The Flash: SPOILER Returns in "Death Rises"

After the arrival of Deathstorm in "Resurrection", this week's episode of The Flash, "Death Rises" saw the terrifying entity's intentions revealed, brought in threads from the beginning of Season 6, saw an escalation to Iris' time sickness, and even had a few surprise turns that have set the stage for a tense episode next week. But the biggest surprise was the arrival of a very unexpected character at the end of the episode, though that arrival isn't exactly what it seems.

Warning: spoilers for this week's episode of The Flash, "Death Rises", below.

Early in the episode, Deathstorm revealed his endgame: he wants to make Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) his bride. That means that now that he's "whole" thanks to her trying to bring Ronnie (Robbie Amell) back to life, he is determined to transform her into something like himself. The episode finds Deathstorm working his way through Central City to gather up enough grief to make the transformation while Team Flash tries to figure out how to find and stop him. Ultimately, Deathstorm does manage to grab Caitlin, but he isn't able to fully transform her yet. He tells her she's not ready, but he will return when she is.

But there's more to it than that. Grief is a major component of Deathstorm's whole deal so he's still showing up in the form of deceased loved ones of Team Flash to mess with them and exacerbate their own grief. Allegra (Kayla Compton) ends up confronted by her dead cousin, Esperanza, and at the end of the episode Iris (Candice Patton) finds herself faced with someone from her own past as well: Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett).

Cosnett's return to The Flash itself isn't exactly a surprise. It was revealed last fall that the actor would be returning to The Flash and indeed, he appeared in the first post-"Armageddon" episode, "Impulsive Excessive Disorder". But it was also confirmed that Eddie would have a multiple episode arc in Season 8, something that showrunner Eric Wallace previously teased.

"No, this is a very, very different story," Wallace said. "Again. No spoilers here, but let's just say Eddie coming back after 806 is not what you're expecting."

As it turns out, it's definitely not anything anyone had guessed. It appears that Eddie is returning not as Eddie, but as a machination of Deathstorm and indeed, the preview for next week's "Death Falls" seems to confirm that with Eddie telling Iris that Eddie died and that she will, too. It will be interesting to see how that plays out, but Wallace previously said he hopes that fans enjoy the twist.

"It was so fun having Rick back on set and with the gang," Wallace said. "I remember speaking to him and saying, 'You know, you helped create this legacy way back in Season 1 and I'm so happy to be able to bring you back.' When I kind of told him what our plan was, he kind of laughed and just said, 'I'm on board. Let's do this.' So yeah, he had a good time, and we had a good time having him back. I hope the audience enjoys the twist we're gonna put on his character."

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