Déjà vu.
It’s the most powerful thing in the universe. Now give it here!
The day Ben got the Omnitrix replays itself... only for Gwen to be the one who finds it. To make things worse, Vilgax not only survived the attack on his ship unharmed but he has arrived to Earth to look for it himself.
Tropes:
- Alternate Universe: One where Gwen temporarily got the Omnitrix and Max later obtained it.
- All There in the Manual: The credits call the narrator The Seer.
- Badass Normal: Ben becomes this thanks to the other characters getting the Omnitrix instead of him. Using the BFG Max used in the "Secrets" episode twice on Vilgax and taking quite the liking to it too.
- Big "NO!": Ben shouts one after the Omnitrix ends up on Max's wrist.
- Brake Angrily: Max slams on the brakes as a knee-jerk reaction when Ben first says Vilgax's name.
- Broad Strokes: While this episode isn't canon, the concept of Gwen being the one to find the Omnitrix in another timeline would be referenced again with other Gwen 10s.
- Butterfly of Doom: The episode deals with Gwen obtaining the Omnitrix instead of Ben. Also, Vilgax survived the explosion of his spaceship unharmed.
- Continuity Nod: Several. The first half of the episode is almost exactly the same as the first one (The only differences are that Gwen has the Omnitrix and Ben knows what will happen). The second half references the thirteenth episode, especially Vilgax's pod, Max's energy weapon, and him landing the RV on Vilgax's ship.
- Dare to Be Badass: Max convinces Ben that he can still be a hero even without the Omnitrix.
- Hypocritical Humor: Ben keeps telling off Gwen for doing things he knows perfectly well he did in the past.
- Instant Expert: When Gwen gets the Omnitrix, she is even better than Ben. For example, she automatically learns how to shoot projectiles as Diamondhead.
- Limited Wardrobe: Ben throws several shirts identical to his own out of his suitcase while he's searching for a lost item.
- Mental Time Travel: Ben travels to the beginning of the series but, because it's mental, he doesn't have the Omnitrix.
- Mundane Utility: After resolving the initial conflict, Gwen starts using her alien forms for such things as overclocking her laptop, fishing, and bowling.
- Noodle Incident: What makes Gwen less willing to believe Ben’s story is the fact he mistook their Uncle Manny for Bigfoot at a family picnic.
- Oblivious Mockery: Gwen gets the Omnitrix stuck on her wrist and transforms into Heatblast. Ben, who remembers going through this before, warns her about the danger of using fiery powers in the middle of a forest. She immediately responds that only an idiot would set the forest on fire. Naturally, that's exactly what Ben did in the first episode.
- Retroactive Precognition: Ben is somehow back at the beginning of Summer so he already knows what's going to happen. In a nice subversion, Vilgax isn't horribly maimed when the ship he was chasing retaliates, so he attacks Earth not long after the arrival of the Omnitrix, something that didn't happen in the original timeline.
- Riddle for the Ages: How and why did Ben undergo Mental Time Travel to end up at back at the beginning of the series? The episode never bothers to explain it and the rest of the show essentially acts as if this episode never happened.Ben: Then why'd all this happen?
Grandpa Max: The one thing I learned in all my years as a Plumber was "forget everything you've learned, because sometimes it'll never make sense."
Ben: That wasn't really the answer I was looking for, Grandpa. - Small Girl, Big Gun: A gender-inverted example. While the BFG Max used in the "Secrets" episode gets its barrel cut off, it's still quite big for the small 10 year old, Ben Tennyson whom uses the weapon against Vilgax twice.
- What If?: Gwen got the Omnitrix instead of Ben?
- Where's the Fun in That?: Vilgax has Gwen restrained and selects from a range of sharp-looking tools to forcibly remove it from her.Gwen [nervously]: Couldn't you just slip the watch off?
Vilgax: And what fun would that be? - Would Hit a Girl: Gwen tries to appeal to Vilgax's conscience by asking if he would really hurt a girl. Vilgax says he has "something much worse" in mind for her.
