'The Flash': Hartley Sawyer Compares Ralph Dibny to Saul Goodman

Almost all of Team Flash has gone on some sort of major journey over the course of The Flash's tenure, and it looks like one character's arc has a very specific frame of reference.

When speaking to reporters at last month's San Diego Comic-Con (via CinemaBlend), Hartley Sawyer discussed the evolution of his character, Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man. As he explained, the goal was always for Ralph to seem like he wasn't entirely living up to his potential, so that there would be plenty of room for him to grow.

"So when we brought him in, we talked about the idea that he's a walking Tex Avery cartoon, like that's really what he is, and that's where we wanted to start him." Sawyer revealed. "I've always thought a lot about Saul Goodman for this character, from Better Call Saul. There's a lot of that in him in certain ways. This guy who can be so much more than he is, and is really good as he is, but just completely gave up on himself. We wanted to start over there so we can bring him through that whole process that we did last year, and he's a very different person than he was. So now we can move forward with even more development."

And now that Ralph has gone through those trials and tribulations - including being "killed" and absorbed by Clifford DeVoe/The Thinker (Neil Sandilands) for a stretch of episodes - it sounds like he will approach his time on Team Flash in an enitrely new way.

"I think, for Ralph, he finally got to the point where he was really willing to sacrifice himself for something greater than himself." Sawyer explained to ComicBook.com. "Which is the family, the team that he considers family, Team Flash. And I think doing that, I don't think he expected to come out of that. But he did. And so I think he's just a very different person than he was when we met him in episode four last year. Very very different."

And considering what we already know about The Flash's fifth season, it will surely be interesting to see how this "different" version of Ralph factors into things. The season already has quite a lot on its plate, with the reveal of Nora Allen/XS (Jessica Parker Kennedy), and the threat of David Hersch/Cicada (Chris Klein). But according to other comments from the cast and crew of The Flash, it sounds like Ralph's role could involve a bit more sleuthing.

"Ralph is going to be doing a lot more detecting this year than he did last season, and I think the description of Elongated Man was that he has the detective skills that rivals Batman's." executive producer Todd Helbing said in a recent interview. "So, we want to get him on his journey in that regard this season."

Are you excited to see what's next for Ralph in The Flash's fifth season? Do you agree with the Saul Goodman comparison? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

The fifth season of The Flash will debut on Tuesday, October 9th, at 8/7c on The CW.