'The Flash' Season 6: Here's how The Monitor's appearance in the premiere episode sets up the pre-Crisis storyline
'The Flash' Season 6 is all set to premiere in October and details about the season's plot are gradually being revealed. One of the confirmations so far is the appearance of the otherworldly character, The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett), in the opening episode. It has been a hard season for team Flash. The end of season 5 saw the timeline so drastically altered that Barry Allen's (Grant Gustin) long-prophesized disappearance in 2049 is now set to occur way earlier.
The other confirmation is the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' as the next crossover event. Unlike the previous crossovers, this mega-multiverse shattering battle is central to season 6. It is also one of the reasons the upcoming installment will be split into two stories - pre- and post-Crisis.
In an interview with Comicbook at the San Diego Comic-Con, Gustin spoke about the epic battle and how it all begins with The Monitor paying Barry a visit. And, its bad news. "The Monitor shows up at the end of our first episode and says the universe is in jeopardy and to save the universe, Barry Allen has to die," he explained. Gustin went on to refer to Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) who, to fulfill his end of a deal, was last seen venturing into the unknown with The Monitor. "Barry Allen doesn’t know about this deal Oliver made with the Monitor, either, so someone’s gonna die."
The 'Crisis' isn't the team's only headache. Last we saw, they were still mourning the death of Nora West - Allen (Jessica Parker Kennedy), Barry and Iris' daughter. XS as she is fondly referred to, travels back in time to stop the nefarious Cicada and in turn, is played into the Reverse-Flash's (Eobard Thawne aka Tom Cavanagh) evil plans. As a result, she is wiped from existence right in front of everyone's eyes. Besides, the villainous speedster, Godspeed, is all set to return and so will Bloodwork, who will be the main antagonist.
Coming back to the season opener, it is safe to say that 'Crisis' will be the focal point this time around. The fact that The Monitor makes an entrance right at the start means that there will be subplots of the team preparing for the biggest battle of their lives even as they continue to battle Blood Work, Godspeed, and presumably Thawne.
That the cosmic entity talks about Barry's death is also a factor that sets up the pre-Crisis. We may also see some intense planning and emotional sequences to avert this prophecy and from Barry vanishing in the first place. We can also assume how this may impact Iris as she not only has to come to terms with Nora's death but also deal with the vanishing of the Scarlet Speedster.
Looks like tougher days await Barry and Co.
'The Flash' season 6 debuts Tuesday, October 8 on The CW.
