'The Flash' Season 1 Spoilers: Finale Delivers Shocking Death; Will Eddie Thawne Return In Season 2?

It may have been a showdown between Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and Reverse Flash/Eobard Thawne (Tom Cavanaugh) in the Season 1 finale of “The Flash,” but it was Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett) who saved the day. Unfortunately for the Central City cop, that meant taking a bullet for the team, literally. What led up to Eddie’s shocking death?

In episode 23, “Fast Enough,” Barry made a deal with Eobard Thawne to open up a wormhole to allow Barry to go back and save his mother, while giving Thawne the chance to go home to the future. However, Barry passed up the opportunity to save his mother, choosing instead to keep his current life, and made sure Thawne stayed in the present as well to pay for his crime.

However, when the Reverse Flash got the upper hand in his fight with Barry, Eddie had to act fast. Earlier in the episode, Dr. Stein (Victor Garber) had lectured Eddie about coincidence and his importance to everything that was happening. Well, Eddie realized that his role in the story was no coincidence at all. Since he was an ancestor of Thawne’s, if Eddie were to die, the Reverse Flash would never exist. Eddie shot himself to save Barry and died in Iris’ (Candice Patton) arms a hero.

Is Eddie gone for good? Not so fast. “The Flash” EP Andrew Kreisberg says the show’s writers have a few tricks up their sleeves for Season 2.

“We’ve been faced with that before, certainly when we made the decision with Colin Donnell on ‘Arrow’ and Caity Lotz. As with both of those actors and characters, they lived to come back another day,” Kreisberg told Entertainment Weekly. “While Rick won’t be a regular, Flash is the kind of show between hardcore sci-fi and time travel that I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Eddie Thawne.”

However, Eddie’s death will cause some tension between Barry and Iris.

“Iris has been with Eddie for a long time and they were living together. [Eddie] didn’t just die, he died to save her. Obviously, Iris is going to be dealing with that," Kresiberrg said. “Barry is going to be dealing with the fact that all Barry has ever wanted to do is protect Iris, and in the end it was Eddie who got to do it.”

Just how much will Eddie’s death affect the rest of the S.T.A.R. Labs team? Fans will have to wait to find out. “The Flash” will return for Season 2 in the fall.