Warning: Spoilers for The Flash season 8, episode 17
The Flash has confirmed that Matt Letscher’s Reverse-Flash is returning to the Arrowverse. The promo for the show’s next episode previewed the character’s reunion with Barry. Apparently, he’ll play a role in Meena Dhawan’s Arrowverse story.
After meeting Grant Gustin's Barry Allen in The Flash season 8, episode 17, titled “Keep It Dark”, the show’s newest speedster explained that she and an “associate” worked together on building an artificial speed source. The promo revealed that this person is none other than Eobard Thawne. At this point, an appearance from Reverse-Flash is hardly a surprise, but what’s so unexpected about this is the fact that the character is being played by Matt Letscher again. He appeared recently on Legends of Tomorrow, but hasn't shown up on The Flash since 2016. Since then, all appearances from the iconic villain on the show have come via Tom Cavanagh.
How Reverse-Flash is back to his original appearance before he stole Harrison Wells’ identity is the most pressing question regarding his return. Based on the promo, his guest appearance will take place in the present, which means Barry won’t be going to the future to meet him. Instead, it’s likely that Thawne, at a time in his life before he replaced Wells, somehow wound up in 2022. This of course wasn’t supposed to happen in the original timeline, which means that his arrival could have been caused either by Crisis changes or the time travel shenanigans of XS and Impulse.
The Flash is suggesting that season 8’s Reverse-Flash isn’t aware of who he really is, but it remains to be seen if that’s really the case or if there’s actually a different explanation for his presence. In the promo, Barry says, “I’m supposed to believe you don’t remember who you are”. This line implies that this time-traveling version of Barry’s greatest enemy is suffering from memory loss. However, it’s possible that his lack of knowledge about his rivalry with Barry stems more from his place in the timeline rather than some form of amnesia. It could be that Thawne simply hasn’t become the Reverse-Flash or developed a hatred of Barry yet. If so, this could be a way for The Flash to tell a new version of Thawne’s origin story.
Regardless of what’s going on with Matt Letscher’s Reverse-Flash, it’s unlikely that his stay in 2022 will end well for Barry, Meena Dhawan, or anyone else associated with Team Flash for that matter. Years of Reverse-Flash stories have made it abundantly clear that Thawne will always be Barry’s most dangerous nemesis, and it’s hard to imagine any timeline alterations or memory loss changing that. It feels like it’s only a matter of time before his character and Barry butt heads on The Flash.
The Flash releases new episodes on Wednesdays on The CW.