The team is officially down one member.
Warning: Major spoilers from the season finale of The Flash, “Fast Enough.” If you’ve seen the episode, you may proceed. If you haven’t, stop now!
The Flash is never going to be the same again – and this time, we mean it.
Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett) made the ultimate sacrifice in Tuesday’s finale when he took his own life in order to erase his descendant, the evil speedster Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash (Tom Cavanagh), from ever existing.
The plan proved successful, as we observed Eobard disappearing into thin air following Eddie’s fatal gunshot.
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Does this mean Eddie is gone for good? Surely with the show’s heavy time-travel element, things like this are more malleable than usual? When season two rolls around, there will be some changes in front of the camera: Cosnett will no longer be a series regular, ETonline confirms.
Meanwhile Cavanagh, who plays Eobard Thawne/Dr. Wells/Reverse-Flash, will remain a regular castmember in season two, so start compiling those theories!
The Flash producers – the same team behind Arrow – haven’t been shy about killing off or saying goodbye to major characters before their time. (Eddie’s death at the end of season one hearkens back to Tommy Merlyn’s emotional sacrifice at the end of Arrow’s rookie run.)
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Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg told The Hollywood Reporter that The Flash’s time-travel mythology means there’s a good possibility Eddie will be back in some way, shape or form. Think Caity Lotz, whose Arrow character Sara Lance was killed off and will return in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow as the resurrected White Canary.
“There’s always a way for Eddie to return and we hope Rick will,” Kreisberg told THR.
While Kreisberg admitted that Eddie’s death “wasn’t always the plan, it was always a possibility,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
Speaking of Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash finale served as a drum-up to the superhero/villain team-up series The CW has on tap for midseason with sightings of Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) and Hawkgirl (Ciara Renee), as well as a nod to the time-traveling rogue Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill). If that's not enough to whet appetites, feast your eyes on the first official look at Legends of Tomorrow and get ready for some Vibe and Killer Frost action!
Are you shocked by Eddie's death? Tell us your thoughts by tweeting Philiana Ng at @insidethetube on Twitter!
The Flash returns this fall on The CW.