The Flash: 12 Things About This Week’s Episode “Tricksters”

“Tricksters” is the title of the Tuesday, March 31 episode of The Flash, and it’s kind of a big deal, as Star Wars hero Mark Hamill reprises his role of James Jesse from the original CBS Flash series. It’s a sign that the show’s producers were as big of fans of the original Flash as many members of the audience were, and it’s another strong installment for the first-season CW series.

We attended a screening of the episode last week, and while there were definitely some “do-not-reveals,” there are a few things we can tease and talk about. Below, find some of those spoiler hints… as always, we’re not revealing anything to ruin surprises or any enjoyment of the episode, but rather, telling you what to look out for.

– Blink and you’ll miss it: There’s a sequence in the episode where a certain element of The Flash’s costume has changed. See if you notice it.

– An old favorite: One of the stars of a CW television series that was based on a popular property makes an unannounced guest appearance in the episode, playing a very major character. Start speculating now.

– More old favorites: “Tricksters” is, in many ways, a love letter to the original Flash series. The Trickster’s lair looks like something right out of the original show. Henry Allen (original series lead John Wesley Shipp) plays a major role. And, although it’s been two decades, Mark Hamill plays James Jesse in such a way it’s like he was never gone. I also love that images from the original series were shown to represent Trickster’s past chaos, though I’m wondering who stopped him in this world. Is Jay Garrick out there somewhere?

The tributes to the classic Flash continue with an appearance by Vito D’Ambrosio, who played Officer Tony Bellows in the original series. We spoiled who he was playing before, but if you want to be surprised, don’t read that. If only there had been room for Alex Desert and Amanda Pays this time around… maybe another time?

– A Star Wars shoutout. Mark Hamill delivers a line right out of Star Wars. And no, it’s not “I have a bad feeling about this…”

– A piece of clothing from the original Flash show appears here. We’ll tell you this much: It’s not the foam rubber costume, but it is something Barry Allen (John Wesley Shipp) could be seen wearing on the old show…

– Dropping hints: In helping Barry, Harrison Wells might end up giving one of his most closely-guarded secrets away.

– Tess Morgan was real. In case we were wondering if the whole Tess Morgan backstory for Harrison Wells was fake.. it’s not. We get to learn about (and see!) her, and we find out what she had to do with the origins of STAR Labs.

– The Barry/Iris/Eddie triangle hits some new snags. We expected that, right?

– Iris really wants to know where Mason Bridge went to. And for some reason, people don’t seem to want to give her any clues… hmm.

– Devon Graye as the “other” Trickster is great. We all know Flash’s Andrew Kreisberg is a Doctor Who fan, and that there have been times where the Doctor’s arch-nemesis, the Master, is a foil with some similar traits to the hero, especially when it was David Tennant up against John Simm. On the original Flash series, in many ways, Mark Hamill was a perfect foil for John Wesley Shipp; here, Devon Graye’s Trickster is an anarchistic pain in the neck, who I’d kind of see as what would happen if Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen was on a whole lot of drugs without caring about other people. While Hamill’s participation in the episode is surely the episode’s highlight, Devon Graye is an added spice that represents this generation’s crazy – media-obsessed, selfie-taking, YouTube-videoing chaos.

– Mark Hamill. Again, how much of a treat is this? Loving the Flash casting people for bringing the old favorites back. (Now if only they’d do so on Arrow and throw Justin Hartley a bone sometime.)

– Is it good? YES. Even though there are elements that do tie in to the larger picture, it’s a solid hour that anyone can hop in on. I’m really impressed with how a first-season broadcast show can be this consistently good. I might go so far as to say this is currently the best comic book inspired series on television right now, which is a big thing to say since I love Arrow so much. Best of all? After waiting 24 years, I finally get to see a third Trickster episode of The Flash, with more hopefully to come in the future.

The Flash “Tricksters” airs at 8PM Tuesday, March 31 on The CW. See some preview images here!