The following contains The Flash spoilers
The Flash Season 9 Episode 4
The Flash continues to raise the stakes in its final season, revealing the true identity of the villainous Red Death, putting both Barry and Iris in mortal danger, and unleashing a deranged Ryan Wilder from another timeline on Central City after Team Flash thwarts her efforts to build a cosmic treadmill to send herself home.
Played by Batwoman’s Javicia Leslie, who gets to be both cunning and crazy by turns this week as a Batwoman who was raised by the Waynes and developed a dangerous obsession with her enemies’ technology and a bone-deep hatred of her world’s Flash, Red Death may be a speedster, but she’s certainly not like any villain Team Flash has seen before.
And although Barry and friends successfully manage to prevent her from ripping the timeline apart, they also manage to make themselves a dangerous new enemy in the process, one who not only seems determined to take over Central City but to kill yet another Flash in the process (she murdered her version of Barry Allen already).
“I love it. It’s really intense,” Brandon McKnight, who plays Team Flash tech expert Chester P. Runk, tells Den of Geek. “In terms of ranking the Big Bads, The Red Death is up there, just because the team has never faced someone who is as savvy as The Red Death is. The team has gone up against really powerful people; they’ve gone up against really smart people. But now you have somebody who’s literally Batwoman you know what I mean? Somebody with those kinds of brains, who is a tactician of sorts, who also has speed. It’s a lot.”
McKnight calls the conclusion of the Red Death story “mind-blowing,” and insists that fans have no idea what’s coming in next week’s installment.
“I’ll tell you right now, whatever you think it might be—because I’ve seen a lot of predictions about what this next episode is going to be, but nobody’s gotten it right,” he laughs. “That’s what I’ll say about that: Everybody’s wrong. Just whatever you’re thinking—nope.”
And according to McKnight, things won’t slow down between now and the series finale either.
“This is going to be our shortest season, unfortunately,” he says. “But we go through so many twists and turns in the span of the few episodes that we’re doing that it’s like every character gets pushed to the bring and tested in multiple ways. Everybody on Team Flash has some form of an emotional and personal journey that they have to embark on and figure out, while also dealing with some of the craziest villains and situations. It’s huge. It is enormous. A rollercoaster ride for sure.”
However, The Flash’s final season doesn’t just have to see the Red Death, and whatever other villains are lurking in its remaining episodes, defeated. It also has to wrap up the stories of its beloved central characters, and for Chester, that means looking toward the future—and deciding what kind of person he’s going to become.
“One of the biggest things about this season is everyone is kept on their toes the entire time. And this is just the beginning for Chester, he’s exploring so many new things,” McKnight says. “He’s being tested in multiple ways, emotionally. In previous seasons he was challenged by his past. Now he’s being challenged by his potential future: His thing with Allegra, building tools for the team to use against these Big Bads they’ve never faced before. He’s definitely being challenged this season for sure, and every issue has been exponentially greater than the last.”
But, according to McKnight, Chester will be able to meet those challenges thanks to how much he’s “matured” since joining Team Flash in season 6.
“He’s grown into his own,” he says. “He’s definitely gained a lot of confidence from being a real member of the team and as their point tech guy. And a lot of the changes Chester experiences this season have to do with that confidence. Now he’s trying to explore the possibility of a relationship, with all the confusion and the heartache of new love. We’re going to see him dabble in a few things and grow through all of them.”
Of course, the biggest change for Chester in season 9 might be his burgeoning romantic relationship with Allegra Garcia. The two have danced around their attraction to one another for well over a season now, recently sharing a kiss (finally!) and blowing off steam together during a group nightclub excursion. But in “The Mask of the Red Death, Part One” when Allegra finally seems ready to talk about what’s going on between them—spurred by yet another Team Flash near-death experience—Chester gently stops her, claiming that it’s not the right time to deal with their relationship status.
“Honestly, I think it’s just a matter of…this is uncharted territory for the guy,” McKnight says. “We’ve seen Chester attempt relationships before. He’s fallen flat on his face back in [both] season 6 and season 7. He’s a bit insecure, and now to have a bit of something that’s reciprocated but also not reciprocated—he’s trying to figure that out.”
And although Chester “cares about [Allegra] deeply”, he’s also wary of the risks involved in deciding to take their relationship to the next level.
“Chester would much rather secure and keep a friendship with this person than possibly push her into a place where that might be ruined,” he continues. “I think it’s fear-based. The idea of something wrong happening between the two of them is far scarier than him just having to be her friend. So he’s protecting himself, and also protecting her and trying to secure the relationship they do have already.”
But, just because the pair have pushed pause on their potential romance, doesn’t mean things are over for the “Chellegra” romance just yet.
“I think there’s hope for the two of them,” McKnight says. “That’s what I’ll say. If you’re hoping for the two of them, hold on to that hope.”
The post The Flash: Red Death Revealed and What’s Next for Chester and Allegra appeared first on Den of Geek.
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