What's left for The Flash?

One of the most well known Superheroes is the Scarlet Speedster aka The Flash. Three men have assumed the identity of the Flash. None have more culture popularity than Barry Allen. He has been exposed to many audience members through the CW series and the Justice League film.

While The Flash has already been renewed for an 8th season there must be some conversations about ending the series or at least having Barry Allen step away from the spotlight for a while. There are only so many stories one character has to tell. Barry has the love of his life, Barry has his identity as the Flash. Barry has been to the future, repurposed the future and retooled almost all of existence. Despite being a massive fan of the character the question begs to be asked. After having done all that, what is left for the Arrowverse version of Barry to do?

There are three potentials for what could happen. Travel to the past/future and be trapped there for a couple seasons. Two, replace Barry as the titular character or three end the series altogether and think about what that finale will end up being. With the quick renewal for season 8 it seems doubtful they are considering ending the series at any point.

Also having someone come from the future has already been done via the Nora Allen storyline in season 5. She was ultimately erased from the timeline by the end of that season so a future could look different. However it's going back in time that intrigues the most. Barry being without anyone he knows and having to be careful about what changes could be a delicate storyline worthy of exploration.

After 706 it is time for a major change of pace from a storytelling perspective. They literally just had the past seasons big bad realize how bad they were being because love showed them that. Also love saved the Flash and his powers not science and binding with the speedforce. It was love and the lightning rod it forms according to some of the most cringe worthy dialogue the show has delivered. Everything about this series at some point reverts back to Barry and Iris being the ultimate true love story. It's very frustrating and circular from a story perspective and does not do justice to some of the Flash and his classic rogues.

This show is in desperate need of a revamp or it may just continue to create these stories out of pure lack of direction. Barry being a lone trapped in the past could elevate the show. It would force him to find and trust new people creating a sense of loneliness and unpredictability within his actions.

Also this show could simply start over with a new version of events that still allows all of this to have happened. It's not to say that this version of events has been bad, just more like it has nowhere else to go and no stories left to tell. The Flash has more potential but so much is different from the beginning of the show a complete reset may be the best thing that happened to the show. It could recreate different versions of the characters and help create a different set of events that could be more true to the source material over time.

I like aspects of each individual character and each individual performance but lately the show as a hole has fallen into a creative rut. Grant admirably delivers these scenes but it's just not what we want or deserve to be watching. It's much deeper than love being the key to every win. I think most can agree we enjoy the classic love stories like Bruce and Selina, Lois and Clark and Iris and Barry but we have also seen through the comics that love doesn't always ensure victory.

There is still hope. Plenty of untouched villains and plenty of time to redeem some of the ones they have misfired on. It's going to take a lot of work but there is still potential. The show needs to figure out what legacy it wants to leave before it ends up not leaving a lasting one at all.