| Series overview | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 | |
- "The reason you beat Zoom, Godspeed, Thawne, is because speed isn't what drives you, it's love. That's your true force and there is nothing artificial about that. "
- —Caitlin Snow to Barry Allen[src]
The sixth season of The Flash premiered on October 8, 2019, on The CW and concluded on May 12, 2020. It was originally going to consist of 22 episodes.[1] However, only 20 were produced[2] due to production shutting down indefinitely on March 13, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] On April 20, 2020, it was revealed that only 19 out of the produced 20 episodes would be aired.[4]
Beginning with this season, each season will be broken up into two story arcs which Eric Wallace called "Graphic Novels". The first half of this season is called "Blood and Truth"[5] and the second half is called "Reflections and Lies".[6]
Synopsis
| Barry Allen lived a normal life as a perpetually tardy CSI in the Central City Police Department. He was adopted by his best friend, Iris West's father, Detective Joe West after Barry's mother was murdered. Barry's life was forever changed the night the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator exploded, creating a dark-matter lightning storm that struck Barry, bestowing him with super-speed and making him the fastest man alive. But Barry wasn’t the only person who was given extraordinary abilities that night. The dark matter also created meta-humans, many of whom have wreaked havoc with their powers on Central City. Barry teamed up with his friends at S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, and Dr. Harrison Wells, to begin a journey as The Flash and protect the people of Central City from these powerful new threats.
After years of battling villains and repeatedly saving Central City, Barry and his wife Iris thought they could finally find time to enjoy being newlyweds, but their wedded bliss was interrupted by the appearance of their future daughter Nora West-Allen, who is a speedster known as XS, who has made a big mistake and needs her parents' help to get home. With Nora in the picture, Barry and Iris' lives are flipped upside down and, while Nora idolizes Barry and his legacy as The Flash, she carries with her a mysterious grudge towards Iris. Team Flash rallies to find a way to help Nora return to her time, only to discover her presence has altered the timeline and brought the early arrival of the most ruthless, vicious, and relentless villain Team Flash has ever faced: Cicada. They enlist the help of Sherloque Wells to aid in the search for Cicada, while Barry teaches a stuck Nora everything he knows about being a speedster and what it means to be a hero. Nora assists Team Flash with the take-down of a surge of new "meta-humans," but her place on the team is threatened when it is revealed that she is in league with none other than one of The Flash's earliest arch-enemies, Eobard Thawne. Ultimately, Nora is innocent in the grand scheme of Thawne's plan and helps Team Flash realize a way to defeat both Cicada and Thawne – yet, vanquishing their foes yields an agonizing loss as Nora erases herself from the timeline, leaving all of Team Flash devastated. Reeling from the loss of Nora, Barry throws himself into work, defeating a record number of metas over the summer, while the rest of Team Flash deals with changes of their own – Cisco, having taken the meta-human cure, is no longer Vibe, Joe is now Captain of C.C.P.D., D.A. Cecile Horton is now considering leaving the district attorney's office, and Ralph Dibny is now searching for a missing heiress named Sue Dearbon. But all of that is put on hold when Dr. Ramsey Rosso, intent on curing death, is overtaken by his own desperation and ambition giving birth to a new villain, Bloodwork.[src] |
Cast
Main cast
- Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash/Dark Flash
- Candice Patton as Iris West-Allen
- Danielle Panabaker as Dr. Caitlin Snow/Frost
- Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon/Vibe and Cisco Ramon/Echo
- Hartley Sawyer as Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man
- Danielle Nicolet as Defense Attorney Cecile Horton
- LaMonica Garrett as Mar Novu/The Monitor and Mobius/Anti-Monitor (voice))
- Efrat Dor as Eva McCulloch and Dr. Eva McCulloch
- Tom Cavanagh as Dr. Harrison Nash Wells/Pariah, Professor Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash, Dr. Harrison "Harry" Wells, and Harrison Sherloque Wells
- Jesse L. Martin as Captain Joe West
Recurring cast
- Sendhil Ramamurthy as Dr. Ramsey Rosso/Bloodwork
- Victoria Park as Kamilla Hwang and Kamilla Hwang
- Brandon McKnight as Chester P. Runk
- Michelle Harrison as Dr. Joan Williams and the Speed Force
- Kayla Compton as Allegra Garcia and Maya
- Alexa Barajas as Esperanza Garcia/Ultraviolet
- Tess Atkins as Natalie
- Eric Nenninger as Joseph Carver
- Andrew J. Hampton as Maurice
- Stephanie Izsak as Officer Daisy Korber
- Natalie Dreyfuss as Sue Dearbon
- Patrick Sabongui as David Singh
- Natalie Sharp as Millie Rawlins/Sunshine
- Morena Baccarin as Gideon (voice)
Episodes
| # | Episode name | Directed by | Story by | Teleplay by | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blood and Truth | |||||
| 1 | "Into the Void" | Gregory Smith | Eric Wallace & Kelly Wheeler | October 8, 2019 | |
| While Barry and Iris deal with the heartbreaking loss of their daughter, Nora, the team faces their greatest threat yet — one that threatens to destroy all of Central City. Meanwhile, Killer Frost has a brush with death that results in an unexpected new dynamic that will change her relationship with Caitlin forever. | |||||
| 2 | "A Flash of the Lightning" | Chris Peppe | Sam Chalsen & Jeff Hersh | October 15, 2019 | |
| Faced with the news of his impending death, Barry's resiliency suffers as he struggles to fight fate. Meanwhile, Cecile's career as a D.A. conflicts with her identity when she crosses paths with a villainous meta-human. | |||||
| 3 | "Dead Man Running" | Sarah Boyd | Lauren Barnett & Thomas Pound | October 22, 2019 | |
| Knowing that Crisis is only weeks away, Barry prepares a member of Team Flash for life without him while hunting a terrifying meta-human with an unquenchable thirst. Meanwhile, Ralph uncovers a family secret. | |||||
| 4 | "There Will Be Blood" | Marcus Stokes | Lauren Certo & Sterling Gates | October 29, 2019 | |
| Barry's efforts to prepare Cisco for Crisis are derailed when Cisco schemes to save Barry's life instead. Meanwhile, Ramsey Rosso uses his deadly new abilities to save his own life, while sacrificing his humanity in the process. | |||||
| 5 | "Kiss Kiss Breach Breach" | Menhaj Huda | Kelly Wheeler & Joshua V. Gilbert | November 5, 2019 | |
| Cisco's faith in his ability to fill Barry's shoes as Team Leader is upended when he learns of a shocking murder. Meanwhile, Killer Frost trusts no one except herself to hunt down the dangerous Ramsey Rosso. | |||||
| 6 | "License to Elongate" | Danielle Panabaker | Thomas Pound & Jeff Hersh | November 19, 2019 | |
| Barry turns his attention to prepping Elongated Man for life after Crisis and without The Flash, but Ralph ultimately teaches Barry a lesson. Meanwhile, Cecile faces her own moment of self-discovery while helping a recuperated Chester P. Runk reclaim his identity. | |||||
| 7 | "The Last Temptation of Barry Allen, Pt. 1" | Chad Lowe | Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza | November 26, 2019 | |
| As Barry Allen stands on the threshold of his impending death in Crisis, his convictions are tested when the monstrous Dr. Ramsey Rosso infects the Flash with a mysterious, hallucinogenic contagion. Meanwhile, reporter Iris West-Allen uncovers a vast conspiracy. | |||||
| 8 | "The Last Temptation of Barry Allen, Pt. 2" | Michael Nankin | Kristen Kim & Joshua V. Gilbert | December 3, 2019 | |
| With The Flash freshly infected by the monstrous Bloodwork, Iris and Cisco battle to help Barry take control of himself before he's lost forever to Ramsey's influence. Meanwhile, the rest of Team Flash fight to reclaim control of Central City from Bloodwork's growing army. | |||||
| 9 | "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three" | David McWhirter | Eric Wallace | Lauren Certo & Sterling Gates | December 10, 2019 |
| Pariah enlists Black Lightning to help stop the Anti-Monitor after Flash-90 shares what he learned from his battle in Elseworlds. With the help of Black Lightning, Barry, Cisco and Killer Frost come up with a plan that could save them all. Meanwhile, Iris has a heart-to-heart with Ryan Choi, while Oliver and Diggle return to an old familiar stomping ground. | |||||
| Reflections and Lies | |||||
| 10 | "Marathon" | Stefan Pleszczynski | Sam Chalsen & Lauren Barnett | February 4, 2020 | |
| After The Citizen prints an explosive story, Iris's life is threatened. Refusing to hide from those that are attacking her, Iris sets out to expose a dangerous organization. Meanwhile, Barry must face the consequences of the Crisis and fulfill Oliver Queen's wish for him. | |||||
| 11 | "Love Is A Battlefield" | Sudz Sutherland | Kelly Wheeler & Jeff Hersh | February 11, 2020 | |
| Barry and Iris plan a romantic dinner for Valentine's Day but their evening is interrupted by an old foe - Amunet. Meanwhile, Frost gets into the holiday spirit and attempts to help Allegra reconnect with an old love. | |||||
| 12 | "A Girl Named Sue" | Chris Peppe | Thomas Pound & Lauren Certo | February 18, 2020 | |
| After months of searching for Sue Dearbon, Ralph gets a lead on her whereabouts and finally comes face to face with his missing client. However, Sue refuses to return home to her family, and instead, takes Ralph on a daring adventure. Iris faces a new challenge while Barry considers a potentially dangerous request from a trusted source. | |||||
| 13 | "Grodd Friended Me" | Stefan Pleszczynski | Kristen Kim & Joshua V. Gilbert | February 25, 2020 | |
| Feeling overwhelmed with all the changes since Crisis, Barry conducts an experiment that goes awry and puts him directly in Gorilla Grodd's path. Expecting the worst, Barry is surprised when Grodd asks for his help. Unfortunately for both The Flash and Grodd, things get worse when another villain appears – Solovar. Meanwhile, Iris works with Eva to escape the Mirrorverse. | |||||
| 14 | "Death of the Speed Force" | Brent Crowell | Sam Chalsen & Emily Palizzi Gilbert | March 10, 2020 | |
| Kid Flash returns to Central City with a Zen attitude and new tricks up his sleeve. While thrilled to see his family again, Wally confides to Barry that he returned because he thinks there is something wrong with the Speed Force. Meanwhile, Cisco returns from his fact-finding mission across Earth-Prime. | |||||
| 15 | "The Exorcism of Nash Wells" | Eric Dean Seaton | Lauren Barnett & Sterling Gates | March 17, 2020 | |
| The Flash takes on a dangerous new meta named Sunshine. Cisco sets out to help Nash. | |||||
| 16 | "So Long and Goodnight" | Alexandra La Roche | Kristen Kim & Thomas Pound | April 21, 2020 | |
| After Black Hole hires Rag Doll to kill Joe, Singh suggests he go into Witness Protection but Joe refuses to stop investigating Carver. While investigating Carver with Cisco, Ralph runs into Sue. Iris becomes suspicious of Eva. | |||||
| 17 | "Liberation" | Jeff Byrd | Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza | April 28, 2020 | |
| After recent events, Barry takes a closer look at his life with Iris. Eva makes a bold move. | |||||
| 18 | "Pay the Piper" | Amanda Tapping | Jess Carson | May 5, 2020 | |
| When Godspeed returns, Barry turns to Hartley Rathaway for help. However, things get tense quickly after Barry realizes one of the changes from Crisis is that The Flash and Pied Piper are now enemies. Meanwhile, Iris tries to escape the Mirrorverse. | |||||
| 19 | "Success Is Assured" | Philip Chipera | Kelly Wheeler & Lauren Barnett | May 12, 2020 | |
| Barry considers a risky plan to save Iris from the Mirrorverse. Ralph attempts to stop Sue from making a grave mistake that could destroy her life. | |||||
Production
- Executive producer Eric Wallace took over as the sole showrunner this season due to Todd Helbing stepping down from the position at the end of last season to focus on the development of Superman & Lois.[7]
- On March 13, 2020, it was reported that the production of the season had been shut down until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] As a result, only 20 out of the planned 22 episodes were produced.[2]
- On March 26, 2020, it was reported that the season would go on hiatus after "All's Wells That Ends Wells" with the hope that the final 2 episodes would be produced and aired later in 2020.[8]
- On April 20, 2020, Grant Gustin revealed that the season's new finale would be "Success Is Assured" and that it set up a different cliffhanger for next season than originally planned.[4]
- On May 13, 2020, showrunner Eric Wallace revealed that the last three episodes of this season (episodes 20, 21, and 22), that weren't produced and aired due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will become the first three episodes of next season.[9]
Trivia
- This is the only season of The Flash to feature LaMonica Garrett (Mar Novu/The Monitor and Mobius/Anti-Monitor) as well as the first to feature Efrat Dor (Eva McCulloch) as series regulars. Both actors are only credited for their respective episode appearances.
- This was the first season of The Flash:
- To have Graphic Novels as opposed to the last five seasons
- To feature Eric Wallace as showrunner.
- To not feature Danielle Panabaker (Caitlin Snow/Frost) in every episode due to her pregnancy.[10]
- To not feature Iris West-Allen in every episode.
- To not have the word "Rogue" in an episode title.
- To have fewer than 20 episodes.
- To not have an introduction at the beginning of any episode.
- To have a main cast member (Carlos Valdes) absent in the season finale.
- To not have a main antagonist presumed killed or otherwise defeated.
- Since Season 1 to not feature time remnants in any way.
- To stop using the "Previously on The Flash" sequence (as of "Love Is A Battlefield").
- The original season finale, episode 22, would've had a "big Thawne cliffhanger".[4]
- Just like last season, before this season started, Wally West was confirmed to appear in multiple episodes.[11] However, he only appeared in "Death of the Speed Force".
- This was the last season of The Flash to feature Hartley Sawyer (Ralph Dibny) as a series regular due to him being fired prior to the start of production on the next season.[12]
- Subsequently, when Season 6 was released on DVD, Elongated Man was removed from the poster image used as the front cover.
Gallery
Title cards
Title card for "Blood and Truth".
"To be continued" end variant title card for "The Last Temptation of Barry Allen, Pt. 1" and "Success Is Assured".
End variant title card for "The Last Temptation of Barry Allen, Pt. 1" and variant title card for "The Last Temptation of Barry Allen, Pt. 2".
"To be continued on Crisis on Infinite Earths" end variant title card for "The Last Temptation of Barry Allen, Pt. 2".
Variant title card for "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three".
Title card for "Reflection and Lies".
Promotional images
"Speed. Force."
"Stream the First 5 Episodes"
Crisis on Infinite Earths poster - "It's the end...of the worlds"
Crisis on Infinite Earths poster - "Stream the first 3 episodes"
Crisis on Infinite Earths poster - "Their worlds will never be the same"
Videos
The Flash Season 6 Official Trailer - Comic Con 2019
The Flash Season 6 "Love is Power" Trailer (HD)
The Flash Season 6 "Billions" Teaser Promo
The Flash Season 6 Promo "Hit the Ground Running"
DCTV "Comics Come To Life" Trailer (HD) Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman
References