Warning: Spoilers for The Flash season 8, episode 16
The Flash just set up a terrible villain twist with Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker). The Arrowverse has substantially increased the likelihood of an original Team Flash member taking a dark turn in the days ahead. While her Killer Frost side had a villainous history, Caitlin herself has only been an ally to Barry (Grant Gustin) throughout her eight seasons as a main character on the show.
Caitlin’s new arc has been a story defined by grief and desperation. While everyone else on the team has been trying to move on from Frost’s death, Caitlin is on a mission to bring her back to life, even though she knows Team Flash most likely won’t understand. Her fears were confirmed when Barry found out and destroyed her secret lab in The Flash season 8, episode 16, titled “The Curious Case of Bartholomew Allen”. For Barry, the point of this was to provide a wake-up call to Caitlin and put a stop to plans that will never work. Barry clearly hopes his actions will force Caitlin to accept Frost’s death, but destroying all her work may not have the outcome he expects.
What Barry just did to Caitlin felt less like the end of Caitlin’s current story and more like the beginning of a shocking villain arc. Having Barry go to such an extreme when it’s obvious that Caitlin isn’t in an emotional state where she’s going to easily understand Barry’s decision is a sign that The Flash is using this moment to put Caitlin in an even darker place. When taking into consideration their long friendship and all the times she’s supported Barry during his own struggles, it would make sense for Caitlin to see what Barry did as a huge betrayal. And since betrayals are the foundations of so many stories about heroes turning into villains, that could very well be what the show is moving toward with her character.
A villain twist doesn’t sound like the best idea for Caitlin’s future in the Arrowverse for a number of reasons. Turning bad would feel like an out-of-character development for Caitlin, regardless of how upset she may be with Barry over this. Caitlin has certainly endured more than her fair share of heartache on The Flash - and it was all made worse by her role in creating Deathstorm - but that doesn't mean this should be the next step for her character. After all, going in this direction will only make her recovery arc harder if she also has to redeem herself for whatever problems she causes as a villain.
For now, it remains to be seen where the Arrowverse will take Caitlin's story in The Flash season 8. Caitlin being a villain is unlikely to be a permanent change, but as noted above, that change would only provide even greater complications in Caitlin getting her life back on track. So depending on where the series goes with this story in the episodes to come, Caitlin's goals could be an odds with Barry's for a while.
The Flash returns with new episodes on Wednesdays on The CW.