| "A New World" | |||
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.webp) Promotional poster for part four | |||
| Episodenos. | Season 9 Episodes 10–13 | ||
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| Running time | 4 episodes, 42 minutes each | ||
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| The Flashseason 9 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"A New World" is theseries finale of the Americansuperhero television seriesThe Flash. The series is set in theArrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the universe, and is a spin-off ofArrow. Spanning the tenth to thirteenth episodes of theninth season, the episodes were the 181st through 184th overall. The episodes began airing on May 3, 2023, and concluded on May 24; the Arrowverse as a whole also concluded with these episodes. The series centers onBarry Allen / The Flash, a crime-scene investigator who gains superhuman speed which he uses to fight criminals, including others who also have superhuman abilities.
Grant Gustin stars as the eponymous character, alongside principal cast membersCandice Patton,Danielle Panabaker,Danielle Nicolet, Kayla Compton, Brandon McKnight, andJon Cor. Former series regulars includingTom Cavanagh,Jesse L. Martin,Rick Cosnett, andJessica Parker Kennedy return for guest appearances. The four-episode arc sees Barry taken throughout time as he attempts to defeat the Negative Speed Force, eventually facing down the resurrectedEddie Thawne (Cosnett) who becomes thespeedsterCobalt Blue.
The first and fourth parts of "A New World" were co-written byshowrunner Eric Wallace with Thomas Pound and Sam Chalsen respectively. Part two was written by Kristen Kim and Lauren Fields; part three was directed by Jonathan Butler and Sarah Tarkoff. Wallace additionally served as director for part one. Compton,Stefan Pleszczynski, andVanessa Parise directed parts two through four respectively. Averaging about 430,000 viewers per episode, "A New World" received mixed reviews from critics.
Chester Runk givesAllegra Garcia her first suit and Iris receives aPulitzer nomination.Barry Allen gets transported to the day his mother,Nora Allen, was killed. He goes toJoe West for help and later sees his parents, but is knocked unconscious byEobard Thawne. While investigating, Joe finds a blue crystal and becomes possessed. After being hospitalized and having lunch with his parents, Barry is approached by Thawne, who gloats about him being unable to stop his plan to kill Barry's younger self. Barry returns to the hospital and says goodbye to his parents. The possessed Joe then attacks him, stating that he is not the new Negative Speed Force avatar but still wants to reduce Barry's impact on the timeline. Barry frees Joe and returns him to his car, but the crystal disappears. Barry then participates in the fight in which Thawne kills Nora Allen, warning hisearlier self not to interfere. Afterwards, Barry tells Thawne that he has made peace with Nora's death before he is transported away again and Thawne loses his powers. Elsewhere, a man resemblingEddie Thawne is struck by lightning at Mercury Labs, finds a file about Eddie's death, and wonders who he is.
Chester finds traces of cobalt where Barry was taken. Mark returns, but he attacks members of team Flash and is later shown to be possessed by the crystal. After he gassesCCC Media,Khione rescues Taylor and Aariz by growing plant cells in their bodies, but their skin turns green. They flee in horror, and Mark calls Khione an abomination. TheSpeed Force defends Iris from Mark and explains that he became a vessel for the Negative Speed Force. After the Speed Force convinces her to embrace her power, Khione frees Mark by disintegrating and reassembling his body, but the crystal disappears. Barry returns as Iris goes into labor and Khione makes plans to leaveCentral City, but is pulled away again. Elsewhere, Malcolm Gilmore—Eddie's facsimile—goes to CaptainDaisy Korber at the CCPD to learn about Eddie. After hearing a voice telling him to find Iris and seeing Eddie's memories, he breaks intoCCC Media and digs up Eddie's grave, only to find it empty. He realizes that he is Eddie and pulls out the bullet he shot himself with.
Eddie, in a moment of rage, inadvertently sends Korber into a singularity. The Speed Force shows up to warn team Flash that Barry and the crystal are in 2049 before vanishing. At theFlash Museum, Eddie sees a girl resemblingNora West-Allen claiming to be his daughter, but the real Nora stops him. Team Flash 2049 finds that Eddie is subconsciously opening the singularities. Nora is possessed by the crystal and tries to tempt Eddie into accepting its power, but Barry appears and escapes with him. Eddie is angered by how his sacrifice did not erase the Reverse-Flash and how he was forgotten while Barry lived and married Iris. In 2023,Cecile Horton projects her consciousness into her 2049 self, but returns when she learns that she rarely visits Joe due to work. After Chester (at Khione's urging) consoles her, she returns and frees Nora from the crystal's influence. Eddie asks 2049 Iris to be with him again, but she rejects him. As the Negative Speed Force begins to fracture the timeline, 2049 Iris talks with Barry before he is pulled away again. Now in possession of the crystal, Eddie accepts its power and opens a portal.
Now a speedster known as Cobalt Blue, Eddie resurrects Eobard Thawne,Hunter Zolomon / Zoom,Savitar andAugust Heart / Godspeed and gathers them in the Negative Speed Force. Returning to 2023, they fight team Flash. Nora fights Savitar whom she stabs. Cecile adopts her future costume and codename Virtue, and defeats Godspeed. Allegra saves Chester from Eobard, andJay Garrick steals Eddie's speed. Eddie retreats into the Negative Speed Force to gain more speed. Not wanting Eddie to die, Barry follows him in and convinces him not to become like Eobard and that they can create a better world by coexisting. Eddie destroys the crystal and says he is happy for Iris, and Barry returns to her at the hospital. Mark reveals that Chester is ametahuman withblack hole powers. The next morning, Nora is born andHarrison Wells tells Khione to ascend as the natural order's protector. She bids farewell to Team Flash and returns her body to Caitlin. At a celebration one week later, Barry apologizes to Caitlin for how they left things and Joe and Cecile get engaged. Barry unleashes a lightning bolt and choosesAvery Ho,Max Mercury, andJess Chambers to become speedsters.
On July 2, 2022,Arrowverse showrunner Eric Wallace revealed that the cast and crew did not expectThe Flash to be renewed for aninth season, so the writers wrote "Negative, Part Two", theseason eight finale, as theseries finale. That episode was originally set to end with a scene in which team Flash would bid farewell to each other, but whenThe CW renewed the show, Wallace and the writers removed the scene and replaced it with a teaser ofCobalt Blue.[1]
When the ninth season was greenlit, Wallace expected the network to renew the series for an additional tenth and final season.[2][3] After it was decided that the show would end with a 13-episode ninth season, he thanked the network for notifying him a year in advance.The Flash was the last remaining active series of the Arrowverse, afterSuperman & Lois wasretconned out of the continuity into another universe,[4] leading the episodes to serve as the conclusion of the Arrowverse.[5][6] Despite this, Wallace did not write "A New World, Part Four" as an ending for the Arrowverse, hoping that the franchise would be continued through other shows.[7]
Grant Gustin contractedCOVID-19 during filming six days before wrapping up the episode, so he had to be quarantined for ten days before returning to the set, resulting in the production shutting down one day before Gustin returned.[8] According to Panabaker, scenes were shot without Gustin to add him in later throughgreen screen and one extra day of filming was ordered to enable him to return to the set.[7]
In preparation for writing the final episodes, Wallace rewatched some of his favorite series finales, taking inspiration from those ofAngel,Lost andThe Office. He said that he wanted to generate similar conclusive emotions to those in theLost finale and drew parallels withThe Office finale in featuring the returns of former main characters. He considered ending on acliffhanger as in theAngel finale, but decided that such a dramaticplot device did not fitThe Flash, promising a "properly" last episode with a just a small nod at the future.[9] Despite not being a writer, Gustin actually worked with Wallace to tweak the epilogue's voiceover so he would sound just like he did in theseries premiere.[10]
Gustin envisioned possibly ending the series withBarry Allen / The Flash sacrificing himself to keep theSpeed Force alive by time traveling back to the show's first episode and becoming the lightning that struck his past self and gave him his powers, thus closing atime loop and giving him a "hero's death" like a fan theory he read claimed, but Wallace opposed Gustin due to wishing a "happy ending" for Barry andIris West-Allen in addition to leaving their future open.[11] Retrospectively, Gustin was satisfied with the chosen ending due to Barry and Iris deserving happiness after being a consistent couple and was glad the showrunners did not go ahead with his suggestion, as having Barry sacrifice himself despiteOliver Queen / Green Arrow / Spectre doing the same for him and their fellow heroes in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" would have "taken away" the impact of Queen's sacrifice.[10]
Other ideas considered forThe Flash finale included an "emotional" and "bigger" one involving theNegative Speed Force that Wallace had conceived years ago, but did not utilize due to the show not being renewed for a tenth season as he expected, and thus not giving enough time to set it up. Two conceived by former showrunnerTodd Helbing saw the Flash vanishing in the Crisis of 2024 before later showsretconned the originally established date or a similar "cool" idea to Gustin's, showing Flash creating himself to protect his past self fromEobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash.[10]
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Bringing back Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash for the finale was always part of the show's plan, according to Wallace, who felt that Barry Allen's story had to end with "one final confrontation" with his archenemy.[12] The episode also bringsHunter Zolomon / Zoom back to fight against Barry one last time, a reunion that Wallace had been hoping to write for several seasons.[13] Despite this, neither Thawne nor Zolomon ultimately fought Barry, instead being paired off with Allegra and Khione respectively.[14]
The episodes include several callbacks to previous seasons, including Barry warning his past self not to intervene in his mother's murder,[a] and the newspaper with the headline "Flash Missing, Vanishes in Crisis".[b][15][16] The final moments of part four call back to the pilot episode, with the closingmonologue mirroring the opening monologue from thefirst season, as well as the chemicals floating when right before speed is granted to Avery Ho.[17][18] In addition, the primary antagonists of seasons one–three andseven also appear.[c][19]
Main cast members Grant Gustin,Candice Patton,Danielle Panabaker,Danielle Nicolet, Kayla Compton, Brandon McKnight andJon Cor appear asBarry Allen / Flash,Iris West-Allen,Caitlin Snow andKhione,Cecile Horton / Virtue,Allegra Garcia / Wavelength,Chester P. Runk andMark Blaine / Chillblaine.[5][20]
The guest cast includes various former series regulars includingJessica Parker Kennedy asNora West-Allen / XS,[21]Jesse L. Martin asJoe West,Rick Cosnett asEddie Thawne / Cobalt Blue,[22] andTom Cavanagh as a version ofHarrison Wells.Matt Letscher and Cavanagh both portray versions ofEobard Thawne.[21][12]
Additionally various actors who recurred in past seasons return includingTeddy Sears, Karan Oberoi,Patrick Sabongui andCarmen Moore reprising their roles asHunter Zolomon / Zoom,[13]August Heart / Godspeed,[23]David Singh, andKristen Kramer respectively. Stephanie Izsak co-stars asDaisy Korber.[24][13]Andre Tricoteux andTobin Bell both guest star asSavitar, with Tricoteux portraying the character on-set and Bell voicing.[25][26]Michelle Harrison guest stars asNora Allen, theSpeed Force andJoan Williams.[13]John Wesley Shipp portrays bothHenry Allen andJay Garrick / Flash.[13][27]Victor Garber appears as a youngerMartin Stein.[28][29]
Cosnett's return as Cobalt Blue completely "blew away" Gustin,[30] admitting that the writers had always built moments to foreshadow a fan-rumored storyline.[7] The episode features several cameos from future speedsters including the previously introducedAvery Ho, portrayed byPiper Curda, as well as new charactersMax Mercury andJess Chambers, portrayed by Trevor Carroll and Destiny Huggins respectively.[31]
Carlos Valdes, who portrayedCisco Ramon / Vibe in previous seasons, considered a return for the series finale so he could "round up" his run on the show since his first appearance in thepilot episode, having left in theseventh season in order to pursue new creative opportunities and deal with mental health issues. However, scheduling conflicts with his starring role in theHulu seriesUp Here prevented him from reprising the role. Ahead of the finale's airing, Valdes felt "heartbroken" at his failure to work out a reprisal as Cisco. Nonetheless, Valdes expressed his hopes that Cisco is happy now withKamilla Hwang, feeling that his character deserves happiness.[32]Jordan Fisher was unable to reprise his role asBart Allen / Impulse in the finale due to scheduling conflicts with his role in the Broadway musicalSweeney Todd.[33]
Stephen Amell, who reprised his role as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow / The Spectre in theninth episode, stated that when he was approached about appearing in the season, he specifically requested that his return not to be in the finale. Amell stated, "Everything about the series finale should be in service ofThe Flash".[34]
A cover version ofElton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" features prominently across the episodes.[35] It is performed byMorgan Kibby andButch Walker.[36] Jesse L. Martin's character sings the song "Little Gregory Girl" to baby Nora. Martin had previously written the song for a friend's daughter.[37]
All four parts were first aired in the United States onThe CW on a weekly basis from May 3, 2023, through to May 24. The episodes averaged about 430,000 viewers per episode. All four parts held a 0.1 share among adults 18–49. Part two was the least viewed of the four, and of the series, with 390,000 viewers.[38] The third highest was part one with 420,000 viewers.[39] The final two parts tied for first, both with 460,000 viewers.[40][41]
"A New World" was met with mixed reactions from critics with many citing the convoluted plot as one of its weaknesses.[5][42]CNN's Brian Lowry wrote that while he believed that the series was past its prime the ending was bittersweet.[5] Charles E Henning ofTell-Tale TV praised the choice to introduce a new villain.[43] Writing forDen of Geek Lacy Baugher praised the return of the various characters particularly that of Cavanagh's Harrison Wells.[44]
Joshua Patton ofComic Book Resources (CBR) felt that the episodes provided closer and "closed the loop" of Barry Allen's origin story.[45] Also writing for CBR, Sam Stone felt that while he enjoyed the episodes, the humor fell flat and was cringe worthy at times, he praised Cosnett's performance as Eddie Thawne.[46][47][48]
The final battle was also divisive. Charles Raymond ofScreen Rant criticized the final battle, describing it as upsetting how easily defeated the villains were, claiming that it retrospectively caused thefirst andthird seasons of the show to appear to have been pointless.[14] Jesse Schedeen ofIGN praised the final battle.[42]TVLine's Matt Mitochev criticized the fight feeling that it was a disappointment.[37]
