The Flash Season 5: What Does The Ending To 'The Girl With The Red Lightning' Really Mean?

1. Destroying The Dagger Was Thawne's Plan All Along

For months, fans have been wondering why Eobard Thawne has been offering his guidance to Nora West-Allen.

On the surface, it really seemed like he wanted to redeem himself for all the horrible things he had done to Barry Allen's family, but it was hard to believe that a cunning opportunist like the Reverse-Flash didn't have alternate motivations. Well, thanks to Ralph Dibny, we all now know what those motivations are... even if the episode's ambiguous ending was a little confusing.

This week's installment closed with Ralph, likely too late, begging Barry not to destroy Cicada's dagger. As all of this unfolded, the show returned to 2049, just as Thawne was being transported to his final destination before execution, in which we discovered that, underneath his prisoner vest, he had Cicada's dagger strapped to his chest. So, what does it all mean?

These two scenes confirm that Thawne has indeed been pulling the strings the whole time. Nora's arrival, Orlin Dwyer's transformation into Cicada, the arrival of future Grace - it was all part of his intricate plan to manipulate his "little runner" into engineering his escape from Iron Heights.

Now that he's been removed from his cell, the only dampener that remains is the dagger and, when Team Flash inevitably destroys it to stop Grace (in the present), it's existence in the future will be erased.

Just like that, the Reverse-Flash will be able to escape from prison, his impending death and return to wherever he wants in the timeline. Once again, he has proven that he "always wins, Flash".

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Do you think the Reverse-Flash's plan will succeed? Tell us in the comment section below.