The CW ended The Flash's near-decade-long run last night with an action-packed series finale.
The Negative Speed Force was once again at the heart of this episode, with it quickly revealed that the Speed Force's antithesis had given Eddie Thawne another shot at life. As Cobalt Blue, he's given the opportunity to kill Barry Allen in return for a new life for himself as Central City's beloved hero.
After enlisting Reverse-Flash, Savitar, Zoom, and Godspeed, a fight ensues which ultimately comes down to Barry and Eddie confronting each other in the Negative Speed Force (the other evil speedsters are ultimately absorbed by Eddie so he can increase his speed). After convincing his former ally to overcome its dark influence on him, the Scarlet Speedster finally discovers a way to ensure both Forces can coexist.
As a result, Eddie remains the avatar of the Negative Speed Force, but is no longer Barry's enemy; instead, he has the chance to be a superhero with no strings attached.
In recent years, Caitlin Snow's role in The Flash has become increasingly convoluted. Killer Frost was revealed to be an alternate personality and ultimately gained her own body before sacrificing herself. When Caitlin tried to bring the anti-hero back, she inadvertently replaced her mind with a new personality, Khione (who just so happened to be a nature goddess).
Well, she finally vacates Caitlin's body and gives Team Flash their old friend back!
Nora is later born and the Fastest Man Alive then makes a surprising decision. He uses the Speed Force's lightning to give three more humans his powers; Piper Curda's Avery Ho, Trevor Carroll's Max Mercury, and Destiny Huggins' Jess Chambers. Each has ties to the comics and are largely reimagined for the series, and we can't help but wonder if early plans called for them to star in a spin-off.
The Flash then takes one more run through Central City - he clearly plans to remain a hero - and we then bid a final farewell to Grant Gustin's take on the character. With both The CW and the actor moving on from the Arrowverse, we're guessing this is it for his Barry, but it's been quite the ride...