Following on from the shock reveal of the season 4 finale, the upcoming fifth season of The Flash will properly introduce us to Nora West-Allen AKA XS, the speedster daughter of Barry and Iris who’s traveled back in time to pull a Marty McFly and meet her parents when they were younger. We already know that she’s a chip off the old block, as she’s made a big mistake in messing with the timeline – like father, like daughter! – but how else does Nora resemble her parents?
Jessica Parker-Kennedy spoke to CinemaBlend recently and revealed what Nora’s personality will be like. Unsurprisingly, she’s very much like her father. In particular, the actress teased that she resembles Barry when he was younger, echoing the “dorkiness” that the character had back in The Flash‘s early years. And yes, along with that comes a knack for using her powers to make mistakes and screw up.
“I think she’s a lot like her father was at the beginning of this show. There’s a dorkiness and a clumsiness and an ability to make mistakes and mess up. And her parents have to be like, ‘Oh my god.’ I think she’s so keen to…she just loves her dad and wants to be like him. And in that, I think there’s room for all sorts of mess-up adventures, and them having to try and pick up the pieces.”
As we’ve previously heard, Nora will be much closer to her dad than her mom, for reasons that will come out as the season goes on. Candice Patton has explained that this makes it tough for Iris to get to know her daughter, but Parker-Kennedy clarifies that this won’t lead to a disagreement between Barry and Iris. Instead, it’ll just make the latter want to uncover the truth about Nora’s reaction to her.
“There isn’t a rift between [Barry and Iris]. There’s definitely something going on between me and my mom. You can see in the last episode. And that, you know, we’ll figure that out and that gets explained. But I think in terms of their dynamic, they’re solid. They’re good. I think it’s hard for Iris, because Nora is just like, ‘Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Mom…’ And so you know, that’s always hard. But I think Barry supports her, and that encourages her. She’s not like jealous of it or anything. I think she’s just envious and wants to know what’s going on.”
While Nora’s still keeping secrets from her parents and might not’ve done the right thing by traveling to the present, at least she’s going to give her dad another new speedster sidekick to save Central City with. Set pics have revealed XS in costume and Grant Gustin has teased an awesome action sequence that’s coming in the season 5 premiere, so be sure to check out two generations of the Flash when the show returns to The CW on October 9th.