Did Joe West die on The Flash season 8?

The Flash season 8 might have just quietly killed off one of the show’s longest-standing characters. But is Joe West really dead?

The Flash returned to screens this week with its eighth season premiere. It also kicked off the highly-anticipated five-episode crossover event known as “Armageddon” that will see Barry Allen team with heroes from Batwoman, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Black Lightning and Arrow in the hopes of stopping Despero.

Speaking of Despero, the alien being arrived on Earth in 2021 with the aim of killing the Scarlet Speedster out of fear of what he’s supposedly destined to become in the future. Team Flash had their hands full with his arrival, but thankfully, they had Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), a.k.a. The Atom, on hand to help.

One familiar face that wasn’t around to help, though, was former CCPD captain Joe West. While it’s not unexpected for the Flash vet to be absent from an episode or two, one particular line of dialogue left fans incredibly concerned for Joe’s safety.

Has The Flash killed off one of the show’s original characters?

Is Joe West dead in The Flash season 8?

Fans tuning into The Flash season 8 were curious as to where Joe West was. However, it wasn’t until a conversation between his girlfriend Cecile Horton and Chester P. Runk that they became worried about the future of the character.

When talking about an awkward moment he shared with Ray, Chester suggested that he’s now “like dead to him”. The comment received a brief emotional response from Cecile, with Chester instantly realizing his mistake and apologizing specifically (and profusely) to her about saying such a thing. She then told him it was okay and that he needed to go easy on himself.

Naturally, this has fans wondering if that specific interaction was suggesting that Joe was dead.

The last time we saw the character, he and Cecile were attending Barry and Iris’ vow renewal ceremony in the season 7 finale, with suggestions that the pair would be next to get married. This came after he left his job at CCPD and planned on potentially becoming a private investigator.

So Joe wasn’t killed off on-screen. However, it seems like the show might be gearing up for some kind of story revolving around the character’s fate in season 8. It did put a lot of effort into filling us in on some of the events that took place over the summer, so it seems that this unseen time could play something of a role in that.

Is Jesse L. Martin leaving The Flash?

This uncertainty around the fate of Joe West is new to fans of the show. After all, Jesse L. Martin was one of three original cast members (along with Candice Patton and Danielle Panabaker) to close new deals to return to The Flash for its eighth season.

Furthermore, the updated opening titles also includes new shots of Martin’s character in it – something the show likely wouldn’t have done if it planned on killing Joe off.

With all of that in mind, it sounds like Jesse L. Martin will be featured in season 8. However, Joe’s fate does remain a mystery – a rather unnerving one at that. Will we find out during the “Armageddon” crossover, or will that be a story for later in the season?

Do you think Joe West is dead in The Flash season 8? Let us know in the comments below!