Photo: Jeff Weddell/The CW
THE FLASH’s 100th episode is a literal blast through the show’s own past. And once Barry Allen learned how to travel through time, it’s no surprise that the show would lean on its own nostalgia for such an important milestone episode. The set up for the episode is simple: in order to defeat Cicada in the present, Team Flash comes up with a plan that will necessitate Barry traveling back in time to gather some key objects. Nora will be joining her father on the trip, which worries Barry since there are things in his past he doesn’t want his daughter to see. But the experience also gives fans a chance to revisit some fan favorite characters (as well as iconic villains) and moments throughout the show’s history.
During a red carpet to celebrate the show’s 100th episode, various cast members spoke to us about what it meant to reach this milestone. For example, Candice Patton said “It feels like a badge of honor. It’s an ambitious show, it’s an ambitious lifestyle and I’m really proud that I’ve made it this far and hopefully done it with some grace so that my mother can be proud of me. And it’s a cool thing as an actor. Wherever my career goes, I have this moment of reaching 100 episodes and I know that not every show reaches this pinnacle and not every actor gets to celebrate 100 episodes.” Grant Gustin also said that “It was surreal [to reach this moment]. I was saying [to another reporter that it was] at the Arrow’s 100th [episode event] is when this concept blew my mind because we were so far away from reaching that benchmark and I know how hard these shows are to make. We don’t take this for granted. A lot of shows don’t get to hit this benchmark.”
As for the episode itself, Carlos Valdes teased that “I hope that fans will be very happy about how we treat this 100th episode as a sort of homage to everything that led us to this moment. It’s really just one giant call-back to the last four seasons and when reading it I definitely got the sense of ‘wow, look at all this stuff that not only we’ve been through as actors and directors and writers/producers and a crew, but also what our characters have been through’. Our characters have been through so much sh*t. They really drew the short straw five years in a row. But it’s really cool. I expect some of that sentimentality that I found reading the episode to come walloping me in the face when I actually see it.”
While we can’t tell you the specifics of exactly who we’ll see in this episode as Barry and Nora travel through time, we can tell you that there will be quite a few emotional moments sprinkled throughout. For example, Jessica Parker Kennedy said that “The 100th episode is great because [Nora] sees a moment between her mom and dad that makes her respect her mom a lot more.”
Don’t miss the 100th episode of THE FLASH tonight (December 4) at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.