WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Flash Season 7, Episode 16, "P.O.W.," which aired Tuesday on The CW.
As The Flash Season 7 progressed, it seemed like the show was playing things a bit safer than normal. Barry and Iris were able to bring the new Forces back from the dead, supervillain attacks seemed a bit more routine and hefty judicial sentences quickly commuted. This all makes one tragedy towards the end of Season 7 especially heartbreaking: the death of reformed supervillain Ultraviolet. And judging by the circumstances of Ultraviolet's death, her surviving cousin, Allegra Garcia, is sure to be haunted by the incident for years to come.
Throughout Season 7, Allegra was particularly struck by how Barry was able to reach out to some of his most formidable foes and help them renounce their wicked ways. Inspired, Allegra sought to redeem her estranged cousin, Esperanza, who had assumed the villainous persona of Ultraviolet after being experimented on by the crime syndicate Black Hole. Even with Ultraviolet plotting to kill Allegra, Allegra led the rest of Team Flash to get Ultraviolet to stand down and reconcile with her cousin. And as a reformed Ultraviolet set out to ensure that Black Hole didn't prey on others, this reconciliation would lead to unforeseen tragedy.
Having recovered from the latest round of cybernetic implants she was subjected to by Black Hole, the recovered Ultraviolet urged Allegra to join her in dismantling Black Hole once and for all. Allegra refused, believing that they should focus on the warring Godspeeds plaguing Central City and that a path of vengeance against Black Hole would only lead to violence and misery. Eventually, Allegra relents and decides to help her cousin only to find Ultraviolet mortally wounded at a Black Hole hideout. With her dying breath, Ultraviolet observes that she will die alone, abandoned by Allegra when she needed her the most as she succumbs to her injuries in Allegra's arms.
In redeeming her cousin, Allegra had tapped into powerful depths of her photonic powers, cementing her place as one of Team Flash's strongest superheroes. Sure to blame herself over Ultraviolet's death, Allegra may be poised to continue the vendetta that Esperanza began, and avenge her cousin by destroying the last remnants of Black Hole around the world. Returning Team Flash member Sue Dearbon has similarly held her own grudge against Black Hole and, teamed up with a vengeful Allegra, the international terrorist organization may find itself on the defensive in the upcoming eighth season as they face the two women's fury.
Allegra's main character arc throughout Season 7 has had her hope to redeem her cousin and save her from a life of violence and death, only to watch these aspirations literally bleed out in her hands. Esperanza dying in a manner that Allegra actively sought to avoid places Allegra in a place where she questions her own good sense and her place among the rest of Team Flash, just as she was coming into her powers and flirtatious dynamic with Chester P. Runk. Team Flash was already seeing personnel changes and trying to find its way, and Allegra finds herself at a crossroads, haunted by grief and guilt.
The Flash stars Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes and Tom Cavanagh. New episodes air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
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