'The Flash' Series Finale: How the CW Series Ends (2024)

The Flash has finished its run.

After nine seasons, the hit CW series based on the DC Comics of the same name came to an end on May 24.

The network confirmed the show’s final season to PEOPLE in August 2022, with executive producer Eric Wallace speaking on the "emotional journey.""Nine seasons! Nine years of saving Central City while taking audiences on an emotional journey full of heart, humor, and spectacle. And now Barry Allen has reached the starting gate for his last race,” he said.

Wallace went on to thank the show’s "amazing" stars — including Grant Gustin (Barry), Candice Patton (Iris), Danielle Panabaker (Khione/Caitlin) and Danielle Nicolet (Cecile/Virtue) — and crew members who "have given their talents, time, and love to bring this wonderful show to life each week."

The Flash marked the last Arrowverse series to take its final bow. Arrow, which kicked off the franchise in 2012, ended its run in 2020 after eight seasons and 170 episodes, while Supergirl's series finale aired in November, six years after its 2015 debut. Legends of Tomorrow ran for seven seasons from 2016 to 2022; Black Lightning aired for four, from 2018 to 2021; and Batwoman got three seasons, from 2019 to March 2022.

The Flash's series finale, which marked part 4 of “A New World,” sees the return of Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett) and several of Barry’s former nemeses as the Negative Speed Force attempts to gain control of the timeline and destroy the Flash forever.

Warning: spoilers for The Flash series finale ahead.

In an effort to stop Eddie, Barry teams up with a number of members from Team Flash, including Khione (Panabaker), Virtue (Nicolet), Allegra Garcia (Kayla Compton), Mark Blaine/Chillblaine (Jon Cor) and Chester P. Runk (Brandon McKnight), though they soon learn that Eddie has gathered his own team of supervillains at his side, including Godspeed (Karan Oberoi), Savitar (Gustin), Eobard Thawne (Tom Cavanagh) and Zoom (Teddy Sears).

The two groups face off, and one by one, Team Flash helps defeat some of Barry’s biggest nemeses. However, as they’re about to defeat Eddie once and for all, Eddie takes the speed from those villains to reenergize himself.

Knowing he needs to stop the Negative Speed Force but not wanting to kill Eddie, Barry finds himself at a standstill. Khione then gives him some sound advice, urging him to find a new balance between the two Speed Forces that doesn’t ultimately end in destruction or violence.

As a result, Barry has a proposition for Eddie: remain the avatar for the Negative Speed Force but don’t give into the darkness. Eddie eventually complies, destroying the blue crystal possessing him.

After making amends with Eddie, Barry returns to the hospital where Iris gives birth to their baby girl, Nora. At the hospital, Iris is later joined by her father Joe (Jesse L. Martin), who holds his granddaughter for the first time. As Joe sings to Nora, Iris looks back on her love story with Barry through the years.

As Iris gives birth, Khione is visited by a Wells in the hospital as Iris gives birth. The new Wells informs Khione that after helping Team Flash with their mission, she needs to “ascend” to become the natural “protector of all things,” meaning her time in human form is over.

Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Khione says her goodbyes to Team Flash, before disappearing into a swirl of the elements. However, in her place, Caitlin Snow returns.

A week after Nora’s birth, Barry and Iris hold a party for their newborn with Team Flash in attendance, including Nora from the future (Jessica Parker Kennedy). As Iris reflects on the crazy past week, future Nora quips that Bart’s due date will be even crazier, hinting at the eventual arrival of Jordan Fisher’s character, who was first introduced in season 7.

At the party, Caitlin has a phone call with her mother, telling her she loves her. Caitlin and Barry also share a heartfelt moment as the latter apologizes for their last conversation together and they share an embrace.

Joe also gives a speech to the “special ladies” in his life. After praising his daughter Iris for all of her accomplishments, including becoming a mom and a Pulitzer Prize winner, he turns his attention to Cecile. He gushes about watching her become a superhero and the best mother to their daughter and notes that whenever their dreams take them, “they will always keep loving each other.” As David Singh (Patrick Sabongui) hands him a box, Joe gets down on one knee and proposes to Cecile, which she happily accepts.

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The final scene shows Barry and Iris adjusting to their new lives as parents.

As Nora begins to cry, Barry tells her a story, which is essentially his beginning voiceover throughout the series. He also reveals that he has given some of his powers to other people, including Avery Ho, Max Mercury, and Jess Chambers, alluding to Barry passing on the mantle of the Flash like in the DC Comics.