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The Flash season 4: Everything you need to know

Photo credit: The CW
Photo credit: The CW

From Digital Spy

The Flash's Barry Allen may have reached the 'Finish Line', but is this the end of his journey? Not a bit of it. Our TV screens will be getting another injection of the 'Speed Force' very soon indeed when the Scarlet Speedster returns for another season of adventures.

Here's everything we know so far about The Flash season 4, starting with the most important question: when can we see it?

The Flash season 4 release date: When will it air?

The CW has confirmed that The Flash will return to its schedules on Tuesday, October 10 at 8/7c. (As is standard, Sky1 will follow suit a couple of weeks later in the UK, airing new episodes from Tuesday, October 17 at 8pm onwards.)

The Flash production office confirmed it was reconvening as of June 20, to start work on the new episodes.

The Flash season 4 trailer: Is there any footage?

We got our first official glimpse at season 4 on July 22, during The Flash panel at San Diego Comic-Con.

In the new footage, we see Kid Flash and Cisco fighting crime as a duo, Caitlin returning to STAR Labs, the team working together to get Barry back... and much more!

A second, more detailed teaser dropped in late September, revealing more of the circumstances behind a bearded Barry's return.

The Flash season 4 cast: Who will star?

Photo credit: The CW
Photo credit: The CW

The following cast have been confirmed as returning next season:

Grant Gustin as Barry Allen / The Flash

Candice Patton as Iris West

Danielle Panabaker as Dr. Caitlin Snow

Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon / Vibe

Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West / Kid Flash

Jesse L. Martin as Detective Joe West

Tom Felton as Julian Albert

Tom Cavanagh as Harry Wells

Though his character was still very much a part of the show by the end of 'Finish Line', it's been announced that Tom Felton won't be returning as snarky but good-hearted Julian Albert this season.

Photo credit: The CW
Photo credit: The CW

He was a regular last year, but there are currently no plans for Felton to reappear on The Flash in any capacity. Instead, his absence was referenced briefly in season 4's premiere, with Julian having returned to London.

"I think it's a loss for the show and for Team Flash, but I don't know that Caitlin feels Julian's absence as deeply as she felt, for example, [her late fiancé] Ronnie's absence," Panabaker told Digital Spy. "I think he was more into her than she was into him."

Ouch! Possibly filling Julian's shoes as part of Team Flash will be Ralph Dibny (played by Hartley Sawyer), who becomes the superhero Elongated Man in the original DC comics.

You'll notice that, while Tom Cavanagh's involvement is confirmed, it's yet to be revealed who he'll be playing.

The first season of The Flash saw him play both Harrison Wells and Eobard Thawne / Reverse Flash disguised as Wells.

In season two, Cavanagh portrayed Wells's Earth-2 doppelganger, an irritable but good-hearted scientist nicknamed 'Harry' to distinguish him from his predecessor.

Season three introduced yet another variant – 'H.R.' Wells from Earth-19 – but the chirpy novelist was killed off in this year's finale, 'Finish Line'.

Photo credit: Twitter
Photo credit: Twitter

So will season four reintroduce Cavanagh as Harry full-time or introduce a fourth major version of the Wells character? It sounds like the answer is both.

Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg has promised that Harry "won't be the only Wells we'll see" this season, while Cavanagh himself revealed: "We're going to start with Harry and then find a way, I think, to try and get a different version of Wells in there."

Interestingly, and this is straying into MAJOR SPOILER TERRITORY, it looks as though Cavanagh might also be playing the Reverse Flash again this season, as part of this year's epic DC TV crossover.

'Finish Line' also saw Dr. Caitlin Snow depart Team Flash – the bio-engineer had been struggling to cope with gaining meta-human powers, losing control of her emotions and briefly turning to the dark side as the villainous Killer Frost.

"Here's what I can tell you about season 4: those who love Caitlin Snow won't be disappointed and those who love Killer Frost won't be disappointed!" Panabaker teased.

Photo credit: The CW
Photo credit: The CW

One of the most exciting names being added to The Flash's cast this season is Danny Trejo, who'll play Breacher – a bounty hunter from Earth-19 who also just happens to be the father of Cisco's love interest Gypsy (Jessica Camacho).

"Cisco and Gypsy, they're really taking it to the next level, there's a real love there between the two of them," Valdes insisted. "However, Breacher will really test that relationship!"

Further names confirmed for the season include Kim Engelbrecht - as the genius engineer The Mechanic - and Sugar Lyn Beard - as Rebecca Sharpe / Hazard, a villain with the ability to alter probability.

Meanwhile, Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackhoff has also signed up to appear in season 4 as a villain familiar to DC Comics fans. She will be playing Amunet Black aka Blacksmith, and will recur from episode five of the new season.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Sackhoff's Blacksmith is a "steely and badass boss of an underground black market for supervillains... [she] uses every means possible, including the long list of metahumans under her thumb, to ensure her illicit enterprise thrives".

In the comics, her abilities include being able to mould metal and fuse it with flesh.

The Flash season 4 episodes: What happens next?

Photo credit: The CW
Photo credit: The CW

With season four's premiere title revealed as 'The Flash Reborn', fans speculated that season 4 could tackle the Rebirth storyline from the comic books, just as season 3 adapted Flashpoint.

But executive producer Kreisberg later confirmed that the show would not be directly adapting the comic arc, but bringing its own twist to the story of Barry returning from the Speed Force.

Still, here's a brief summary of what happens in Rebirth, and how it might relate to the TV series.

Warning: potential spoilers ahead!

Having returned from the Speed Force under mysterious circumstances, Barry is left with a lingering concern that he was not supposed to come back, and that the Force is trying to draw him back in.

Sure enough, it turns out that his return comes at a cost: he is becoming the new Black Flash, a Grim Reaper for Speedsters. Barry re-enters the Speed Force in an attempt to spare his friends and family, where he learns the true cause of his transformation – a resurrected Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash, who has infected him with a "negative Speed Force".

Photo credit: DC Comics
Photo credit: DC Comics

We'll stop there... but it's certainly possible that The Flash is heading in this general direction on television.

The show's currently down a Black Flash, with Killer Frost having taken out the previous holder of that mantle (Hunter Zolomon) in season 3's finale, while Reverse-Flash is currently deceased, having previously been taken out by Black Flash in Legends of Tomorrow's season 2 closer.

Photo credit: The CW
Photo credit: The CW

Season 4, episode 1: What happened in 'The Flash Reborn'?

Six months after Barry went into the speed force, Team Flash - led by a distant Iris - are struggling to hold back the criminal element of Central City.

When a Samurai android (or 'Samuroid') appears and demands to face the Flash in battle, Cisco recruits the absent Caitlin - now working in a bar - to help him bring Barry back.

Using tech and a modified Speed-Force bazooka, the team succeed in freeing Barry, but he's psychologically unstable and not the man they remember. Iris gives herself up to the Samuroid, convinced that putting herself in danger will bring back the old Barry... which turns out to be true.

Barry is restored, but all is not well. Caitlin is still fighting against her Killer Frost persona, while the now-defunct Samurai is revealed to be an agent of new villain The Thinker.

Season 4, episode 2: What happened in 'Mixed Signals'?

Photo credit: The CW
Photo credit: The CW

A chipper Barry battles the metahuman hacker Kilg%re, while also tackling unexpected problems in his relationship with Iris - the pair end up in couples therapy, where Iris eventually admits she resents Barry's decision to leave her behind and enter the Speed Force.

With a little tech wizardry from Cisco, the threat of Kilg%re is neutralised, while Barry agrees to be more open and honest with Iris in future. Meanwhile, Cisco and Gypsy grow closer after their first fight as a couple, Caitlin continues to fight her Killer Frost urges, and The Thinker plots his next move.

Season 4, episode 3: What happened in 'Luck Be a Lady'?

Photo credit: The CW
Photo credit: The CW

Becky Sharpe, once the world's unluckiest woman, has seen a sharp reversal of fortune and is using her new powers of incredible luck to embark on a crime spree.

She gained her metahuman ability after Barry escaped from the Speed Force, with the resulting dark matter leakage transforming Becky, Kilg%re and 10 others.

Eventually, her powers are neutralised by a blast for the particle accelerator. But the remaining 10 new metahumans are still out there, with The Thinker - spying on STAR Labs through the Samuroid helmet - manipulating events.

Meanwhile, Harry Wells returns - having been booted off daughter Jesse's new crime-fighting team after a clash between the pair. Harry also has bad news for Wally - Jesse wants to break up.

Afterwards, Wally decides to leave Central City for a while to find himself (but will return later this season!), just as Joe discovers he has another child on the way - Cecile is pregnant!

Season 4, episode 4: What happened in 'Elongated Journey Into Night'?

Team Flash learn that the driver of the metahuman bus has been murdered and track another passenger - Ralph Dibny.

Formerly a bent CCPD detective whose corruption was exposed by Barry, Dibny now works as a private investigator... and has gained the ability to stretch.

Ralph has been blackmailing Mayor Bellows for adultery, with the mayor in turn hiring thugs to target Dibny. Barry is eventually able to convince Ralph to return to the side of good and help arrest Bellows.

Meanwhile, Gypsy's father, Breacher, attacks Cisco, vowing to hunt and kill him in 24 hours. If Cisco survives, Breacher will allow his romance with Gypsy.

Breacher later mistakes Ralph for a Plastoid, a species that previously invaded his world, Earth-19. Cisco intervenes and saves Ralph - this impresses Breacher and he agrees to Cisco dating his daughter.

Barry recruits Ralph for Team Flash and learns that someone named DeVoe instructed Ralph to watch Bellows. That name, "DeVoe", is one that our hero has heard before...

And here's how the rest of the season will break down...

5. Girls Night Out (written by Lauren Certo & Kristen Kim, directed by Laura Belsey)

6. When Harry Met Harry... (written by Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza, directed by Brent Crowell)

7. Therefore I Am (written by Eric Wallace & Thomas Pound, directed by David McWhirter)

Grant Gustin has promised that the coming season will be lighter in tone than the previous year, voicing his opinion that season 3 of The Flash might've got a little too dark.

"Last year was... I don't know if it was darker than we meant to get, but it got pretty dark. This year, we'll be back to our roots. We're gonna get that fun, and get back to the comedy of The Flash. It's gonna be great."

Part of embracing the joy again is having Barry and Iris finally marry - even if the pair first had to attend couples therapy, to resolve issues of who's really in charge once Barry returns.

We also know that at least one episode of The Flash this year will be devoted to a four-way crossover with the show's sister series Arrow, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow.

Photo credit: The CW
Photo credit: The CW

"There will be a big fourth-quarter crossover with all four of the shows that are on in the fall," confirmed The CW's president Mark Pedowitz in May 2017.

Barry and Iris's wedding will bring the heroes of the DC TV universe together for a crossover that has "big emotional stakes" - and, according to Supergirl actress Melissa Benoist, features |two events that people are going to lose their minds about."

Russell Tovey has been cast as gay superhero The Ray, for the November storyline - called 'Crisis on Earth-X' - which sees the wedding crashed by evil doppelgängers of all our heroes, arrived from the alternate Earth-X.

Crisis on Earth-X, the 4-part crossover event, begins November 27 on The CW!

A post shared by The Flash (@cwtheflash) on Sep 22, 2017 at 11:39am PDT

The Flash season 4 villain: Who's the new Big Bad?

Before season 3 had even ended, it was announced that the following year would not feature a Speedster as the chief villain. Fair to say, after season 1's Reverse Flash, season 2's Zoom and season 3's Savitar, it's probably time for a change.

The Big Bad will be quick-witted rather than fleet-footed, with The Thinker – aka Clifford DeVoe – confirmed as season 4's main antagonist, with The 100's Neil Sandilands cast in the role.

Photo credit: The CW
Photo credit: The CW

The news won't come as a huge surprise to The Flash fans, with DeVoe having been mentioned – as a threat Barry was yet to face – by two time-travelling villains, Savitar and Abra Kadabra.

Though there are four different versions of the character, the Clifford DeVoe version of the Thinker is one of The Flash's most enduring enemies, having first appeared in All-Flash #12, published way back in 1943.

A failed lawyer who believed he was a superior intellect to the criminal element, DeVoe started a new career as a 'brain' for small-time crooks, using a 'Thinking Cap' that could project mental force.

Photo credit: DC Comics
Photo credit: DC Comics

The Flash showrunner Todd Helbing has promised that The Thinker will bring "a psychological component" to the new season, telling TVLine: "He literally is the smartest guy on the planet, so there's a lot of chess pieces that he's moving around simultaneously.

"As our team is figuring out who he is and what they think the plan is, there's a lot of fun [as we] show the audience information and then have our team catch up to that information or surpass it. It's a big mystery."

We know Barry's fast enough to take on all-comers... but is he smart enough to defeat this latest threat?


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