The Flash's Kayla Compton Unpacks Directing the Return of Chillblaine and Rick Cosnett (2024)

The following contains spoilers for The Flash Season 9.

As The Flash races towards its series finale, last night's episode, "Brave New World Part Two," dropped some major bombshells. Team Flash connected Barry's recent disappearance to a radioactive isotope of cobalt, which Chester can track by recalibrating the lab's satellites. Mark also returns to wreak havoc. Possessed by the negative speed force, he plans to kill Iris and her unborn child. Luckily, he is stopped by Speed Force Nora, who reveals Khione can save Mark and that the Negative Speed Forces are holding Barry captive on another plane.

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Kayla Compton, who portrays Allegra and helmed the latest episode of The Flash Season 9, recently spoke with CBR about her directorial debut on the show, capturing the emotionally-charged moments, Khione versus Mark, the return of Cosnett, and her last day of filming.

The Flash's Kayla Compton Unpacks Directing the Return of Chillblaine and Rick Cosnett (1)

CBR: When did you get bit by the directing bug? What ignited that spark to step behind the camera?

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Kayla Compton: I have been interested in directing as long as I have been interested in acting, which has been pretty much since I was a little kid. When I first moved to Los Angeles and actively started pursuing acting, I started writing and directing my own projects out of necessity. I wasn't always getting the best auditions or as many auditions as I wanted to. So as a way to continue to work, I started to write and direct my own projects. As soon as I booked the show, I expressed interest to Eric Wallace about directing. Pretty much right away, I was bugging him about that and began shadowing as early as Season 6.

What kind of shadowing or special preparation did this episode require?

I shadowed three different times leading up to this episode, pretty much once every season. I also had to write and direct a short film, which was accepted in some Oscar-qualifying film festivals. That got me into the Warner Bros TV Directors Program. I was able to participate in that in the Summer of 2022. From there, it was just about taking as many notes as I could during Season 9 and collaborating with our supervising director until I was ready to direct in January of this year.

Other cast members have stepped behind the camera. How much did you turn to Danielle Panabaker for advice? In what ways did she push you to succeed?

I leaned [on] Danielle all the way. She was my biggest advocate. When I wrote the short film I had mentioned, it was during Covid. I was scared of doing it because I didn't want anyone to get sick on my watch. There were a lot of logistics to think about. I was considering putting it off, and Danielle was like, ''Nope. You have to do it. You have got to do it.'' I did and I am so grateful. If I hadn't done that, I would not be where I am. Every step of the way, she pushed me in the best way. I am so thankful for her.

When you received the script for this episode, what elements or moments were you excited or nervous to tackle?

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In general, I was nervous to be the boss of my friends. I knew everyone was going to playfully give me a hard time. That didn't really happen. Everyone was a really good sport. I was lucky because I had a light visual episode. That wasn't too daunting. But I had a lot of emotional scenes and work to do in this episode. I wanted to nail the emotional scenes and the character work.

Khione and Mark go at it. That brawl could have been this bombastic clash with ice powers and physical fighting, but it's more controlled. What were your thoughts on that sequence?

So many of these scenes were about these characters talking. There is a lot of discussion about why characters are doing things and their emotional arcs and reasonings behind things. I thought this episode was so well-written. I was excited to do it.

In that scene in particular, I was glad that they are circling each other. I went with that, and I am happy [with] how that came out. I think it's this almost dizzying moment. You are seeing both of these characters in a new way.

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Considering there is so much exposition and emotion between characters, how did you coax those performances out of the actors?

I didn't have to do very much work. The actors on this show are so incredible. As a director working with actors, especially the ones who have been on the show a long time, it was just about giving them the space to do what they want to do. With Jon, in particular, he came with a lot of ideas. He brought this cool, unhinged, animalistic, chaotic energy that was fun to work [with]. He was also great to direct because he was so game for whatever. It was a lot of back and forth with our ideas.

Related: Green Arrow's Stephen Amell Didn't Want His Return in The Flash Finale

The Flash's Kayla Compton Unpacks Directing the Return of Chillblaine and Rick Cosnett (2)

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What was the best thing about having Rick Cosnett back and bringing his character full circle?

I love Rick so much. I thought he did an incredible job. That was the first time I had met Rick, so I was just a fan of his from earlier seasons. Being tasked with an episode that honors his character and shows Rick and his character in a new light was incredible. I felt honored to have that storyline. He was a blast to work with.

His character goes a little unhinged, especially standing in a grave.

He was so great and down to literally get dirty. We had two separate set pieces for that scene. We had the actual on-location set, where we turned a park into a cemetery. There was a real dirt hole Rick had to stand in and do some digging. We also built a platform replica of the hole that he could stand in, so we could achieve those in-the-ground angles. It was cold. It was raining. There was a lot of getting down and dirty, and he was all for it and did not complain once. He brought magic to that scene.

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No doubt you were cursing Vancouver's weather.

There was supposed to be a polar vortex that night. The scene was written to be in the rain. We were going to bring in rain towers, even though it's Vancouver and it rains constantly. We were going to add rain, but we heard it was going to be so cold that we nixed the rain. Then, on the day, it ended up being a lot warmer than we thought it would be. Then, it ended up raining anyways, so it worked out well.

Were you disappointed that Grant Gustin wasn't in your episode more?

I was. We were both bummed. We talked about it. When we got the script, he was like, ''Aww… I wanted to be in your episode more.'' I was like, ''I know.'' I only got to work with him for one day. Not very much. It was a bummer. There will be other opportunities. We will just have to write and direct another project.

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This revolves around the blossoming relationship between Allegra and Chester. What has that romance allowed the writers to explore with those two characters?

It's sort of like the early Barry and Iris stage, with a young couple just entering their falling-in-love stage. I imagine that was a lot of fun for the writers. There are a lot of mishaps that can happen in the beginning of a relationship. There are a lot of decisions being made in the beginning of a relationship. It was a lot of fun for us.

What can you tease about the remaining few episodes?

Allegra remains an integral part of Team Flash. There is lots of action coming up that she partakes in. The end leaves us with a lot of options for all our characters, but she definitely has a satisfying end to her arc.

It's bittersweet that The Flash is coming to an end. What was it like filming your last day on set?

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Exactly that. Bittersweet. It was emotional. I definitely cried. They clapped us out at the end. There were lots of tears shed. But I am also incredibly grateful for the experience. I like change, so I am excited for what's next. I will always carry this show in my heart. I am eternally grateful for everything this show has given me.

Developed for television by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, The Flash airs Wednesdays at 8 pm ET/PT on The CW, with episodes available to stream on The CW App the following day.

The Flash's Kayla Compton Unpacks Directing the Return of Chillblaine and Rick Cosnett (2024)
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