The Flash: Alchemy Is Key for Wally West's Kid Flash

Here's a preview at what's next on The Flash.

By Terri Schwartz

The Kid Flash story seems to be reaching a head in The Flash's next episode, "Shade."

Wally West wants to be Kid Flash. Dr. Alchemy has the ability to restore peoples' Flashpoint abilities. And based on the promo for Tuesday's episode, Alchemy is going to take advantage of Wally's desire in a terrifying way.

"[Alchemy's] the biggest, scariest presence we've had on the show," Grant Gustin told IGN on a visit to the show's set. "There's something about Alchemy that we've never had. He's not a speedster, so he's just going to come in at everybody from different angles, using tactics that we haven't seen yet. He's scarier for a lot of psychological reasons, that others haven't had."

Barry, Iris and Joe all have been trying to prevent Wally from becoming Kid Flash, even though it's clear it's something he desperately wants. They're all trying to protect the young West, particularly Barry after the events of Flashpoint, but it's an endeavor that seems ill-fated. Flashpoint differences have been forcing their way across the timelines whether Barry wants it or not, and it's likely inevitable that Wally gets his speedster abilities. That's not going to make it any easier a transition for the Wests, though.

Check out images from "Shade" below:

"[Joe] obviously doesn't want two of his kids running around the city getting into all kinds of danger," said Jesse L. Martin. "This Alchemy character is sort of putting a whammy on Wally and basically telling him that he could restore his powers, and it's is causing me all kinds of angst."

Judging by the punch Iris lays on Wally in the promo, Alchemy is going to be causing a lot more than angst for the characters. But for the actors, the introduction of Kid Flash is something they're particularly excited about.

"It's been fun," said Gustin. "My favorite simple thing about this job is this vinyl that they put on the bottom of my shoe, and I get to slide around on it. And Keiynan got that, so he was asking for pointers, like how do you do the slide? So we were just having fun on set, figuring out the speedster things together. ... I was giving him all the suit pointers."

Said Candice Patton, "Kid Flash is such a beloved character in the Flash kind of comic lore, so I think it's really cool that fans of the Flash comics will finally get to see that character come to life."

The synopsis for "Shade" reads: "When Wally starts having dreams about being Kid Flash, Barry realizes he has to tell Wally, Iris and Joe about what happened to Wally in Flashpoint in order to keep him safe."

The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

Terri Schwartz is Entertainment Editor at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.

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