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‘The Flash’: Grant Gustin & Candice Patton break down that WestAllen serenade
If you’re all done laughing and crying — and crying laughing — it’s time to break down what might be the most absurd and entertaining episode of “The Flash” to date.
The Music Meister’s (Darren Criss) plan to get Barry (Grant Gustin) and Iris (Candice Patton) and Kara (Melissa Benoist) and Mon-El (Chris Wood) back together pretty much makes him the most insane shipper of all time, but we can’t be too bothered by it. It led to one of the most romantic on-screen proposals in TV history, after all.
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We went straight to Grant Gustin and Candice Patton to ask what filming Barry’s musical re-proposal was like.
“That song is beautifully written,” Patton says. “When we got to rehearsal for the first time, I was just already in tears. I was like, ‘Dang it, I should have saved it for when we were rolling!’ But the great thing about that song is that every time you hear the lyrics, you get emotional. It was so well written and so well performed by Grant Gustin. I think it’s going to be a fan favorite for a very long time. So download, download, download!”
“Justin Paul wrote that song,” Gustin says, “I just felt really lucky to sing it. It did most of the work for me. I just kind of had to sing it. It’s what I love about musical theater. I think music in storytelling really elevates the story, when it’s done successfully and correctly. I think this is a near perfect song. I was privileged to sing it.”
It truly was a beautiful moment, not just because Grant Gustin has the voice of a devilishly handsome angel, but also because we’d feared WestAllen might never recover from Barry’s decision to propose to save her life. After hitting a bump as terrible as that, it was nice to see Barry and Iris reconnect with such a sweet and romantic gesture.
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We also got the opportunity to talk to executive producer Aaron Helbing about why it felt right to have Barry propose again, this time under the right circumstances with an honest motivation.
“I think he was inspired by going into that world, and when he’s talking to Joe (Jessie L. Martin) — or Digsy — he’s realizing what exactly Iris means to him, just like when Kara’s talking to John Barrowman’s character about Mon-El, she’s starting to have those realizations as well. When you get a chance to have a proposal that romantic and that beautiful and having the man of your dreams sing to you, it’s really special. I choke up every time I see it.”
Fans will no doubt be talking about this proposal for a long time, and given the hilarious success of this musical episode, we don’t imagine this will be the last time Barry gets to use his stellar pipes on “The Flash.”
“The Flash” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.