Warning: SPOILERS for The Flash episode “Negative, Part One” are ahead!
At the end of last week’s episode of The Flash, Candice Patton’s Iris West-Allen, who’s been part of The CW series since the beginning died. No, this isn’t like in Season 3 when a holographically-disguised H.R. Wells took her place to be killed by Savitar; this time around, Iris has truly perished. However, as is often the case in superhero stories, death won’t be a permanent state for Iris, as ahead of “Negative, Part Two,” a.k.a. the Season 8 finale, it’s been confirmed that Patton will be back for The Flash Season 9.
Until today, it hadn’t been clear if Candice Patton would return for another season of The Flash, as back in early April, she responded “Not quite sure. TBD” to a fan who asked on an Instagram AMA if she’d be back for Season 9. A few weeks later, Patton shared a video of her removing her makeup from her trailer, and the caption said “THAT’S A WRAP ON IRIS WEST-ALLEN,” although that obviously could’ve just been in reference to Season 8. Still, taking all that into account with Iris dying in “Negative, Part One,” it seemed like this Arrowverse character’s journey might have come to an end. Not so, as TV Line is reporting that Patton has closed a new deal to keep playing Iris in The Flash Season 9.
Candice Patton is the second actor who’s been part of The Flash since the beginning who’s staying a series regular in Season 9, with Grant Gustin having signed a deal back in Season 9 to stick around as Barry Allen, although he may not appear in every episode. There’s no official word yet on if Danielle Panabaker will be back as Caitlin Snow, and it’s already been announced that Jesse L. Martin is leaving The Flash’s main cast at the end of Season 8, although he’ll make recurring appearances as Joe West in Season 9. The Flash’s other current main cast members include Danielle Nicolet as Cecile Horton, Kayla Compton as Allegra Garcia and Brandon McKnight as Chester P. Runk.
When we left off with Iris West-Allen in the final minutes of “Negative, Part One,” her time sickness was worse than ever, but she was then summoned by the Negative Still Force version of Deon Owens to serve as a human shield for Barry Allen’s lightning attack against Deon and the Negative versions of the Strength and Sage Forces. With Iris’ "sacrifice," the Wells version of Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. the one played by Tom Cavanagh, was resurrected out of the body of Thawne played by Matt Letscher, a.k.a. the redeemed one we’d previously spent time with in Legends of Tomorrow. With Wells Thawne back in play with his super speed, and with his wife dead beside him, Barry had a look of pure rage on his face as “Negative, Part One” ended.
We’re just a day away from seeing how Iris West-Allen will be brought back to life before The Flash Season 8 wraps up, but at least fans of the character can take comfort knowing her story isn’t over. Regarding Season 9, there’s still a lot we don’t know about what it holds in store, and there are many fans wondering if this could be the series’ final season. That said, along with Grant Gustin and Candice Patton’s returns, another thing we can count in Season 9 on is the reemergence of Sendhil Ramamurthy’s Ramsey Rosso, a.k.a. Bloodwork, which was recently teased at the end of an Arrowverse tie-in comic book series.
CinemaBlend will continue sharing the biggest news items concerning The Flash, and you can look through our 2022 TV schedule to see what else is currently airing and what shows are left to premiere this year.
