The following article includes spoilers about The Flash.
Season 9 Episode 1 of The Flash
The Season 9 premiere of The Flash was a light-hearted romp that we haven't seen on this show in some time, but the final run of episodes included more than a few hint of what's to come in the future, from new antagonists to a strange new being that appears to be residing in Caitlin Snow's body as a result of her trip into her homemade cryochamber.
Richard Harmon is introduced as a new, post-Crisis on Infinite Earths version of Owen Mercer (a.k.a. Captain Boomerang) in "Wednesday Ever After," and his final scenes reveal that he's not working alone, and that his literal partner in crime is someone who looks quite familiar, although likely to be a lot more dangerous.
Red Death
The rumors that Barry Allen's final villain would be the infamous Red Death had been online for weeks, and fans are right to be curious to see how the show would translate the character for a small screen, since the comic book version of Red Death is a corrupted speedster version of Batman from an alternate universe, and the CW superhero universe has deliberately avoided using any version of the Caped Crusader across its many properties. (Save, obviously, for an older Bruce Wayne from Earth-99 during the Crisis crossover event
According to The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace, "At the very start, DC issued a very simple edict, but they said, hey, you can do the Red Death, but it can't be Bruce Wayne or Thomas Wayne." "We couldn't really get into the Dark Nights: Metal narrative immediately," says the author.
Javicia Leslie, a former Batwoman star, will play Red Death as what appears to be a dark version of Ryan Wilder.
"We needed to come up with a completely new origin for our version of the Red Death, and a reason why the Red Death is obsessed with hate and wanting to kill Barry Allen," says the author.
Wallace is a bit vague about why this might be, but he does mention that the greatest villains "don't believe they're a villain in the first place."
"Tune in to find out!" he exclaims. "But as we get to know this villain and this character, we'll see." Red Death has a valid reason to dislike Barry Allen.
Sometimes, again, the villain doesn't believe they're a bad guy, which means they don't think the hero is a hero either.
Caitlin, Frost, or Someone Else?
The Flash's final season has a lot of questions to answer that have nothing to do with Barry's final two "graphic novels." The biggest one is probably what happened to Caitlin Snow, who created a device to recreate or at least recreate her dead sister. However, this person does appear to be the same person as in the season 9 premiere.
"I am not Caitlin. I am not Frost," Wallace says at the end of the premiere. "I am someone new," Danielle's character adds.
Wallace vehemently denies that this is some sort of connection between Frost and Caitlin's consciousnesses. (“Nope. Not at all,” he responds when asked directly.) However, it appears that at least some answers to this mysterious being will arrive sooner rather than later.
“The next week’s episode is all about who is Danielle Panabaker going to play for the remainder of this season,” Wallace says. “You’ll learn a little bit about her origins. It’s her first episode. But remember—this new character’s journey will be a hero in her own right that will play a crucial role in Season 9. “And when the audience realizes the answer, it’s incredible.”
Wallace insists that the original character will receive her due before the series concludes.
“Yes, you will get an ending to the Caitlin storyline through this new character,” he says. “It may not be the way you anticipate it to happen, and you might not see it coming in the way that it will happen, because it will take all seasons. It will not culminate until we confront our final Big Bad of the season.”
Wallace will not reveal who the final big bad will be revealed, although he does laugh rather maniacally when asked if it has to do with the strange glowing blue crystal from 2049 we saw in the Season 8 finale. Instead, he simply states that fans are in for a fascinating experience as the series draws to a close.
Wallace credits the CW and Warner Brothers and Berlanti and everybody for being so incredibly supportive. "The only soft guide advice I ever received from anyone was 'Just do your best and let's try to make this the best finale we can, and we will support you wherever we can to help you achieve that,' which is a pretty cool phrase for a showrunner.
Wallace claims that he never felt that he needed to come up with a conclusion that would conclude the network's entire interconnected superhero slate or resolve any of the cliffhangers left unresolved by other series. (Cough, cough, Legends of Tomorrow cough.)
"I just look at this as the end of The Flash," says the author. "The Arrowverse is not ending, as far as I'm concerned."