TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews The Flash Armageddon Part 4

So I’ll be repeating this message in case you didnt’ see my other review this week. Here at FTN we had a major data breach and we lost all reviews for the last two months, including all my Armageddon reviews up to this point. Sorry about that. But in truth, you didn’t miss much due to this event not being very well-plotted IMO, and Part 4 only adds to that.

Because as was revealed at the end of Episode 3, The Reverse-Flash was behind everything, and he went back in time to go and create a series of events so that Barry would lose his mind, and then Thawne would rewrite the timeline so that HE was The Flash and that Barry was the Reverse-Flash and thus their lives were basically swapped.

Lore-wise? That’s awesome. It’s very much a RF move, as multiple times in the comics he’s made changes to the timeline to screw with Flash and even try to get with Iris at one point. But…the execution of this story once again came into question, and in the most basic of ways.

For example, Thawne creating his “perfect world”? Sure, that works. And seeing everyone “ten years later”? In theory, fine, especially when it comes to Ryan Choi finally suiting up as The Atom. But…

You notice how a lot of the characters were having ISSUES TEN YEARS into the future and yet they were talking like it was still 2021? Like how Chester and Allegra had a fling and then apparently didn’t talk to one another for TEN YEARS?!?!?! Or how Ryan and Sophie got married (ugh) and were debating having a kid TEN YEARS later? And Ryan Choi apparently became a cold-hearted “cold equations” guy and yet only NOW was he getting “fixed”?

And the biggest faux pas was not so ironically Iris. If Thawne had made his “perfect world”, then why was it that he and Iris were only on the cusp of getting married now? Wouldn’t he have done everything to try and get married sooner? Furthermore, despite his meddling, Iris didn’t love him fully as she showed many times, and just as bad, despite her not “remembering” Barry, she was able to give him power right at the end because…reasons?

Which brings us to another crux of the argument, Damien Darhk. Some people aren’t happy to see him back, and in this case their point is valid. How is he part of Thawne’s “perfect world” if he’s trying to play the hero this go around? What’s more, why would he risk Darhk turning against him via allowing his daughter to die? This whole story end with a  Thawne victory if he made sure Nora stayed alive. And yet…despite all his meddling…he didn’t think that was a good idea?

And that takes us to Barry. Him trying to understand what was happening? Valid. Him trying to convince everyone he was the real Flash at first? Fine. But not unlike with his visit to Earth-2 all those years ago, he crumbles under pressure in trying to make this reality make sense even though it’s in the future and he KNOWS Thawne screwed with everyone. Granted, he rebounded with Darhk, but he again fell victim when it came to saving the others.

But most egregiously in my mind…Barry lost hope! AGAIN!!! It’s pretty bad when you’re getting a pep talk from a perennial bad guy and learning about love from Damien Darhk! Really? Sure, not being sure about your speed after getting depowered was one thing, but after ALL THIS TIME he’s STILL thinking it’s just about speed that wins the day? Come Barry, you’re better than that!

Plus, as if all of that wasn’t enough, they were giving a LOT of screen time to the future storylines…even though they don’t matter! Including Ryan and Iris meeting up (a thing many want in the present timeline because it’s not clear if they know each other yet), the Chester/Allegra storyline, and Alex playing mediator for all of them. Seriously, this was a major crossover event…and yet most of them interact in the future that’s now erased? Not cool.

Finally, and just as important, Despero was once again proven to be basically pointless because Armageddon was “needed” to help Barry fix things, and yet he was able to save the world despite “destroying it”. How? Love!!! Apparently. And again, that makes Despero look like a fool for not waiting a bit to make SURE that Barry really was the cause of everything. Oh, and of course RF is back to try and muck things up again…because we still have one episode left…

An episode I’m honestly not looking forward to because I doubt anything substantial will happen, and if it does…? The winds is basically out of the sales at this point.

2.5/5