This season on The Flash has been a big one. Not only did the season give the series one of its scariest villains to date with Bloodwork and shake up the entire Multiverse with “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, but the season also saw the eagerly-awaited introduction of one of comics’ most beloved characters. We mean, of course, Sue Dearbon the woman who, on the pages of DC Comics, becomes Ralph Dibny’s wife. Sue is a character fans have been clamoring for since Hartley Sawyer’s Ralph debuted on The CW series in Season 4, but while the show delivered in Season 6, Natalie Dreyfuss’ Sue is far more than just a love interest. The character has turned out to be a mystery all her own, one that gives Ralph a real run for his money at every turn and may just have her own major role to play in the brewing showdown with the dangerous Black Hole organization.
Ahead of Tuesday night’s Season 6 finale for The Flash, we sat down with Dreyfuss to chat about all things Sue Dearbon. From what’s next for Sue and her mysterious motives, to what’s next for her relationship with Ralph, to the fan love she’s received for bringing the iconic character to life, we cover it all — and even give a few teases of what to look forward to in Tuesday night’s Season 6 finale.
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Quarantine
ComicBook.com: So with everybody being at home, what have you been doing to keep yourself busy with during quarantine?
Natalie Dreyfuss: I’ve been really trying to make some stuff. I was looking for this Brene Brown podcast about first times and how horrible they are. And I was like, I need to face my fear of first times, so I’ve been trying a lot of firsts. Like I started watercoloring, not good at it. But you know what, I’m doing it. I’m doing all this tutorials, I’m making stuff, I can look at it in 10 years and be like, wow, you did a self portrait in COVID 2020. I feel very accomplished in that way. And then I made the mistake of buying myself a Nintendo Switch, which I cannot pry from my hands. So I make something and then I’m back to this Switch and sometimes I get a peanut butter and jelly in my mouth at some point during the day. But mostly it’s like I can’t put this thing down, it’s bad, bad.
Sue Versus Black Hole
Sue’s back for the finale on Tuesday. And last we saw her, she revealed Carver is messing with her parents, she gives him the diamond and as we’re going into this finale, we’ve got Team Flash, they’re going after Carver. Sue’s going after Carver. Eva’s definitely going after Carver. What can you preview to us about Sue’s involvement as all roads lead to Carver and Black Hole?
Yeah, I mean in the last episode that you saw, it’s an interesting choice for Ralph to take the diamond and let her walk away. I thought that was a really big scene because that was a real turning point I think in their relationship as well and understanding of each other. And I think what’s exciting about this episode is the unfolding of these storylines. And especially for me and for getting to play Sue and being this like mystery throughout the whole season. It’s really cool that I get to reveal a lot of who I am, why I’m doing what I’m doing. And I think that for Ralph, finally understanding this gigantic mystery that is Sue is really fun to watch.
On Bringing Sue Dearbon To Life
Absolutely. I’m sure you’re aware Sue is one of those characters from comics that is so beloved. And the Ralph and Sue relationship is a gold standard relationship for a lot of fans, myself included. I’m a huge Sue fan. I have been for probably as long as I can remember, which makes me a big nerd, but I’m cool with that.
That’s awesome.
What has it been like for you to bring Sue to life knowing how much fans care about and are invested in that character?
Yeah, I mean it’s really cool that I’m the first person to play her. That in itself is a rare thing. It’s usually that you’re either trying not to do something that someone else has already done it or do an impression of theirs. So for me it was this totally new thing that I got to build. And obviously if you know the Sue from the sixties, that this is a huge departure from that. And I think that that in itself just shows kind of where we’re at in terms of like female empowerment and to play such a strong and smart female character, freaking honored to bring her to life and so excited. As far as the pressure to make it good, I definitely feel it. I definitely feel like I care a lot. But what keeps me going is the fan love, because I was expecting mixed. It’s the internet, expecting some hate for sure.
And I’m used to that, I’ve been in this a long time. But really The Flash fans are so loving and like really care. They really enjoy this and I have not gotten a lot of negative stuff. I’ve gotten really positive feedback about how fun it is to see them come to life and to see the Sue that they’ve been waiting for. And they seem to be really excited and happy, which just makes me want to do even better. It really keeps me going and keeps it from feeling like overwhelming to the pressure of making it perfect. I think it’s more like make it truthful and make her feel real and I think just bringing as much of myself as I can to that character really takes care of that.
A Complex Character
One of the things I personally have really loved about your Sue on The Flash, how you portray her, how she’s written is the way that the show has really made her into a complex and layered character. Like you said, it’s a big departure from the way she is presented in the comics, but it’s also very accurate to her comics spirit. She may be doing different things, it’s still Sue. What can fans expect to see from this very layered, nuanced Sue next?
Yeah, I mean I think it would have been easy to just bring in a love interest for Ralph and instead DC, CW, The Flash team, they decided to make this really complex, layered, bad-ass character. And I just think it’s so cool that I get to dig into that. I mean obviously, I’ve never worn a super suit before, the cat burglar suit is awesome. And being able to bring in such cool strength to her and her abilities are awesome. The first episode she’s fighting Ultra Violet, she’s strong, she’s fast, she’s really good at what she does and she’s always one step ahead, which is really fun.
And I think to be able to sink your teeth into a character like that is really cool. And it wouldn’t be the same if it was just like a love interest, you know? And that’s kind of what you get a lot of the times when you’ve been in the business long enough and like, yep, I’m playing the new love interest. That’s awesome, but this is not that. This is like a full complex character and the fact that they’re drawn to each other is a part of the character, but it’s not everything and I love that.
Ralph and Sue
Absolutely. And speaking of Ralph and Sue being drawn together, I spoke with Eric Wallace recently and he teased at the biggest twist in their story is still to come. Is there anything that you can tease for us about what’s next for them? I will tell you myself as a fan and as every fan that I interact with will tell you, we absolutely love them together. Your chemistry with Hartley is so amazing, but we also really just love the fact that Sue’s given Ralph a run for his money. So anything you can tease for us or preview about what’s next for them, I just would love to hear it.
Yeah. You know, to be honest, I don’t know. I know that he’s a huge part of my future, but I don’t know how. So it’s as much of a mystery to me as it is for the fans, which is actually really fun. Eric asked me how much I wanted to know and I said as much as you want to tell me, but also like all I need to know as an actor is that I am so connected to this man and that he is connected to me and that we’re extremely important to each other. However, it doesn’t detract from my motives. It doesn’t change the fact that I have things that I need to do for me and that I’m going to go to whatever lengths I need to go to to get those things done. And I think that’s really cool. And the twists and turns that are coming, it’s The Flash. I’m sure they’re going to be super exciting, but I’m going to be along for that ride as well.
When I read the scripts I’m going to be like, Oh wow, that’s awesome. Because I truly don’t know and I think that as a fan and as an audience member, I do hope they get together because I love their relationship and I think it’d be really fun to see that develop. But it’s not necessarily going to go the same way as the comics went where they could go straight to marriage. So we get to see that unravel and we get to see what happens between them and that’s going to be something that Eric has up his sleeve that even I’m not going to really need to know until it happens, which is really fun.
A “Cool” Episode
We know that because of the production shut down, thanks to this pandemic, season finale isn’t exactly where the show had intended to leave off for the season, but we’re still going to get something really big to go out on. Showrunner Eric Wallace had told me that he feels like this is the biggest episode of the season, even organically when they originally planned it. How do you feel about where this shifted season ending works out for Sue?
Yeah, it’s kind of crazy that we had just shot this because it is such a cool episode. I actually think the fans will be really excited about it. And I think it does leave it on a such an interesting and fun note by accident. There was more in the season but I think, like he said, this was a huge episode. The script was incredible, working with Phil, the director, was so fun. The sets, the lighting, everything was so fun and exciting and I haven’t seen it but I am so excited to see it. I’ve been excited to see it since we shot it and I haven’t seen anything. So I think it’s really a blessing that we had this in the can and I haven’t even done any like voiceover stuff for it.
So I haven’t even seen clips of it, which I usually do beforehand, but because of the pandemic I didn’t get to do that. So I’ve been texting with Hartley and we’re both just really excited to see it because it was super, super exciting at the time. And I think that it’ll actually be great for the fans that we have something really fun and big to go out on.
What To Expect In The Finale
Is there anything specific fans should be keeping their eyes out for in Tuesday’s finale?
What’s really exciting, like I said, is that I have been teasing the fact that I have been this big mystery for Ralph who has that detective mind and is usually able to figure things out really quickly and he hasn’t been able to understand me. So I think unraveling the story of Sue more is really fun and I think that I can say that we can look out for that. It’s just understanding more about her, her motives and how far she’s willing to go to get those motives. And I think that the relationship between them is so fun to watch in this finale.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
