As the CW series Arrow enters its second season, the strict "no superpowers" rule has been abandoned with the addition of Grant Gustin as DC Comics character Barry Allen, destined to become the superhero known as The Flash.
TVLine has offered up some spoilers for Arrow's sophomore year, including new details on Barry's depiction and how he interacts with Team Arrow. "He has a very easy relationship with Felicity [Smoak], because Barry’s a forensic scientist," said executive producer Andrew Kreisberg during TVLine’s visit to the show's Vancouver set. "He’s young and a little socially awkward, like she is, so there’s a lot of fun with that."
Barry is described in the article as "a bit of a fanboy" when it comes to Oliver Queen's alter ego The Hood, even though the two characters are very different. "He comes to Starling City," said Kreisberg, "and he says to [Felicity], ‘I heard the vigilante saved you. What’s he like?’" Barry's time in Starling City is "definitely going to have an impact…because he’s seen that it’s possible to put on a mask and change the world."
"For Barry, it’s one of those things where it’s like, 'Be careful what you wish for,'" added Kreisberg. "In the [DC] comics themselves, Barry was a fan. If you look at Justice League, you have Superman and Aquaman and Wonder Woman…then you’ve got Barry Allen, who’s just a guy." As a regular guy, Barry "appeals so much to [executive producer] Greg [Berlanti], [writer] Geoff [Johns] and me, and it’s also why it’s a really good fit in the world of Arrow. While we’re introducing fantastical concepts to things, we also want to try to keep the show grounded and as realistic as possible."
As realistic as someone able to run a thousand miles an hour gets, one presumes.
Some other tidbits of note from the article:
The season premiere has Felicity and John Diggle traveling to the island of Lian Yu to find Oliver, who has gone missing. When they get there, "They’re completely astounded and overwhelmed with the fact that Oliver spent five years there and decided to go back," said Emily Bett Rickards, who plays Felicity. "What kind of psychological state are you in that you go back to the worst time of your life where you became this killer? We end up trying to get a ‘lost ‘Oliver found."
The relationship between Oliver and Felicity will be changing somewhat. "I definitely think that Oliver is changing his idea of who Felicity is and what she is capable of, because she’s proving herself over and over again," said star Stephen Amell. "We go to the island to save him," added Rickards. "And yes, that’s ‘I’m here for you. We’re you’re friends. You’re not alone,’ but it just has to be so much more than that because there's chemistry between them."
Oliver's sister Thea is "better off than most at the beginning of the season," as the new manager the Verdant nightclub, but her relationships with her mother Moira and boyfriend Roy Harper will continue to be “rollercoaster rides." Roy ends up annoying Oliver, who is "dismayed to discover that Roy Harper is hellbent on being his ally, whether he wants him to be or not," said Kreisberg.
Summer Glau’s businesswoman character, Isabel Rochev, is more of an adversary than a villain, with a very negative view of Oliver and "is not interested in working with him at all to save Queen Consolidated," said Amell. "That dynamic is interesting because I'm a lot more intelligent than I necessarily let on as Oliver."
Arrow returns to the CW on Wednesday, October 9th.