After a break of almost 5 months, The Flash returned to The CW in the middle of November with its eighth season, starting with an action-packed arc: Armageddon, a five-part crossover that shifted the status quo of the show and that included many of the most emotional episodes of the whole series.
Although there is not much information about the rest of the season so far, the showrunner, Eric Wallace, has teased fans with a season full of surprises and the promise of a new villain, apparently one that will be scarier than any the audience has seen before.
10 It Will Only Be 18 Episodes
After 4 successful seasons of 23 episodes, The Flash started to shorten its seasons due to budget and administrative matters. While the fifth season had 22 episodes, the sixth season only had 19 and the seventh season had just 18. This number was not shortened for the eighth season, which will have 18 episodes too.
Although shorter seasons can be a challenge because there is less space to develop certain plots, Eric Wallace has commented before that their priority will always be to ensure a quality season for the fans.
9 It Started With The Armageddon Crossover
The first five episodes of the eighth season belong to a whole new arc called Armageddon. Although it is not exactly a crossover event, Mark Pedowitz explained the episodes have a "crossover-type feel" that fans would enjoy.
Armageddon depicted the battle of the Team Flash against a psychic alien from the future who tells Barry he will be responsible for the end of the world. Unable to find a solution to the situation, Barry looks for assistance in other Arrowverse superheroes, but things are bound to get ugly.
8 The Armageddon Crossover Is A Way To Honor The Anual Crossover Commitment
Although Armageddon featured several Arrowverse characters, the producers have admitted it was not a crossover, at least not in the same way Elseworlds and Crisis of Infinite Earths were. This happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic since many restrictions were placed on the cast and crew, making them unable to work as usual.
However, Eric Wallace said that Armageddon will give "the people that sense [of a crossover]," and he also teased the fans describing the event as "the most emotional Flash episodes" with "epic moments and huge surprises."
7 It Will Have A Midseason Break
After the 5-episode Armageddon arc ends, there will be a midseason break for every show, which means fans will have to wait until March to get their favorite characters back on the screen. Since The Flash will air on Wednesdays, it will return on March 9, 2022.
Unfortunately, there is no new information about future episodes. All fans know so far is that Armageddon will be the first arc of the season. There are many comments out there about possible arcs to be adapted, such as Rogue War, but the fans will have to wait until March to confirm their theories.
6 The Season Continues With The Graphic Novel Format
Long-time Arrowverse fans probably noticed that there was a shift in The Flash series after season six. While the first five seasons either had one-time enemies or season-long villains, seasons six and seven were divided into at least two major stories. According to Eric Wallace, this graphic novel format was adopted to avoid fatigue.
The eighth season will continue with this graphic novel format. Wallace prefers to keep fans in the dark, but he commented that one of the arcs will have a new villain who is "a very scary fellow, and when he shows up, we might dip our toes into the world of horror and the supernatural."
5 This Is The First Season Without Cisco Or A Harrison Wells
Sadly, this will be the first season that Carlos Valdes and Tom Cavanagh will not return to reprise their roles as Cisco Ramon and Harrison Wells in any of his versions. While the last Harrison Wells died during the seventh season premiere, Cisco and his girlfriend Camille left twelve episodes later after Cisco was offered a position as the Director of Technology and Science for A.R.G.U.S. in Star City.
Since there is no information about the cast for the later episodes of the season, there is still a chance one of them will appear at least as a guest. Unfortunately, producers and actors have made it clear that this is very improbable.
4 Reverse Flash Is Back
While Tom Cavanagh will not be back as Harrison Wells, did appear in Armageddon as Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash. In the crossover event, he is a future version of Thawne that marries Iris in 2031 and acts as the main villain of the story.
Interestingly, producers chose Tom Cavanagh as the face for Reverse-Flash instead of Matt Letscher this time. It is probably because seeing his face as an evil mastermind is a more painful experience than usual now that Barry lost the last of the Wells.
3 It Will Feature Many Familiar Faces
There is little information about the cast for the season after Armageddon ends, but it is very probable that Team Flash will maintain its current formation, regardless of the changes in the timeline. Regardless, former actors of the show, such as Robbie Amell and Rick Cosnett, have been confirmed as guests.
In addition to this, the first five episodes of the show will feature many superheroes belonging to other Arrowverse series. Some examples are Jefferson Pierce from Black Lightning, Alex Danvers/Sentinel from Supergirl, and Mia Queen, Oliver's daughter, now turned into the Green Arrow.
2 The Flash Got A Suit Upgrade
During the 2021 DC Fandome event, Grant Gustin and Candice Patton announced that the Scarlet Speedster will finally get his golden boots—a necessary upgrade to his outfit, according to long-time fans. Grant himself declared to be very excited about his new footwear and reflected on the evolution of The Flash suit concluding that the boots are "its final touch."
It appears that it only took eight seasons for Barry Allen's super suit to be completely comic-accurate. With the new boots, his costume will be as close as possible to the one Carmine Infantino imagined for this hero in the Silver Age.
1 The Eight Season Is Likely Not The Last One
So far, The Flash has not been canceled nor renewed for a ninth season and there is no information about its future, but this is probably because it is too soon to have that information. Not even the showrunner has commented on it.
Since the eighth season has only been airing for 5 weeks, no one can know if the show will be renewed for a ninth season. However considering its current success and the fact that there are many comic arcs to explore, it is very unlikely that The Flash will be canceled soon.