The Flash Review: Armageddon Part 1 (Season 8 Episode 1)
After a rather dismal Season 7, The Flash returns with a typical season opener for The CW. A majority of the episode is just a matter of catching up with familiar characters and seeing what they have been up to since we last saw them.
The Flash Season 8 Episode 1, “Armageddon Part 1,” brings us back to Barry and Iris who seem to still be in a similar slump that many married couples fall into. They have so much on their plates, that their time for each other shrinks by the minute. While this seems to be more of the same, at least it keeps the characters relatable.
Oftentimes when two main characters get hitched, the dynamics of the show can suffer. Fortunately, this was avoided with Barry and Iris. Their relationship has actually seemed to blossom more realistically once they made the ultimate commitment.
Although not much has changed for them since the end of the last season, it comes off as a breath of fresh air. We don’t always need relationship drama to be entertained. Olicity could have taken a cue from these two.
Chester is also still very much in the same place we left him. He is continuing to find his place within Team Flash, occasionally losing footing but making a new path for himself amidst the pitfalls. He isn’t the replacement I want for Cisco, but he will have to do for now.
That is what I truly feel the problem is here, the show seems more set on replacing Cisco than creating a different character. The zest Cisco brought to Team Flash was one-of-a-kind, they can’t just slap a different actor into his place and hope we don’t notice. It is disrespectful to the characters and the actors alike.
Iris and the Central City Citizen seem to have taken the greatest leap forward.
What was just an oversized blog merely a few months ago, has now transformed into a complete news outlet with several different employees. While it comes off a little unrealistic, the leaps and bounds Iris’ company has made can’t help but make us feel happy for her character.
This is something Iris has fought for since its inception. It is amazing to see it finally come to fruition.
The media empire has gotten so big in fact, Iris has to hand off some of the responsibilities to Allegra. This of course catches Allegra by surprise.
Cecil: They didn’t change their MO, they just leveled up.
Allegra has always struggled with her self-esteem. She doesn’t believe she is strong enough to take on the big challenges even though everyone else knows she is more than capable.
This is exactly why Iris chooses to make Allegra her assistant. Iris knows that Allegra won’t have the confidence to step out on her own, but with a push, Allegra will fall into the role.
Allegra is the best example of the theme of the episode, which is growth. While a majority of the characters show a small sign of growth here or there, we get to see Allegra’s growing pains in real-time.
She steps up to her co-workers at the Citizen unsure of herself in every aspect, but with repeated attempts, Allegra finds her niche. The disapproving looks still seem to rub her the wrong way, but she will learn to live with them.
Ray Palmer’s guest appearance has to be the most fun part of the episode. His quirkiness fits on The Flash better than it ever did on Arrow. Choosing to include him in the episode’s theme is a great decision.
Unlike Allegra, Ray has a lot of confidence in himself. He knows what he is capable of in most situations. The only problem is he doesn’t know what direction he wants to head next.
Ray has become comfortable in his new life outside of the Legends. With the ability to do research whenever he wants to and to take care of his wife simultaneously, Ray fears taking on anything new could jeopardize his current situation.
This fear has made him paralyzed in moving forward. I can relate. Unnecessary change is the most terrifying of changes.
Throughout these ins and outs of character interactions, The Royal Flush Gang pops up causing havoc in new and different ways. Although they have never been much of a threat, they have finally seemed to up their game. They have grown as villains but not necessarily in intelligence.
Once Team Flash figures out their moves and motives, they are thrown away as the typical villain-of-the-week, most likely making their only appearance of the season.
It isn’t until the closing 15 minutes or so that The Flash shows any indication that there is a major event going on here. The episode feels all tied up and ready for the books when Despero makes his first memorable appearance.
Without much backstory and not a whole lot new to say, Despero doesn’t come off as the formidable foe they seem to want to give us. His motives aren’t even all that original for a big bad. After all, even the Thinker thought he was doing something good by taking out The Flash.
Sadly, Chester pointing out that Despero has the intelligence of Grodd and the strength of Fuerza doesn’t help matters much. Nonetheless, their couple-minute showdown is fairly exciting and presumably not their last.
The thing I’m most happy with about this event is that it is happening at the beginning of the season. All past crossover events have taken place after the season was five episodes in. It typically made things feel uneven and took away from the overall impact of the main narrative.
With getting the crossover out of the way at the very beginning, there are no storylines to put on hold or characters to sideline for a few episodes. Plus with keeping the main arc on one series, we don’t have to feel as left out if there is an Arrowverse show we don’t keep up with.
All in all, the episode sets up what it needs to. We are filled in on the current lives of our favorite characters, and we are introduced to a new plotline that seems at least a little bit intriguing. Nothing is exactly groundbreaking here, but I don’t feel it necessarily has to be.
There is just enough excitement to get us to the next episode without making things too overly convoluted. Hopefully, it stays that way.
What did you think of this episode of The Flash? Which hero are you most excited to see make a guest appearance? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
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Charles E Henning
Charles E. Henning lives in a quaint town of Illinois with his ever-loving wife since 1998. He is new to writing reviews, but has over thirty years of fictitious writing for his own personal fulfillment. His interests range from science fiction to character-based dramas, but he is a sucker for anyone in a cape.