While Marvel Studios was busy building the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The CW was building its own TV franchise, the Arrowverse, based on DC Comics properties. Built upon the 2012 "Arrow" series, the live-action universe expanded to multiple original shows, including the incredibly popular, "The Flash." With nine seasons and over 180 episodes, the series eventually ran out of steam in spring 2023. The finale marked the end of the Arrowverse's reign on television, but audiences were frustrated with some of the important characters missing in the last episode.
One of the characters that fans most wanted to see in the series finale was the lovable Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes), who appeared over the first seven seasons. The actor wanted to make a last-minute appearance but couldn't line it up with his schedule. "I couldn't really make it work," Valdes told Entertainment Weekly. "Which was really heartbreaking to me because I thought, if I decided to step away from the show, at the very least I have to be there for the finale."
For showrunner Eric Wallace, there were multiple characters that he wanted to include for the final goodbye, including Julian Albert (Tom Felton), Patty Spivot (Shantel VanSanten), and Bart Allen (Jordan Fisher). Bart would have made the most sense, considering he is the child of the titular character in a future timeline. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts also kept him from making a cameo. "The timing just couldn't have been worse," Wallace told Entertainment Weekly.
