Warning: spoilers ahead for Episode 19 of The Flash Season 3, "The Once and Future Flash."
The biggest mystery of The Flash Season 3 has been of the identity of the new supervillain speedster known as Savitar. Episodes had revealed bits and pieces of his origin story, and we discovered the horrifying reason why he hates Barry as much as he does, but he's gone almost the entire season without revealing his identity to anyone. Now, that has changed. In "The Once and Future Flash," Savitar emerged from his armor in front of none other than Caitlin Snow, and for a reason that few of us could have predicted.
Caitlin Snow went through her transformation from the kind-hearted doctor of Team Flash into Killer Frost in the previous episode, and "The Once and Future Flash" kept her in all her icy villainous glory. She escaped from STAR Labs to prevent any of her pals from trying to turn her back into her kinder, warmer self, and it was as she walked barefoot through snow that Savitar found her and tried to recruit her to join his cause.
Even after the mental break that turned her into Killer Frost, Caitlin knew better than to trust Savitar just because they both hated Barry. So, to get Caitlin on board with battling Team Flash, Savitar emerged from his armor and revealed his identity. We didn't get to see his face, but Caitlin did, and what she saw was enough to convince her to team up with him.
The Flash star Grant Gustin revealed earlier this year that Savitar is going to be the hardest big bad that Team Flash has ever tried to take down, and that the reveal will be "very different and jarring" when compared to previous years. Given how much trouble Reverse Flash and Zoom caused, it seemed like Savitar had to be connected to Team Flash in some very personal way if the stakes were going to be so much higher.
Even if Savitar doesn't turn out to be a future or alternate version of one of the good guys, I'd say that recruiting Caitlin to his cause had made the fight even more personal that it was before. Now, we're facing the potential permanent loss of Caitlin as she was on top of Iris' potential death. Season 3 is a pretty rough year to be a female character on The Flash.
Check out our breakdown of the five most likely candidates for Savitar, and let us know in the comments who you think the man is beneath the armor. Tune in to The CW on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET to see what's next for Killer Frost and Savitar on The Flash. Don't forget to check out our midseason TV premiere guide and our summer TV premiere schedule to discover all your viewing options now and in the coming weeks. Be sure to drop by our rundowns for cable/streaming and broadcast TV renewals and cancellations.
