At last, it seems like Savitar's identity will be revealed in the next Flash episode, "I Know Who You Are." This is a very good thing, because the question of Savitar's identity has both overshadowed and bogged down a season that has been enslaved to this question. What's worse, in a way, is that we didn't know Savitar was even someone to be revealed until halfway through the season, when Barry tried to rip his head off. Prior to that, I think we all had pretty much assumed Savitar was just Savitar, a CG (now, mercifully mostly practical) Decepticon-looking "God of Speed". But, The Flash loves ramping up emotions with these masked-man reveals, so it pretty clear now that Savitar will be someone we already know -- but who?

I likely wouldn't have as much of an issue with this late-season reveal if we hadn't just seen Arrow do it differently and so much better. When that show's masked villain Prometheus was revealed, it was someone we knew, but the unmasking didn't really matter. Yes it messed greatly with Oliver's head, but he still wasn't able to stop Prometheus, and Prometheus' game with Oliver had only just begun. In The Flash's second season, the late reveal of The Man in the Iron Mask worked because Lord knows there were enough Jay Garricks and dopplegangers running around (literally) to keep up with in the first place (and it was arguably more interesting even than the reveal of Zoom, who had enough of a comic basis to guess his origin). But when it comes to Savitar, I think we can presume it's not a doppleganger or a new cast member (as we already, long ago, had the mini-reveal of Julian as Alchemy). It's probably a member, past or present, of Team Flash. And yet, with only a handful of episodes left this season, it feels like one that will be resolved far too quickly, especially since we've been stuck on the question for the better part of a year.

"The Once and Future Flash" gave us perhaps our most important clue, however, with Caitlin / Killer Frost's reaction to seeing Savitar revealed. She was surprised, but also immediately on board, if not somewhat reverential. This is someone she not only knows, but trusts completely, which narrows the field down considerably. So below is where we stand now, with a few thoughts on the likelihood of each. At the bottom, you can vote for your pick in our poll, and then come back to receive your gloating rights next week.

Wally West

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A few weeks ago I had really convinced myself that Savitar could be Wally West. While I think this is definitely less likely now, especially given Killer Frost's reaction to the reveal, there are still some reasons why it could be Wally. Yes, I know: why would he kill his sister? Well, it's been established that Savitar has been driven insane by his time trapped in the Speed Force, and we've seen Wally trapped there, too. Plus, in 2024, Barry finds Wally catatonic after an encounter with Savitar. What could have shaken him up that much? To see himself in such a twisted form? While some guesses include Savitar being Ronnie Raymond (more on that below), he and Wally never interacted before, which weakens that theory just a little bit for me.

Also, there's just something a little karmic about Wally being sidelined all season, especially since becoming Kid Flash, and then coming back to turn the tables on everyone in an epic revenge move. Wally also spent some time in that cocoon concocted by Savitar early in the season which gave him his powers -- remember how Savitar said he created himself? I'm still on board with this idea, though admittedly not as strongly as I was a few weeks ago.

Eddie Thawne

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Poor Eddie Thawne. He has a lot to be pissed at Barry about, but I still don't know that he would kill Iris. Maybe he would, a la my Wally theory, as an insane revenge act (In this case: "you took her from me, I take her from you"). Eddie sacrificed his life to rid the timeline of his eventual great-grand something Eobard Thawne, which was all kinda Barry's fault in the first place. So he has a bone to pick, I get it.

Still, Eddie's death is one of the more solid ones on the show. We've seen him return in some flashbacks and memories (including, perhaps crucially, as one of Barry's most stern critics from the Speed Force), but dead really seems to be dead with him. Unless Eobard, in his wild machinations, somehow managed to go back and save him to help try and save himself. That's a tricky prospect. The other thing is that Eobard is also definitely dead on Legends of Tomorrow, which makes the resurrection of this family member unlikely, if only because it seems like narratively the door has been closed on the Thawnes.

But! When it comes to this show, never say never. Eddie may not be someone Caitlin would normally follow without question, but she could be so floored at his return that she's game for it.

Future Flash

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I don't necessarily mean Emo Barry from 2024, but maybe! The biggest clue we were given -- again, maybe -- was in the crossover event when Future Barry sends a message to the team not to trust him. Does that mean not to trust current Barry, or a future Barry, a.k.a. Savitar? Could an alt-timeline Barry have gotten so sick of current Barry's time-messin' that he goes insane and wreaks havoc on the team? We know from past Savitar clues that he exists out of time, and is both ancient and future. He also says he created himself and was the first speedster, which could definitely point to Barry.

The motivations for Savitar killing Iris are pretty weak, though, no matter who we guess (except for Ronnie), but the other pieces could fit. An insane Future Flash fits into the "epic revenge" mold of some of these others, and seeing Barry in this mode would definitely be something the twisted Killer Frost would be into. Still, it's a bit of a stretch, and one that could send current Barry into his most depressed state yet -- something the show definitely doesn't need. Yet in a twisted way, wouldn't it be kind of crazy for Barry's Flashpoint fallout to have turned back on him and made a version of himself into Savitar? It would be dark!

Ronnie Raymond

This is the theory that has gained the most traction in recent weeks, and it's easy to see why. Ronnie has come back a few times over the years; he was seemingly killed off in the particle accelerator explosion, but he was secretly living as Firestorm (with the mind of Stein controlling his body). Later, he and Stein were separated, and Ronnie got back together with Caitlin briefly. But then a Singularity was created when Eddie Thawne killed himself to remove Eobard from the timeline, which Firestorm then went into to stop. However, in the process, Ronnie and Stein were again separated, and Ronnie perished.

But! In Season 2, when the gang went to Earth-2 they met Ronnie's doppleganger Deathstorm, who was married to Caitlin's evil doppleganger Killer Frost. Hmm, right?

In either Deathstorm or Firestorm mode, Ronnie Raymond has a lot of power. Who knows what the situation was in the Singularity, and how he might have been trapped / made insane by it while also gaining powers? He also had everything taken from him -- on two different Earths -- by Barry. His motivation for killing Iris as Savitar is the strongest, since he lost Caitlin / Killer Frost multiple times because of Team Flash (I'm putting a lot of Barry to blame him for Eobard and the Singularity but, whether or not it's his fault, it still comes down to him).

Plus, it also makes sense regarding Caitlin / Killer Frost's reaction. This is her lost love both in the good and evil modes, so her willingness to join up with him is just a new iteration of what we've seen before, and would give more meaning to her Killer Frost transformation. Plus, he was one of the ghosts of the Speed Force that were presented to Barry, which feels like another clue.

How Ronnie Raymond went from being one-half of a nuclear-fued meta to becoming the fastest speedster in history I have no idea, but I'm sure that can be revealed with some kind of Speed Force mumbo jumbo. It also would provide some huge emotional stakes for Team Flash, especially if they defeat Savitar and leave Caitlin to mourn Ronnie for the umpteenth time.

Another Wells? Thawne? Garrick?

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So we've had Wellsobard, Wells 2.0, and H.R. ... how many more Wells can we handle? And how many more evil ones at that? At this point, none of the surviving ones that we've seen should have a major bone to pick with Barry. Also, another Evil Wells reveal would feel like a repetition of a repetition.

As much as I would love to see Eobard Thawne return, he's not someone Caitlin knew well in that form and would have an immediate reaction to. Also, he had a pretty gnarly (but great) finish on Legends of Tomorrow. I think that door is closed.

What about another Jay Garrick? Well, again, it would be a repetition of a repetition at this point. Season 2 pretty much exhausted all Garrick/Zolomon-related possibilities. But Caitlin did have a connection to Zolomon, at least for a time, and while she might not want to revisit that, her Killer Frost persona might. However, I'm 99% sure Zolomon is now Black Flash so, that's a whole other kettle of fish.

Who Is Savitar?

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