History Recap / NightmareTimeS1E2ForeverAndAlwaysAndTimeBastard

* RealityEnsues: Dan and Donna's hilarious FreakOut is a nice reality check that if a genuinely sapient TalkingAnimal actually existed in RealLife they would in fact be treated as an EldritchAbomination whose existence would overturn most of the assumptions our society is based on.

* TakeOurWordForIt: For the filthy, disgusting appearance of the "real" Tinky, for the elaborate futuristic office building of CCRP in 2104 and the horrifying inhuman appearance of Executive Kilgore (represented in this reading with [[CheapCostume bits of foil on Jeff Blim's face]], and most of all for the quite expensive special effect of the DisintegratorRay.

* LotusEaterMachine: The HopeSpot with the "AlternateTimeline" of Ted and Jenny's wedding seems like a DreamSequence, but TheNarrator outright tells us it isn't -- it's far too vivid to be a dream, with Ted being able to smell Jenny's skin and feel hear breath on his neck, taste the wedding cake, etc. In hindsight, it's probably this trope, with Tinky using his RealityWarper powers on Ted directly.

* DespairEventHorizon: Ted is ''about'' to cross it when Jenny dies by disintegration, and is fully lost to it when his attempt to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong fails utterly and he realizes he's lost his TimeTravel powers (thanks to havnig gone back too far) and is TrappedInThePast. It's vaguely implied that coming into full awareness of one's nature as a TimeParadox entails crossing the DespairEventHorizon completely and entering [[AndIMustScream the Bastard's Box]].

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In-universe -- Ted thinks he's doing this when he refers to his mustache as a "bush-brush", but clearly isn't.

* ReunionShow: One for both the actors and characters from ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'', minus only Mariah Rose Faith -- all of the core cast of ''TGWDLM'' reappear as their primary characters from that show in either this story or its immediate sequel, "Time Bastard", since it's about all of Paul's friends from CCRP Technical showing up at his wedding.
* RobotGirl: Robot Emma is this, naturally. A synthetic organism made from the original's genetic material in her likeness.

* MistakenForPervert: A classic example, with Paul trying to give a casual hug and kiss to someone he ''thinks'' is his wife but is actually a shocked and offended stranger -- complete with a chivalrous bystander (naturally played by [[TheBigGuy Dylan Saunders]]) butting in and offering to beat the crap out of him if he doesn't leave the lady alone.

* ShoutOut: Hidgens describing his ability to have sex with inanimate objects like an Amazon Echo as "Life... life finds a way", quoting Ian Malcolm from ''Film/JurassicPark''.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: "Peanuts!" is ''wildly'' different from even the silliest ''Nightmare Time'' story proper.

* DreamSue: The ambiguous DreamSequence of Ted and Jenny's wedding doesn't give Ted his TheOneThatGotAwayBack, it makes ''everything'' in his life better -- Paul ''actually is'' his best friend and best man instead of barely tolerating him, his {{Frenemy}} Bill is now his direct subordinate at work who seeks his approval -- in fact, just the fact that he has a huge crowd of approving friends and family on his side of the aisle means his life is much better than his real life as TheFriendNobodyLikes. Sadly, what we learn about Ted's life is that this trope is justified -- [[ForWantOfANail it was losing Jenny in the first place]] that triggered Ted's downward spiral into an unrepentant {{Jerkass}} to everyone around him in an effort to NeverBeHurtAgain.

** Many fans therefore took notice of this trope being ''averted'' with Emma's knife -- an actual high-quality kitchen knife Lauren brandishes with surprisingly carefreeness during the fight scenes.

* PostProcessingVideoEffects: Mariah's character gets a bunch laid on her in the SurrealMusicVideo TitleSequence -- first BishieSparkle, then PetalPower, followed by a final layer of {{Pixellation}} and {{Ominous Visual Glitch}}ing in the last verse, as though to indicate she's not really there and being viewed on a screen. The vague implication -- along with her wiping away a SingleTear before Robert sings the last line, "us", alone -- is that their relationship ended tragically and she's only a LivingMemory of his LostLenore.

* DearJohnLetter: The tragedy of Ted's past revolves around finding a letter from his best friend Jenny confessing her love to him and saying she was leaving with Andy to Clivesdale because she couldn't bear the knowledge that her love was unrequited. We get to see her writing it in the past later in the episode.