Warning: Spoilers for The Flash season 9, episode 11
The Flash only has two episodes left, yet a number of developments still need to happen before it can end. The end is right around the corner for The CW series, which is in the last stretch of its ninth and final season. The next two episodes will be the nail in the coffin for the Arrowverse, which has been in place since the Arrow series premiere in 2012.
In spite of only offering 13 episodes, The Flash season 9 has found room for a large gathering of returning Arrowverse characters. In addition to bringing back favorites from cancelled DC shows, The Flash featured returns of several familiar faces relevant to Barry’s superhero journey, including Captain Singh, his parents, the original Reverse-Flash, Wally West, and a handful of the villains from his Arrowverse rogues’ gallery. This has helped the series resolve some loose ends, but some yet remain. The show has done much with Barry’s story in nine seasons, but several things still have to be addressed. Here’s what The Flash needs to do with its last two episodes.
10 Cisco’s Reunion With Team Flash
Without question, the biggest character omission from season 9 thus far is none other than Carlos Valdez’ Cisco. As an original member of Team Flash and someone who was at Barry’s side for seven seasons, Cisco is certainly a character The Flash needs for one of its last episodes, if not its series finale. After all, there are no narrative obstacles to his return since he’s alive and well in Star City. Why it hasn’t used him yet is unclear, but that’s something the show still has time to rectify. It’s worth noting that an appearance would be appropriate story-wise, especially with his best friend about to become a father.
9 Max Mercury Meets Barry Allen
The Flash season 8 strongly suggested that a DC Comics speedster would be a Team Flash member at some point or another. When Barry saw his past, present, and future in the Still Force, he referenced someone named “Max,” as if this person was someone close to him. This was a clear reference to Max Mercury, a speedster from the Golden Age of DC Comics and the only major member of the Flash Family the show hasn’t used yet. It certainly seemed like Max was slated for a season 9 appearance, but that scenario is looking more and more unlikely.
8 Zoom & Godspeed’s Team-Up
When setting up Max Mercury, The Flash also promised that Barry would fight Godspeed and Zoom in 2024. While Max’s debut may not pan out, this particular tease has a very good chance of getting a proper payoff. Teddy Sears is confirmed to reprise his Zoom role in The Flash season 9. Whether it be through time travel or some other plot device, season 2’s main villain will be back to menace Team Flash one more time. And if season 8’s hint is any indication, Godspeed could be there to lend a hand.
7 The Flash Has To Explain Where Khione Comes From
The Flash season 9, episode 11, titled “A New World, Part Two: The Blues” finally provided some answers to the show’s Khione mystery. But while its “goddess” reveal does indeed explain a lot, it doesn’t shed any light on how she was created. How Caitlin’s father, a human scientist, created a being on a cosmic level within his daughter’s consciousness doesn’t make sense. As things stand, there isn’t a working explanation for Khione’s existence, leaving this a question for one of The Flash’s last two episodes to answer.
6 The Flash Needs To Resolve The Problem With Caitlin’s Death
Khione’s origin isn’t the only story related to her character The Flash season 9 still needs to deal with. There’s also the matter of Caitlin’s fate. In spite of her importance to the series, Team Flash learned about her death and finished mourning her all in one episode. Caitlin’s story felt incomplete, with even Barry himself later acknowledging that the entire Khione situation doesn’t feel right. Before The Flash ends, it’s necessary for the series to circle back to Caitlin’s death and either bring her back or at least close the door on her Arrowverse arc in a satisfying way.
5 The Flash Has To Bring Barry’s Lightning Bolt Origin Story Full Circle
For years, it’s been theorized that The Flash would follow in the footsteps of the classic comics and use a twist to reveal that Barry himself was the lightning bolt that gave him his powers. That won’t happen, though, as Grant Gustin has confirmed that showrunner Eric Wallace was “very opposed” to this ending. Even so, The Flash can bring things full circle in regards to the lightning bolt, albeit in a different way. Upon returning, Oliver Queen told Barry that the lightning bolt chose him, which furthers theories that The Flash’s ending will come back to that moment and perhaps make a particular character responsible for his transformation into the Flash.
4 The Flash Can Still Pay Off Barry’s 2024 Disappearance
As Iris mentioned in The Flash season 9, episode 11, there was once a fear that Barry would disappear. This stems from a reveal in the pilot episode that Barry would vanish in a “crisis” in 2024. Later, the series used changes to the timeline to adjust the date in order for it to line up with “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Since The Flash is getting extremely close to the original date of Barry’s disappearance, there’s a real possibility that the series will revisit this plotline as a way of tying the ending to the beginning of the series.
3 Barry & Isis Start The Flash Family
Gradually, the Arrowverse has built up to the Flash Family becoming a reality in the series. It took years, but their first child – Nora West-Allen – is about to be born. Thanks to a substantial time skip in the middle of the season, Iris is on the cusp of giving birth. Given that the birth of Bart is another important life event for the couple, it too needs to be explored. That can happen through a time jump in The Flash series finale that sees Barry and Iris together with their two young children.
2 Barry Allen Hasn’t Created Gideon Yet
Introduced in season 1, the artificial intelligence found in S.T.A.R. Labs is directly linked to Barry Allen’s superhero story. It was confirmed early on that Barry will build her in the future. The show is quickly running out of time for Barry to do that, though, which reduces the chances of it serving as a major story development. But at the very least, The Flash should find a way to at least give Barry motivation to build Gideon after The Flash’s ending.
1 The Flash Will Complete Barry Allen’s Rogues’ Gallery
The introduction of a new Captain Boomerang (who actually fights the Flash) plugged a major hole in Barry Allen’s rogues’ gallery. As a result, the series has all the major villains associated with the Scarlet Speedster’s story, save for one – Cobalt Blue. It’s been known since the season 8 finale that the show was setting up the DC Comics villain to join the Arrowverse, but The Flash season 9 has taken its time in introducing him. But as the first two installments in the last arc have indicated, Cobalt Blue will clash with Barry Allen before all is said and done. The last-minute addition of the character should bring about the long-awaited completion of The Flash’s villain roster.
