The Legends travel to to 1950s Memphis to save rock and roll.
- Amazing Freaking Grace: It's right there in the episode title. Within the context of the episode itself, Elvis sings it at the climax to calm the spirits of the dead summoned by the Death Totem.
- Anachronism Stew:
- During the dance in the church some couples are doing the Twist, which was still a few years away in 1954.
- Presumably "That's All Right Mama", Elvis's first single, was not used in the episode for licensing reasons, however the substitute song not only matches nothing Elvis actually recorded, it is done in the style of his recordings from circa 1962-64, not 1954.
- Avoided: Nate refers to "rock 'n' roll". Alan Freed brought the term to white audiences in 1951, which is set 3 years earlier, but the term predates Freed.
- And then played straight with the whole "without Elvis, there's no Rock 'n' Roll" premise of the episode. Yes, Elvis was incredibly famous, but he didn't create rock and he didn't make it famous. He was a particularly famous performer among many who made rock huge.
- Nate and Amaya being an obvious couple would have caused more issues for the people of 1954 than the ghosts.
- Artifact of Doom: The Death Totem, literally. It was so unpredictable that even the tribe that wielded it was destroyed because they couldn't control its power. Among the other wielders was Robert Johnson.
- Artistic License – History: Disregarding the obvious fantasy elements, musically the episode is way off; the first song Elvis records that gets played on the radio is not "That's All Right Mama", is recorded by a full band (rather than just two other musicians), and the style of rock and roll played in the song is closer to the 1960s style Elvis recorded for the movies. At one point Elvis also appears to start composing "Jailhouse Rock," a song written by others several years later for use in a movie.
- Back for the Dead: Axl, who hasn't actually been seen for quite a while.
- Bait-and-Switch: The episode ends on a happy note, with the Legends having four totems to the Cult's two. Then we see the final shot of the Death Totem activating of its own free will.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: When Nate tries to argue the importance of Rock 'n' Roll, he lists that it was responsible for inspiring protests, causing revolutions...and it also helped him lose his virginity.
- Breather Episode: This episode is more light-hearted, before a very dark episode next week.
- Captain Obvious: An unintentional example due to timing: Nate and Amaya come to realize that Jesse, Elvis's brother that died stillborn, is haunting his guitar via the totem attached to it. By the time Nate contacts the Waverider to relay this (the haunting part), they are in the process of fighting it.
- Due to the Dead: Ray organizes a funeral for...Mick's pet rat Axl. Mick and Sara aren't enthused at first, but then they accept to have a drink in Axel's memory.
- Earth Drift: Inverted, and as a result of John Constantine's addition to the continuity. Back in his own show, the episode "The Devil's Vinyl" had as part of its backstory the (fictional) urban legend of Willy Cole, a clear Shout-Out to the real-world myth of Robert Johnson. In this episode, the Robert Johnson story is shown to also be widely known in the Arrowverse.
- Funny Background Event: While Sara is being contacted by Nate, Wally is dragged around by the guitar...and later so is Zari who is trying to hold Wally down.
- Historical In-Joke: Bordering on Obligatory Joke, Elvis's uncle tells him to his face that spending the night in the jailhouse should be able to rock some sense into him.
- I Own This Town: Elvis's Evil Uncle (though he's not really evil, just grouchy and misguided). He's able to order the sheriff to throw his nephew and Nate and Amaya in jail on literally no charge just because he can.
- In Memoriam: Naturally, given the circumstances of the plot, one is given to Axl for the episode's ending.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: The abruptness of Axl's death clearly gets to Mick, but the combination of Ray holding an impromptu funeral and Mick having one last conversation with Axl's ghost at the end of the episode gives him the closure he needed.
- The New Rock & Roll: Rather appropriately, this episode concerns the Trope Codifier in the form of 1950s anti-rock and roll mentality.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- Zari floating in church as Elvis played his music (as a result of her totem reacting to the Death Totem) is the justification Elvis's uncle has for having his nephew arrested and taking his record to destroy it.
- Nate managing to get Elvis the Death Totem guitar in time to cut his record winds up causing the last act of the episode, as ghosts rise up when it's played on the radio.
- Why did Axl die? He ate the contents of one of Ray's test tubes.
- No Antagonist: The closest thing the episode has is Elvis's uncle and he comes around at the end. Nobody from the Cult of Mallus is involved this time.
- Politically Correct History: Though their first visit to the 1950s white church does cause the locals to glare at Wally, Amaya, and Zari, later on neither of them are given any real grief over their race, and Nate and Amaya are walking around as a couple without a problem. Possibly justified by the fact that Wally managed to get through to the preacher, who's already shown to be quite influential.
- The Reveal: We finally find out what the sixth totem is: a Death Totem.
- Ripple Effect Indicator: Three in terms of Memphis becoming a ghost town in 1954: Zari's copy of Guitar Hero becoming Trombone Hero, Axl's name becoming "Josh Groban", and Nate's hair suddenly becoming flat and unpoofed.
- Rotten Rock & Roll: Subverted: Elvis isn't the antagonist, but the Death Totem attached to his guitar is a major driving force to the plot.
- Shout-Out: Downplayed, but Elvis's uncle is basically a 1950s-style Footloose homage.
- Sinister Minister: Downplayed with Elvis's uncle Lucious, who is fairly misguided, but not evil.
- Story-Breaker Power: Played for Laughs in regards to Wally. Normally, trying to find Elvis's guitar would take up most of the episode's plot. Wally gets it in less than five seconds. This winds up being quietly deconstructed as Zari makes it clear to Wally that he needs to take things slow concerning time travel, as it requires a more delicate, precise measure than just running around at super speed. This is a follow-up to the preceding episode in which he pulled a similar stunt to the guitar grab, to Zari's annoyance. Not that she gives any specific reasons for why using super speed to complete the mission quickly is the wrong thing to do in this particular case.
- Trust Password: Having no luck getting the guitar from Jesse's ghost by force, Sara manages to pacify him by calling his name and saying they know Elvis, at which it immediately flies into her hand.
- Wham Shot: The episode closes on a shot of the box containing the Death Totem shaking violently, late at night.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Elvis's mother disappears from the narrative after the first church scene. This is especially noticeable given how Elvis winds up spending part of the episode in jail.
- Writing Around Trademarks: Copyrights, mostly...but the song Elvis plays is "I'm Gone, Mama" which is an obscure, possibly public domain song from 1957...and a different artist. Nobody ever names Elvis songs throughout the episode, and his other songs are public domain church songs. This takes on a note of irony when one recalls that the show had no problem featuring the original 1954 recording of Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" in an earlier episode.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: The episode really seemed to be against the idea of ending early:
- Wally gets Elvis's guitar in a split-second, and Nate and Amaya deliver him a duplicate. Unfortunately, Elvis could tell something was wrong with the guitar, and can't bring himself to play. Meanwhile in the Waverider, Sara and Ray are being attacked by the Death Totem Guitar.
- Nate manages to talk Sara into letting Elvis to use the Death Totem guitar to cut his record, thus making sure that rock and roll is allowed to exist...and then Elvis's uncle shows up with a cop after the record is recorded.
- Zari and Wally manage to talk Elvis's uncle into extending an olive branch to his nephew over his music, and Wally manages to speed Elvis's record over to the radio station in order for it to be played, thus ensuring Elvis's music career. Episode's over, right? Well, the ghosts suddenly appearing from the graveyard beg to differ.
