History Recap / LegendsOfTomorrowS4E3DancingQueen

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: For a given value of "realistic"; Constantine can't create a GrandfatherParadox that would avert his own existence.

* RealityEnsues: For a given value of "reality"; Constantine can't create a GrandfatherParadox that would avert his own existence.

%% ZCE * {{Adorkable}}: Gary and Mona.

* {{Adorkable}}: Gary and Mona.

* FakeNationality: InUniverse, the Irishman member of the Smell isn't actually Irish -- he's just faking it to be more "street".

* AbusiveParents: Per John's description, Constantine's father was emotionally abusive after John's mother died giving birth to him, calling him "Killer". John also takes a few punches to the face from his father in this episode, but the trope is downplayed here, as the man isn't John's father yet and has no idea who he's actually punching.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Constantine ''[[FantasticRacism believes]]'' this to be true of shapeshifters, but Charlie ultimately proves it false.

* BaitAndSwitch: At first, it seems like Ray is turning against his team to protect Charlie when he starts blasting them with the ATOM suit. In reality, Charlie knocked Ray out and took his appearance ''and'' the ATOM suit.

** To ''Constantine''[='s=] pilot episode when he revealed that his father blamed and abused him for his mother's death.
* CharacterCheck: Ever since John began appearing in the Arrowverse, post cancellation of his own show, he hasn't done any of the morally questionable or outright dick things he's known for in the comics. Here he does something very questionable and ''extremely'' dickish -- he effectively lobotomizes Charlie by using a spell to take away her shapeshifting powers permanently, completely unrepentant simply because [[FantasticRacism he hates shapeshifters]].

** When explaining how he's gotten over Amaya leaving, Nate states to Sara "Amaya is no longer on the Waverider". Sara chooses to put off revealing that a shapeshifter stuck in her form is currently holed up on it.
* FakeNationality: InUniverse, the Irishman member of the Smell isn't actually Irish - he's just faking it to be more "street".

* IChooseToStay: Nate once again makes it clear he is in no hurry to leave the Time Bureau. However, he admits to Sara that the ''real'' reason why is because he's avoiding it due to still needing to deal with his lingering emotional baggage from Amaya leaving. Sara, knowing that a shapeshifter stuck in her form is currently being held aboard the Waverider, states that [[HalfTruth she doesn't mind Nate staying longer, as this is letting him grow as a person]].

* IronicNickname: Ray, on the spot, comes up with the name "Rayge" to fit in with the Smell. The band quickly notices Ray's absolute lack of anything resembling rage.

* MistakenForRacist: Ray gets accused of this when he tries to leprechaun rice trick on Declan, the redheaded Irish member of the Smell. Later subverted when it turns out that Declan [[FakeNationality isn't actually Irish]].

* ContinuityNod:
** Ray's cover is blown when the Smell uncovers a newspaper detailing [[Recap/LegendsOfTomorrowS3E11HereIGoAgain the Legends' disco efforts]].
** Ray calls Charlie's shapeshifting "astonishing" in an impression of Martin Stein's voice.
** To Constantine's pilot episode when he revealed that his father blamed and abused him for his mother's death.

* CrossReferencedTitles: To [[Recap/LegendsOfTomorrowS3E11HereIGoAgain Here I Go Again]], as both are references to Music/{{ABBA}} songs[[note]]"Here I Go Again" is similar to the chorus of their song ''Mammma Mia'', which is [[WaxingLyrical spoken by Zari before the first commercial break of that epispde]][[/note]]. ABBA played a small but important role in that episode, and ''this'' episode directly references the events of that.

-->'''Constantine''': [[DeathByChildbirth You won't.]]

-->'''Zari''': [[LampshadeHanging Two for two]].

* SuicideAsComedy: Constantine attempts to [[{{Retgone}} erase his own existence]] by tracking down his [[AbusiveParents abusive father]] before he was born to give him a "[[GroinAttack back-alley vasectomy]]." However, he is physically unable to do so due to the GrandfatherParadox involved.
* TimeyWimeyBall: Apparently, it is now *Time Travel Rule 101* that one is unable to mess with his own past...despite this already having happened in the show several times.
** It's more the fact that you can't create a GrandfatherParadox by erasing your own existence yourself. Every other case has either been another party creating the {{Retgone}} or Professor Stein altering his own past in a way that wouldn't kill him or prevent him from becoming part of Firestorm and joining the Legends.
* YoureInsane: Mick thinks that Ray has "finally lost it" when he sees his friend's tattoo of a corgi with a Mohawk.

* JerkassBall: The team grabs it by ignoring Ray's pleas to show Charlie mercy and not send her to Hell; it takes Charlie shapeshifting into Amaya for them to come to their senses.

* DramaticIrony: As she is kicking him out of the pub, Constantine's mom makes a point of saying [[ExactWords she doesn't want to see his face ever again.]]

** After Nate and Gary's apparently failed mission in the Pleistocene period, the magical time aberration... just up and disappeared on its own. Also, Gary had collected a nice plant souvenir from that period for Nate...

* HobbesWasRight: Apparently, Charlie's antics caused the queen to get institutionalized, causing the monarchy to collapse... which ''throws England into chaos''.

** The others learn that Ray let Nora Darhk escape.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Of a sort. When Nate questions Gary on why the Bureau has Taco Mondays instead of Taco Tuesdays, Gary responds "we dare to defy", referencing one of [[Creator/TheCW The CW's]] slogans.
** To be clear, as part of a general reorganization of The CW's schedule, ''Legends'' moved this season from airing on Tuesday nights to Monday nights.

* MistakenForRacist: Ray gets accused of this when he tries to leprechaun rice trick on Declan, the redheaded Irish member of the Smell. Later subverted when it turns out that Declan [[FakeNationality isn't actually Irish.]]

* ObligatoryJoke: The opening scene shows the Queen partaking at a punk concert. [[Music/SexPistols Three guesses]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Save_the_Queen_(Sex_Pistols_song) as to the song that is played over it.]]

* {{Retgone}}: Constantine tries this on [[DrivenToSuicide himself]] by way of giving his father GroinAttack to avert his own birth. He doesn't manage it; nature, as it happens, abhors a GrandfatherParadox.
* RippleEffectIndicator: Charlie posing as the Queen attending a punk rock club with the Queen then denying it ever happened is shown in newspaper headlines at the Time Bureau. According to Ray, if it isn't fixed, then the Queen is put into a mental hospital, the monarchy fails and England descends into chaos.

* ShapeshifterModeLock: Instead of banishing Charlie to Hell, Constantine "lobotomizes" her so that she stops shapeshifting. Funny thing is, the form she was in prior to this was ''Amaya's''.

* SuicideAsComedy: Constantine attempts to [[{{Retgone}} erase his own existence]] by tracking down his [[AbusiveParents abusive father]] before he was born to give him a [[GroinAttack "back-alley vasectomy."]] However, he is physically unable to do so due to the GrandfatherParadox involved.
* TimeyWimeyBall: Apparently, it is now *Time Travel Rule 101* that one is unable to mess with his own past.....despite this already having happened in the show several times.

* SeenItAll: Charlie is quite surprised about Ray not even flinching when she shappeshifts.

* SuicideAsComedy: Constantine attempts to [[{{Retgone}} erase his own existence]] by tracking down his [[AbusiveParents verbally abusive father]] before he was born to give him a [[GroinAttack "back-alley vasectomy."]] However, he is physically unable to do so due to the GrandfatherParadox involved.

* HalfTruth: While dishing out who the other members of Smell were before they formed, Charlie brings up "[doing] a stint in the lock-up".

* {{Irony}}: The Time Bureau, an organisation devoted to time travel, apparently discourages working overtime.

** Part of Ray's cover story when hanging out with the Smell is that he left the United States due to being fed up with ABBA. A few days later, the Smell catch sight of a newspaper article [[Recap/LegendsOfTomorrowS3E11HereIGoAgain concerning ABBA]]...

* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: Downplayed; while she's absolutely trying to guilt trip the Legends, Charlie inadvertently presses several of their actual buttons as she shifts through their forms: when Charlie says she's showing them what a monster really looks like, she has Sara's appearance (Sara's been struggling with her morality ever since season 2 of ''Series/{{Arrow}}''); she has Mick's appearance when she accuses them of doing what's easy, not what's right (Mick, our resident NominalHero, has been having these issues throughout his time on the show); and when she accuses them of trying to send an innocent person to hell, she has Constantine's appearance (John inadvertently condemning young Astra to hell and damning himself in the process has haunted him ever since his [[Series/{{Constantine}} own series]]). It doesn't have much effect on Constantine, but Sara orders him to stand down and Mick later expresses sympathy for Charlie.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Charlie steals Ray's suit and attacks the Legends, but as Ray acknowledges, Charlie was cornered by people determined to send her to hell; it's really no surprise that she'd rather fight than negotiate.