Well, folks, it’s finally happened. After brief glimpses throughout the series, it ultimately took Barry fooling around in alternate timelines to bring us the complete introduction of Killer Frost, the icy alter-ego of Caitlin Snow on The Flash. Last week we saw the true premiere of Killer Frost, and her budding relationship with Savitar, the God of Speed. Variety sat down with Panabaker to discuss the character’s changes.
When asked about the process of turning Caitlin into Killer Frost, Panabaker remarked, “Killer Frost was inside of her — and I think that was a Flashpoint consequence — and we saw in episode seven you see a little of her anger at Barry (Grant Gustin) for doing this to her. In that sense it’s a little tragic because this isn’t what Caitlin Snow wanted. On the other hand, Killer Frost is thrilled so it’s also exciting.”
It certainly could be exciting to play a character who has been given supernatural abilities, especially on a show like The Flash. But who does Panabaker prefer playing: the hero or the villain?
“Right now it’s great that I get to do both to be honest,” she said. “When you sign-on to a TV series you imagine you’ll be playing the same character for the run of the show — however many seasons you’re lucky to get — but the fact that I’ve already gotten to do so many different things has been such a joy.”
But with these new changes to the timeline and her character, we may also see change between the relationships of characters we love. Panabaker comments on her character’s close relationship to Cisco (Carlos Valdes), saying, “One of my favorite things about this version of Killer Frost is she has knowledge of Team Flash, and the way they work, that most other meta-humans they face don’t have. I love the relationship between Caitlin and Cisco — it’s one of my favorites on the show — and to see that relationship really be tested is so fun to play.”
Catch the next episode of The Flash on Tuesday at 8pm on the CW.