After nine seasons, The Flash has made its final run, closing out the series and the entire Arrowverse, where The CW's DCTV programming has maintained a shared continuity for the past decade. The series finale, titled "A New World, Part Four," concludes the four-part storyline that saw the show reexamine its history with a full-on supervillain reunion. It isn't a perfect episode, but The Flash delivers a satisfying finale, putting a solid cap on an uneven series.
Eddie Thawne, the new avatar of the Negative Speed Force, summons the speedster supervillains that battled Barry Allen and his friends to help him permanently destroy the Flash's legacy. As the Legion of Zoom and Team Flash go to war across Central City, Iris West-Allen prepares to give birth to her and Barry's daughter, Nora, while reality hangs in the balance. Running against all his greatest villains at once, Barry is in for the fight of his life, but some surprise reinforcements are poised to help him defend Central City when he needs them the most.
Getting to see Zoom, Godspeed, the Reverse-Flash, and Savitar working together is one of the biggest treats of the entire season and a great way to underscore the high stakes. The action sequences are among the better The Flash has had in recent seasons, even if they feel shortened, likely for pacing and budget reasons. Production on the series finale did run into last-minute complications behind-the-scenes, which may have been a major factor. Still, the acknowledgment of the show's extensive history is welcome and gives much of the supporting cast something to do during the climactic confrontation.
This finale is more about the continuation of Barry's legacy as a family member and superhero than the high-speed fight. Barry and Iris' relationship has always been the show's emotional core and stands front and center for the second half of the episode. Fans of the couple will be pleased about Barry and Iris' happy ending, as well as the respective send-offs that Team Flash gets, particularly the Khione character arc, which was one of the season's more uneven subplots.
For fans looking for a wider sense of closure to the Arrowverse, that's not really the point of this finale, with the focus wisely and appropriately set on The Flash itself; anything else would detract from that. The oddest moment is the finale's epilogue, which feels tacked on to give the show a possible way forward should the Arrowverse join Superman & Lois in some capacity, but all it does is create glaring loose ends. These are ultimately quibbles, however, with the episode hitting the emotional notes when it counts.
The Flash Season 9 is an odd and uneven beast, in retrospect, possessing the show's best and worst qualities, with several episodes among its best and some at rock bottom. Really, though, it's been a blessing to get one last tour of the Arrowverse with the Scarlet Speedster. All the ups and downs are just part of the larger journey. Fortunately, the series finale can be counted among the season's best, reminding audiences why they've tuned in for nine years to catch the continuing adventures of Barry Allen and company.
Developed for television by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, The Flash Season 9 is available to stream on The CW App.