‘The Flash’ spoilers: Jesse L. Martin on what’s next for Joe West, Barry Allen

There are a number of reasons why The CW probably has a hit on their hands with “The Flash,” and one of them may be that they got an actor like Jesse L. Martin on board. He’s a veteran of playing these strong, serious guys, and we love that there is such a strong paternal bond between his Joe West and Barry Allen.

So while Joe may know that Barry is The Flash, he’s not going to be like Cisco Roman or Harrison Wells in encouraging him to go out and use these powers to take down meta-humans. Instead, he’s going to be legitimately concerned for the guy. Speaking to TVLine about the second episode “Fastest Man Alive” (watch a preview here), Martin explains how Joe sees this entire situation:

“At this point, in the second episode, I’m not calling Barry about criminals. I’m just trying to keep close to Barry because he has taken on this whole thing himself. He’s decided that he’s going to go out there and fight crime as The Flash. And I sort of blame Harrison Wells and the S.T.A.R. Labs crew for turning him into this crimson crime fighter. I feel like they’re putting him in danger for no real good reason and I’d rather he not do it. My whole thing is that Barry’s got a job and he should be doing that job; he’s very good at it and it’s a lot less dangerous. I have a huge issue with [The Flash identity and what it entails].”

We like that there will be tension here, and also that it’s easy to understand Joe’s point of view. Barry will have to find a way to convince his longtime mentor that he still wants to do the right thing with the force, but also take on this other challenge that could make a huge difference to much of Central City.

We will be back later tonight with a preview for episode 3, and a review for “Fastest Man Alive” will come in a day or two. We like to take a little bit of time with those. To get some further TV news sent right to your email, you can sign up today for our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo via The CW.)