The Flash's Carlos Valdes Started Planning Cisco's Exit In Season 4
Carlos Valdes revealed that he has been thinking about Cisco's exit from The Flash since the show's fourth season. Valdez joins Tom Cavanaugh as the second series regular to leave the CW's longest-running Arrowverse show this year. Though the series has been dropping hints about Cisco's departure, it is sure to be a bittersweet moment for fans and the cast.
Valdes has been playing Cisco Ramon since the pilot of The Flash in 2014. Seen initially as just a nerdy lab assistant/ scientist at Star Labs under the tutelage of Dr. Harrison Welles, it was not long before Cisco's humor, wit, and bravery made him a fan favorite. Over the years, he has become a hero in his own right as Vibe (and later "Mecha-Vibe") and becoming the head scientist at Star Labs once Barry and company took over. He has always been a core member of Team Flash, and his absence is sure to be felt in future episodes.
While speaking to TV Line about Cisco's departure from The Flash, Valdes says he started planning for his exit back in Season 4. While he says he has been "extremely lucky" to have worked with the excellent cast and crew of the series all this time, around Season 4, he started thinking about what the end of Cisco's journey might look like. While the final decision was not made till Season 5 or 6, Valdes seems content that it is the proper ending for Cisco. When explicitly asked about when he was starting thinking about leaving, Valdes replied:
"It’s been a long time, actually. Doing this kind of show with the sort of commitment that comes with it, it happened very fast, and I think that at the time I was in a place where I was still figuring out my life. And right around Season 4, I started debating what the end for this character might look like. So, that seed was always there, but it didn’t really start becoming a reality until much later on — like, the end of Season 5, Season 6, where I started to become more comfortable with the idea of, “Oh, I think there’s a good way to put an end to this chapter.”
While Cisco's exit may strain Team Flash, Valdes also points out that the show has been excellent about "bringing new life into the team," which should help make the transition easier. Valdes' final episode will air on Tuesday, June 8th, with a story that has been teased about being a bit goofy instead of dramatic. Valdes is grateful they chose this route for his exit, saying that it felt cathartic as the episode is "a very silly, very goofy, low-stakes departure," which allowed him to play around with the character one last time.
With Cisco and the Welles' departure from The Flash, fans have to wonder how much longer the show will realistically stay on the air. It has been renewed for Season 8, but if cast members continue to leave, it might not feel like the same show anymore. Season 7 already has some fans and critics claiming the show is falling apart, though some of that might be due to the strain of production during pandemic times. But the question remains, can they keep The Flash running without so much of the talent that launched it from the beginning?
SOURCE: TV Line