Following the red carpet interviews, the panels for ‘Arrow’ and ‘The Flash’ began, each opening with a sizzle reel with clips from the rest of the current season. First, we’ll delve into the ‘Arrow’ clips and panel. SPOILERS AHEAD – read no further if you want to go into the end of ‘Arrow’ Season 3 and ‘The Flash’ Season 1 without any inside knowledge.
‘Arrow’ Panel:
The ‘Arrow’ end of Season 3 sizzle real revealed a lot of information, the most telling of which are the characters who will know the Arrow’s identity soon, and act on that knowledge. When I interviewed Paul Blackthorne and he stated that Lance would be having words with the Arrow about Sara’s death and lying to him about it, I did not realize the extent of those “words.” The clips showed Lance and the police confronting Team Arrow in the Arrow cave, confirming earlier rumors that the last 4 episodes of the season the team would not have their home base. It also showed an angry Lance yelling at Oliver, telling him he was not a hero, and calling him a “Son of a bitch.” Definitely a different direction from the Captain Lance who had been helping and teaming up with the Quiver Crew all season.
As for the Ras Al Ghul storyline, we see Malcolm Merlyn telling Oliver that there was a prophecy that basically stated that the man who doesn’t die by the sword of Ras Al Ghul will become the next Ras Al Ghul, hence why Oliver was offered the position in the last episode. It certainly lends credibility to the offer, though as Stephen Amell stated on the red carpet, the offer to Oliver to become the next Ras is more of a demand than an offer, with potentially dire consequences should he refuse. Also important to note is the Oliver voice-over where he states that maybe he should become the next Ras Al Ghul, which is out of context to be sure, but with everything appearing to fall apart for him and his team in Starling City, who could blame him for thinking he could try to do some good in the world using the League of Assassins.
The last big spoiler from the trailer was Ray Palmer, who we see learning the identity of the ‘Arrow,’ and deciding to take him down. What exactly the ‘Arrow’ did to make Lance and the ATOM decide he needed to be taken down is unclear, but it is clear that Oliver and Company have far more to worry about in Starling City beside potential new job offers for their leader.
The panel itself did reveal a few tidbits of information as well, with Amell commenting that as far as the flashbacks were concerned, the show still needed to get Oliver to where his character was in the ‘Arrow’ pilot, meaning the flashbacks are “…gonna get worse [darker] before it gets better.” Paul Blackthorne commented on the fact that Captain Lance has few friends in Starling City, which is why he was excited for the upcoming cross-over, as he and Laurel will visit Central City, where Lance and Joe West will meet and potentially become friends, both being in similar situations with heroic family members. David Ramsey (John Diggle) spoke briefly on Diggle’s work/family balance, saying that his character was a bit more evolved in that aspect that Oliver, who felt he had to choose one or the other. Ramsey said Diggle was going to make it work with both, finishing with the stylish (and perfect metaphor) line, “Diggle has reconciled his island.” Colton Haynes (Roy) and Willa Holland (Thea) teased that Roy and Thea still had a spark, which would be explored further as the season progresses, while John Barrowman explained Merlyn’s love for Thea, and to some degree Oliver, claiming that “Malcolm would rather have had Oliver as a son than Tommy,” a statement which really riled up the crowd and elicited many boos. The last big statement of the panel was Kreisberg’s comment that “After the end of Season 3, the show will never be the same again.” Cryptic? Hell yes, but at least it shows they are progressing the show into something new.
(Video courtesy of MsLiz C)
‘The Flash’ Panel:
The sizzle real for the end of ‘The Flash’ Season 1 also had a lot of spoilers for the rest of the season, the biggest being Dr. Welles (Tom Cavenagh) saying that Barry will die while he holds a gun. We definitely haven’t seen that kind of direct aggression between the good doctor and the Flash before, though admittedly it might just be taken out of context. Also interesting was the reveal of Eddie Thawne’s anger about the burgeoning relationship/ attraction growing between Iris and Barry. We see him punch Barry in the sizzle, and then go a little crazy, in one shot even appearing to take out his gun and take shots at fellow police officers (once again, we don’t know the context of all of these things as they were just brief images in the trailer/sizzle, so take it with a grain of salt). Also very cool to see was a scene where it looks like Joe West is facing down Gorilla Grodd, a pairing that I did not think would occur this early on ‘The Flash,’ and an encounter I really hope Detective West is able to walk away from relatively unscathed.
As for the panel itself, similar to the ‘Arrow’ panel, the actors and executive producers were very careful about what information they conveyed, but there were still a few gems in there. Tom Cavanagh commented that “Dr Welles is just a guy who wants to get home,” lending credence to the theory of him being from the future. While discussing the scene where the Reverse Flash and Dr. Welles were in the same room (and where the yellow suited terror was beating up Welles) in episode 9, Kreisberg promised that explanations for how that was possible were on the way, assuring fans it would all make sense. When asked about the credibility of the theories and ideas postulated by the scientists on ‘The Flash,’ Kreisberg stated that ‘It’s [the science of ‘The Flash’] most B.S,” for which he at least gets credit for admitting the writers are making a lot of it up. A great comical moment is when Jesse Martin (Joe West) is talking about funny moments on the show, which for him is any time Grant Gustin (Barry Allen) runs, as, in his words, “Barry runs kind of nerdy.” Also asked was who exactly feeds to imprisoned meta-humans beneath Star Labs, a legitimate question as they are supposedly running a humane prison down there. Kreisberg claimed the answer was coming in an upcoming episode, while Berlanti stated that the moral implications of the prison will be discussed before the end of the season.
Their were a lot of time-travel questions during the panel, and while the stars and producers would not say much, they did speak on the possibility of alternate timelines. The discussion was about if Barry did stop his mom’s murder, how that change would affect all the characters in the present and their relationships, most notably the West family unit of Barry, Iris and Joe. Potentially part of the time-travel plots of the show, Kreisberg also stated (after being asked whether they were going to do memorable arcs from the comics on the show) that there was a “Big ‘Flash’ story from the comics we will be tackling in the near future.” And speaking of comics, there was a question about whether or not we would be seeing future Flash potentials Wally West or Bart Allen on the show, to which Berlanti stated that they hoped to do those characters, potentially in Season 2, since they are now officially picked up for a second season.
(Video courtesy of MsLiz C)
All in all, both panels were highly informative, and showed off a lot of what fans have to look forward to in the final episodes of ‘The Flash’ and ‘Arrow’ this season. I can’t wait for both shows to return later this week, and get the final story arcs of the season moving.
What are your thoughts on the information released during Paleyfest 2015? Are there any questions you would have wanted to see answered? Let us know in the comments below!
