As The Flash heads into what may be its biggest season to date, it has a lot of questions to answer. Season 5 saw Cisco take the metahuman cure, Nora West-Allen cease to exist, and put Team Flash less than a year out from "Crisis On Infinite Earths." The team is gonna need all the help it can get to face down that threat, which is probably why the show is reportedly searching for a new scientist character.
My question though is why should The Flash attempt to cast an entirely new character into Team Flash, when it could work towards bringing back another character from its past? Julian Albert is still out in the Arrow-verse, and would be the perfect addition to Team Flash ahead of Season 6 for more reasons that the fact he's played by the "magical" Tom Felton. Here are some of those reasons, in hopes this dream can be written into existence.
Tom Felton Is Down To Return To The Flash
We don't know exactly why Tom Felton abruptly left The Flash following Season 3, especially when it seemed the Arrow-verse series was working towards establishing a story arc for him in Season 4. What we do know is that Tom Felton has put it out there that he wants to bring Julian Albert back, which is the first step towards opening up the conversation for it to happen.
And with Carlos Valdes potentially out as Cisco and The Flash looking for a scientist character, why not bring Julian back to kick it with his old buddies? Sure, it would take a little bit of background to bring him back up to speed on everything that's happened since Season 4, but he's a smart dude. He'd be up to speed fairly quickly and ready to lend his skills to Team Flash in no time.
He'd Be A Familiar Face To Have Around
One of the risks of introducing a new significant character in Season 6 of The Flash is that their development may take a back seat to whatever is happening on the road to "Crisis On Infinite Earths." After all, this is a season that will finally show the event in which Barry disappears, so unless this new character is the cause of that, they probably won't be the core focus of this season.
Which is all the more reason to have a familiar face like Tom Felton's Julian around. The Flash's fans know what he's about, and less time would be taken re-integrating him to the group than establishing an entirely new character. Plus, things are bound to get crazy in Season 6, especially if worlds collide in a massive fight like the newspaper teased. The Flash should spend time on that, and less time crafting a story for a new character.
Julian And Caitlin Had "Killer" Chemistry
To be clear, Caitlin Snow can and should have story lines that don't have anything to do with her love life, and her arc in The Flash Season 5 was a nice change of pace. With that being said, Caitlin's loss of Ronnie did set her on a path to find companionship at some point, and while that wasn't the most important thing about her character, it just kind of stopped without resolution.
If Julian Albert returned, I think it would be time to bring that side of Caitlin back. Tom Felton and Danielle Panabaker had great chemistry, and now that Killer Frost and Caitlin are co-existing it could make for an interesting arc. Could Caitlin and Julian kindle a romance with Killer Frost around? His memories of Frost aren't great, and she's a person with her own wants and needs. It would be great to see them reunite and try to figure all that out.
He Was One Of The Most Natural Additions To Team Flash
Team Flash has had a lot of people come and go from the team, and while each one is special in their own unique way, few really felt a part of the team. Nora was always causing more problems than fixing them, Wally was basically just another Barry and had to be phased out, and there were lots of people who were anti-Ralph until this recent season.
Julian's inclusion to the team felt more natural. One thing that helped was his inclusion was a slow burn, and he started out opposite Team Flash before being incorporated in full. By the time he was in, it felt like he had always been there, and he offered a unique contribution that truly elevated the team and its abilities in a meaningful way. Honestly, it may have been the best Team Flash lineup the show has done to date.
He Wasn't Afraid To Voice Dissent
One thing that's a bit aggravating about Team Flash is that dissension is almost instantly squashed, and more often than not, the team is on the same page when it comes to plan. Part of Julian's character was that he wasn't the biggest fan of the way Barry did things, which made it all the easier for him to voice his displeasure with a plan or offer a solution of his own.
It just felt more real, and while I'm not necessarily advocating for The Flash to waste show time with petty grievances between team members, I liked the element of tension that Julian brought to the team. There can be dissension and disagreements, and Team Flash can still be a great team. Also, someone just needs to take Barry down a peg every so often, and Julian was better than most characters at doing that.
Who Knows How Many Seasons The Flash Will Have Left?
If Arrow's upcoming end has taught us anything, it's that no Arrow-verse series (so far) can go on indefinitely. The Flash is about to resolve one of its biggest arcs by finally addressing the newspaper in which Barry will disappear. Once that bit is done, the big task will be how the show moves forward from there, provided it even plans to. Will The Flash decide to hang things up soon too?
Those are questions we just don't know the answers to at this point, and because nothing is guaranteed, the show shouldn't be dragging its feet to bring back a character like Tom Felton's Julian. If he's wanting to come back, even for an episode, now seems as good a time as any to make it happen. If it's too late in the game for a Season 6 appearance, maybe Season 7 is possible? After all, so many characters frequently re-appear; why can't his?
Would you like to see Tom Felton's Julian Albert return to The Flash? Vote in our poll and leave any additional thoughts in the comments below. Also, be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for more details on Season 6 of The Flash, and what to expect ahead of "Crisis on Infinite Earths."
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