VANCOUVER, BC. The first few “Flash” episodes have been, for good reason, so Barry/Flash centric that we haven't had much time to get to know the S.T.A.R. Labs team supporting the nascent superhero.
That changes in Tuesday (October 21) night's episode, “Things You Can't Outrun.”
While the episode finds Barry and the gang trying to stop the nefarious doings of yet another meta-human, it also takes us back to the night of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator accident, also known as the night that set the series' events in motion, also known as the night that Danielle Panabaker's Dr. Caitlin Snow lost fiancé Ronnie Raymond.
“I”m so excited for the flashbacks,” Panabaker gushed to reporters last week on a “Flash” location in Vancouver. “It”s a great thing to get to see Caitlin in her element. She”s a scientist and she”s excited and this is sort of their Mona Lisa. It”s an incredible unveiling that they”re doing and she gets to share it with the love of her life, her fiancé, and so there”s so much warmth and happiness and I think that”s so important to sort of contrast where she is now.”
Ronnie is played by “Tomorrow People” veteran Robbie Amell of The CW's Amell Factory and fans of the “Flash” comic may know a thing or two about what happens with Ronnie Raymond. Similarly, fans of TV casting may be able to guess that you don't cast a former series lead in a role that you intend to dispatch within 42 minutes.
Panabaker is coy on the subject.
“We see Ronnie in flashbacks,” she said. “I think Caitlin is doing a lot of grieving, it's a really tough thing and it's hard for her, you know she's having a hard time letting go of him and she's displacing some of her grief on Barry, and I can only imagine the trauma of something such as thinking your fiancé was dead and then maybe suspecting otherwise…”
Of course, the aforementioned comic fans also know that Caitlin has her own destiny in the funny pages. This is another thing that Panabaker demurs on.
“I think it”s really exciting. What”s so cool about this show is how, at least in my experience, how faithful they are being to all the comic book lore,” she declared. “They”re so respectful of the stories that have been told and it”s exciting. I mean, the thought that goes into The Flash costume and all of that, it would be exciting to be a part of that.”
Does that sort of comic-based knowledge impact how Panabaker approaches the role, knowing that Caitlin may or may not be heading in a certain direction?
“I don”t think so,” she said. “I don”t think it changes things for me as an actor because a lot like the audience, we”re getting the scripts one week at a time and just sort of taking in this new information. Obviously we”ve had conversations with Andrew [Kreisberg], and Greg [Berlanti], and Geoff [Johns] about you know what”s happened before and that sort of thing, but you know it's kind of fun to be the audience member who gets every new script. I mean truthfully when they come in I”m like a little kid in a candy store, I like can”t wait to read it and I”m squinting and reading it on my iPhone and trying to see what happens.”
Check out a snippet of video from the Vancouver roundtable above, featuring a cameo from my thumb and including a very small tease of the upcoming “Flash”/”Arrow” crossover that features, unless I'm forgetting, no spoilers at all.
“The Flash” airs its third episode tonight at 8 p.m. on The CW.