Warning! The following contains spoilers for The Flash Season 9 episode "Wednesday Ever After." Read at your own risk!
The Flash returned to The CW to premiere its final season, and fans were treated to Iris and Barry working to find their way out of a time loop. Once that was all resolved, Barry received a message from Caitlin Snow. Barry arrived on the scene expecting to see Caitlin but was greeted by someone else. Danielle Panabaker's new character isn't Caitlin or Killer Frost, but according to showrunner Eric Wallace, she'll play a big role in the final season.
Eric Wallace broke down The Flash's latest episode and the new "not Caitlin," who will apparently become an important character. The showrunner gave some light details on this new character portrayed by Danielle Panabaker to TVLine, and started off by confirming we can trust that she's not any character we've seen before:
It is not Frost, and it is not Caitln. She’s not lying. However, her appearance at this time is not a coincidence. Heroes rise up when the universe needs them to appear, so there’s a reason why Danielle [Panabaker] is coming out of that crystal coffin right now. Because as we’re going to find as we go closer and closer to the series finale, her character is very wrapped up in the season finale. She’s the right hero for the absolute right time.
It's hard to imagine at this early point how this new character will play into the season finale, especially since we know so little about this supposed fusion of Caitlin and Killer Frost. All we know at the moment is that she's a third entity, and judging from the blue streaks in her hair, could have some of Killer Frost's powers. Perhaps she's truly a combination of both individuals, which would make for a pretty formidable hero if so.
If freezing powers are on the table, it's not hard to see how that would aid Team Flash when dealing with a threat like the Red Death. Javicia Leslie's villain looks super fast, but ice seems to be a great nullifier when it comes to speedsters in the Arrowverse. Of course, I don't really have any idea what's on tap for the rest of the season, so Eric Wallace could be speaking about some threat that doesn't include this villain.
One thing we do know is that The Flash will keep bringing back familiar faces. Eric Wallace previously revealed returns from Rick Cosnett’s Eddie Thawne, Matt Letscher’s Eobard Thawne, and Jessica Parker Kennedy’s Nora Allen. Returning characters are often a welcome sight in the final season of a long-running series, and fans may be especially glad to see Kennedy, who could end up leading a spinoff of The Flash one day.
As for villains, we also know that Ramsey Ross, also known as Bloodwork, will also return as a villain in Season 9. The Flash was at one point considering its own take on the Blackest Night storyline from DC Comics, so I'd expect there's something big coming at the end of this season that may take every hero Team Flash can spare. Here's hoping it'll all tie together and justify Stephen Amell's return for the final season as well.
The Flash is back on The CW and airs on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. It's one of many returning shows on the 2023 TV schedule, so be sure to keep checking on the increasing number of quality series headed back to primetime.
