Why The Latest Wells On The Flash Is So Important - Exclusive

Over the course of the previous six seasons of The Flash, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and the team have clashed or worked with more Dr. Harrison Wellses (Tom Cavanagh) than you can shake a multidimensional stick at. There's been evil Eobard Thawne Wells, curmudgeonly Earth 2 Wells, French investigator Wells, huckster Wells, Indiana Jones Wells, and — most recently — thespian Wells.

However, in very few instances during The CW show's run has Team Flash actually dealt with the original Earth 1 Harrison Wells. Sure, he was the Wells that Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) initially saw as his mentor way back in the day, but we've only really seen that version of the character in flashbacks. So imagine the audience's surprise when, after all the current Wells characters sacrificed themselves to gift Barry a new, artificial speed force, the original Wells magically appeared over his own, hidden grave.

The Flash is already going through a transition, which includes the new resident science wiz Chester P. Runk (Brandon McKnight) becoming a series regular as of season 7. Looper spoke with McKnight about Harrison Wells Original Flavor, how Chester will react to him, and how this Wells will impact Team Flash going forward.

We asked McKnight not just about his reaction to the return of the original Wells but, perhaps even more importantly, how the team as a whole will react. 

"The new Wells that everybody knows but nobody really knows, if that makes sense, definitely plays a role in helping us understand the climate that the universe is in right now and the things that are possible and not possible," McKnight said. "And without giving too much away, he will definitely play a key role in future episodes, in us figuring out how to do some really cool things."

At this moment, the artificial speed force that briefly allowed Barry to still be Flash seems to be out of commission. Barry destroyed the new tech after he finally realized that the new super-intellect it furnished him with, also turned him into a monster. Now, with Iris (Candice Patton) finally back and Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) discovering new powers within her telepathy, there're lots of ways a new Wells could help Team Flash. Yes, he'll likely be responsible for getting Barry his speed back, but Iris may have picked up some ability in the mirror universe, as well. Who knows how this new, old Wells will deal with that!

As for Runk himself, McKnight says Chester is "mind blown over everything." And that is relevant because, according to McKnight, Chester "knows who everyone is and where everyone is and where this person comes from, what that person's doing, and what that person's abilities is — everybody from the heroes to the villains." But does Runk know who the original Wells is? Does anybody really aside from Cisco?

We'll find out more as The Flash season 7 progresses. New episodes premiere on The CW on Tuesdays.