With this new year, I have decided to change the format of the weekly articles.  Rather than a recap, I want to work with some theories for the remainder of the season leading into next season.  Will my theories be close, or fall extremely short?  Read on to find out:

All Roads Lead To The Crisis — Well this is an easy one.  We know that next season will focus on The Crisis on Infinite Earths, but how will that all come about?  During the Elseworlds crossover event, we met The Monitor as well as Dr. Destiny and Psycho-Pirate who all alluded to an upcoming threat…

The threat will clearly be the Anti-Monitor. The Anti-Monitor is from an alternate universe that parallels the one The Monitor is in.  Made of pure anti-matter, the Anti-Monitor wants to take over those weaker than him (obviously).  This is the impending threat The Monitor and Psycho-Pirate were referring to.  In the comics, the enormous battle with The Anti-Monitor leads to the end of all the separate earths therefore combing all of our heroes and villains in to one comprehensive earth.  This is a smart move for The CW, because all the different earths can be confusing at times, and they are at a point where they need to move on, allowing our heroes to all be in the same universe.  It is a good way to also revamp anything that hasn’t been working. This could also be a good excuse to clean house on some of the shows.  Possibly get rid of some of the excessive secondary characters who tend to take up too much of the limelight.  This could be a fresh start. If some supporting characters were to get cut due to the aftermath of a single universe, who would you want them to get rid of? Why?

Someone Will Have To Sacrifice — What would a season of The Flash be without someone sacrificing themself?  This has usually taken place in the form of Barry making the ultimate sacrifice (or Iris…yikes), but this time I think it will be Nora.  Her goal was to get to know her father and change the fact that he gets lost in The Crisis.  In order to do so, she is also playing with fire by aligning with Reverse Flash.  She also looks to not only somewhat trust him, but will let him out of his cell due to having limited time. This is not going to come without consequences. Especially with learning that Nora had Gideon delete all the files regarding her…  In order for Barry to not get lost in The Crisis, one of the three will have to go.

This week’s episode gave us another look at Thawne.  More than anything, he seems jealous of The Flash.  He continues to seemingly want to “help” Nora to help Barry.  This can’t be legit though.  There is no way.  This has to be a way for Thawne to escape.  It’s still interesting as to how/why Nora and Thawne are so close.  He even trained her in some ways.  There are definitely deeper implications with this.  Maybe he does want to in some way to help Barry (and I think he will next season), but you know he will eventually screw him over again. I mean come on, it’s Reverse Flash.

We are already seeing a change in Nora since the Reverse Flash reveal.  She has been adamant this episode about not trusting criminals (The Weather Witch), but yet she ironically has been working with Thawne.  Is this because she gains something, and maybe her guilt is leading her to overcompensate? Keep your eyes on this space.

The Paper Will Change — That newspaper article has been a focus since Season 1.  It will all come to fruition next season, but I feel that at the end of the day, Barry will not be lost in The Crisis.

I also feel that the ultimate sacrifice in The Crisis will not be The Flash, but Oliver.  He spoke to The Monitor alone and also alluded to the fact that the world needs more individuals like Barry.  This would be a nice way to close the Arrow series as well, as The CW begin to transition to Batwoman.

The Meta “Cure” Will Affect Team Flash — Kind of an X-Men: The Last Stand approach with the idea of “curing” meta humans.  Since Cisco is realizing that this cure could be a possibility, I think it may mean that one of our meta heroes may eventually lose their powers (or be “cured”).  Since he is usually interacting with Caitlin, I’m sure some may think that she could lose her Killer Frost persona, but I don’t think so.  I think Cisco may eventually lose his powers.  Why?  He’s been the individual who usually seems reluctant to really learn more of his abilities.  Barry and Caitlin have embraced who they are and even advanced their powers, but Cisco has not been presented as wanting to further his vibing abilities.  Even watch him when he vibes. He seems reluctant at times to do so, and is always somewhat traumatized once he comes out of his vibing.  Cisco has become less light-hearted, and much more series since unlocking his powers. Now I am not saying that he will volunteer to lose his abilities, but I have a feeling he is going to look into curing the metas they created, yet inadvertently “cure” himself.

Reverse Flash Will Become An Unlikely Ally — Quid Pro Quo: Thawne is helping Nora, so he obviously wants something in return.  I will take this a step further.  I think that he is the key to fighting The Anti-Monitor.  In the comics, some of our heroes went back in time to try and defeat him.  Now, The Flash series has gone this route before, but they have never had the time-traveling knowledge that Thawne has.  He is the most knowledgeable of the Speed Force and time-travel in general.  Will our heroes have to align with their main foe in order to succeed?  Can they trust him?  Of course, they can’t, but that is what makes the situation all the more interesting!

What do you think of the theories proposed?  Do they carry any validity? What did you think of this week’s episode?  Leave your thoughts and theories in the usual spot, and thanks for reading!

The Flash returns next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

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