Produced by The Paley Center for Media, the annual pop culture event PaleyFest is a series of panel sessions that connect the worldwide community of television fans with the casts and creators of their favorite TV shows. This year, one of the most in-demand presentations was the panel for Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow, with cast members and producers for each.

Prior to the panel, Collider got some scoop on what’s to come, from, Grant Gustin (Barry Allen/The Flash), Candice Patton (Iris West) and executive producers Andrew Kreisberg and Aaron Helbing. During a series of interviews on the red carpet, they talked about whether Barry Allen has learned from his mistakes, the future of Barry and Iris’ relationship, dealing with the ominous prophecies, Savitar and the Black Flash, as well as Supergirl’s relationship problems. Be aware that there are some spoilers discussed.

Collider: Barry has had to face a lot of darkness this season, most of it by his own making. Is there a light at the end of that tunnel, when it comes to making all of his time-based mistakes?

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Image via The CW

GRANT GUSTIN: To be honest, I don’t really know. I haven’t read the last three episodes yet. Coming out of the musical, it’s easier for Barry to re-establish his optimism. I think he’s acknowledged to Iris that that first proposal did come from a place of fear, even though it was also coming from a place of true, deep love. The way he comes right back at it with, “That was from a place of fear, but I love you more than anything and this is what I want, so I’m going to make sure this doesn’t happen,” is all they have to lean on, for the rest of the season. That doesn’t necessarily mean they have an easy road, but they re-establish that this is true love and it’s all they have, right now, to get them through this. At least they have that.

AARON HELBING: I don’t know if there will ever be a light at the end of the tunnel. Losing his parents really set the course. He’s human, he’s flawed and he makes mistakes. That’s part of what happens when you’re a superhero and you have emotions. When you want to save everybody, you’re going to make mistakes. I think that’s the appeal, at least for me personally, in having a character that is very flawed, and makes really bad choices sometimes and really good choices. Just because he has superpowers doesn’t mean he’s not human.

ANDREW KREISBERG: We always say that this show is The Flash Begins. That should be the title. When you meet Barry Allen in the pilot, he’s not The Flash yet. Even when he gets his powers, he’s not The Flash yet. He’s not The Flash of the comic books that can do everything. This series is about the learning process. The first year was about the fun of being a superhero. This year is really about the perils of being a superhero. So, there’s definitely a light at the end of the tunnel because we wouldn’t be heading towards The Flash, if he wasn’t going to learn from this. The musical is a lot of fun, and we have a hilarious episode coming up, in Episode 21, which we’re really excited about and it’s a lot of fun.

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Image via The CW

 

So much of the hope and lightness of this show comes from the relationship between Barry Allen and Iris West. After a false proposal, her getting upset about that, and him now wanting some space, how do they move forward?

HELBING: When you have two people whose love is very, very strong, they’re typically drawn back to each other. You realize you can’t live without that other person, and they’re no different. There’s always hope there. It’s a hopeful show, and Iris is a hopeful character, so there’s always hope. We always want to maintain a level of hope.

KREISBERG: Like Barry Allen, I can see the future and something tells me those crazy kids are gonna be okay. Like every good TV show, your hero and your heroine have to go through their perils and their pitfalls. But, something tells me that the wedding invitations will be sent out.

Candice, after finding out that she might die, Barry gives Iris kind of a false proposal, and then he tells her he needs space. What is she feeling right now, and is she at a point where she is going to take control of her own fate?

CANDICE PATTON: For sure! She’s devastated, obviously. She loves Barry with her whole heart, so for him to ask for space is heartbreaking for her. Now, she’s living at the apartment by herself, and Barry is going to move in with Cisco. You see them be separated for a little bit, which is heartbreaking to watch, but they still have to work together. They still are part of Team Flash. It’s so awkward going back to work with your ex-boyfriend, or ex-fiancé. So, it will be interesting. The focus for the last half of the season really is about saving Iris’ life, and dealing with these other prophecies.

Do they have to put those issues aside then, and deal with them later?

PATTON: Yeah, just like with any business office, you put it aside. You put your personal issues aside and you show up to work. There are things that are bigger than us that are going on. There are three prophecies that we have to deal with, so it’s important that Iris and Barry put their relationship aside and focus on that.

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Image via The CW

Without him to talk to about their relationship, is there anyone else she can turn to or talk it out with?

PATTON: The best scenario is her family, with Joe and Wally, but I don’t know if we’ll see too much of that. Hopefully, Barry and Iris can get back on track. They’re just being stupid right now, with mixed messages. Hopefully, they can figure it out, sooner rather than later.

What else is to come for Iris?

PATTON: Her coming to terms with the fact that she may die. Very soon, she may reach the end of her life, and that is a terrifying concept to have to deal with. You see her start to plan for that. She will ask Barry to make sure he takes care of Wally, looks out for Joe, and keeps everyone intact. She’s actively thinking about the possibility that she could die. Like anyone with a terminal illness, you go through all of the emotions. If you only have so much time to live, you want to live it to the fullest, and try to be there for your family. She has to come to terms with the fact that she may die.

Savitar’s look has become more practical rather than full CGI, in the last few episodes. What was behind the choice to change that?

HELBING: It was for production reasons. Those things get cost prohibitive. Our VFX team is phenomenal, but we wanted to marry the two and get the physicality. They still interacted pretty physically with the CG. It’s just a different elements. Sometimes, I’ll watch it on Tuesday night and I won’t be able to tell.

When we finally learn the reveal of who Savitar really is, will we be able to go back and see those seeds having been planted and be like, “I can’t believe I didn’t see that sooner!”?

HELBING: Oh, yes! It will all come together and you’ll be like, “Oh, okay!” We planned that out.

We saw a glimpse of Black Flash in the Speed Force episode. Will we see him again?

HELBING: Well, he’s trapped in the Speed Force. I guess if Barry goes in there, that’s a possibility, but right now, he’s trapped. He’s the demon of the Speed Force.

Andrew, there are so many great characters across these shows, and so many cool opportunities for them to cross paths. Is there anyone you’d still like to see team up or go up against each other?

KREISBERG: Go up against each other? That’s interesting. One of the most fun moments for me, in the musical, is watching Cisco and J’onn work together. That was fun. We hadn’t gotten the chance to do that before. Every time we do a cross-over, we find a new group of people to stick together. Last year, it was so much fun to have Cisco and Felicity really take the reins in the Legends episode. And it’s always great to see Barry and Kara together. We’ll figure something out.

The Flash airs Tuesday nights on The CW

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Image via The CW
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Image via The CW
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Image via The CW