‘The Flash’ boss Eric Wallace teases Season 9’s Big Bad and explains what’s in store for the finale

Eater alert! This post details the Season 9 premiere Flash on the CW.

Flash Fighting crime in Central City is almost over — but not before an ultimate villain comes to town.

The ninth and final season of the CW series kicked off Wednesday night with the introduction of some new obstacles for Barry Allen and Team Flash. The episode opens with Barry and Iris (Candice Patton) stuck in a time loop, which heightens some of their fears of time passing and their lack of control over what may or may not happen to them. To get out of it, the couple must decide to lead a life together instead of avoiding problems and each other.

But just when things seem to be settling down again, Barry faces another bump in the road. Viewers will remember that, at the end of Season 8, Catelyn is on a mission to bring back Frost after sacrificing herself to become Hellfrost to quench Deathstorm by absorbing his powers. Well, after an entire episode of wondering what happened to both characters following season 8’s cliffhanger, we finally have an answer (sort of). It’s not Frost or Catelyn who emerges from the Frost Chamber, but an entirely new character who will likely join Team Flash.

The episode’s finale is a one-two punch, soon after revealing that Captain Boomerang (who terrorized Barry in the time loop) is actually working for someone surrounded by red lightning. But who could it be?

Showrunner Eric Wallace broke down the season 9 premiere and gave Deadline some answers about who the newcomers and fan favorites will be in Central City for the series finale — and what they all mean for the fate of Team Flash.

DEADLINE: How did you approach these final episodes and what do you want to leave fans with at the end of the season?

Eric Wallace: At the end of season 8, we knew it was going to be our final season, hoping there would still be a season 9 and a 10 and reach 200 episodes. I had a master plan for those two seasons. Then we found out that not only will it be the final season, but it will also be a mini-season of 13 episodes, not 22. It really set things in motion and changed a lot about how we approached the story. The idea is to come up with as many Arrowverse people as we can. Sadly, we have to tell the end of the Flash family story, and we barely make it in 13 episodes. So unfortunately, that’s not going to happen arrow-centered. Although we have a lot of guest stars, it will be great flash-Kendrick is the important thing, really respecting Barry and Iris. Coincidentally, related to this, I had plans for episode 200, which should have gotten us there. Now, it’s our series finale. So, we still get to tell that very emotional, very special epic story. It’s just a series finale.

Deadline: I’m glad you mentioned the guest stars. How did you create the right stories for them to make a final appearance?

Wallace: It all had to do with what would work for the story we wanted to tell in Season 9. The themes of this season are Barry coming to terms with unfinished business in the past and Iris coming to terms with future events that have yet to come. , and with that comes the apprehension and anxiety. In Barry’s thematic journey, dealing with the past, we only needed people from his past to join the story at key moments throughout Season 9. Two people who felt like they needed to be a part of the season were Stephen Amell and Rick Cosnett. We need them to come back, because they’re a big part of Season 1 of the show in a very different way. One is a mentor figure and the other is Barry’s close friend. Fortunately, it all worked out. It’s the same thing with many other people chosen to guest star, especially Javicia Leslie. Ironically, his story ties in—not a spoiler—but it has to do with future events, which play directly into Iris’ story. We knew coming out of Armageddon last year that Candice Patton and Javisia Leslie had such incredible chemistry, and I knew I wanted to duplicate it. So when we decided dramatically to tell Iris’ story this season with anticipation and anxiety about the future, bringing in Javisia became a no-brainer.

Deadline: In the premiere, we see Iris and Barry get stuck in this time loop It’s an interesting way to drive home that they have very similar fears, yet are unable to see eye to eye.

Wallace: It hit home. Barry and Iris had the same fear, just opposite sides of the coin. He is afraid, how can I control my future? And he’s afraid ‘Oh my God, I have no control over the future – it’s going to happen, and it’s set in stone and I’m almost a victim.’ This sends Barry into a tailspin and Iris, who is the smartest person in the season premiere, rightly says: ‘The only way out of this is to be together as a couple and be in the moment for both of us. ‘ This is really the season theme that runs throughout the rest of Season 9 It’s a series about family, and how families survive and thrive with everything that’s happening around them in the world They don’t just live by wishing that something is going to happen in the future. They do not survive or certainly thrive solely on past events. You have to be together and you have to do it in the moment. You have to move forward moment by moment, moment by moment. That’s what we’ll see Barry and Iris do all season, and we see them do it in some fun ways. This episode introduces their Babymoon adventure. Sometimes, we will see it on camera, where they may go to an exotic locale. Other times, we’ll hear about it off camera, because at some point, let’s face it, they have to fight crime. They can’t just be galavanting across the planet all the time. So it all fits together to create what I call the season of romance This is the greatest romance the Arrowverse has ever seen. I know Alicity (Oliver and Felicity) fans have a bit to say about this, but from my perspective, it’s Barry and Iris.

DEADLINE: As I’m sure many fans will, I spent most of the episode wondering what happened to Frost and Catelyn. What can you say about this new character who is finally revealed and will Frost and Catelyn return?

Wallace: Well, Daniel Panabaker’s character says in the premiere, ‘I’m not Frost and I’m not Catelyn.’ That is the truth. The question then is not just who is this person, but why are they here? Why now? And what will they do as far as being fed Flash? People don’t have to wait much longer. They’ll find out in Episode 2 who this person is — what his name is, what powers he may or may not have. But a mystery about his season-long arc, why is he here right now? I spoke to Daniel about this and he is very excited. I told him that his character is integral to the series finale when we meet our final big bad. The Flash can’t win the final battle against evil facing Central City in our final episode without the help of this new character, and that’s why he’s here now. But does he know that? That is the journey he is on. It is a journey of self discovery.

Deadline: So let’s address the last scene. Is Captain Boomerang working for Thawne?

Wallace: Is this what we learned at the end of 901?

DEADLINE: I mean, that’s what I thought, but that’s why I’m clarifying!

Wallace: I’d say stay tuned until next week, because I don’t know if there was a thaw. Now, you hit on something that is very critical. What was that red lightning bolt at the end? Definitely. Without question. But who is the red thunder? Well, the good news is for fans, you’re going to find out next week. The point of a short, rushed season of 13 episodes is that we don’t have time to fool around. We got to get things going very quickly. So the mystery of who is the first big bad of the year will be solved at the end of episode 2. The question in episode 3 and beyond is why are they here and why are they so angry at The Flash?

Deadline: What else can we expect from this final season?

Wallace: I’d say look for a lot more romance in Season 9. One of the things we intentionally wanted to do while working on the scripts this year was to add more emotional and human quality to the everyday settings with all of our characters. So the romance isn’t just about Barry and Iris. It may apply to all characters. So look for the same coolness and thrills and action that we’ve always had earlier in the season, but I’m happy to report that people have a ROM less. [as well].