Puppy Love' trailer
Watch Grant Gustin and Lucy Hale struggle with puppy co-parenting in the trailer for 'Puppy Love.'
ew.com
Peter Merkel
"Suffering can't be stopped. Especially hers"."If you touch Iris—""Don't want to hear your pain. Only your wife's." —Peter Merkel to Barry Allen[src] Peter Merkel, nicknamed Rag Doll by Cisco Ramon, is the son of the late Theresa Merkel and a meta-human with the ability to contort his body. He...
Theresa Merkel
"You see, I gave him the world; the finest private schools, his own wing to play in, but he just... never appreciated it." —Theresa Merkel on her son, Peter Merkel[src] Theresa Merkel was a billionaire investment magnate, philanthropist, and socialite in Central City, and the founder of the...
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Grant Gustin Demolishes Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen In The Flash Video Edit
Many DC fans wanted Gustin to appear in The Flash.
screenrant.com
He doing a good job as the character he voicing in Starfield currently
The Flash Side-by-Side Video Of Grant Gustin & Ezra Miller Running Proves Marvel Does Speedsters Better
The Flash sparks another Marvel and DC debate.
screenrant.com