Recap / The Flash 2014 S 3 E 20 I Know Who You Are

Now who's the villain, Flash?!? NOW WHO'S THE VILLAIN?!?!

Now that he's back in the present, Barry tries to find Tracy Brand so they can stop Savitar here and now. But Savitar and Killer Frost are actively hunting for her too, which puts Caitlin's secret at risk. And lastly, Barry finally realizes Savitar's identity.

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Tropes

• And Your Little Dog, Too!: Savitar has Killer Frost kidnap Cecile in exchange for Tracy Brand.
• Antagonist Title: Directly referring to the Secret Identity of the Season Three Big Bad. Considering The Reveal, this may also double as Protagonist Title in retrospect.
• Arc Words:
  • Barry being told that "he's not a God" throughout the season finally pays off with The Reveal.
  • Savitar constantly stating "I am the future, Flash" is revealed to be taken very literally; e.g., "I am the Future Flash."
• Badass Longcoat: Unlike the Earth-2 version's Badass Biker look, Earth-1 Killer Frost wears a blue longcoat.
• Beam-O-War: Killer Frost and Vibe dueled with their respective powers clashing against each other.
• Book Ends: Barry's Title Drop, only because the beginning of the episode is a quick Flash Forward.
• Break Her Heart to Save Her: Attempted by Joe under unexplained reasoning to protect Cecile from the dangers of his life, but after Killer Frost kidnaps her anyway, he decides to tell her the whole truth and get back with her.
• Call-Back:
  • In the season premiere, Eobard mocked Barry with the infamous line, "NOW WHO'S THE VILLAIN, FLASH!?" Indeed, this season's Big Bad is Barry himself.
  • Earlier in the season, Jay Garrick had said "We're not gods, Barry," with a similar quote later uttered to Barry by Oliver. It turns out that in the future, Barry develops one hell of a god complex.
  • Killer Frost uses an icicle to stab the Flash's left leg just like last time. She even brings up that she's attacking him there to hit his vulnerable scar tissue.
  • Savitar tells Killer Frost that she has yet to live up to the "Killer" part of her name. Barry tells her something similar in Killer Frost. Could also serve as Foreshadowing of Savitar's true identity.
• Call-Forward: The first thing that is seen after the opening Flash Forward is a picture of Barry and Iris, the very same picture Future Barry keeps as a tragic memento in the Time Vault.
• Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Barry confronting Savitar, who confirms his identity — Barry's own future self.
• Composite Character: As it turns out, Savitar is also Future Flash from the New 52 comics.
• The Corrupter: Savitar keeps trying to egg Killer Frost on to live up to her name and actually kill someone, in a rather dark parallel to Barry using the same taunt to snap Caitlin out of her icy persona.
• The Cuckoolander Was Right: Tracy is really relieved to hear that her research about extra-dimensional energy, ridiculed and unbelieved by her colleagues, is true after all.
• Dark Reprise: When "Savitar" is revealed to be Future Barry, a darker version of the main theme plays, mixed with Savitar's choir-heavy theme.
• Deadpan Snarker: Savitar's response to Barry declaring that he's figured out his real identity?
  Savitar: It's about time.
• The Dragon: Killer Frost is now Savitar's attack dog.
• Earpiece Conversation: Cisco talks H.R. through one of these with Dr. Brand in the hopes of gaining her trust.
• Easily Forgiven: Averted. Cisco is still mad about Julian's role in turning Caitlin into Killer Frost, but they're able to work together.
• "Eureka!" Moment:
  • When Tracy realizes how they might be able to use Savitar's own energy to trap him. This is foreshadowed by her complimenting Cisco's design of Barry's suit, then realizing that this is what Savitar's suit is all about, too (i.e. keeping the speedster safe from his own incredible speed).
  • When Joe wonders what they'd become without love, it's the final clue that allows Barry to realize Savitar's identity — himself.
• Exact Words: Earlier in the season, Savitar wasn't saying, "I am the future, Flash"; he was saying, "I am the Future Flash." He meant that he is a future version of Barry.
  "Savitar": Like I told you from the beginning...I am the Future Flash.
• Facial Horror: The right side of Savitar's true face does not look pretty, due to a disfiguration from some currently unknown cause.
• Fighting Your Friend: Twofold. Team Flash has to fight Killer Frost throughout the episode. Then there's The Reveal that "Savitar" is actually Future Barry.
• Flashback-Montage Realization: When Barry figures out Savitar's identity, he flashes back to all the cryptic things the characters (including Savitar himself) have said about the him.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Killer Frost knowing exactly what Team Flash is planning in the warehouse ultimately leads Barry to conclude that "Savitar" is actually himself.
    • Even before this, the very fact that Killer Frost comes after Tracy Brand, despite her being unknown to Team Flash in the original timeline for another four years, implies that even though Barry meeting his 2024 self has hopefully changed the timeline for the better, Savitar somehow still picked up on this change and is trying to account for it. How could he possibly do that? Because he personally remembers it.
  • Killer Frost lets Barry know Savitar said to not kill him.
• Future Me Scares Me: "Savitar" is revealed to be a psychotic future version of Barry.
• Future Self Reveal: Savitar is revealed to be a future version of Barry.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: When "Savitar" reveals himself to be Future Barry, the right half of his face is horribly scarred, and his right eye is discolored.
• Hope Spot: Cisco successfully knocks out Killer Frost, only for Savitar to come in and swoop her away. Luckily, they get a sample of her blood.
• Hotter and Sexier: Caitlin as Killer Frost (especially compared to her Earth-2 counterpart). She even lampshades it.
  Killer Frost: No more pencil skirts for me.
• How We Got Here: The episode begins with Barry saying to Savitar, "I know who you are". The next scene is 16 hours earlier. The story eventually catches up to the beginning and continues past it.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: Cisco initially holds back against Killer Frost because he doesn't want to hurt Caitlin. The second he decides to get serious, he blasts her unconscious.
• I Hate Past Me: While the reasons haven't been fully explained, it's clear after The Reveal that this is Savitar's view of Barry.
• I Have Your Wife: Killer Frost kidnaps Cecile and offers her life in exchange for Dr. Brand's.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Both Barry and Cisco have not given up on trying to reach Caitlin, in spite of Killer Frost's insistence.
• Internal Reveal: Cecile learns (offscreen) from Joe that Barry and Wally are the Flash and Kid Flash, respectively. Apparently, she took it well.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Savitar's deadpan response of "It's about time" to Barry figuring out who he is could be seen as a nod to just how exhausted a lot of the audience has gotten with the dragging out of this particular reveal.
• Love Confession: Cecile does this casually and almost by accident, while Joe needs until the end of the episode.
• The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life: Joe breaks up with Cecile rather than drag her into the complexities of having superheroes for sons. It doesn't last very long, though; by the end of the episode, he has a change of heart.
• Meaningful Echo: During Barry's "Eureka!" Moment flashback montage, one particular line sticks out for him:
  Savitar through Julian: I am the Future Flash.
• Mirror Match: Barry's fights with Savitar are retroactively revealed to be "a fight against yourself" since Savitar is a time remnant of future Barry.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Cisco lets his feelings for Caitlin lead to hesitate in capturing her. Specifically, he's afraid of killing his best friend in the heat of battle.
• Not Hyperbole: Turns out Savitar was being very literal when he kept telling Barry, "I am the Future Flash."
• Oh, Crap!: Killer Frost has a brief one (her eyes slightly bulging) just before Cisco overpowers her in their Beam-O-War.
• Plot Hole: Barry tells Joe to be honest with Cecile as Joe supposedly encouraged Barry to be honest with his love interest. Except that Joe discouraged Barry from telling Iris about his powers in Season 1 and was okay with Barry hiding his identity from Patty.
• Red Right Hand: Savitar's true face has hideous reddish marks on it, looking like scars or chemical burns.
• The Reveal:
  • After nineteen episodes, we finally learn Savitar's identity, and it's a doozy. Turns out he's actually Future Barry.
  • Tracy discovers that Savitar's suit is made up of a special metal compound that stops his own energy from consuming him. Without it, he's a sitting duck.
• Sarcastic Confession: Turns out Savitar's been trolling Barry and company the entire Season about his true identity. He's been telling them upfront who he really is this entire time ("I am the Future Flash") and knowing they wouldn't get it thanks to his odd usage of grammar.
• Self-Deprecation: Considering The Reveal, Barry's "Everything with you is about time, isn't it?" winds up coming off as this.
• Ship Tease:
  • A lot between Tracy and H.R., as he expresses sincere admiration for her genius and she's deeply grateful that he actually believes in her.
• Shout-Out:
  • After learning that she is being targeted because she will trap Savitar in the future, Tracy compares herself to Sarah Connor. Cisco and H.R. suggest that she is more like Miles Dyson, but don't deny that it's similar to that film franchise.
  • Savitar telling Killer Frost that, in order to become a god, she needs to kill the girl could just be taken literally...or figuratively, just like Kill the Boy.
  • During one action sequence, Killer Frost rides a slide of ice that she creates, which is typically the Signature Move of Bobby Drake/Iceman. It could also be a nod to Frozone from The Incredibles.
  • In a weird sense, "I am the future, Flash" is effectively the show's "You are Number 6". Both do disguise important meanings with the presence/absence of commas...
  • Barry snapping his fingers to create a fire blast is quite reminiscent of Colonel Mustang's signature move in Fullmetal Alchemist.
  • Tracy Brand refers to Caitlin as "the White Witch", a sorceress with power over snow and ice in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: Killer Frost mocks all of Barry's attempts to talk her down, as Savitar told her what Barry means to say.
• Slasher Smile: Savitar boasts one when he exits his armor and reveals his true face.
• Stable Time Loop: Appears to be the case. Barry's "Eureka!" Moment tips him off that "Savitar" is himself from a timeline where Iris was killed, setting him down the path to be Driven to Villainy.
• Taking the Bullet: Barry decides to receive the ice blasts by Killer Frost twice. First to protect Cisco and later to protect Joe and Cecile.
• Title Drop: Barry straight up says "I know who you are" to Savitar in the opening scene, which is a Flash Forward to the end of the episode.
• That Man Is Dead: Killer Frost explicitly claims that Caitlin Snow is dead. Cisco and Barry refuse to give up on her, though.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: Cisco manages to get a blood sample from Killer Frost, which Julian might be able to use to create a serum that will negate her powers forever.
• Took a Level in Badass: Killer Frost has gone beyond simple ice blasts. She's using ice to create trails so she can mimic flight and evade the Flash.
• Villain Team-Up: Between Savitar and Killer Frost.
• We Can Rule Together: One of Savitar's encouragements to Killer Frost is that they can both be gods.
• Wham Line:
  Barry: Everything with you is about time, isn't it? The past, the present, the future...you know all of it, right? And you know everything about me! About Joe, about Wally...AND IRIS! You know our strengths, you know our fears, you know how much we love each other. And you know how to use that love against us. All this time, we thought we couldn't stop you because you were one step ahead, but that's not it. You don't just "know" what's gonna happen to us. You were there. You lived it. You remember...when you were me.
• Wham Shot: Savitar steps out of the suit...and he's Barry himself, scarred and twisted.
• Wham Episode: Savitar is Barry's future self.
• Whole-Plot Reference: The plot surrounding Tracy is very similar to The Terminator, something she herself lampshades. However, while she thinks she's basically Sarah Connor, Cisco clarifies that her position is more akin to Miles Dyson.
• Young Future Famous People: Tracy Brand might be a renowned scientist in the future, but right now, she's a struggling grad student chaffing at the close-mindedness of academia.