At the end of The Flash season three, Barry Allen made the ultimate sacrifice when he travelled into the Speed Force to take Savitar's place. When the show's fourth season begins, the Scarlet Speedster will return from his six-month "sabbatical" but he's not the same Barry who we last saw running around Central City. In fact, the time he spent in the Speed Force has had a significant impact on him.
"Initially, Barry is pretty scrambled when he comes out of the Speed Force," Grant Gustin reveals. "He’s not himself, he’s talking nonsense. When he was in the Speed Force, he experienced his whole life laid out in front of him from start to finish. So in some sense, he comes out very wise, kind of knowing everything, but he has no understanding of what he’s seen, so he comes out very jumbled and talking what he thinks makes complete sense, but just nonsense to the rest of the crew."
That condition will only be temporary but as Barry finally learns to forgive himself and moves forward from past mistakes, the Fastest Man Alive is going to evolve into a brand new sort of superhero.
"It’s not in the titles, but every one of these shows — whether it’s Supergirl, Arrow, or Flash — it really is like Arrow Begins, Flash Begins, and Supergirl Begins," executive producer Andrew Kreisberg explains. "Now it’s season 4 and he’s really become The Flash in the comic books, the one who really is in full mastery of his skills and has the emotional maturity that he has in the comics." Thoughts?