In the final moments of The Flash Season 3 episode 19, “Once and Future Flash,” Savitar stepped out of his megatron suit and revealed himself to Killer Frost. Her reaction to his face was interesting. She agreed to do his evil bidding without even a little hesitation. Putting aside the question of who Savitar is, why does he need Killer Frost?
Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg spoke with Entertainment Weekly and said Savitar needs Caitlin to find Tracy Brand before Team Flash does. So in a sense, Frost is more than an ally -- Savitar can’t execute his plans without her.
“How lost is Caitlin that she’s willing to do what Savitar needs her to do?” Kreisberg says. “She plays a unique part. He’s not just looking for an evil cohort; she’s actually necessary for him to pull off his plans.”
Brand’s technology, which wouldn’t be developed until four years after Iris dies, is the key to locking Savitar in the speed force. Future emo Barry gave Present Barry a flash drive with everything present-day Brand needs to recreate the technology early. But in this future, The Flash isn’t the only hero gone. Vibe is absent, too. Cisco didn’t tell present-day Barry this at first, but Killer Frost destroyed both his hands in the battle Cisco vibed earlier this season. He can no longer vibe. This means there is so much more at stake than just Iris.
“The relationship between Cisco and Caitlin is so pure, and it’s one of my favorite relationships on the show,” Danielle Panabaker says of her character. “It’s completely platonic. It doesn’t feel that either one wants more from the other than the deep sibling-like love that they have for each other. It’s going to be very taxing on Cisco, in particular, because Killer Frost doesn’t care about Cisco the way that Caitlin Snow did.”
One way to prevent Cisco from losing his hand and save Iris from dying is to take the Killer Frost out of Caitlin, something Kreisberg says is of course on Team Flash’s mind.
“It’s now a question of: Is there a way to eliminate these powers and get Caitlin back?” Kreisberg continues. “Is there a way to get Caitlin back and leave her with these powers? We say these last few episodes are about them trying to save Iris’ [Candice Patton] life, but they’re also trying to save Caitlin’s soul. What is Cisco [Carlos Valdes] willing to do to save his best friend? What is Julian [Tom Felton] willing to do to save the woman he loves?”
However, there’s no chance Killer Frost is going to come willingly, especially since she has such a deep connection with the man in the Savitar costume.
“There’s a relationship that exists there that prompts Killer Frost to turn her loyalty to Savitar very quickly,” Panabaker teases. “Once it becomes clear who Savitar is, you start to understand why Killer Frost aligned with him so quickly. Killer Frost’s quick alignment with Savitar informs a lot of the decisions that she makes.””
Savitar’s identity will be revealed tonight in,"I Know Who You Are," at 8 p.m. on The CW.
