The Flash Season 9 is now here, and thus the clock now ticks toward the end of the Arrowverse. The CW’s shared DCTV universe began in 2012, lasting over a decade before sadly petering out to its current state. Thankfully, the final episodes of the universe’s second series will act as an epilogue for all of the shows, though this could have gone even further.
Initial plans for a tenth season of The Flash would’ve possibly involved a crossover event adapting one of DC’s best storylines, plus a true conclusion to an unfortunately canceled Arrowverse series. The ninth season of the Scarlet Speedster’s series will still do some of this, but it might not be enough to give fans the goodbye they deserved. Here’s how bad timing and not enough timing may keep The CW’s universe of shows from being given their proper sendoff.
The Flash Season 9 Will Give Legends of Tomorrow Some Closure
Eric Wallace, the current showrunner of The Flash, confirmed all the characters from Legends of Tomorrow will appear in one episode of the series’ ninth and final season. Previously, these characters were last seen in the series finale of their own show, even though the episode wasn’t meant to act in such a manner. During the production of what would become Legends of Tomorrow‘s final season, there was the chance that the show wouldn’t be renewed for another. This ended up coming to pass, meaning that the show concluded on a rather annoying cliffhanger.
The series’ cancellation was one in a series of Arrowverse shows coming to an end, with Supergirl, Black Lightning and even Arrow — the show that started it all — being ended for various reasons. Afterward, it would even be revealed that the popular Superman and Lois wasn’t set in the Arrowverse, making it clear that the once thriving shared universe was living on borrowed time. With The Flash entering its final season, that time is now over, but some of the dangling Flash plot threads will likely be finished up. There’s always the chance that these developments are entirely rushed, however, especially since it has to be compressed into one truncated season.
The Flash’s Final Season Doesn’t Have Enough Time to End the Arrowverse
The Flash Season 9 is only 13 episodes, which is a step-down from the 20 episodes of the previous season. Obviously, most of these episodes will be focused on ending the narrative of the show itself, and ending the Arrowverse as a whole will need to be a lesser priority. Even with a full-sized season, it would be a Herculean task to bring a fitting and reverent end to a decades’ worth of different TV shows. Add in the smaller episode count, and said treatment will likely be glorified cameos more than anything else. The Legends’ appearance and their being out of jail may not even be explained, continuing to rob fans of seeing how that story would have unfolded.
Wallace had wanted to do a two-parter in order to properly wrap up the cliffhanger for Legends of Tomorrow, but the lessened episodes meant that this would be impossible. This also meant that ideas for a 10th season were scrapped, as well. These plans included adapting DC’s Blackest Night storyline and doing an original crossover story titled The Forever War, which would have finally brought the Arrowverse Justice League together for a proper adventure. There’s no telling if this tentative 10th season would have been given the normal amount of episodes. But if it did, it would have meant giving the Legends and other familiar faces more screen time for a proper farewell.
Likewise, the actors from the previous seasons would have had more time to schedule coming back, something which may not happen due to the 9th season still being produced at this time. At best, there’s a high chance that The Flash‘s final season will be too crowded in its trying to be the ultimate cap on the Arrowverse, robbing these final episodes of their impact and ending the shared universe on an even more bittersweet note.
