Ever since it was made clear The Flash was doing Flashpoint in Season 3, I’ve been wondering just how far Berlanti & Co plan to go with the alternate timeline. Thanks to San Diego Comic-Con, we finally have some answers.
When asked just how critically Barry’s decision will affect Legends of Tomorrow, Executive Producer Todd Helbing said that it won’t.
"It's all one universe so they have ripples, but those guys are traveling through time on their own mission so it's almost like they're in their own timeline, too. What we're showing is it's really affecting Arrow so we'll see it there,” Helbing explained.
It’s not surprising Legends won’t be directly affected because god knows where and what timeline they’re traveling through at any given time. The question was always, how could Arrow not be affected by The Flash’s actions? Turns out Berlanti & Co. do have some significant plans for the new ‘Flashpoint’ timeline.
“Flashpoint has ripples throughout the whole universe. One of those differences is with John Diggle,” Helbing added.
David Ramsey went into a little more detail: "It will affect Diggle to some degree and it will affect his family in a very, very personal way. There's a lot going on with Diggle this season and it will effect his family directly.”
It’s unclear if Captain Cold and Malcolm Merlyn’s plans to join the Legion of Doom were sparked by the alternate timeline in some way. How does Captain Cold meet Damien Darhk and Merlyn meet The Reverse Flash? It can’t be just coincidence.
In The Flash Season 3 episode 2, Grant Gustin revealed Felicity will be there giving advice to Barry. This means she’s got to be aware of what’s happened. Oliver will also show up in the Legends premiere episode, though Stephen Amell didn't specify why.
It will be interesting to see how Oliver finds out exactly what The Flash has done. Will it be addressed early on, or will Oliver be too busy finding new recruits for Team Arrow? Since both Legends and The Flash are getting early cameos, it’d make sense if at least someone with altered reality expertise ran over to Star City to keep Ollie in the loop, especially since we know Barry’s actions have adversely affected Dig.
A considerable amount of time has passed since Barry altered the timeline when The Flash picks up for Season 3. He will still have his powers, but will get advice from a certain speedster about how to navigate this altered reality -- possibly The Reverse Flash since we see him locked up in the trailer, or Jay Garrick’s Flash could make his way from Earth-3 when he finds out what happened.
It’s still unclear what Kid Flash and Barry’s relationship will be like now that the West family isn’t as close with Barry as they were before the timeline changed. Joe won’t know that his son, Wally, is a speedster and he’s not on good terms with Iris either. (Read more about how Flashpoint will affect characters on The Flash).
Arrow returns Oct. 5.
