‘The Flash’ Star Candice Patton on Wally West Reveal Fallout: ‘It Is a Big Bombshell’

“It was kind of a Grant Gustin moment,” CW actress tells TheWrap of meeting Keiynan Lonsdale, who plays Wally

Candice Patton The Flash

“The Flash” has introduced a pivotal new character, and at the moment, the only person who knows of Wally West’s identity is Iris, the sister who just found out he existed.

Iris (Candice Patton) is still trying to process of learning that she has a brother (to be played by Keiynan Lonsdale) and her dad Joe (Jesse L. Martin) has a son he still doesn’t know about, but it could all be coming to a head soon.

“You’ll definitely see that come back into play in the next couple of episodes,” Patton told TheWrap. “It is a big bombshell and Iris really doesn’t know how to process having a new family member, Joe having a son, whether she should tell him or not, whether she should get advice from Barry (Grant Gustin). There’s a lot that she’s processing.”

Additionally, Earth 2 has opened up and a new villain, Zoom, is after Iris’ best friend, so there’s a lot for her to deal with.

Patton spoke with TheWrap about how Wally will affect Iris if and when he does show up, how she knew right away that Lonsdale was the right Wally, Iris’ slow-burn relationship with Barry, Earth 2 and more.

Iris, at this moment, is holding some bombshell information that only she knows, but we didn’t get to see her really deal with it in last week’s episode. When will all that come back into play?
You’ll definitely see that come back into play in the next couple of episodes. It is a big bombshell and Iris really doesn’t know how to process like, having a new family member, Joe having a son, whether she should tell him or not, whether she should get advice from Barry. There’s a lot that she’s processing.

When will someone else find out her secret and who will it be?
I think when Iris is ready. When she’s had enough of holding it in. Iris is not someone who likes to have secrets or likes to lie, as we discovered in Season 1, that was a big issue she was having with Barry and her father. It’s not something that she can stand forever. But it’s going to take time for her to decide the right route to go.

Will Iris seek her mom Francine (Vanessa Williams) out again?
I don’t know that she seeks Francine out again, but Francine is still very much around. She just doesn’t want really to be a part of her life.

Keiynan Lonsdale said he tested with you at his audition. What was that like?
It was great. It was kind of a Grant Gustin moment when you have this young, enthusiastic kid coming in to play such an iconic character. Keiynan is just a sweet, bright kid and we’re really lucky to have him. I kind of knew right away that he was the right fit for the West family and playing Wally West. I think fans will be excited to see him in the latter half of season 2.

Will we see Wally bring out a new side in Iris?
Yeah, possibly. It’s a whole new family member, it’s a whole new dynamic. The only family’s she’s ever had is her dad and Barry, her pseudo-brother, and now she might have a real brother, so there’s a new relationship that has to be developed and that takes time, that’s going to cause a little bit of friction for Iris in determining how she’s going to start a new relationship with someone she’s related to but doesn’t really know.

Barry and Iris’ feelings for each other seem to be on the back burner again. Why is that?
Well I think Iris lost her fiancee last year in Season 1 so she’s kind of still in mourning mode. After you lose someone you’re never quite ready to just jump into a new relationship, at least for Iris. It’s not at the forefront of her mind, relationships in general. And Barry has a new love interest, he’s interested in Patty, so I think Iris is just happy to see Barry happy. It’s just not the right moment for them. It doesn’t mean there can’t ever be a relationship between Barry and Iris, it’s just in due time. It’s gotta be the right time.

Earth 2 is now a reality, will we see an alternate version of Iris?
That I don’t know. I think it’s a cool idea that there’s a possibility for all of us to have dopplegangers on Earth 2, so it would be pretty cool to see Earth 2 Iris.

What’s your ideal Earth 2 Iris like?
I think because Iris is such a salt of the Earth, good-natured, moral kind of woman, it would be nice to see kind of the 180 of that. It would be cool to see kind of a villainous Iris.

The big annual crossover with “Arrow” is coming up. What role will Iris play this time around?
Iris isn’t very heavily featured in the crossover. There’s not much to tease about that in the terms of Iris, but it’s a big episode, and it’s going to be a treat for the fans.

What’s she up to in this week’s episode?
Iris is helping Barry and Team Flash lure Zoom, and Iris is instrumental in coming up with the plan to do that. We see in the teaser that she has this idea to use Linda (Malese Jow) to fake being Dr. Light to lure Zoom into coming out of hiding and going toe to toe with Barry.

Speaking of Linda, fans really responded to that friendship last week. Will that continue to develop?
That I don’t know. I would agree though that it’s always nice to see female friendships. They’re quite similar in being strong, determined women. It’s fun to have that relationship with Linda on the show. I’m hoping there’s more of that, but to be quite honest I’m not sure if that’s going to be a main storyline, but there’s always opportunity for that, for sure.

Can you tease any of your favorite scenes or episodes coming up?
This season for Iris is very heavy in the West family in terms of the heart of the show. There will be a lot of really great Joe and Iris moments, Barry moments, just family moments. I don’t think I can speak to a specific episode but in general there’s a lot of great family moments for Iris.

“The Flash” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

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