The Flash S8 Premiere – Will Armageddon Turn Barry Into The Bad Guy?

The series returned this Tuesday night with Armageddon Part 1, and it was an opportunity for Barry to flex his powers as we got to see him for the first time since last season’s finale. Since The Flash has leveled up his powers, he easily stops villain-of-the-week, the Royal Flush Gang.

Ray Palmer is in town for a tech convention, and he is joined by Iris and Chester. However, the event takes a turn when the alien Despero appears, and we find out that he wants to kill the scarlet speedster and thus prevent him from destroying the world in 2031.

Say what now?

Ray buys the team some time as they regroup at STAR Labs. Barry invited Despero to STAR Labs in order to show the alien that he’s not the bad guy. Despero, whose sole mission is to stop Armageddon, agrees to give Barry seven days to prove himself.

And… scene.

Quite a thrilling premiere, right? Many fans have theorized that Barry might end up dying the season, so Armageddon setting him up as a bad guy is fuelling the fire even further.

Actor Grant Gustin talked to TVLine about Barry’s mindset going into it and said, “He, of course, thinks there’s no way that this is possible.”

But while talking about Part 2, which airs next Tuesday, Gustin said that Barry will definitely not feel as confident about it as the story progresses,

There’s a turn, and that is why Barry goes to the Hall of Justice and seeks out Jefferson [Pierce]. He needs help with something that I won’t spoil because it’s a big twist that kind of sets the rest of the five-parter into motion. But by the end of the second episode, there is a development that makes Barry think that maybe [The Flash causing Armageddon] is possible.

Grant Gustin

Going into the premiere, showrunner Eric Wallace told EW that Armageddon is not a crossover event and wasn’t produced like other Arrowverse events like Crisis on Infinite Earths, Elseworlds, or Invasion.

Although, Barry will need to get the help of other familiar Arrowverse characters, including Black Lightning, Sentinel, Mia Queen, Ryan Choi, Batwoman, and Atom. 

Wallace promised fans that every character involved in the event had an important role,

Every single guest star has their emotional journey that they go on. There might be one exception, but it’s a pretty darn funny storyline. There’s some real humor there. That’s different because, in a traditional crossover, we’d never have the time to service all of the characters and honor them. I realized we can’t do that. We have to go back. And that means less characters, but more screen time.

Eric Wallace

The Flash airs on the CW on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.

About The Flash (The CW)

The Flash is an American superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Geoff Johns. It is a spin-off from Arrow, existing in the same fictional universe known as Arrowverse.

Cast members include Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Rick Cosnett, Carlos Valdes, Tom Cavanagh, Jesse L. Martin, Keiynan Lonsdale among many others.

The series follows Barry Allen, a forensic investigator in Central City, who is hit by lightning on the night of the inauguration of the particle accelerator. Months later, he wakes up from a coma and discovers he has super-speed. He becomes The Flash and fights crime in Central City.