【2014 Archives】

Fans of DC Comics know just how important the relationship between Barry Allen (Grant Gustin)014 ArchivesWally West (Keiynan Lonsdale) is for both characters, and this week's episode of The Flashbrings Wally one step closer to embracing his superhero destiny.

In The Flashcomics, Wally originally served as Barry's sidekick, Kid Flash, before becoming his successor. He took over Barry's mantle as The Flash for over 20 years following Barry's death during the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" storyline, which took the hero out of DC circulation from 1985 to 2008.

In Season 3 of The Flash, Barry has been struggling to deal with the repercussions of Flashpoint, an alternate timeline he created in which his parents were still alive and Wally was a speedster known as Kid Flash.

In the Nov. 15 episode, "Shade," Wally finds himself haunted by visions of his Flashpoint self -- complete with super speed -- which were potentially sent by Dr. Alchemy, the mystery foe who has been creating metahumans in Central City by restoring the powers that their alternate versions had in the Flashpoint universe.

Mashablespoke to Lonsdale about Wally's desire to be a hero, the West family dynamics this season, and the threat Alchemy poses.

What is Wally's first reaction to these visions?

He’s been having this desire to be a speedster and this feeling inside him that he can’t explain, where he almost knows that that’s in his future. When he starts getting these visions, for him, it’s the icing on the cake – it’s such validation that this is supposed to happen. I don’t think he realizes or wants to accept that these visions could be coming from the wrong place with the wrong intention. He’s a little bit blind to that.

How does Joe (Jesse L. Martin) take it?

He wants Wally to be all that he can be, but at the same time, Joe seems like the kind of dad that’s like "the more regular this life can be, the better." With it already being crazy, the idea and possibility of Wally being a speedster or a metahuman in general, Joe isn’t too excited about [it]. He just wants to keep his kids safe. That’s another way of seeing the situation of being out of his control, I think.

In Flashpoint, Iris (Candice Patton) and Wally were a crime-fighting team. How does she feel about him potentially developing powers in this timeline?

With Iris, if this was coming from a good place -- like with Barry, it happened organically -- she’d be along for the ride. But I think Iris is really smart and she can look at it from the outside and be like, “This is potentially a really dangerous situation.” She’s not down for it if it’s gonna put Wally or anyone else in danger.

We know that Wally and Alchemy come face to face in "Shade" -- is he desperate enough to trust Alchemy to give him these powers?

I don’t know if it’s a matter of trust, but what we do know is that Wally isn’t in his right mind right now, and he’s desperate enough to make thoughtless decisions. It’s really a test for him to see the guy that he is; what is he willing to sacrifice and how far is he willing to go – how strong is he, really, at the end of the day?

Does Wally resent Barry for keeping his Flashpoint destiny a secret?

I think you can always be a little upset for someone keeping a secret like that from you, especially because Wally’s been openly expressing his feelings and desires for being a speedster, and he’s been shut down on that many times. So I think he’s a little bit angry about that, but at the same time, everyone made the decision to not know about their other lives, so that’s on them as well. Wally, despite his emotions, would understand that at the same time.

How would you describe Barry and Wally's relationship this season?There was obviously a bit of friction between them initially when Wally was trying to figure out his place in the family, but it seems like they've moved past that.

Their relationship was a little off because Wally didn’t know who Barry was, to be honest. The Flash is so much a part of who Barry is, and with all the secrets that were going on, it didn’t make sense to Wally. Once he found out Barry’s true identity, he had a lot of respect and admiration for him because he finally understood how good this guy is. This season, their dynamic is a lot stronger and Wally’s a lot more accepting of Barry if there’s been mistakes. Wally’s coming from a more understanding place, which I think is really cool and really mature. For me, as the actor and a fan of Wally West and Barry Allen, I’m like, I want them to be a team. That’s the dream, right? Even if it’s without powers, you want them to be in good standing.

With so many people around him developing meta powers, like Cisco (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker), does that make the situation harder for him?

He’s struggling, and put these nightmares on top of that, I think that’s really tough. If Wally didn’t feel that drive to help people, if he wasn’t feeling this tear in him because he’s like, “I feel like I’m supposed to be this other person, I feel like I’m supposed to have these powers..." That’s what Flashpoint did. Last season, as much as Wally wanted to help, and as much as he loved The Flash, he wasn’t jumping in front of cars to do that. Flashpoint did something to him, it showed him that there is another reality where he is this superhero, so that’s what’s making it so hard.

We're heading towards the crossover, and obviously this episode is a big turning point for Wally -- anything you can preview about what's coming up?

This episode shows that there’s a possible change that’s going to come, either way, with Wally. It’s definitely been so much fun and the next few episodes are really cool, I’m excited for all the fans to see it. It’s big.

The Flashairs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.