The Flash: Danielle Panabaker Opens Up About SPOILER’s Series Finale Return

Last week, and it wasn’t just Barry Allen’s story that the series finale, “A New World Part Four” wrapped up. The series also gave several of its other characters endings to their stories as well, particularly Khione. Played by Danielle Panabaker, Khione debuted during the final season emerging from Caitlin Snow’s attempt to resurrect Frost though it was revealed that Khione’s arrival came at the cost of Caitlin’s life. But by the end of the season, there was a surprising turn and for Panabaker, it was the way she wanted things to end.

Warning: spoilers for the series finale of The Flash, “A New World: Part Four” beyond this point.

Having come to realize that Khione was an actual goddess during the season, the finale saw Khione realize that it was time for her to ascend, leaving by not just her Team Flash family but her mortal form so that she could fulfill her true purpose. However, when Khione departed in a storm of the elements, she left something — or someone — behind in her wake: Caitlin Snow. As she departed, Khione restored Caitlin to life, reuniting her with Team Flash. For Panabaker, ending the series as Caitlin was exactly how she wanted to depart the series.

“It was how I wanted to go out,” Panabaker said of returning as Caitlin (via Entertainment Weekly). “It’s how I joined the show, and it was appropriate that that’s how I left the show as well. When Eric [Wallace, showrunner] initially conceived Season 9, he thought he was going to have Season 9 and 10 to tell a lot of stories. I think it snuck up on him and the writers how quickly they needed to wrap up so many storylines. I did feel pretty strongly, and I was pretty vocal about this, that it would only be right to bring Caitlin back again to honor the show and how we started. That’s not to say that she hasn’t grown and the other characters I’ve played have been a lot of fun, but I was invested in that. I do feel that, for me, the show ends on a hopeful note and that is what I will choose to focus on and take away from this show.”

What storylines were cut from The Flash‘s final season?

Wallace in another interview elaborated on the storylines that were cut from The Flash‘s final season, including the two-season arc for Khione.

“With Khione, although it worked out great, I had originally pitched it to Danielle Panabaker as a two-year story, and suddenly I didn’t have to years to tell her story,” Wallace said. “So, the whole first half got thrown out. It was supposed to start with who comes out of that crystal coffin, right? We had to change so many things. Where we ended up is equally as shocking and surprising and emotional as we would’ve gotten to in Season 10, but we did lose some of the minutia that I think would’ve been very enjoyable for the fan base and for us as writers and directors.”

Will the Arrowverse continue after The Flash finale?

With a live-action DC “reset” set to occur in the next few years, and The CW’s long-gestating Justice U spinoff canceled last week, fans have been curious to see if and how the Arrowverse continues.

“I’ve wrapped up a lot of things in the series finale, and it ends on a very hopeful note that shows you how the future of the Arrowverse could continue in some way, shape, or form,” Wallace explained in a recent interview. “It hopefully gives people closure, but also some hope for the future, because otherwise it’s very sad to think that there’s no more crossovers, that there won’t be an Arrowverse after May 24. That saddens me because I love it so much, and it was such a big part of not just my life, but a whole fan base’s life.”

What did you think of The Flash‘s series finale? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.