Posted in: Black Lightning, CW, Preview, Trailer, TV | Tagged: Armageddon, black lightning, despero, Episode 2, preview, season 8, teaser, The Flash, trailer

The Flash Season 8 "Armageddon" E02 Overview: Black Lightning Strikes

With only a little more than a week to go until Barry (Grant Gustin), Iris (Candice Patton), Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker), and the rest of Team Flash face off against a threat unlike any they've faced before, viewers are getting more clues as to what lies ahead for the epic five-part "Armageddon" event in the form of the official overview of the second episode of The CW's The Flash Season 8. Pushed to their limits in a desperate battle to save the world from a powerful alien threat arriving under mysterious circumstances, our heroes will be joined by Javicia Leslie's Batwoman, Cress Williams' Black Lightning, Brandon Routh's Ray Palmer aka The Atom, Chyler Leigh's Sentinel, Kat McNamara's Mia Queen, and Osric Chau's Ryan Choi. But on the big bad side, we have Tom Cavanagh's Eobard Thawne aka Reverse-Flash & Neal McDonough's Damien Darhk- with the deadliest threat coming from Tony Curran's Despero.

In the overview for the first episode, we learned that Routh's Palmer will be making an appearance. From the looks of what is listed for "Armageddon: Part 2," it doesn't take long for things to get desperate for Barry as Despero warns him that the really bad stuff has only just begun. Clearly, something happens that required Barry to prove his innocence, so much so that he seeks Williams' Black Lightning for help. But what is it that Iris knows that could be the game-changer that Barry wasn't looking for?

Here's a look back at the official trailer for the eighth season of The CW's The Flash, followed by the official overviews for the November 16th season premiere "Armageddon: Part 1" and November 23rd episode "Armageddon: Part 2":

The Flash Season 8 Episode 1 "Armageddon: Part 1": PART ONE OF THE ARMAGEDDON FIVE EPISODE EVENT – When a powerful alien threat arrives on Earth under mysterious circumstances, Barry (Grant Gustin), Iris (Candice Patton) and the rest of Team Flash are pushed to their limits in a desperate battle to save the world. But with time running out and the fate of humanity at stake, Flash and his companions will also need to enlist the help of some old friends if the forces of good are to prevail. Brandon Routh guest stars. Eric Dean Seaton directed the episode written by Eric Wallace.

The Flash Season 8 Episode 2 "Armageddon: Part 2": THE FLASH SEEKS HELP FROM BLACK LIGHTNING – Despero (guest star Tony Curran) warns The Flash (Grant Gustin) that great tragedies will befall the speedster and cause him to lose his mind. Once that happens, Armageddon will begin. Determined to prove Despero wrong, Barry doubles down on proving his innocence but a devastating revelation from Iris (Candice Patton) pushes him to the edge and sends him to seek counsel from Black Lightning (guest star Cress Williams). Menhaj Huda directed the episode written by Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza.

Created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky and first appearing in the DC Comics' Justice League of America #1 (1960), Curran's Arrowverse take is a powerful and intelligent alien possessing incredible telepathic powers who left his homeworld—Kalanor—under mysterious circumstances. Now he's facing a deadly mission on Earth, one whose outcome will decide the fate of humankind and put him on a collision course with Team Flash. Showrunner Eric Wallace offered EW some perspectives on what viewers can expect from Curran and the newest big bad.

About That "Pivotal" Exchange Between Barry & Despero Shown in the Trailer: "That's actually the scene where we really learn about Despero's alien origins, which is what makes that scene so fascinating to me. [Curran] has a big speech in that scene. No spoilers, [but] it's a very intense moment in his relationship with The Flash. You'll see throughout the episodes how Despero tests Flash in various ways. This is one of those moments. That's what makes it so pivotal. I think the audience is going to learn something new about Despero that they never knew because we do have our own take on the [DC] mythology for the character."

Despero Was a Perfect Choice for a Number of Reasons: "I wanted to put a truly classic DC villain in this five-part event that I knew fans would get excited about. Also, and I can't say too much without revealing too much of the story, there's a certain element to the story itself that involves the powerset of Despero, [which] makes him the perfect fit for the story." And as for Curran's non-comics look? Wallace strongly urges fans to be patient: "Be careful what you see. Your eyes can sometimes deceive you."

Curran's Vincent Van Gogh on "Doctor Who" Made an Impression: "When Despero shows up on Earth, you can kind of understand why he's here [and] see it from his point of view. That was kind of important to get across, but then to not be afraid of the bigger side because, as fans of the comics know, Despero has a lot of powers. This isn't a guy who just stands there and talks for five episodes. You'll see him using some of his familiar powers from the comic books. That's where Tony's experience in other sci-fi genre shows really came into the play because he immediately understood. [He said,] 'I love the Shakespearean bigness of it, but I also understand he needs to be relatable to the audience on a very grounded level,'" Wallace explained. "I think the audience is going to flip out when they see how dynamic, exciting, and unpredictable Tony is in bringing this particular version of Despero to life. This is not exactly the Despero that you might know from the comics, or the Justice League cartoon. This is our own version that Tony is really bringing something unique to it that I think is going to help make him the definitive Despero."

So with 3 Big Bads Lined Up, How Bad will "Armageddon" be for Barry? "What happens when you have one bad guy? Well, bad things happen. What happens when you have more than one bad guy? Multiple bad things happen, and it makes for a really terrible day for The Flash. Let's just say the Flash is about to have the worst day he's ever had in eight years."

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