Is Jesse L. Martin leaving The Flash, and is Joe West really dead?
After all, the circumstances surrounding Joe West’s “death” on the CW series are very suspect. We’ve learned through two episodes that he was (more or less) run over by a train, which feels like the most anticlimactic way for a story like his to end. This is a guy who has survived kidnappings, horrific super-villains, and even Crisis on Infinite Earths. Yet, this is going to be the thing that ultimately takes him down? Let’s just say that it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
This is why it’s hard to believe, at least for now, that Martin is leaving the show after being a part of it since the beginning. He hasn’t appeared in every episode the past couple of seasons, so on paper a hiatus like this from him is actually not all that unusual. We also haven’t heard any official statement from the producers saying farewell to the actor; when a longtime series regular formally leaves a show, you tend to get some sort of comment on the subject.
If we had to posture a theory here, it would be that we’re going to be seeing the character come back after the Armageddon story arc, and that the Reverse-Flash has already done a few things to manipulate time and destabilize Barry and Iris’ lives. Given that Barry’s biological father Henry has been dead since the second season, getting rid of his adoptive father is another way to trample all over his heart.
Let’s just hope that over the next few episodes, there are some opportunities to learn a little bit more about Joe — most notably, if there is a way to turn things around.
Are you missing Joe West and Jesse L. Martin on The Flash right now?
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