Production on The Flash Season 6 came to an abrupt halt last year due to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, concluding the Arrowverse series' story on an unplanned cliffhanger. With the series expected to return this February for its seventh season, The Flash will not only have to resolve all its dangling plot points from Season 6 but also chart a new future for the Arrowverse, now that Arrow has concluded and Supergirl and Black Lightning are both coming to their respective ends after this coming season.
Season 6 ended with Team Flash fractured in the face of a villainous new Mirror Master in Eva McCulloch. Trapped in the Mirror Dimension by her conniving husband, Joseph Carver, Eva swore revenge by trapping different members of Team Flash in the Mirror Dimension, replacing them with doppelgängers loyal to her and her agenda. Iris West-Allen, Cisco Ramon's girlfriend Kamilla Hwang and David Singh of the Central City Police Department were Eva's first targets and succeeded in freeing Eva to reenter the real world. The heroes discover that since the characters are trapped in the Mirror Dimension, they will eventually fade away, something that was made evident when Iris vanished in Season 6's final moments as Eva remained at large after framing Sue Dearbon for Carver's murder.
Team Flash had seen some changes, even before Eva began actively targeting the S.T.A.R. Labs ensemble. "Crisis On Infinite Earths" had the unexpected consequence of killing the Speed Force, with Barry steadily losing his powers at the worst possible time. Allegra Garcia joined Iris' fledgling news organization and formed a father-daughter bond with Nash Wells while being menaced by her villainous sister Ultraviolet. Elongated Man's long-running search for the mysterious Sue finally culminated in the two meeting, though Sue would always stay one step ahead of the superhero's private eye as she carried out her own vendetta against Carver. Cisco became an expert of the new Earth following "Crisis," documenting everything that changed from their old reality, while Caitlin Snow finally reached an understanding with her dark side Killer Frost to share their body.
In the interim since the conclusion of Season 6, several clues on how Season 7 will proceed have come to light. Hartley Sawyer will not be reprising his role as the Elongated Man after offensive Twitter posts made prior to his casting came to light. Showrunner Eric Wallace hinted the possibility for the Elongated Man's return will be left open while Season 7 will resolve the cliffhanger involving Mirror Master, including Sue's role in being framed. Joe West will have a story arc in the upcoming season that will examine his role as Central City Police Captain in light of current sociopolitical events, and Barry Allen's ultimate nemesis, Eobard Thawne, has been teased by both Wallace and series star Grant Gustin to make a return in the future after previously trying to take over Nash's body in Season 6.
The future is looking bright for The Flash as the series races into its seventh season, even as the Arrowverse begins to contract in the wake of other shows coming to an end and The CW opting not to move forward with Green Arrow and the Canaries. Gustin has expressed openness in reprising his Scarlet Speedster role beyond Season 7, indicating the superhero series still has legs after its grand return. And with plenty of plot threads to follow and resolve, there won't be any shortage of adventures for Barry Allen and the rest of Team Flash.
The Flash stars Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes and Tom Cavanagh. Season 7 is expected to premiere Feb. 23 on The CW. The first six seasons are currently available to stream on Netflix.