Of all the joys that come with a new season of The Flash, the revolving door of Tom Cavanagh performances is at the top of the mountain. Which means Season 5 is going to be as wild a ride as any, since we're getting a brand new version of Harrison Wells on a full-time basis. (Still hoping for a Council of Wells spinoff.) Cavanagh spoke with CinemaBlend and other press during San Diego Comic-Con, and he explained how they will be handling his Season 5 character, who goes by the name Sherloque Wells.
And so this year, we've got a lot of things that we have to solve, and I thought it'd be nice to have a dynamic where we have someone that we don't necessarily know that we can trust, but is undeniably brilliant. Which offers up its own things that you have to contend with when you deal with somebody like that. Because much like The Thinker last year, they're a few steps ahead. So we'll see that very early on with this character. We've got some backstory set up, which I don't want to spoil for you, but I think that character's going to be fodder for comedy, but also for good storytelling hopefully. So I'm looking forward to doing it.
No mention of any deerstalker caps or tobacco pipes, but one probably wouldn't be too far off-base in deducing that viewers will get to see several nods to the homonymic detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes. Though I guess Sesame Street's Sherlock Hemlock is up for contention here, since The Flash is angling things to be more comedic. But above all, we can certainly expect for Tom Cavanagh's next to be one fueled by unbridled genius. (And one who can probably waltz in and out of S.T.A.R. Labs willy nilly, given the awful security there.)
Similarly to how Harry's genius made him -- in Tom Cavanagh's words -- "a jackass," and how O.G. Harrison Wells's brilliance offered a leg up for Eobard Thawne's evil schemes, Sherloque Wells' intelligence will put him slightly at odds with the rest of Team Flash. In the sense that while everyone might be able to believe everything he's saying about certain inarguable facts of nature, his trustworthiness will leave something to be desired. Will it be tied to some under-the-table plot that he doesn't want Barry and the others to discover? Will he also be working with suspicious characters that the protagonists would not approve of, such as the new villain Cicada? What's in the box, Sherloque? What are you hiding?!?
As always, it'll be fun to watch all the Earth-1 normies meet the new Wells and try to get to know him through whatever means necessary. (With H.R., it presumably took hazy off-screen drum circles.) With Sherloque, it sounds like they'll have to figure out how to balance his book smarts with his street smarts to keep him from getting too far ahead of the game, and one would suspect that Cisco will be the key to making it happen. Though it would be fun to see some Thawne-ian flashes in Cavanagh's eyes as he pulls a fast one on his new acquaintances. I do like a slightly villainous Tom Cavanagh when one comes around.
Even if the character's conception didn't play out exactly like this, it's a fun thought to consider showrunner Todd Helbing going, "The characters need to solve Nora's problems," followed by Tom Cavanagh dropping in from the ceiling to say, "Solve? Let's make him a detective. I'm too old for Encyclopedia Brown, and too young for Columbo, so what about Sherlock Holmes?" Also, I just want to know where we sign up to get Harrison Watson to show up as well(s).
You won't learn anything about Sherloque Wells from the first Season 5 trailer, but you should watch it anyway. And then check out what to expect from Nora West-Allen's visit, how Cecile's pregnancy powers will be addressed, and where Caitlin's Killer Frost story is heading.
