The Flash Star Danielle Panabaker Teases Paying Respect to Arrow in Final Season Episode (Exclusive)

With The Flash ending its run after nine seasons on The CW, series star Danielle Panabaker will be stepping behind the camera to direct an episode of the long-running Arrowverse series one last time later this season. Panabaker will direct the ninth episode of the season, but it's not just any episode. The ninth episode will see the return of Arrow stars Stephen Amell and David Ramsey as well as see The Flash actors Keiynan Lonsdale and Sendhil Ramamurthy return as well and while plot details are being kept secret, Panabaker told ComicBook.com that the episode will pay respect to Arrow and have plenty of throwbacks throughout.

"I'm incredibly grateful. I'm grateful. I'm grateful to have been given the opportunity to direct on this show the first time and so many times after that. And in particular, episode nine, it was a really incredible script and to get to bring it to life was so much fun," Panabaker said. "Obviously it was not without its challenges, as is always the case with television. You have great ideas, but only so much time and money to make these dreams come true. I am so lucky that that was the episode that I got to direct, and to do it with all those different people, Stephen and David and Keiynan and Sendhil. It was a treat to get to work with them. I love directing and I love working with actors. I'm grateful. That's really truly what it boils down to."

She continued, "And this one in particular, I think the crew laughs at me sometimes, because as someone who's been here since the beginning, I remember most scripts and locations. I will say, one of the things that I think has been a strength of our show is, for the most part, everyone's trying to do their best. Everyone's doing the best they can with, again, the limitations of time and money, et cetera, of a television show. But everyone really is trying to do the best that they can, and that is a special energy and brings a special magic to the show. I, in particular with episode nine, wanted to pay respect to Arrow and those characters and those relationships and the fight sequence that they did. I wanted to do throwbacks to all of those, so I hope it really comes through."

When it was announced that Amell was returning to the Arrowverse as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, series showrunner Eric Wallace said in a statement that it was "important to create a full-circle moment" with the character's return. Arrow was the series that first kicked off The CW's connected universe of DC series that ultimately became known as the Arrowverse. Panabaker actually made her Arrowverse debut on Arrow in its second season in the episode "The Man Under the Hood".

"As soon as our final season was announced, we knew we wanted Stephen to come back and reprise his iconic role as Oliver Queen," Wallace said. "After all, it was Oliver who originally launched Barry Allen on his heroic path. That's why everyone on Team Flash felt so strongly that it was important to create a full-circle moment with Oliver's return in the final season of The Flash. The result is an epic-yet-emotional episode we hope Arrowverse fans will enjoy. It's all to say 'thank you' to everyone for watching and supporting our show throughout nine wonderful years. We absolutely cannot wait for everyone to see Grant and Stephen saving the world together again. And yes, there will be thrills, chills and tears."

The Flash airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.