The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace is making Season 6 sound like a four-course meal with all of the storylines and character arcs the creative team has in store. After the show’s lackluster (imo) fifth season, the beloved series seems like it’s firing on all cylinders once again. Wallace, who is a self-proclaimed comic book fan, has split Season 6 into two sections, calling the first half of the season “Graphic Novel No. 1,” and is teasing a lot of emotional responses to Barry Allen’s impending disappearance.
Barry and Iris’ daughter, Nora West-Allen, disappeared at the end of the Season 5 finale, having changed the course of time when she came back from the future. However, that’s not the only thing she changed. In the final moments of the finale, “Legacy,” the date of the newspaper headline, which has teased Barry’s disappearance since the very first episode of The Flash, changed from April 2024 to 2019. Of course, that means Barry’s demise has been moved up five years and this unexpected turn of events will force Barry, Iris, and the rest of Team Flash to deal with the fallout.
Eric Wallace spoke with TVLine to offer some insight for what fans can expect regarding the headline and the characters’ reactions to it.
It’s like stepping on a landmine. All of a sudden the future is today, and that turns everything upside-down. You’ll see each member of Team Flash react in their own unique, and sometimes tragic, way.
It’s been revealed that Barry and Iris will discover that the speedster will die in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” at the end of the Season 6 premiere, “Into the Void.” The Monitor will be paying them a little visit to let them know that “Barry Allen has to die.” Talk about a wake-up call. While attending San Diego Comic-Con, The Flash stars Grant Gustin and Candice Patton revealed that Barry and Iris will keep the scarlet speedster’s disappearance a secret for a couple of episodes before telling the team. That makes sense, especially considering the emotional toll the news will take on the couple who will also be dealing with the grief of losing their daughter.
Every character reacts differently to tragedy on the show and there’s no doubt that the weight of this news will resonate with everyone in a way that could lead to some meaty and very emotional scenes. The Flash showrunner also revealed that the newspaper date change means that Iris has to get the Central City Citizen up and running much faster than expected. Although the new Harrison Wells, played by Tom Cavanagh, has no emotional connection with Barry quite yet, he will be “integral” to “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”
[Wells] is integral to not just the first half of the season, but his storyline leads directly into the crossover.
With only eight episodes to get through before the ultimate tragedy strikes, The Flash will have a lot of emotional baggage to handle before Barry disappears amid red skies and chaos. The season hasn’t even started, but the anticipation alone is killing me.
The Flash Season 6 premieres on Tuesday, October 8 at 8 p.m. ET on the CW. For all your TV-loving needs, check out our schedule of new and returning shows.
