‘Arrow’ season 2, episode 19 video: Series boss on Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon from ‘The Flash’

Wednesday night’s “The Man Under the Hood” is appropriately so much more than the standard episode of “Arrow.” This is the episode that is both an important progression in Oliver Queen’s story along with, by extension, Barry Allen as The Flash.

While Grant Gustin is not going to be appearing in the hour and won’t until “The Flash” series is eventually picked up for the fall, you are going to get an opportunity to see for the first time Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon, two very important people within the universe of the Barry Allen character. (Warning: Spoilers below from The Flash comics. If you want to read the article without knowing the information, skip the following paragraph.)

The importance of introducing Caitlin and Cisco now is extremely integral when you remember who they could end up becoming in Killer Frost and Vibe. Heck, Cisco even says the word “vibe” in the sneak peek below from executive producer Marc Guggenheim. The writers obviously want to make sure that you have multiple reasons to watch “The Flash,” and this goes even beyond the character at the center of it.

While it would be nice to know for sure right now if “The Flash” happens as a series, we feel like it is virtually a lock. “Arrow” may be the highest-rated show on The CW (that goes to “The Vampire Diaries”), it is on the same tier as “The Originals” and “Supernatural.” It also does well internationally and brings in a more male demographic than the network gets from their vampire and costume dramas (a.k.a. “Reign”). This show is a bigger lock than even “Supernatural: Bloodlines” based on the work that has been put into this.

If you want an actual sneak peek of the content in this episode, then click here. We’ll have more on “The Man Under the Hood” soon, including a podcast coming up later this week. You can also sign up to get further updates from us via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: The CW