The Flash should have killed off, not recast, Ralph Dibny. Following the shortened conclusion of The Flash season 6, Hartley Sawyer was fired from the show following a string of resurfaced racist and sexist tweets. Sawyer’s firing had many wondering exactly how the superhero series would handle his character arc in season 7, especially since showrunner Eric Wallace revealed Ralph’s story would indeed be wrapped up. As it turns out, The Flash recast the actor (sort of) in a strange and clumsy sendoff at the end of the Mirrorverse arc.
The Flash season 7, episode 3, called “Mother,” saw the return of Ralph and Sue Dearbon to Central City following their departure in the wake of Sue being framed for Joseph McCulloch’s murder. In a bid to prevent Eva McCulloch (aka, Mirror Mistress) from kidnapping and replacing citizens with their mirror duplicates, the city went into blackout mode. This led Ralph to break into one of Eva’s buildings to find evidence to clear Sue’s name. However, the antagonist blew up the building with Ralph still inside, resulting in his face being melted off. Team Flash attempted to put his face back together, leading to Ralph wearing a face mask and helmet that altered his voice while the process continued. He and Sue bid farewell to the team, leaving to find and take down other Black Hole-like organizations around the world.
Ralph’s return and face-melting scenario were poorly handled, all things considered. Yes, The Flash had to figure out some way to wrap up Ralph’s storyline. However, having a stand-in play him while the character’s face is melted is only a temporary solution. By episode’s end, it seems Ralph’s face is slowly on the mend and the way in which he departs leaves the door open for his eventual return to Central City. Considering the scenario, The Flash should have killed off Ralph in the explosion or revealed that the chamber he entered to fix his face had permanently shapeshifted his features to look like someone else.
Although killing Ralph off in The Flash would have been abrupt, it was the only meaningful way for the Arrowverse to follow through with its response to the actor's sexist and racist comments. It seems instead the CW show is setting up another actor to take on the role. Fans already know that Ralph’s powers allow him to change into anyone physically and he’s done so plenty of times in the past. That said, it wouldn’t have been odd at all to see a new actor in the role of Ralph, even if it was only to say goodbye to everyone. Choosing to not show his face and sending him away on a global mission with Sue suggests that he could be back at some point in the future — played by the original actor. Killing Ralph off would have put a permanent pin in the possibility of Sawyer returning in the role.
What’s more, The Flash season 7 didn’t have to bring Ralph back at all. After all, there was already a lot going on and his arc was clunkily handled due to the time crunch and situation with the actor’s firing. The Flash could have waited to reveal what happened to Ralph later on in season 7. He was already out of town and in hiding with Sue, so there was no rush to end his storyline anyway. Knowing Sue would be back later on in the season, she could have explained what happened to Ralph while he stayed offscreen. While it’s doubtful Sawyer will ever come back (it would be a bad look), The Flash could have more conclusively tied up his story without leaving his departure open-ended.