Although Zoom has presented more than enough challenges for Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and the rest of Team Flash this season on The CW’s The Flash, that doesn’t mean some old enemies won’t rear their heads. Death typically never lasts very long in any comic book universe, but if there’s one face The Flash thought he would never see again it would have to be that of Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. Reverse-Flash (Matt Letscher). Sadly for the members of Team Flash, even being erased from the timeline is not enough to stop the iconic villain from returning to raise hell.
The seemingly impossible resurrection of the man in the yellow suit should provide one of the most dramatic and heart wrenching events thus far during The Flash‘s second season. Beyond that, the return should stir up myriad emotions within the Scarlet Speedster. As a matter of fact — according to The Flash‘s Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg — that’s pretty much a guarantee.
Speaking with EW about the classic villain’s return, Kreisberg opened up regarding how Barry Allen will react to seeing the Reverse-Flash’s arrival in contemporary Central City:
“What’s interesting about it is this Thawne hasn’t experienced last season yet, and Barry has. On Barry’s side, there’s a lot stronger feelings — a lot more anger, a lot more betrayal, and in some cases, that’s blinding Barry to what he needs to do. It’s really an episode about Barry coming to terms with what he wants to do and what he should do regarding this version of Thawne. There are some great surprises and some character interactions between this Thawne and all of our characters. Again, they all have the benefit of having enjoyed last season and he hasn’t.”
So based upon Kreisberg’s words, Barry’s added experiences in facing off against the Reverse-Flash could actually serve as a disadvantage in the long run. Squaring off against this old adversary will likely drudge up feelings of anger and hostility not seen in Barry since Earth-2 Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) appeared at S.T.A.R. Labs earlier this season. If Cisco (Carlos Valdes) has warned Barry of anything, it’s to never run angry.
Week after week Barry’s world continues to be rocked by a variety of different tragedies, setbacks, and instances of sheer bad luck. Thawne’s last words to him in his video essentially comprised a promise that, above all else, he believed Barry would never find true happiness for himself. Barry has only just begun to rise above that threat, so the return of his sworn enemy — coupled with his recent breakup with Patty (Shantel VanSanten) — could elicit an uncharacteristic response from the hero.
Promotional videos for the upcoming episode feature a voice-over from Harrison Wells explaining that this showdown with Reverse-Flash will actually comprise the “origin story” for the long-time villain. This makes a great deal of sense because when Thawne appeared in Central City at the tail end of last week’s episode he seemed to have no knowledge of his current environment. Based on this, we can likely assume the events that occur during this episode may actually provide the spark for Thawne’s hatred of Barry. Then again, the mechanics of time travel on The Flash are enough to make one’s head hurt, so we won’t know anything for sure about the return of the Reverse-Flash until the episode airs.
The Flash airs Tuesdays @8pm on The CW. Arrow airs Wednesdays @8pm on The CW. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs Thursdays @8pm on The CW. Check out a trailer for this week’s episode of The Flash — titled “Potential Energy” — below.
