After defeating Godspeed with the help of his speedster children from the future, Bart and Nora, Barry Allen aka The Flash is back to face new challenges. With the help of Team Flash at STAR Labs including Caitlin Snow, Frost, Allegra Garcia and Chester P. Runk along with his family, The Flash will face villains old and new in Central City. The season begins with an epic five-episode event, “Armageddon” featuring crossover characters from across the Arrowverse.
For previous thoughts on The Flash: The Complete Seventh Season, please see my Blu-Ray review here.
For in-depth thoughts on The Flash: The Complete Eighth Season, please see my colleague Ben Belcher’s review here.
Video Quality
The Flash: The Complete Eighth Season arrives on Blu-Ray with a great AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. As always, the series employs a bright and colorful visual palette with some dazzling hues leaping off the screen thanks to the costumes and environment. Black levels are very deep and provide a striking amount of detail in shadows. The bright whites of the show are stable and do not fall victim to any blooming. This is a very crisp production with a tremendous amount of detail on display including subtle facets within the production design. Skin tones remain natural across the entire cast. A strong encode means there are no egregious instances of aliasing or compression artifacts detectable. The show still showcases some questionable CGI at times, but the transfer represents it to the best of its ability. The Blu-Ray presentation is a top notch representation of the show.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a forceful DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that fleshes out this world in very exciting ways. Action sequences and more kinetic moments are plentiful this season, and they are given the appropriate weight in the mix with a strong showing in the low end. Ambient sounds such as lightning from the speed force are also precisely placed in the rear channels for maximum effect. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear without being overwhelmed by the score or any sound effects. The score remains one of the most enjoyable aspects of the show as it fills the room with soaring music that perfectly underscores the material. The audio track does everything that is asked of it without fail. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Deleted Scenes: There are 22 minutes of unused material provided here including Chester broadcasting to his audience, some more moments with Alex from Supergirl, Frost confronting an old adversary, an emotional confrontation for Flash and more. Some shots contain some unfinished VFX work as well as some harsh color timing.
- The DC Heroes – Path To Glory: A 17-minute featurette which goes beyond The Flash to also discuss Batwoman, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Superman & Lois and more. In this piece there is a larger discussion about the notion of being a hero, how they are represented to the world and more. It is nice to get a perspective from various different shows.
- The Flash – Standing the Test of Time: A nine-minute piece which takes a look at the place of time travel within The Flash for both heroes and villains, the Armageddon arc, and more.
- Gag Reel: Ten minutes of joking around on set, laughing fit, flubbed lines and more that are pretty fun.
Final Thoughts
The Flash: The Complete Eighth Season is a bit of a rebound for a show that once reigned supreme, but has often found itself stumbling through the same tired plots the past few seasons. The previous season was especially taxing, and the decision to break this season down to even more contained arcs pays off at least somewhat. There is still a lot that does not work (how many times can we square off against Reverse Flash?), but there was more good than bad this time around. Even with this somewhat positive development, we are looking forward to the end which will hopefully send the show off on a high note. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment continues to deliver a great A/V presentation along with a pretty good assortment of special features. If you remain a fan of the show, this package should not let you down.
The Flash: The Complete Eighth Season is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.