The Flash Review: Armageddon Part 4 (Season 8 Episode 4)

Throughout eight seasons of The Flash, there has been a common theme. This theme pertains to every aspect of life and is illustrated quite often in many different scenarios. It is as simple as this: we can’t control everything that happens in life, but we can control how we react to it.

The Flash Season 8 Episode 4, “Armageddon Part 4,” shows us what is going on behind the scenes of this epic event. While it comes off as a bit convoluted at times, it doesn’t take away from the overall satisfaction of the episode.

As it was revealed at the end of The Flash Season 8 Episode 3, Eobard Thawne has been manipulating the timeline and playing havoc on poor Barry’s life. The conversation Eobard has with Barry is somewhat enlightening but also confusing.

First Eobard talks about how he was the person who killed Joe West. That makes sense, but that wouldn’t be able to change the timeline in such an elaborate way. All it did was mess with Barry’s head, keeping him a bit off-kilter.

Not a bad choice for Eobard since the greatest weapon in any fight is the mind.

Then Eobard explains how he went back in time and killed Barry when he was younger. This makes a little more sense of how the timeline got trashed, but it doesn’t explain how this made Barry become the Reverse-Flash.

Thawne tries to describe how he needed an enemy and yadda, yadda, yadda, but it does very little to outline the actual process.

This whole 5-minute scene fills us in on what we need to know but boils down to little more than an information dump. Now don’t get me wrong, it serves its purpose, but one has to wonder if they couldn’t have found a better way to do it.

After a rather well-choreographed fight, Barry is left beaten, and what better place to lick your wounds than CC Jitters? While there, a tv news journalist talks about the infamous Damien Dahrk. This is when things start to become interesting.

Just like in the real timeline, Damien and the Reverse-Flash have teamed up on multiple occasions. Damien knows the Reverse-Flash quite well and realizes something is off with him quite quickly.

It is fun to watch Barry pretend to be a bad guy, but not even Damien is convinced that something isn’t awry.  It isn’t long before Damien is on to Barry, and the two are at each other’s throats.

This is where the theme starts to become more clear. 

Barry tells Damien that his daughter is still alive in the real timeline. If Damien helps Barry restore things to how they are supposed to be, Nora will be alive, well, and happily married to Ray Palmer. 

What a conundrum for a villain! Teaming up with a hero could never be good for a bad boy’s image, but then again, this is his daughter’s life at stake.

Alex: One day you are going to wake up alone, and you are going to realize that you missed out on the best part of being human.

Damien has to make a decision. Although he never put himself in this situation, he has to decide how he will proceed from this point forward. 

Things like this happen to us every day. Maybe we lost our job, maybe we are a hundred bucks short on rent, or worst yet, maybe our sibling needs a new kidney. Whatever the scenario, we have a choice of how we answer the call.

The difficult part is there isn’t always a right answer. Damien chose to sacrifice himself for his daughter years ago, but now he has a new chance at life. Nobody could blame him for wanting to stay alive.

But Damien chooses to act in love. He knows that if he chooses himself over his daughter, he will never be truly happy. Quite a change in heart for the one who killed Laurel Lance in cold blood. 

Better yet, Damien uses his compassionate way of thinking to convince Barry to follow suit. 

When Barry figures out a way to reset the timeline once again, he focuses only on his speed. Each situation that comes to mind creates catastrophic events around the world. Earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes just to name a few. 

It makes Despero appear to be right. Barry Allen is responsible for armageddon!

Barry, being the titular hero of the show, wants to avoid the world ending at any cost — even if that means he can never be with Iris ever again.

As usual, Barry is ready to give up. He is at the end of his rope and ready to throw in the towel. Leave it to Damien, of all people, to be the voice of reason.

Damien reminds Barry that he is the Paragon of Love, and he needs to let love guide him.

We all have many skills and tools in our lives. Some of us are conversationalists, while others are artists and mechanics, but no matter what we excel at, love trumps all.

We can never go wrong when acting in love. 

This pep talk of sorts prepares Barry to complete his mission. He may cause a lot of damage, but what he will save along the way makes it all worth it.

While this episode is overall very entertaining, there are so many unnecessary scenes. 

Damien Dahrk serves a great purpose, but the fight scene between him and Team Flash just seems like a waste of time. A larger focus on Thawne and Barry’s race against the clock would have been a better choice. 

And I also have to mention the forced relationship between Allegra and Chester. Seriously, I feel absolutely no chemistry between the two. But if these scenes don’t add up to at least some foreshadowing down the road, I’m going to be rather aggravated. 

Finally, I must complain about some of the character’s lack of involvement. Ryan Choi and Caitlin aren’t much more than decoration and conversation filler in this episode. Their existence seems rather pointless and just part of the contract.

Again, these elements don’t seem to take too much away from the episode overall. We are left excited for the final chapter of this event next week, wondering what Thawne’s next move will be. I wait with bated breath.

What did you think of this episode of The Flash? Will this event forever change the timeline? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Gift Ideas for TV Lovers