The Flash’s Barry Allen isn’t without a rather devoted familial unit, but he doesn’t have much in the way of actual, biological relatives anymore. Now, though, it looks like one family member who means a lot to him might finally be coming back into his life.
Barry Allen's portrayer, Grant Gustin, posted this shot of actor John Wesley Shipp on the set of The Flash on his Instagram page earlier, and many of you are probably thinking What the hell is even happening here?, and you would be completely justified in wondering exactly that. In the post, Gustin notes that this scene will be on television, so we can assume that Barry and his dad, Henry, will finally get to have another heart-to-heart. The real questions, it would seem, are when, where and how do Barry and Henry get to see each other again?
A lot of fans were kind of pissed at Henry Allen earlier this season. After spending the better part of Barry’s formative and young adult years in prison for killing Barry’s mom, Nora, (a crime he didn’t commit) he was finally freed by Eobard Thawne’s confession, which revealed Henry never had anything to do with his wife’s death all those years ago. The natural progression of the joyous reunion between father and son would have seemed to be that Henry would join team Flash and help Barry and his cohorts thwart evil meta-humans. But, alas, that was not to be, seeing as how Henry took off almost as soon as he hit the street outside the prison. And, not only did Henry leave, it appears as though he hasn’t even kept in contact with Barry since heading out of town. I mean, really, Henry. You can’t make a phone call or send some emailed words of encouragement to your crime-fighting son?
Again, this image leaves us wondering how this reunion will occur. Will Henry finally get in touch with Barry? Or, will Barry get tired of not having his dad to lean on and force his way back into Henry’s life? It looks like Henry has found himself a nice little cabin somewhere to figure some things out. Where is he, exactly? Is he even still in the same state as Barry? Will this really happen, or is Barry dreaming? How is Henry paying for his cabin time? Did he get money from Barry before leaving town? All of these are intriguing queries, but my biggest question is: will Barry dare to ask his dad what the deal was with him taking off in the first place?
Well, this moment between father and son is coming before the end of The Flash Season 2, so we won’t have long to wait for our questions to be answered. Let’s hope that these two get to have the meaningful conversation that they deserve.
