Is there enough room in Central City for two speedsters on The Flash? We’re about to find out, as Wally West, a.k.a. Kid Flash in DC Comics lore, has just turned up on the West family’s doorstep.
Before The Flash took a break for the holidays, Joe and Iris’ long-lost family member Wally showed up unannounced at their door. But before viewers could find out how this estranged West would fit into the family dynamic, the episode ended, leaving us to deal with this emotional cliffhanger all through the holidays. Thankfully, The Flash finally returns tonight with “Potential Energy,” and with the new episode comes the payoff to the family drama we’ve been waiting to see since the midseason finale. So what is this version of Wally West going to look like?
“Wally has a little bit of an attitude and he’s got some humor,” Keiynan Lonsdale tells Nerdist of taking on the iconic role. “But he’s also quite protective of himself. We won’t see him let down his walls for a while. What he’s going through right now, it’s not easy. He’s really defensive at this moment, and rightly so. But as time goes one, we’ll get to reveal more and more about him and he’ll let us in and he’ll let his family in.”
Lonsdale promises the first episode back is going to focus on the West family drama in a big way.
“When the show comes back, we’re really going to see how that plays out in terms of Wally interacting with Joe and Iris,” Lonsdale says. “We’re also going to get to see Wally living his own life and what that is. That will be quite entertaining and cool to watch. Be prepared for a lot of emotional times with the family.”
As for why Wally has chosen now to come to Central City to meet Joe and Iris, Lonsdale explains that Wally wanted to take control of the complicated situation.
“This is a shock for him as well. This is completely new news to him. He wasn’t aware that he had this other family,” Lonsdale says. “Because this is such a complicated issue that was out of his hands, that he had no control over, I think what he did have control over was how he was going to introduce himself. He didn’t want this sprung upon him. That’s how I took it, at least. Wally wanted to make that move so it was on his terms.”
Lonsdale reveals that Wally’s dynamic with Joe is going to be complicated, to say the least. But there is potential for a real relationship there.
“It’s a bit rocky,” Lonsdale says with a laugh. “Wally really challenges Joe quite a bit. He makes Joe work hard, rightly so. Wally hasn’t had a dad this whole time, so at this point, he really has the choice of whether he wants or needs Joe in his life. Obviously Joe has accepted that he has a son, and we see that he wants to have that relationship. So it’s really about that push and pull. It’s going to be quite fun to watch but definitely a little difficult.”
Something in Wally’s personal life is going to make the prospect of getting close with Joe and Iris a bit difficult.
“It’s going to be funny, because we find out that Wally is into drag racing,” Lonsdale reveals. “That’s his passion. So, to now have a father that’s a detective and a sister that’s a reporter—and Iris is strong-headed, and so is Wally—so they go head-to-head, in a sense. They both have strong energy and they both fight for what they think is right. We’ll see them go through some ups and downs before they can, I think, accept each other as brother and sister. That’s just how it is. That’s what you go through with friends, too. There’s good times and bad times, and that’s how you form a good relationship.”
Are you excited to see Lonsdale bring Wally West to life on The Flash?
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Images: The CW
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
