Flash Theory: Nora is Thawne's Daughter, Not Barry Allen's

The Flash dropped a few bombshells regarding Barry's daughter, Nora West-Allen, in the midseason finale, which calls into question both her motives and her honesty. The Flash season 5 midseason finale also links Nora with the Reverse-Flash, aka Eobard Thawne. Given the show's track record for shocking twists, it may not be outside the realm of possibility that Nora isn't Barry's daughter at all; instead, she could be Eobard's daughter.

In the The Flash's 100th episode, Barry and Nora had to travel back in time to different moments in his lifetime, including his battles with the Reverse-Flash, Savitar, and Zoom. The object of their mission was to procure a device that they could use to defeat Cicada, a villain that was inadvertently created by Nora's tampering with the time stream. During an encounter with the season 1 Eobard Thawne, Nora was visibly shaken at the sight of Thawne's Reverse-Flash costume and again when she learned that Thawne murdered Barry's mother, Nora Allen (which is something she apparently didn't know before that night).

At the end of the episode, Nora visits Thawne's AI, Gideon, in the secret chamber at S.T.A.R. Labs and uploads her journal of Speed Force-coded notes. Nora asks to send a message as well, but changes her mind and decides to deliver it herself. She travels to 2048 to angrily confront an imprisoned Eobard Thawne, who is apparently secretly involved in Nora's mission in 2018. And it's this scene that potentially sets up The Flash's darkest twist yet - that Nora West-Allen could really be Thawne's daughter, not Barry's.

The Flash's Twists Tend To Play With Barry's Family

The reveal that Nora is connected to Eobard Thawne is right in line with previous twists from past seasons of The Flash. The main storyline in each season of The Flash generally comes with a few twists and turns along the way, and many of them have a lot to do with Barry and his family. Barry's mentor, Harrison Wells, turned out to be the man who murdered his mother in season 1. In The Flash season 2, Barry discovered that Zoom's mysterious prisoner, the real Jay Garrick, was actually the Earth-3 version of Barry's father, Henry Allen, even though he wasn't actually Barry's father.

After spending nearly a season trying to unravel the mystery of Savitar in The Flash season 3, Team Flash was horrified to find out that the self-proclaimed God of Speed was actually a time remnant of a future version Barry. The time remnant became a villain after feeling that he had been abandoned by Barry and his family. One of The Flash season 4's biggest twists came at the end of the season was the season finale's cliffhanger ending, which saw Nora reveal her identity to her parents. Perhaps at this point it's not a stretch of the imagination to say that Nora isn't exactly who she says she is. People close to Barry have been known to keep secrets from him, and this could be The Flash producers' latest twist.

Nora Says She's Barry's Daughter, But She's Lied Before

Nora West-Allen is the latest person in Barry's extended family to hide things from him, but this isn't her first offense. At the beginning of The Flash season 5, Nora claimed she couldn't return to the future using superspeed or the Legends' Waverider because of negative tachyons in her body. Barry later realized that Nora lied about the tachyons as an excuse to remain in the present.

The only character who seems to have reservations about Nora is Sherloque Wells. In an earlier episode, Sherloque asked Nora if anyone influenced her decision to travel back in time and alter history by helping Barry with the falling satellite. Nora's nervous reaction to the question was suspicious to say the least, and The Flash season 5's midseason finale revealed why: Nora is working for the Reverse-Flash.

Nora's deceptions go even deeper, though. She also has a journal written in the same language used by Barry when he came out of the Speed Force in The Flash season 4 premiere. She became frantic when it went missing; Sherloque managed to decipher one telling line, "the timeline is malleable", which is a far cry from Nora's explanation, which is that she was recording events just in case the timeline was changed.

What other secrets is Nora keeping from her father and the rest of Team Flash? Even though working with Eobard Thawne is a shocking twist in and of itself, there may be even more that Nora wishes to keep hidden, at least from her "parents." There's at least one secret that would be even more heartbreaking to Barry and Iris than the reveal that Nora is helping Thawne, and that would be if Thawne is Nora's father.

Page 2 of 2: Nora is Thawne's Daughter & What This Means For Flash Season 5

Eobard Thawne Reverse Flash in 2049 on The Flash

Theory: Nora Is Actually Eobard Thawne's Daughter, Not Barry's

Nora's lies and relationship with Thawne raises a new question: is Nora really Barry's daughter? Nora was deeply affected when she got a glimpse of Thawne's Reverse-Flash costume. Thawne seemed genuinely surprised when he learned that Barry's daughter's name was Nora and not Dawn, which comic books fans know to be the name of Barry's daughter in the comic books. Thawne then says to Barry, "at least you still have one," which could mean that future Barry has - or had - more than one child. Alternatively, Thawne's surprise could be explained by the idea that future Barry doesn't have a daughter named Nora. The one problem with this theory, though, is that Gideon recognized her as "Nora West-Allen."

Nora also took a DNA test to prove that she was the daughter of Barry and Iris. But Nora somehow deceived everyone by making it appear that she had negative tachyons in her system, so with that in mind, it's possible that she could've faked the DNA test. If Thawne was involved, faking her way through the test would have been even easier. It shouldn't be forgotten that Thawne seamlessly transformed himself into a completely different person by becoming Harrison Wells in season 1. Thawne could have done the same with Nora. Naming his daughter after the woman he killed - his archenemy's mother - is so poetic and evil that it seems like just the sort of thing Thawne would do.

If Nora is Thawne's daughter, it's hard to determine how much she knows about their relationship. Her affection for Barry and Iris does appear to be real, as well as her curiosity about their past. However, her decision to visit Barry's parents prior to the death of Barry's mother could have more to do with the Reverse-Flash than her grandparents, particularly if she knows Thawne is her real father. Another possibility is that Nora is oblivious to all of this and legitimately believes herself to be Barry's daughter. Thawne could have brainwashed her in order to cause Barry heartache.

What This Means For The Flash Season 5

Nora being Thawne's daughter would have major repercussions for the rest of The Flash season 5. First of all, it would renew Thawne's role as Barry's greatest enemy and potentially make him, and not Cicada, the main villain of season 5. Furthermore, it would undoubtedly bring more inner turmoil to the West-Allen couple. After coming to terms with Nora being their daughter and growing close to her, finding out that it was all a devious trick by Thawne would be a huge shock to them both that could hang over them for the remainder of the season - and the series.

If this is the case, then it will open the door for the back half of The Flash season 5 to explore the identity of Barry's real daughter. Barry did mention "twins" in his ramblings when he came out of the Speed Force, and he does have twins in the comics - Dawn Allen and Don Allen. In the Arrowverse, the twins could both be daughters - Nora and Dawn - or Dawn and someone else like Don from the comics. If Eobard Thawne is fooling everyone into thinking Nora is Barry's real daughter, then the truth will eventually emerge in The Flash season 5.