The new seasons of The Flash and Arrow both feature the same theme: death of the main character. However, it seems unlikely that the Arrowverse is planning on killing both of its longest-running stars. So why are both shows dealing with the same issue?
Arrow is ending after an eighth and final season of ten episodes. If the flashforwards of season 7 didn’t make it abundantly clear, the finale spelled it out in no uncertain terms that Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) will soon meet his end as a result of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”. According to the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett), Oliver will sacrifice himself to save the entire multiverse. Season 8 will center on Oliver and his mission to save the multiverse. As the season progresses, Oliver will have to come to terms with his impending death.
In the season 6 premiere of The Flash, titled “Into the Void”, Barry (Grant Gustin) and Iris (Candice Patton) encounter the Monitor in the Time Vault. The Monitor confirms that the date of Barry’s vanishing has changed. Originally, a newspaper headline from the future revealed that Barry would vanish in a “Crisis” in 2024. But now his death has moved up a few years to December 10, 2019. The Monitor warns Barry that he too will die, and his death cannot be avoided.
This explains how “Crisis On Infinite Earths” is going to affect all of The Flash’s sixth season. Barry may now have to accept that his death is a necessary sacrifice. Showrunner Eric Wallace has confirmed Barry’s death. The importance of this story to the season is oddly similar to what Arrow is doing with Oliver Queen.
Normally, it would seem strange that two different shows in the Arrowverse would choose to embrace the same theme at the same time. However, this is an unusual situation. “Crisis On Infinite Earths” is the Arrowverse’s biggest crossover, and it encompasses all five shows. Unlike past crossovers, “Crisis on Infinite Earths” is too big to be limited to just one week of television. With this in mind, it makes sense that “Crisis” could affect Arrow and The Flash in similar ways.
That being said, it seems unlikely that both shows will follow through with their promises to kill off their main heroes. If Barry or Oliver really is going to die, the one with the highest chances of dying is Oliver, since Arrow is at the end of its run. Regardless, both shows are handling their protagonists’ “deaths” with a great degree of mystery, so a shocking twist or two could still be in the cards.
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