The Flash has been teasing Barry Allen’s disappearance since the show’s very first episode, and with the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover coming up, the series will finally deliver on a long-standing storyline. However, the big surprise is that his death will be coming sooner than expected. In the Season 5 finale, Barry and Iris’ daughter, Nora West-Allen, who came back from the future to help save her dad, disappeared and somehow changed the timeline. In the final moments of the episode, the date of Barry’s death changed from April 2024 to 2019. And according to series star Grant Gustin, Barry will learn that he’s dying at the end of the Season 6 premiere.
In the comics, Barry’s life comes to an end when he battles the Anti-Monitor, who’s intent on destroying the multiverse and siphoning its energy for the creation of the Anti-matter Universe. Long story short, the speedster runs so fast and produces so much energy that his body eventually disintegrates. At the end of last year’s Arrow-verse "Elseworlds" crossover, Oliver Queen made a mysterious deal with the Monitor and he came to collect on that deal in the Season 7 finale of Arrow. Barry will likely have a very similar visit at the end of the Season 6 premiere, which was teased a bit in the San Diego Comic-Con trailer and in the newly released photos from the episode, titled “Into the Void."
In an interview with ComicBook, Grant Gustin confirmed that Barry will contend with his death from the get-go and that the Monitor won’t provide many other details, like Oliver’s own alliance with the galactic entity.
I’ve been teased a lot from our guys what it’s going to be. The Monitor shows up at the end of our first episode and says the universe is in jeopardy and in order to save the universe, Barry Allen has to die. And Barry Allen doesn’t know about this deal Oliver made with the Monitor, either, so someone’s gonna die.
The Flash’s Season 6, Episode 2 title has been confirmed to be “A Flash of the Lightning,” which is a nod to a miniseries issue for “Crisis on Infinite Earths." We know the five-hour crossover will be split into two parts, with the first three episodes of Batwoman, Supergirl and The Flash airing ahead of the winter hiatus. Since The Flash episode will serve as the midseason finale, and before the Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow episodes conclude the highly anticipated event in January 2020, it’s likely that it will end in Barry’s foretold disappearance. Of course, there’s still a huge possibility that Oliver will ultimately be the one to die, especially because Season 8 of Arrow is its last.
Although Barry’s known about his disappearance for quite some time, Season 6 will force him to face the reality of his impending death, which is something he didn’t really do in Season 5. This news also comes on the heels of losing Nora, so not only do Barry and Iris have to deal with the emotional aftermath of losing their child, but must also face the fact that The Flash himself has a limited time left to live. So, prepare for a lot of angst and maybe grab some tissues as well.
Additionally, new showrunner Eric Wallace revealed that Season 6 will include two major villains, the first one being Dr. Ramsey Rosso, famously known as Bloodwork. Dr. Rosso is a fellow scientist and will be introduced by way of Caitlin Snow, who shares a history with the villain. The second big bad, however, won’t appear until the second half of Season 6, but with all this setup, The Flash’s sixth season is shaping up to be its best one yet.
The Flash Season 6 premieres Tuesday, October 8 at 8/7c on the CW. For all of your fall TV needs, be sure to check out our full schedule new and returning shows.
