"My name is Barry Allen, and I am the fastest man alive. To the outside world, I'm an ordinary forensic scientist, but secretly, with the help of my friends at S.T.A.R. Labs, I fight crime and find other meta-humans like me. In an attempt to stop the evil speedster Savitar, I was accidentally thrust into the future, and I saw him murder the woman I love. But I won't let that happen. I'm going to do everything in my power to change the future, and I'm the only one fast enough to keep her alive. I am The Flash!"
While dealing with the aftermath of his journey to the future, Barry's fears of the future coming true begin to surface after Plunder, a figure in his vision, appears.
Tropes:
- Aesop Amnesia: Barry and Iris are adamant about keeping Iris' death a secret from Joe, out of fear he would go after Savitar himself. You'd think they would remember what happened when they kept secrets from each other before.
- They avoid this with the rest of the group, after Barry reveals it to Iris.
- All-Loving Hero: Caitlin offers Julian a position at STAR Labs, to The Team's chargin. She convinces them to at least keep the possibility open. By the end of the episode Barry welcomes Julian to the team.
- Badass Biker: Most of the fights with Plunder had the Flashes chasing him in his Cool Bike.
- Badass Normal: Plunder is an ordinary human, but his gear is advanced enough to cause trouble for both Flashes.
- Battle Trophy: Barry steals Plunder's ultratech gun and Cisco is absolutely amazed at its abilities. It may also be the gun that Barry saw H.R. point at Savitar in the future.
- Brutal Honesty: Cisco is quite open about his dislike for H.R.'s ideas, outright calling him useless. H.R. even mentions how mean he is. Though it gets better at the end of the episode.
- Call-Back: The device used by Cisco near the end of Season 1 to Mental Time Travel back to the negated timeline where Eobard killed him is used by him and Barry to travel to the future to look for solutions to prevent said future from happening.
- Catapult Nightmare: Barry awakens in this fashion at the beginning after his nightmare of the future.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander / Funny Foreigner: HR. Accentuated when he enters the episode on a Segway."Sumptuous day, brethen."
- Dissonant Serenity: Wally almost namedrops the trope, saying that Barry has this. Barry tells him it comes from experience.
- Epic Fail: The museum opening did not go exactly as planned. Only two people came, and Team Flash's attempts to make them stay only chased them off.
- Evil Me Scares Me: Caitlin and Julian, in Caitlin's case, Killer Frost may come back sometime in the future.
- Fanservice: Iris' plunging neckline, Barry's state of undress in bed.
- Foreshadowing: Barry's Vibed return to the future lets him read several items off a news ticker that the team hopes preventing will ultimately stop Iris' death. This includes Killer Frost coming out for real as a public criminal, and the apparent return of Grodd. The Music Meister is also mentioned, foreshadowing his appearance in the Supergirl musical crossover.
- "Friends" Rent Control: It's remarked on a few times how nice Barry's new apartment is. How exactly does he afford that on a CSI's salary?
- Given that Barry put Iris' name on the lease as well, between the two of them they probably could afford it just fine.
- Full-Name Ultimatum: Iris pulls one off, while questioning Barry about his nightmares.Iris: Don't change the subject Bartholomew!
Barry: Bartholomew...Am I in trouble!?! - Internal Reveal:
- Barry shows Iris the article from 2024, and also reveals it used to be written by Iris West-Allen, in the Time Vault.
- Barry tells the rest of the team, except for Joe, about his trip to the future.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Barry and Iris look prepared to engage in an early morning quickie, before the two are alerted of a fire downtown.
- Ironic Episode Title: Team Flash are actually looking for solutions during the Mental Time Travel to the future.
- It's All About Me:
- H.R.'s innocently narcissistic side is much more pronounced here, giving little notice to the tension in the cortex between Barry and Wally, and more concerned that the two aren't dressed for the museum's opening.
- Barry since he was willing to let Plunder go free if it meant saving Iris. She calls him out on it.
- Jerkass Ball: Cisco is suddenly an absolute dick to H.R. at every opportunity, though thankfully he snaps out of it halfway through the episode.
- Lady in Red: Iris is wearing a revealing red cocktail dress during the museum's (flopped) opening.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When H.R. talks about his novel (that involves time travel), he tells Barry about how the main character's actions have divided his book's fanbase into two camps.
- Leitmotif: Many variations of Barry and Iris' love theme pops up on many occasions this episode.
- Locked Out of the Loop: The team decides not to let Joe know about the possible future where Iris dies, knowing how he would react if he found out.
- The Mentor: Barry is now training Wally out in the field, yet due to his preoccupation with Iris' death, he's very strict with him, at first.
- Mythology Gag:
- Detective Patterson says that Wally should be sent to Keystone City, his home in the comics.
- The power-suppressing necklace that Cisco gives Caitlin resembles Louise Lincoln's necklace.
- Mcsnurtle the Turtle is the real name of The Terrific Whatzit, Jay Garrick's Funny Animal counterpart.
- S.T.A.R. Labs has been turned into a museum. In the comics, there is a Flash museum.
- Never My Fault: Julian feels no responsibility for his role as Alchemy, he was being controlled against his will...or so he would appear.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Barry's main reason for his anger towards Wally, who disobeyed his orders to stay behind, under the belief that taking Plunder into custody will set off the events leading to Iris' death. Later subverted when he allows Kid Flash to capture Plunder, instead of The Flash, like the news ticker said.
- No Social Skills: Julian. When he was welcomed to the team, he's happy as he then reminds everyone that his last team was killed by Savitar. Caitlin lampshades that he needs to work on his small talk.
- Opening Narration: It's been modified so rather than focusing on Flashpoint it focuses on the Bad Future where Savitar kills Iris.
- Pet the Dog: After his brutish refusal to help Caitlin with her powers earlier, Julian later admits he is trying to suppress his guilt as Alchemy and the death of his colleagues during his expedition in India.
- Pets as a Present: H.R. gifts Barry and Iris a pet turtle named McSnurtle as a "housewarming gift".
- Pun: When Cisco presents Morillo's gun Barry stole for him, Iris comments that he plundered Plunder.
- Screw Destiny: The goal of Team Flash. Whether they will succeed remains to be be seen.
- Sequel Hook: The Stinger shows a mysterious woman emerging from a breach, and apparently searching for H.R.
- Sensual Slavs: Olga, the Sexy Secretary mentioned below.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Barry promises Iris he will do everything it takes to prevent the future he saw.Barry: I swear on both my parents' lives, I will protect you!
- Sexy Secretary: Olga, the new receptionist H.R. hired.
- Ship Tease: Caitlin and Julian get quite a bit during this episode.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: At first, it seems like Julian is still a dick, but then it's revealed in his second dialogue with Caitlin that he only acts that way to cope with his Survivor Guilt.
- Super-Persistent Missile: Plunder's weapon can shoot seeking bullets that chase after their target, even speedsters like Barry.
- Superman Stays Out of Gotham: Barry and the others spend a great deal of time debating over the question as to whether the future is fixed or can be changed. Even ignoring the fact that the Reverse-Flash demonstrably changed the future by altering Barry's past—which Eobard Thawne told Barry about doing—and Barry's own time-travel hijinks, Barry, Caitlin and Cisco never once mention that they personally know a group of experts they could just ask, even if only to mention they can't contact them for some reason.
- Survivor Guilt: Even though Savitar controlled him, Julian still feels an awful lot of guilt for the policemen killed by him as Alchemy and laments that he should have died instead.
- Swiss-Army Gun: Plunder's weapon can shoot a variety of Abnormal Ammo and energy beams, including Recursive Ammo and seeking bullets.
- Took a Level in Kindness: After dropping his Jerkass facade, Julian turns out to have mellowed out a great deal. He even kept Barry's identity a secret.
- Underestimating Badassery: Team Flash (Cisco especially) undermines H.R.'s relevance to The Team, despite once again proving himself as quite The Strategist.
- Ungrateful Bastard:
- The police officer rescued at the beginning by both Flashes badmouths Wally back on the precinct, outright calling him useless and saying that he should move to Keystone City.
- After Wally saves Barry from Plunder, Barry doesn't even thank him and scolds him for not following his orders to stay behind. Thankfully Barry apologizes.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: H.R. never reveals how he is funding the museum.Cisco: Who exactly is paying for all this!?!
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Iris gives one to Barry, after Barry admits he was willing to let Plunder get away in order to avert his vision. Yes she's scared, but she won't let Barry endanger Central City for her sake.
- Also the entire team get on Barry for his rather harsh treatment of Wally.
- Barry, Iris, Cisco and Wally all give Caitlin one after finding out she offered Julian a job at STAR Labs, and a role on Team Flash, without consulting them.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Not only does H.R.'s museum get closed down in the future, Caitlin's Killer Frost persona also breaks out once again.
- You Can't Fight Fate: The concept is discussed throughout the episode and in the end, Barry decides not to accept it and fight for a better future.
