By: Sarah Stephens
It’s finally here! Ever since it leaked that none other than Barry Allen, aka The Flash, would be appearing on ARROW the speculation has been wild on just when and how he would appear. Well, the “when” has been answered- tonight on the all new episode of ARROW. The “how” is a little more fun. Look for Barry Allen (Grant Gustin of GLEE) to stop by Starling City as a CSI import from Central City helping the Scooby gang investigate a strange and lethal robbery. While in town, Barry is going to get up close and personal with his own hero, the vigilante.
Barry, pre-Flash transformation, will stick around for two episodes and shake up the dynamic of Starling City’s protectors, particularly when it comes to everyone’s favorite tech girl Felicity. Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg explained “We spent a lot of time talking about Barry, even before the pilot aspect, just how we were going to introduce him in these episodes. Especially with the way the season had been going, talking about Oliver and Felicity and their growing relationship or feelings for each other, the fact that Barry and Felicity are so similar and they’re both a little bit uncomfortable in their own skins and both very likable and personable, it just seemed like they would instantly hit it off, which would complicate things for Oliver even more.” He continued “The fallout from episode 9 carries over into the next episodes, as far as Oliver and Felicity. Barry has had a profound effect on them.”
Barry does contribute more than just romantic entanglements. His presence has significant impact on the ARROW mythology, as you’ll see near the end of episode 309 that airs next week. We won’t spoil what it is but EP Greg Berlanti did say, “I always like to think of the episodes as ‘The One Where…’. It’s such an iconic moment.” Geoff Johns continued with, “One of the big successes of the show is embracing the mythology at the right time. You don’t embrace it all at once. You’ve got to build up to ‘The Episode When…’. The greatest thing about the show as a comic book fan is it does embrace the mythology. It’s all going to be introduced; it’s just a matter of when.”
As we’re introduced to Barry Allen, aka the Flash, the executive producers behind ARROW gave us a rundown on what it was like to create their version of Barry Allen, compared to previous incarnations of the character. Kreisberg told us “We’d always sort of seen him as being a little bit younger. The thing that was really important to us more than anything was that he should really be a contrast to Oliver. Steven is the more traditional square-jawed, muscle-bound hero and that works really well. One of the things about the Flash is that he’s a random guy who gets struck by lightning. He needs the bolt of lightning to be the hero in a way Steven doesn’t need the bolt of lightning.”
There’s been no shortage of devious characters for the Vigilante to take on this season with the return of Count Vertigo and the Dollmaker. Not to mention the return of Malcolm Merlin. But things will get even more heated when we finally get big reveal on who is pulling on the strings of Sebastian Blood. But who should the Vigilante tackle first? Greg Berlanti talks about the antagonists of Sterling City. “This year we’re doing something a bit different, where last year we had Malcolm who was a single bad guy and twisting and turning that. This year we’ve got a two pronged approach to the bad guy. That is a driving force for the back half of the year.”
Be sure to buckle in tight for the next two episodes. New characters, returning favorite faces, a few earth-shattering secrets revealed and the introduction of a new threat to Starling City. It’s safe to say these are game-changers and pave the way for ARROW to steam ahead with an all new mission. Don’t miss out! 
Be sure to watch ARROW on the CW at 8/7pm on Wednesdays (CTV in Canada).