Tom Cavanagh: aka Harrison Wells, Eobard Thawne, etc.

[Lisin]

Tom Cavanagh!

[GHScorpiosRule]

Tom Cavanagh!

Me lovee Tom, so he's one of the reasons I'magonnagivethisachance.

[Kromm]

Tom Cavanagh rules, so hopefully this works out for him.

 

On the downside, if we ever want more episodes of Mike & Tom Eat Snacks then either both Cavanagh and Michael Ian Black simultaneously need successful projects, so they are both living in California, or they both need failures, so they are both back in New York (where they both lived for years and why they were able to do those awesome joint snack-podcasts).

[Maverick]

 Is this a character from the comics?  I got a "I'm super smart and want to help you be a hero but eventually I'll reveal I just want to steal your super fast legs so I can walk again" vibe from him.

[Lisin]

I just opened a topic for questions about the comic and how it (may) relate to the show, I tagged it as spoilers but this isn't a "spoiler" topic for actual show info, just spoilers in the sense that these themes and stories may be played out on the show.

[formerlyfreedom]

Me lovee Tom, so he's one of the reasons I'magonnagivethisachance.

 

 

Tom Cavanagh rules, so hopefully this works out for him.

 

It gave me a thrill to see Tom Cavanagh in this - he is such an appealing actor for me, that I am ecstatic that he's going to be on my tv screen again this fall.

[Chip]

So, generally in comics, if someone has the same last name it is rarely a coincidence.

 

Knowing what we know from the last scene in the pilot, what if Harrison Wells was somehow tied to or a version of

the time travelling journalism student Kristin Wells

?

 

I don't think this is true, of course. But I think it would be cool.

[Jediknight]

I don't agree with the speculation that Harrison is going to be a villain.  I mean considering

we've already got Thawne (Professor Zoom) and Caitlin (Killer Frost) as villains. It would be a mess for another person that Barry is going to trust/get along with be a villain.

I think he's going to be a grown up Bart, who's came back to get Barry on the path to being The Flash and trying to prevent his death. Bart does have experience traveling back in time.

The only other thing I can think of is that he's Monitor and he's prepping Barry for what is to come. But I'm going with him being a grown up Bart.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Jediknight

[FurryFury]

Never read any comics, but I think the character has potential (his role isn't as clear-cut as anyone else's) and i hope, above all else, that he won't be a villain. That would be way too predictable. I did guess he's able to walk, though, so, probably a villain at some point, but maaaybe a red herring.

Edited October 9, 2014 by FurryFury

[Xantar]

I posted this in the pilot thread but I'm also going to put it here for posterity's consideration:

 

1. Dr. Wells is a time traveler.

 

2. His first name is Harrison.

 

3. So he's H. Wells.

 

4. Is his middle initial G?

[FurryFury]

We don't know if he's a time traveler. It's possible, but it's not 100% certain. He knows the future, that's a fact. It's likely he's a traveler, but if he is, I'd like for him to hail from a bad future of some sort and for the reason for him being back to be connected with Barry. 

[thuganomics85]

What's really impressing me with Tom Cavanagh so far, is that whenever he's with Barry, the group, or Joe, I really buy that Wells is who he claims he is: a man, that made a mistake, wants to fix it, and wants what is best for Barry.  I still know it's the same guy who is lying about his injuries, knows more then he is letting on, and is even willing to kill someone without hesitation.  And, yet, whenever he's on screen giving advice to and/or "mentoring" Barry, I forget about it, and totally buy what he's selling.  Tom is doing a great job, in that, if the reveal does happen, I can totally buy that everyone won't see it coming, because he's almost snowed me!

 

It's early still, but I think he and Wells could be one of the highlights of this series.  Really can't wait to see more of him.

[The Crazed Spruce]

I've been trying to figure out who Harrison Wells really is all week.  Now, the obvious choices would be either Impulse or Professor Zoom, but I'm hoping they won't go with the obvious choice.  For a while, I was thinking he was probably John Fox, the Flash from the 27th Century, but now I'm thinking he's probably the show's version of T.O. Morrow.

[Actionmage]

That would be amazing! 

If we could get Red Tornado out of the deal, that would be most excellent! Red Tornado and his ward/daughter! Bonding with Joe, potentially?

[Trini]

I know little about the Flash (red suit, runs fast; 3 versions??) and nothing about his villains or supporting characters or stories from the comics. But I'm going with Wells being a bad guy. He's mentoring Barry, but clearly he has some probably nefarious plans for him. Also stabbing a guy.

[arc]

I really liked "Ed", so I kinda want to call Wells "Evil Ed".

 

I mean, it's still vaguely possible that he's a kind of twisted good guy who is genuinely looking out for Barry. A truly evil guy woulda said that Barry was his as Stagg was dying, not that Barry had to be kept safe.

 

Still, who pretends all day that they can't walk, unless they're super evil?

[jbrecken]

Maybe he's Metron - he's stuck in a chair by choice, he's a superscientist, and the laws of time and space mean nothing to him.  When he talked about what the accelerator explosion might have released, Wells mentioned "X-Elements," which is Metron's obsession.

[Kromm]

I don't agree with the speculation that Harrison is going to be a villain.  I mean considering

we've already got Thawne (Professor Zoom) and Caitlin (Killer Frost) as villains. It would be a mess for another person that Barry is going to trust/get along with be a villain.

I think he's going to be a grown up Bart, who's came back to get Barry on the path to being The Flash and trying to prevent his death. Bart does have experience traveling back in time.

The only other thing I can think of is that he's Monitor and he's prepping Barry for what is to come. But I'm going with him being a grown up Bart.

That assumes

Thawne really is Professor Zoom. I don't for a moment assume he is, just because they've given him the name Eddie Thawne.  The DC TV properties reinvent and shuffle villain and hero identities quite a bit and it's an all too typical fake out for Thawne to be just some guy (or some other comic book villain or hero) and Wells to be Professor Zoom.  In fact, we don't even know if his name really is Harrison Wells.  He's from the future and could have just built a new ID.  Say he's Edward Thawne III, from 80 years down the line.  Won't that fit?

[kikaha]

A guess: Wells killed Barry's mother. 

[Kromm]

A guess: Wells killed Barry's mother. 

See my post on Page 2 of the "Things You Can't Outrun" topic--six posts from the top since I post a few times there (and look under the spoilers).

[nerdyduck]

I really liked "Ed", so I kinda want to call Wells "Evil Ed".

When Wells kills Stagg, I actually said, "Evil Ed just shanked somebody!" 

[opus]

It's good I like Tom Cavanaugh here, because the last time I came across him, he was annoying me on The Following.

[slayer2]

I posted this in the pilot thread but I'm also going to put it here for posterity's consideration:

1. Dr. Wells is a time traveler.

2. His first name is Harrison.

3. So he's H. Wells.

4. Is his middle initial G?

I like it, I like it. Mmmhmm.

I'm just gonna put it out there, Wells is this shows' Luthor, be it Lex or Lionel. Dude's so grey he could pass for cement. Call me a Big Mac 'cause I'm loving it.

Edited November 29, 2014 by slayer2

[FurryFury]

Just watched the last 3 episodes in a row, and now I'm convinced, he's my favorite character and the reason to watch the show. I've never seen the actor before "Flash", but he works really well as an ambiguous anti-hero/possible villain (of course, I'm still sure he's not a villain, as that would be boring and too predictable). Please, more of him!

[MarkHB]

I finally watched the crossover, and having now seen one character in Arrow that i hadn't known about, I am now in the camp that Wells is The Monitor.

Lyla? Really? Talk about a Harbinger of things to come....

(Comics spoiler)

[Trini]

I KNEW Wells was evil!

[1TrackMind]

I am not 100% on board with Wells being Reverse Flash just yet. Yes, all signs point to it..which is what is making me pause. It's too easy, too wrapped up in a neat little bow, and pretty quickly too, I would have thought they would string this out longer than half a season.

 

That said, who knows, maybe because I have enjoyed this show so much so far I am giving the writers too much credit. I hope not though!

[NumberCruncher]

I am not 100% on board with Wells being Reverse Flash just yet. Yes, all signs point to it..which is what is making me pause. It's too easy, too wrapped up in a neat little bow, and pretty quickly too, I would have thought they would string this out longer than half a season.

I have my doubts as well. I'm still trying to put two and two together as to why Wells is so protective and encouraging to Barry as The Flash when he is supposedly Reverse-Flash. I get the whole comic mythos of Reverse-Flash wanting to draw power from The Flash's speed, but if that were the case, why wouldn't Wells have simply subjected himself to the particle accelerator reaction when he had the chance and bypassed Barry altogether? There's definitely a lot more to the story than what we've being led to believe, and as you said, we're only a half-season into the entire show.

 

That said, who knows, maybe because I have enjoyed this show so much so far I am giving the writers too much credit. I hope not though!

If there's one thing I've learned from the past 3 seasons of Arrow it's to never expect too much from these producers. They tend to get a bit myopic when it comes adhering to comic canon, sometimes to the detriment to the organic progression of the show and then the storylines start to feel contrived. The good news though is that I see they've avoided a lot of the mistakes on this show so far that they made with Arrow so I think they'll try to keep the big reveal around Wells's story pretty focused. Hopefully that continues. :)

Edited December 14, 2014 by NumberCruncher

[phoenics]

I am not 100% on board with Wells being Reverse Flash just yet. Yes, all signs point to it..which is what is making me pause. It's too easy, too wrapped up in a neat little bow, and pretty quickly too, I would have thought they would string this out longer than half a season.

 

That said, who knows, maybe because I have enjoyed this show so much so far I am giving the writers too much credit. I hope not though!

I think the ONLY thing that has kept me from thinking Wells is RF (100%) is that it's too easy like you said. But given:

1) He had the yellow suit

2) He did the voice change thin gee

3) He healed super fast just like Flash

4) He had the Tachyon device at the end

I think he might be ONE of the Reverse Flashes - but my question is: which one?

It does seem too neat and wrapped up in a bow though... but I'm enjoying the ride so much I don't mind not knowing or ending up being wrong about him being RF - or even being wrong about him NOT being RF...

Don't care - love the show and how they're doing this and trust the writers (for now).

As for why Wells didn't just use the particle accelerator explosion to give himself super speed - I wonder if he already tried that in an alternate timeline? I feel like we're in an alternate timeline already - I think Flash and RF have been around the bend a few times already and Wells may have come to the conclusion that only Barry could be "chosen by the lightning" thus nothing he did would work to give him super speed except stealing the speed force or something from Barry.

I'm just spitballing - I have no real idea.

Edited December 15, 2014 by phoenics

[Kromm]

A bit of Tom Cavanagh instead of Wells.

 

For years one of my favorite things has been Tom and his old Ed co-star Michael Ian Black doing their "Mike and Tom Eat Snacks" (MATES) podcast.  How often they do this has been totally predicated for a long time on if they're living in the same part of the world (they used to both be in New York, but Black would have long periods when he was in LA instead, since he's been working a lot more than Cavanagh since Ed). Well Tom Cavanagh finally being on TV again (and on a hit show) has gotten them back in the same part of the world again, so new episodes of MATES have been appearing again finally (after almost none over the past few years).

 

Anyway, I very much recommend this podcast.  Note it often has very little to do with snacks--they serve as bookends to the episode and the rest of the time the two of them just rant about others stuff--often for quite a long time.

 

Anyway, here's the most recent episodes: http://www.nerdist.com/podcast_channel/mike-and-tom-eat-snacks-channel/

And an archive of older episodes: https://soundcloud.com/matescast

 

I love that these guys really became such close friends when on Ed. I mean Cavanagh doesn't even have a comedy career to support like Black, so he only ever did this because he loved doing it with Black.

And actually the people who ONLY know Cavanagh from The Flash (and didn't see Ed) will be surprised at how funny he is. He does a lot of the heavy lifting on the podcast and Black actually reacts more to him than the other way around.

 

Edited December 15, 2014 by Kromm

[Chicago Redshirt]

We know that at least to a certain extent in Flash that the future (or RF's past) is mutable from the complete absence of Flash-related news in the Central City Citizen from the future.

 

It also seems clear that Wells is trying to massage Barry's present to get to the future he wants, and was even willing to kill (or severely wound, I guess since we didn't see the body) Simon Stagg among others to try to ensure Barry survives.

 

As to why, a theory or two:

 

Theory 1: Wells is trying to prevent/end the Crisis that is referred to in the future newspaper and knows Flash must survive because he plays an integral part in ending the Crisis.

Theory 2: In the future, Wells takes inspiration from Flash to study the Speed Force and eventually gets to be Reverse Flash. Wells thus knows that Barry must survive at least to a certain point to provide the inspiration for him for Wells to become RF. And he knows from Barry's life story, that part of what positioned him to become interested in the impossible was the murder of Barry's mom. So Wells goes back in time and murders Barry's mom so that he and Barry both effectively inspired the other. I think this is basically what has happened in the comics world, but the way they redo origins every 10 years, I can't be sure.

 

Note: these two theories are not mutually exclusive.

[bettername2come]

It also seems clear that Wells is trying to massage Barry's present to get to the future he wants, and was even willing to kill (or severely wound, I guess since we didn't see the body) Simon Stagg among others to try to ensure Barry survives.

 

I think it's interesting that Wells seems to be subtly manipulating the destiny of those around Barry as well, first with letting Cisco field the questions about why the police should trust STAR labs, then inviting Iris to ask the first question at the press conference. 

 

As for why Wells didn't just use the particle accelerator explosion to give himself super speed - I wonder if he already tried that in an alternate timeline? I feel like we're in an alternate timeline already - I think Flash and RF have been around the bend a few times already and Wells may have come to the conclusion that only Barry could be "chosen by the lightning" thus nothing he did would work to give him super speed except stealing the speed force or something from Barry.

 

I read someone theorize that the reason the timeline of the "Barry gets his powers" scene is different in Arrow than in the Flash pilot is that Reverse Flash/Wells had changed things rather than just a typical retcon.

[KirkB]

I'm not that familiar with Reverse Flash from the comics so I can only base any supposition on what I see on the show. He came back in time, got married (or I guess maybe brought his wife from the future with him), and created the particle accelerator, intentionally doing it badly so it would explode. This killed some people and gave others powers, but the only one he cared about was Barry Allen, whose super speed he knew about and wanted to copy/steal? Did he have powers before and lost them and is going through all this to get them back? He also seems to be going out of his way to keep Barry safe and to help him get faster, presumably for his own benefit. Even killing Barry's mother, if indeed he was the culprit, you never know, appears to have been intended as motivation for Barry. But in spite of all this Reverse Flash doesn't really seem to be an enemy. He doesn't appear to want to kill Flash but make him MORE Flash and perhaps make sure he survives for some as yet unspecified event in the future. 

Edited February 2, 2015 by KirkB

[Trini]

Yeah, I could probably look up everything about the (comics) character on Wiki, but I'm trying to stay unspoiled, because I'm liking the mystery here. Although, I don't think the writers are strictly following comics canon.

[foreverevolving]

So this is interesting, while I am mow slowly gravitating more and more to the Wells is an older Barry theory i did some reading and found out there is morel than one reverse flash, and there also other evil speedsters, and one caught my eye a speedster who seem to have started as evil and turned gray or good: Max Mercury, who is or was apparently a mentor to Wally West and Bart Allen, and is known to travel back and forward in time.

I don't think I've seen the theory that Wells may be Mercury.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Mercury

[TobinAlbers]

My current theory on Welles is that he is an older version of Barry's fraternal twin (he does exist in the comics) which is why his 'I protect my own' could apply he protects his family as much as he protects other metas.

 

In a flip from the RF going back in time to intentionally kill Nora, I think Welles was the one actually trying to save their mother and Barry was actually trying to stop him knowing that her death can't be undone. Initially she may have been killed by something/someone else but once Welles and Barry got into the time loop issue, Welles ends up accidentally killing his own mother. 

 

I think Harrison's whole plan of powering up Barry and training him is to get him ready to be able to enter the time traveling highway aka Speed Force, and they together go back and save their mother. His total willingness to be ruthless now is because he feels in the end it'll all be undone if when he and Barry go back in time he saves his Mom. It'll be a new timeline and all the bad stuff he did in the previous one will be wiped away.

 

Unfortunately it'll never work- Nora is fated to die or else bad things happen to the universe- and Welles is gonna crack and go full on supervillain raze the earth because he'll blame Barry. Which actually is a great reason for Welles/RF to hate Barry/Flash so much and become a personal nemesis: Unlike Harrison his own brother is willing to let their mother die and literally not use his powers to save her.

[Actionmage]

My current theory on Welles is that he is an older version of Barry's fraternal twin (he does exist in the comics

 

Actually, I like this theory, especially as it doesn't necessarily start at Evil Twin. Yet...

 

The twin of Barry's, if the show goes with that, has to answer a few important questions before folks decide to ride that train.

* Where were you while Barry was in a coma for nine months?! No one mentioned your existence. Reasonable people like Felicity, Cisco, Caitlin, Iris and Joe. The latter two would have known for sure it was Twinnie because, being a twin, he would be the same age as Barry, thus being raised in Joe's house. I doubt that Joe would let two traumatized boys get split up if he had any say.

*Wouldn't Wells be so obsessed that making time for an actual wife seems more time-consuming than just faking a marriage? Even one that could stand up to mild police scrutiny? Being from the future could give you time to pick your cover. I'm not sure how to read Harrison's emotions on telling Joe about the accident that killed his wife. I don't trust Wells, but they could be real. I guess you can't be 24/7 CuckooPants without getting the wrong attention, so maybe the marriage was real and loving?

*Are Nora and Henry only children? Not that I dislike Joe stepping up to care for Barry, but that no one from either side of the family came to check on Barry is unrealistic. If there is family, and the boys grew up separated and Barry didn't like talking about why they were separated, that's cool, just lay a foundation for it.

 

 

The first one could be explained as he was seen/ spoke with Felicity, who isn't a regular on this show. That Twinnie visited for a time, but left due to his job or whatever. Joe could even have a " I wasn't going to tell you" thing, which ties into Joe "protecting everyone from life, and could open a " the twins are estranged over Nora's death." Which could even tie into the obsessiveness that Wells has about his plan. Poor Iris, under a lifetime of Joe's Don't Ask or Tell, probably was so caught up in  her studies and Eddie that not mentioning Barry's twin was not hard to accomplish, but maybe feel badly about from time to time.

 

I do like the theory, but I'm not sure I'd trust that kind of story to the folks who think that threatening to eat a ghost pepper at your place of business should get you a second date.

 

Sorry; I seem to be very talky tonight.

[Actionmage]

I have so many feelings about Harrison tonight.

 

Tom Cavanaugh needs all the shiny things this coming award season. Yeah, Wells is all but twirling a moustache, but he has given a great, layered performance without making it a performance. TC gathered us all up like buddies, then proceeded to make us feel like Cisco felt tonight, except for the death part. He has made us cuss out Wells,  got some of us digging his scheme no matter where it's going, and  has not lost an iota of interest from any one of us. We want to know!

 

I may hate Dr. Harrison Wells/ Eobard Thawne, but I love Tom Cavanaugh and I cannot wait to see what he does next week!

[bettername2come]

Tom Cavanagh is so great on this series. And on the one hand, I love Wells, and never want him to leave the show. On the other hand, I hate him and I want him to die a thousand burning deaths. What kind of person compartmentalizes like that and says "you're like a son to me, but I'm gonna kill you anyway?"

And what is his motivation? Why did he come back in the first place? If he is from hundreds of years in the future, then he doesn't seem to have an actual problem with Barry, and he should have known he was screwing up the timeline and the speed force.

[driedfruit]

Once he realized Caitlin was stalling, there a moment when he took off his glasses and ever so threateningly placed them on the table, and my heart was in my throat, thinking holy shit, he's gonna kill her right there. Tom's brilliance at being so subtly threatening never fails to amaze me.

 

Then his delivery of "you've been dead a long time"...there are no words.

 

It's not surprising that Wells is Prof Zoom, but I'm delighted that Tom is.

Edited March 18, 2015 by driedfruit

[phoenics]

I held my breath that whole scene with him and Cisco... when his hand started vibrating... oh my gosh.

[hogwash]

Mason's comments made me remember when Oliver mentioned something being off about Wells. Oliver Queen sure knows his sociopaths (S01/S02/Flash Oliver, anyway...). I'll admit I got a little tired of the show ending with Wells making some cryptic comment about the Flash then offing someone. But this adds so much more to his murdering spree. As long as Wells can ensure it doesn't interfere with his real time line, it's inconsequential. Poor Cisco. I felt so sorry for him and Caitlin (the moment I saw she went back to Star Labs). It's a perfect situation for a sociopath, really. Despite his interactions and relationships with the people in that time line, they're not real to Wells. They're vague conceptualizations of people who don't exist anymore. It's probably like waking in a history book for him. As long as the big and vital stuff still happens, what's a few chapters/pages? I'm making myself sadder. Yay, reset button!

[Actionmage]

What stuck with me was Wells' frustrated/angry line of "I've been...stuck here for fifteen years..."

 

So my question is: what sucked away/stole/decreased Harrison's Speed Force/tachyon whatsits that kept him stuck in our time? It's like Harrison isn't concerned with that end of the equation, only the " I need X to escape this hellhole in time. "

[phoenics]

What stuck with me was Wells' frustrated/angry line of "I've been...stuck here for fifteen years..."

 

So my question is: what sucked away/stole/decreased Harrison's Speed Force/tachyon whatsits that kept him stuck in our time? It's like Harrison isn't concerned with that end of the equation, only the " I need X to escape this hellhole in time. "

Good question... added to that - what happened to the other Barry that went back in time to stop Eobard? Did he just disappear?

[ceg1]

He gave me delicious chills in this last episode. What a fantastic complex villain Wells is turning out to be. I can't wait to see what he does next.

[Actionmage]

Harrison/ Eobard! You know irony isn't like bronze-y and gold-y, right?  

 

It was wonderous how irritated Wells was with Barry and his yammering! Yes, Harrison, if you go back and mess up the events that happened the initial timeline, you could get stuck somewhere for a good chunk of time, right? *g* 

[Trini]

Wells-centric promo:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II9HKTu5l0k

[Actionmage]

Geez! Just when you think Tom Cavanaugh can't find another layer, he gives you about five more!  Bless Tom Cavanaugh for the work he puts into this thing and giving an Emmy-level performance.

 

I really have no way to adequately relate my thoughts and feelings about the info we got on Wells.

 

I'll be in the corner, having some feels.

[quarks]

Cavanaugh was really outstanding tonight, flipping so smoothly between Good and Massively Evil Wells. Loved it. I hope we can keep him next season.  

[MarkHB]

This latest ep also gave us a clue to the "takes off his glasses" tic that Wells has when he's being massively evil: Thawne didn't wear glasses.

 

Agreed, brilliant performance by Cavanagh.