ETonline has the scoop on what's coming up on The CW's superhero dramas!
How fun was that?
The Flash and Arrow teams pulled out all the stops to bring two action-picked episodes this week. But, like the comic-book geeks that they are, the creative brains behind the two shows were adamant that certain things be featured in the two hours – and one of them was a biggie.
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“The idea that [the Arrow and The Flash] would fight each other was one of our earliest ideas,” executive producer Andrew Kreisberg said, with fellow EP Marc Guggenheim chiming in that the genius of doing back-to-back episodes was to showcase “the best of both worlds.” “We have our cake and we eat it too.”
Filming the Barry and Oliver showdown wasn’t without its challenges, as Arrow star Stephen Amell revealed. “The actual fight with Grant [Gustin], which we shot over three nights, was a different experience because of the visual effects elements. I think it turned out great,” he said of Tuesday’s VFX-heavy battle, admitting, “I fought the air a little bit... I kicked the air’s ass!”
As the shows' winter finales approach, several looming questions are about to be answered. On The Flash, the man in the yellow suit (Reverse-Flash?) -- the one responsible for the death of Barry's mother -- comes into clearer focus while Arrow stages one of the biggest sword fights to date. Epic.
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But before we get ahead of ourselves, the Starling City and Central City crews answered 10 of the biggest questions following the aftermath of The Flash and Arrow’s two-night event, from Oliver’s baby to an Arrow wedding(!). Find out what they had to say.
Is Oliver’s baby mama going to be around? She’s baaack! The mother of Oliver’s baby made a surprise appearance at the end of The Flash, just as Oliver was about to return to Starling City. His unexpected encounter with the unnamed woman sets the groundwork for a long-term plan that will require patience – lots of it. For one thing, Oliver is still blissfully unaware of the existence of a child. “There are certain things on the show that we’re comfortable waiting for their right point,” Guggenheim tells ETonline. “The baby [is] in the same category of, the right moment will come along and we’ll know it as writers and then we’ll bring it to the show.”
Is an Arrow wedding in the works? The short answer: Yes! Producers broke the news recently that fans will see the newly-engaged Diggle and Lyla walk down the aisle. “I don’t know about softer,” David Ramsey said when asked whether their impending nuptials will bring out a lighter side to Oliver’s trusted ally. “The stakes are high. Diggle has a soon-to-be wife and a daughter at home, so I don’t know if he’ll be softer, but you’ll see [him be] a lot more engaged.” Diggle's past also begins to resurface in the form of HIVE and Suicide Squad, with Ramsey teasing the return of Michael Rowe's Deadshot. "There are some unanswered things about Diggle that will start to be uncovered," Ramsey tells ETonline. "Those rocks are going to get turned over [and] you'll see Suicide Squad happen again -- to some degree -- and the Diggle-HIVE conflict."
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How close is Team Arrow to catching Sara’s killer? The continued search to find the culprit behind Sara's unexpected death continues. (R.I.P. Sara.) Emily Bett Rickards hints to ETonline that Team Arrow gains some major ground in their quest to avenge Sara, but it may come at a cost. "They almost come to a conclusion by accident, and it's almost sort of a bread crumb than anything. But at the same time, it's a gold bread crumb." Speculate away!
How does Firestorm’s intro affect Team Flash? DC villain Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm, played by Robbie Amell, made his fiery entrance on the tail-end of The Flash and his ex-fiancee Caitlin won’t handle his resurrection well at all. “She has been grieving the loss of Ronnie for a year now and when she finally gets him back, first she thinks she’s crazy and then she has to sort of grieve him again because he’s a completely different person than she remembers,” Panabaker tells ETonline, adding that he’s “very scary.”
Will Caitlin and Cisco become Killer Frost and Vibe, respectively? If that’s their characters’ trajectories, the producers aren’t letting on. “We can’t lie and say we haven’t talked about it,” The Flash’s Carlos Valdes said. Added Kreisberg: “Hopefully we’ll have a long and successful run and I’m sure at some point, it will happen, but for right now we’re very happy with Caitlin and Cisco being Caitlin and Cisco.”
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Are Barry and Iris done? No longer on speaking terms, the childhood best friends will grow further apart as time goes on. Even so, that doesn’t stop Barry from sharing some potentially life-altering news sooner rather than later. “Barry is going to be honest in the near future about some things,” Gustin revealed. “I won’t say what that is exactly, but something very big.”
Is Barry moonlighting as a singer? While he’s not giving up his day jobs as Central City Police Department assistant forensic investigator or as The Fastest Man Alive, Barry will belt out some tunes in a future episode of The Flash! “I will be joined by someone else,” Gustin hinted. Could that someone be the Pied Piper or Detective Joe West? We're taking bets on what they’ll be singing. While Arrow's Central City counterparts may be more likely to break out into song, don’t expect Arrow to follow suit.
Will Oliver finally lighten up? Unfortunately for Team Arrow, the grin on Oliver’s face at the end of Wednesday’s Arrow is shortlived. In the new winter finale promo below, Oliver battles Ra’s al Ghul atop a mountain -- shirtless and with swords. “That smile on Oliver’s face lasts about four seconds in the next episode and then it’s gone,” Amell said.
Back in October, Amell warned of a massive, no-holds-barred fight when he Instagramed a photo of him presumably pre-fight. "One of our most intense days of filming that we've had ever. Full day, full fight [and it's] very cool," Amell tells ETonline. While we aren't able to divulge the context of said showdown -- "I can't tell you!" Amell said with a laugh -- at least now, we'll finally get to see who comes out on top.
Can we expect more gadgets in the Arrow lair? Cisco may have drastically improved Oliver’s suit, and as Kreisberg explained, the improvements will continue to pour in to Starling City from STAR Labs. “There’s a couple of big STAR Labs inventions that are going to be coming Arrow’s way,” he said. Unfortunately, the major crossover events may be done for the season. Executive producer Greg Berlanti explained, “We’re just working on the back-half of the year and there won’t be a two-parter like this in the back half. … It would be impossible.”
Intense Olicity scenes coming? Rickards tells ETonline that next week's episode, titled "The Climb," will have a particularly "strong" moment between Oliver and Felicity. And it doesn't stop there, expect some more big moments between the two post-Christmas break, the actress teases.
What are you most excited about in The Flash and Arrow midseason finales? Sound off in the comments below!
You can also follow Philiana Ng on Twitter at @insidethetube.
The Flash airs its winter finale Dec. 9 at 8 p.m., while Arrow wraps its winter run Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. on The CW.