The Flash has introduced a loophole that means Barry Allen doesn't have to die in the upcoming "Crisis on Infinite Earths" event. The Arrowverse has been setting up the Crisis since The Flash's pilot episode, with Harrison Wells - a.k.a. the Reverse-Flash - contemplating a newspaper from the future that declared Barry Allen would vanish in a mysterious Crisis.

The Crisis has been bumped forward in time, and in The Flash season 6 premiere the Monitor told Barry that he is destined to die on December 10, 2019. In The Flash season 6, episode 2, Barry managed to project his mind forward in time to experience billions of different future timelines - essentially borrowing a trick from Doctor Strange. He concluded that his death is inevitable, and he's now literally counting down the days to his death.

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But The Flash season 6, episode 3 subtly hinted that there is actually a loophole. In one key scene, Barry Allen admitted his fate to his friends. "When I projected my mind forwards," he told them, "I saw billions of possible futures. And the only timeline where everyone survives was the one where I died." Those words need to be carefully examined, though, because they introduce a subtle loophole in the Crisis logic. Notice that Barry looked for timeline where "everyone survives." That raises the intriguing possibility that there are indeed timelines where Barry survives - and where another member of Team Flash dies in his place.

The Flash Season 6 Team

Barry Allen, naturally, would never choose to allow someone he loves to die on his behalf. A selfless hero to the core, he would flinch from any such timeline. But he's forgotten that he isn't the only one whose decisions shape the future. Any member of Team Flash could make a crucial choice that affects the Crisis, choosing to place themselves in the line of fire in order to keep Barry alive. It's impossible to say how such a sacrifice would work at this stage, simply because it's also unknown why Barry needs to die; the Arrowverse's Crisis is very different to the comics, so there's no reason to assume his fate will be the same.

But the loophole works all the same. Barry's experience in The Flash season 6, episode 2 guarantees someone is destined to die; but it isn't necessarily Barry himself. The interesting question is who will choose to make the sacrifice play. At this stage, the most powerful in dramatic terms is probably Killer FrostThe Flash season 6 is all about her embracing her new life, and it would be heartbreaking and yet tremendously powerful to see her choose to bring it to an end to save a friend. It will be fascinating to see how Killer Frost's story develops, and whether she continues to be positioned for this kind of sacrificial arc.

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