Diyah Pera/The CWAfter that amazing, fantastic, oh-so-perfect "Flarrow" crossover last week, we were kind of worried that The Flash wouldn't be able to top that Arrow crossover and deliver another epic hour for tonight's midseason finale.
But honestly, we should know by now never to underestimate the CW's hit superhero show. Not only will tonight see the return of Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell) as a "full-on Firestorm," but there's also that little (read: HUGE) return of "The Man In the Yellow Suit," aka the Reverse-Flash, aka the lightning-fast man who murdered Barry's (Grant Gustin) mother back when he was just a kid!
We could barely contain our excitement over the reappearance of two hugely-important metahumans, so we got The Flash executive producer Andrew Kreisberg on the line to geek out over all things Barry.
E! Online: I'm so excited to finally see the Reverse Flash return!
Andrew Kreisberg: You should be both excited and terrified.
Well that sounds ominous. What can you tease about the first time we see the Reverse-Flash in the midseason finale?
There's a lot of emotion, most notably anger and fear, on Barry's part when he finally comes face-to-face with this demon since the night he killed his mother right in front of him. There's a lot at stake for Barry in this episode. The successes and triumphs he has against his opponent are very emotional for Barry. But you'll have to watch the episode to see exactly how it all plays out.
Will we find out the identity of the Reverse-Flash in the midseason finale or is this going to be a season-long mystery?
Well, we're definitely going to find out more about the Reverse-Flash. A bunch of questions posed in the pilot are going to be answered in this episode as well as a bunch more mysteries will be presented. Hopefully it will be a satisfying conclusion for the audience, for the people who really invested in these first nine episodes, while also giving people a reason to come back in January to find out exactly how the rest of it plays out.
There were some pretty epic fight scenes in The Flash vs. Arrow crossover episodes, and they were better than ever before. How are the fight scenes between Barry and Reverse-Flash going to compare to those?
Honestly, as proud as we are of the crossover episodes, this episode is even bigger and better. His fights with the Reverse-Flash are some of the coolest stuff that I've ever been a part of. It has sort of become a cliché to say this show has become so cinematic but it really is! You watch some of the stuff we do and it really feels like you're watching a movie. The work in this episode is just superlative.
What can you tease about how Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanagh) and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) will play into the Reverse-Flash storyline?
The Reverse-Flash attacks Mercury Labs, which is run by Tina McGee, played by Amanda Pays who played Tina on the original Flash series, and knowing that the Reverse-Flash is after specialized technology, Wells and Cisco set out to craft a trap to catch him.
What was it like having Amanda Pays back on the show as a guest star?
It was amazing. We are such huge fans of the original show and Tina especially! Just to hear her voice and to see her onscreen introducing herself to Barry Allen and to hear her say, "Central City Police," just brings back so many fond memories.
What are we going to see from Iris (Candice Patton) and Barry's friendship in the midseason finale now that Iris is no longer a fan of the Flash?
Barry's going through a lot in this episode and sometimes when you're that unguarded you do and say things you wouldn't normally do and say under different circumstances. Barry is going to get that opportunity in this episode.
As excited as I am to see the Reverse-Flash, I think what I'm most psyched to see is the return of Firestorm in this episode! Ronnie's big scene at the end of last week's episode was so epic!
I know, and this episode has full-on Firestorm! I mean, as if it wasn't crazy enough to have the Reverse-Flash, we have Firestorm operating as well and it's incredibly exciting to see him represented really for the first time in live-action. Other than the old Super Friends cartoon I can't remember him ever being portrayed in another medium. So to see Firestorm in all his original glory is so exciting.
What can you tease about how he's going to be different from the Ronnie we met before the accident?
That's the mystery. What exactly happened to Ronnie? I think it's fairly complicated and sad and tragic, but also exciting and we're going to get to experience it through Danielle Panabaker's character Caitlin, who was Ronnie's fiancé. She gives an amazing performance in this episode as does Robbie. It's heartbreaking in the best sense as we get to find out the truth of what really happened to Ronnie Raymond.
Now what can you tease about the huge cliffhanger that I just know the midseason finale is going to end on?
It's a huge cliffhanger!
No way!
[Laughs.] We hopefully have done something exciting and it's really important to us to answer some questions. We will do that but hopefully we've done so in a way that everyone will be extremely excited to find out what happens next when The Flash returns in January.
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on the CW.