Season 3 of The Flash ended on one of the show’s most shocking moments yet, as Barry Allen sacrificed himself to save Central City by journeying into the Speed Force – seemingly forever. Well, obviously it wasn’t forever, as we know that the Fastest Man Alive will return during the season 4 premiere, but it was still quite a shock to see.
It doesn’t sound like we should expect Barry to simply hop back into his old life though and just pick up where he left off. While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Grant Gustin teased that the Scarlet Speedster will be a changed man when The Flash returns:
“The way I see it is, time is non-linear and everything is happening at once in the Speed Force. In someways he’s had an awakening and he’s had a rebirth. Our first episode is called ‘Reborn,’ and it is a rebirth for Barry, but he’s kind of scrambled, too, because he’s experienced so much so quick over the course of six months, even though for him it was an eternity. He’s not Barry when we see him for the first time.”
There’s a lot to chew on here for fans of the show and the comics. For one, we now know what Barry’s time in the Speed Force has been like – a disorienting and possibly fulfilling experience in which he’s witnessing his whole life at once. Comic book readers will also pick up on the term “rebirth,” as it’s a loaded word in DC lore. The Flash exec producer Geoff Johns wrote The Flash: Rebirth storyline in 2009 and in the past year, DC has rebooted their comics universe under the Rebirth initiative.
Let’s hope that, while Barry will probably be left traumatized at first, he’ll heal quickly and grow into the more cheerful hero we loved from the earlier seasons and move away from his mopier personality that came through last year.
The Flash returns to The CW on Tuesday, October 10th.