Armageddon, Part 3

"Things were looking a little grim, but part of me was, admittedly, a little excited for a 'reunion' of old friends." —Cisco Ramon[src] This episode is part of a larger crossover series, Armageddon.

"Armageddon, Part 3"
Information
Season 8 » Episode 3
Episode number	154 of 184
Original airdate	November 30, 2021
Written by	Sam Chalsen
Directed by	Chris Peppe
Chronology
Preceded by	"Armageddon, Part 2"
Followed by	"Armageddon, Part 4"
Armageddon
Preceded by	"Armageddon, Part 2"
Followed by	"Armageddon, Part 4"

"Armageddon, Part 3" is the third episode of the eighth season of The Flash, and the one-hundred-fifty-fourth episode overall. It aired on November 30, 2021. The episode is the third part of the five-part crossover, Armageddon.

Synopsis

Barry meets Black Lightning at the Hall of Justice after things take a dire turn with Despero. Iris suspects something is off with Despero's vision of the future so she seeks help from a powerful ally.[src]

Plot

Barry explains to Jefferson that he has attacked his team and innocent people. He reminds him the Injustice Protocols are activated when one of them goes rogue. Jefferson wants to call Kara, J'onn or Sara. The protocols were put in place after the business with Faust and Jefferson was designated to Barry. Barry tells him about forgetting Joe died and wants him to take away his powers.

As Despero scans Earth, Cecile tells Caitlin, Chester and Allegra that Barry is having a mental health crisis. Iris arrives and says Barry might be right that someone has caused all this. She shows them CCTV footage she was given of Joe's death: He stumbled onto the train track in the path of an oncoming train. The footage shows him disappearing just before the train hit. Cecile angrily dismisses Iris' theory as a fantasy. Iris leaves and Allegra goes with her. Cecile knows Despero is scanning for Barry but thinks she has a better chance of finding him because she knows him better. She asks Chester to build a machine to amplify her powers. Caitlin indicates they need someone else's help.

Iris and Allegra go to the train station. Iris sees black particles rising from the tracks. Allegra points out the CCTV might have been tampered with there. They speak with a security guard, who notes the train came in fifteen minutes early. He says sometimes the upload of the footage is disrupted by power surges and shows them the local back-up: This time, Joe doesn't disappear.

Barry works on a device that will boost Jefferson's powers enough to cut off his connection to the Speed Force. He reminisces about Joe, and Jefferson recalls Bill Henderson sacrificing himself for him. He begins hitting Barry with his lightning. Meanwhile, Allegra shows Iris a file indicating there are dozens of coincidences that were needed for the train to hit Joe. Iris now believes she was wrong, until she sees more of the black particles coming from the file.

Cecile finds Rosalind Dillon hustling at pool in a bar and notes she didn't manage to take over Sam Scudder's business empire after selling him out. She asks Dillon to help her find the Flash, in return for which she'll get her parole restrictions lifted. They rejoin Caitlin and Chester, who have set up the amplifier which will show an image on an old television. It's turned on but Cecile immediately feels pain. Rosa snaps at her to forget her own feelings and focus. They get a brief image of Barry before the device overloads. Cecile tells Chester to repair it and try again. They are being monitored by Despero, who intends for them to lead him to the Flash.

Iris heads back to the train station, where Deon finds her and freezes time around them. Iris tells them about the particles she saw, which seem to be connected to her time sickness. She asks Deon to undo her treatments. He reluctantly does so and they see the area is full of decaying temporal isotopes. Deon realises that someone has tapped into the Negative Still Force in order to alter the timeline so Joe died.

Caitlin thinks Cecile needs to ignore Rosalind's advice and worries she is repressing her grief over Joe, just like Caitlin did over Ronnie. Cecile says her powers make her feel everyone else's grief and she needs to push it down but Caitlin insists Cecile's powers come from her feelings. Chester then gets an alert: The particle accelerator has been turned back on. Hackshaw and his team also notice this. It is the work of Despero, who mind-controls two of the Hazmat team to attack their colleagues while he absorbs the power.

Cecile and Dillon try again and get an image of Barry with Jefferson. Cecile then senses Despero is with them. Dillon uses her powers to knock out Caitlin and Chester, then offers to let Despero into her mind for the information so they can kill the Flash together. Despero isn't interested so she lets him read her mind anyway, which badly injures her. He then turns to Cecile for the rest of the information. She blasts him with empathic energy, based on her memories of Joe, and he vanishes. Chester and Caitlin recover and Chester realises Barry is at the Hall.

Barry lets slip to Jefferson about Despero, admitting he told him he'd cause the end of the world in ten years time and wants to kill him. Jefferson thinks Barry is acting out of fear. Barry attacks Black Lightning in an attempt to goad him and their fight smashes Oliver Queen's memorial. Jefferson reminds Barry that Oliver gave his life for him and thinks they can change the future. Despero arrives and prepares to kill Barry. Iris and Deon also arrive, and Iris says someone altered the timeline to make Barry appear insane. Jefferson fights Despero, as Deon gives Barry some Still Force energy to help him time-travel despite his depleted Speed Force. The Flash disappears into a temporal vortex.

Central City, 2031: The Flash comes out of the vortex and sees a sign saying a restaurant is hosting a private function for the West Party. Barry enters in his civilian clothes and finds Eobard Thawne addressing a group that includes Cecile, Allegra, Chester, Alex Danvers, Ryan Wilder, Ryan Choi and Marcus Finkel. Thawne brings Iris up the front with him: It is clear they are engaged. Everyone suddenly notices Barry, and Ryan demands to know why he's there.

Cast

Starring

• Grant Gustin as Barry Allen/The Flash
• Candice Patton as Iris West-Allen
• Danielle Panabaker as Dr. Caitlin Snow
• Danielle Nicolet as Defense Attorney Cecile Horton
• Kayla Compton as Allegra Garcia
• Brandon McKnight as Chester P. Runk
• Jesse L. Martin (credit only)

Special guest star

• Chyler Leigh as Dr. Alex Danvers
• Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning
• Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder

Guest starring

• Osric Chau as Dr. Ryan Choi
• Christian Magby as Deon Owens
• Ashley Rickards as Rosa Dillon/Top
• Jon Cor (credit only)
• Tony Curran as Despero

Special appearance by

• Tom Cavanagh as Professor Eobard Thawne

Co-starring

• Paul Herbert as Director Hackshaw
• Kalvin Olafson as Security Chief
• Lisa Chandler as Susan

Uncredited

• Andres Soto as Dr. Marcus

Gallery

Videos

The Flash 8x03 Promo "Armageddon, Part 3" (HD) Season 8 Episode 3 Promo - Crossover Event

Trivia

• Despite this episode being the third episode of Season 8, it was the first to be filmed during production.
• The place that Eobard and Iris are celebrating their partnership at is a nod to Eobard's younger brother in the comics, Robern Thawne, as well as his ability to tap into the Negative Still Force.
  • Eobard also erases Robern from existence, like he's doing with Barry's legacy here.
  • In the New 52 Flash run, Eobard originally had the ability to slow down time, instead of superspeed. The Still Force and its Negative counterpart function similar to this, which makes Eobard even closer to his comics counterpart.
• When Jefferson tells Barry that music helps him to focus, this could refer to the background music that played during episodes of Black Lightning.
  • When Jefferson feels Barry is trying to impress him with the music he chose and Barry explains his upbringing through Joe, this references an idea that Salim Akil, the showrunner of Black Lightning, stated in an interview. The idea was for Barry and Iris to appear on Black Lightning properly, where they would travel to Freeland for dinner with the Pierce family. Barry would explain that he was raised by a black family and would play some deep soul music.
• The "Injustice Protocols" could be a reference to the DC video game franchise "Injustice", the first part in which Superman turns evil and through a combined effort of the Justice League becomes depowered in the end.
• This is the only episode of Armageddon where Nora West-Allen is not mentioned or pictured.
• When Barry throws lightning at Jefferson Pierce for the second time, Jefferson throws Barry's lightning back at him. This could be a reference when Barry threw lightning at Zoom; only for him to grab the lightning bolt and throw it back at Barry.
  • This reference may be unlikely due to Jefferson's powers being lightning-based.
• When coming up with an idea to enhance Cecile's empathic abilities to locate Barry, Chester says they're going to build their own Cerebro. Cerebro is the name of the mutant-locating machine that Charles Xavier uses in the X-Men franchise.
• This episode marks the first appearance of Ryan Wilder/Batwoman outside of Batwoman.

Goofs

• When Barry begins playing music at the Hall of Justice, Thelonious Monk's name is misspelt as 'Thelonius' on the display.