‘The Flash’: The Emotional Season 1 Scene That Still Affects Grant Gustin
Filming a show for six seasons creates a lot of memories for Grant Gustin. The Flash has had many emotional moments for Barry Allen, with his father (John Wesley Shipp), with Iris (Candice Patton), with Joe West (Jessie L. Martin). There was one pivotal scene in season 1 that stuck with Gustin through all the other seasons.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for season 1 of The Flash.]
Gustin was a guest on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast on April 28. A fan submitted a question about his most memorable moments, and Gustin had two. One was humorous and one was emotional.
Grant Gustin and his ‘The Flash’ costar crack up the crew
Cavanagh has come a long way on The Flash too. In season 1, Harrison Wells was a villain. Eventually, Cavanagh returned as different incarnations of Wells. Either way, he and Gustin are the best entertainment the crew ever saw.
“The first thing that came to mind was times with Tom Cavanagh in general that we can’t stop laughing,” Gustin said. “They get stupider and stupider as we go but funnier and funnier. Then we remember for weeks.”
If the crew were annoyed, they’d surely cut it out. Gustin has verified that the crew enjoys the Gustin/Cavanagh show.
“Sometimes when they’re really funny, some of these crew members compliment us on scenes,” Gustin said. “[They] will come up to us and be like, ‘Man I was telling my wife about that bit you guys were doing.’ That’s so gratifying too to hear. Man, our bit made it home with a crew member to his wife.”
‘The Flash’ season 1 was Grant Gustin’s most emotional memory of the show
As fun as his Cavanagh memories are, Gustin went to the season 1 finale for his answer. Barry is able to go back to the moment his mother (Michelle Harrison) was killed, intending to save her.
“A specific moment I’ll never forget was the season 1 finale,” Gustin said. “To this day this may be the best scene I’ve shot on the show, where Barry goes back, he thinks to save his mom from getting killed by the Reverse Flash, and then stops because he realizes he has to let it happen.”
The moment with Nora Allen lingered with Gustin long after filming.
Then he gets to have this moment with her as she’s dying. Barry’s an adult and she has the moment of recognition and knows that it’s him, doesn’t understand why but accepts that it is. I’ll never foreet shooting that scene or the subsequent hours at home after where I couldn’t shake it. I was in the shower still hysterically crying like my mom had died in front of me for real. As an actor it was something I still draw from.”
Grant Gustin, Inside of You podcast, 4/28/2020
That scene still informs Grant Gustin’s performance
Five seasons later, The Flash is still developing Barry Allen’s family story. That season1 finale remains relevant to all the drama he faces this season or next.
“I think the reason I always still draw from it is that storyline is still present with Barry on the show,” Gustin said. “I’ve never lost a parent, but I don’t have to fake anything when I do that storyline becuase I really have those visceral emotional reactions to thinking about losing Nora Allen, Barry’s mom. I felt like I experienced it for real. It wasn’t something I read in the script.”
Mrs. Gustin is still with us, and Grant got to get emotional with her.
“I told her that,” Gustin said. “It was crazy. I probably cried talking to her about it. ‘I really felt like I experienced losing you.’ It was crazy.”
