The Flash Showrunner Speaks Out on If They Really Killed SPOILER
This week's episode of The Flash deepened the "Armageddon" storyline, with Barry (Grant Gustin) and the rest of Team Flash trying to prove to Despero (Tony Curran) that The Flash couldn't possibly become the villain responsible for the end of the world even as things get progressively worse and worse for the Barry. However, in the final moments of the episode, there's a development that not only makes it seem like Despero could be right about Barry descending into madness but also reveals a shocking and deeply devastating death. Now, series showrunner Eric Wallace is weighing in about whether The CW series really killed off a beloved character.
Warning: Spoilers for this week's episode of The Flash, "Armageddon, Part 2", below.
After defeating Xotar, Barry and the team want to celebrate with lunch. It prompts Barry to suggest that they should get Joe (Jesse L. Martin) to make them something to eat and that's when a bomb is dropped. It turns out that Joe is dead and has been for six months. More than that, Barry gave the eulogy at his funeral and seems to remember none of it. It's a huge shock to Barry, but it's also just one more sign that he's losing his mind and he takes off to the Hall of Justice.
While Team Flash is left behind bewildered why Barry seems to have no memory of Joe's death, fans have been left bewildered by Joe's death as well. But is it a real death? Wallace opened up a bit to TVLine and while he didn't exactly give a straight answer, he did tease a "different perspective" for the character.
"Let's just say that Joe is going to get an incredibly different perspective on life, and it's going to lead him to, I think, a really big choice," Wallace said. "Everybody seems to think the big choice he made was last year, to put down his badge, but there is a much bigger choice coming his way in Season 8 that takes the character down a path that he didn't know he was on, but that will feel like it's the place he always needed to go."
Like we said, it's not exactly a direct answer. But it does seem to indicate that there will be more to this story as "Armageddon" unfolds and considering how beloved Joe West is a character – and Martin is as a series star – even if we are nearing the end of Joe's story on The Flash, hopefully there will be a chance for a proper sendoff in the end.
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.