The Flash Showrunner Teases Season 8’s Final Big Bad

The final episodes of The Flash‘s eighth season are rapidly approaching and with that third and final “graphic novel” comes a final Big Bad as well. Thus far this season, the heroes have dealt with Despero — and Reverse Flash — as well as Deathstorm as major challenges, all while dealing with other issues as well, namely Iris’ time sickness. And according to series showrunner Eric Wallace, Iris’ time sickness — or more specifically who is behind it — is a major force in the season’s final graphic novel.

“There’s a reason why Iris got her time sickness, and the final big bad of Season 8 is the person behind it,” Wallace told TVLine. “And you will learn why this is all happening.”

While it’s reassuring to know that we’ll finally find out the who and the why, the tease doesn’t really offer much in the way of clues. That said, fans have been speculating that the final big bad of Season 8 may Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash (Tom Cavanagh) again. Thawne returns in next week’s episode, “Keep it Dark”, though he’s seemingly still imprisoned on Lian Yu and given Thawne’s long running history with Barry Allen/The Flash (Grant Gustin), not the mention that he was manipulating the timeline in “Armageddon” to try to erase Barry entirely, the idea that he’s behind Iris’ issues wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.

Adding to that is the idea that the Season 8 finale of The Flash is one that Wallace has previously said could serve as a series finale — though the series has since been renewed for a ninth season which will debut at midseason in 2023. Many fans have long felt that however The Flash ends, it will do so involving Reverse Flash. But even if this final big bad of the season isn’t Thawne, Wallace has previously teased that fans will want to go back and pay attention to “Into the Still Force” as they get to the season finale for some big clues.

“I said, ‘It doesn’t now, but it will in five episodes because we’re going to tie this directly into our season finale.’ And fortunately, I’ve earned their trust over the last three seasons. So, they put their faith in me, they went with it and it’s absolutely true. There’s so many things…” Wallace said. “Because remember, Deon says in the Still Force, very specifically, this is a place where the past, the present and the future all coexist. Which then, Barry remembers and that turns out to be the key to getting out of there. But it makes us ask ourselves, ‘Wait a minute, the past, present and the future…’ Hopefully folks who got this, there’s a reason why after getting out of there, by making that realization, Barry turns to Nora, his daughter and says, ‘Hey, you need to go back to 2049 and check out mom and make sure that everything’s okay.’ That line’s there for a reason. What is going on in the future? And how does that tie into Iris’s time sickness and our season finale. And a line like that, you’ll see really pays off because it directly sets up graphic novel number seven.”

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

Who do you think the last big bad of Season 8 is? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.