The Flash dropped a huge depressing bomb on its audience in the winter finale. Barry time traveled, this time accidentally, to the future and saw Savitar kill the love of his life, Iris West. This vision, combined with Savitar’s words earlier in the episode that someone on Team Flash would die in the future, suggests that Iris West might die before she ever gets the chance to become Iris West-Allen. Still, Flash fans shouldn’t worry too much. There is no way that the show is going to kill Iris, but someone else important might die.
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Why Iris Is Safe
The Flash made some big mistakes at the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3, but the show is not insane enough to kill off its female lead. The Flash is too solid a show and too positive to do something as dark and shocking as kill off Iris. Over and over The Flash has told us in season 3 that there is no Flash without Iris West. While a cynical viewer could suggest that this means The Flash is amping up Iris’ importance to really emotionally cut the audience with her death, the statement is true. The Flash needs Iris. Without her it is a very different show.
Iris isn’t just Barry’s love interest or the female lead of the show. Iris is Barry’s lightning rod — she keeps him grounded, focused and happy. Without Iris Barry is a much sadder (and let’s face it, far stupider) character. The Flash would fundamentally change without Iris on the show influencing Barry. It would be a much darker and probably not nearly as good series. In addition The Flash writers probably would (and should) be gun-shy about killing such a major and fan-favorite female character after the backlash Arrow received for killing off Laurel Lance in season 4.
Still, Savitar did predict that someone on Team Flash would die and The Flash is in the habit of killing off at least one major character each season. So while Iris might be safe, we could still see Barry’s vision of the future play out. It just might be someone else in Savitar’s clutches who gets violently stabbed. Here are a few options:
Joe West
Wally West is probably just as safe as Iris. The Flash went through all this effort for Wally to become Kid Flash, and they aren’t going to kill him off in the same season. (If anything I would guess that Wally would meet Savitar’s warning of a “fate worse than death.” Another West might face a terrible and fatal end, though. As long as Joe West is on The Flash and the show teases a character dying, Joe is going to be a likely candidate.
Jesse L. Martin is one of the most recognizable figures on the show, but he could easily want to move to another job. Joe is also Barry’s father figure and one of the people he most cares about in this world. If Savitar doesn’t kill Iris to hurt Barry, Joe is an equally devastating substitute. The only reason to think Joe wouldn’t die is because he has lived through so many other dangers.
H.R. Wells
The Harrison Wells of Earth-19 remains a pretty useless character. H.R. is just a comedic relief character, who is funny but has to constantly justify his existence. Maybe The Flash introduced H.R. and is trying to make him more likable because they know they want Savitar to kill someone this season and H.R. is expendable. Harry of Earth-2 is still out there on The Flash and bound to return to Team Flash at some point. Maybe it will be H.R.’s death at Savitar’s hands that convinces Harry to come back to Earth-1.
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H.R. Wells’ death would hit Barry and the rest of the team the hard because it is really up to the team to protect him. The character is not nearly as capable and independent as the previous two Harrison Wellses. H.R. Wells is an innocent. Barry loves to torture himself for the death of innocents as much as The Flash loves to put him in that situation.
Jesse Quick
Ultimately, though, maybe it won’t be Flash’s love interest who is killed by Savitar. Maybe it will be Kid Flash’s girlfriend who dies instead. Jesse Quick is only an unofficial member of Team Flash as she has her own Earth and her own problems. The Flash could easily have Jesse come back to Earth-1 and meet her demise at the end of Savitar’s arm blades. It would be a very Flash-like twist if Barry’s vision of the future played out exactly as he saw it but with Wally standing in for Barry and Jesse for Iris. The show loves misdirection that hints at the real outcome of events.
Outside of H.R., Jesse’s death would probably have the biggest impact without damaging the status quo of The Flash too much. Jesse is a very likable side character but she is still a side character. With Wally finally gaining speedster powers, Barry doesn’t really need Jesse to be his occasional sidekick because he will have a full-time one. Plus Jesse dying could mean that the proper Harrison Wells, Harry, will return to Earth-1.
So what do you think? Are any of these characters’ deaths a real possibility? Are you just as sure that Iris won’t die? Should Savitar kill someone off in season 3? Or should season 3 be one where The Flash doesn’t kill off a major character?
The Flash season 3 returns Tuesday, January 24 at 8/7c on The CW. Want more news? Like our Flash Facebook page.
(Images courtesy of The CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
