In a homage to Slasher Movies, the Legends deal with a new Encore, a convicted serial killer who returns to his former high school to finish a rampage he started as a teenager. Meanwhile, Zari tries to get back home after being brought aboard by her brother.
Tropes
- Accidental Hero: While Zari's goal is just to get back to her home, she ultimately ends up publicly unmasking Kathy in front of her son and his peers, though it's somewhat downplayed in that this doesn't stop her rampage (Behrad does).
- Amnesiac Resonance: Zari, locked in a room on the Waverider and desperate to leave, suddenly gets a flash of hacker knowledge from the original timeline and uses it to unlock the door. When Gideon asks her how she did that, she just chalks it up to being a successful businesswoman.
- Back from the Dead: Everyone the killer attacked in 2004 is revived when the real killer is caught in 1989. Freddy is also alive and well in 2004, married to his high school crush. Turns out Kathy also died of a heart attack the night Freddy was executed, until being brought back as an Encore.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- It initially looked like Nora has to oblige with Freddy's wish to have a pony as his ride to prom, but the jump cut has him arrive in a limo instead.
- The jocks fail to hit Freddy with a bucket of unknown liquids and humiliate him, thanks to Freddy's date (and the jocks' accomplice) changing her mind. After informing Freddy of the intended prank, they manage to splash some punch on him to humiliate him anyway.
- When Freddy turns out the lights at prom night, Ray and Nate are afraid that his massacre starts now. Instead, he is just performing a dance number that impresses everyone.
- Battle Couple: Sara and Ava deal with Kathy together in the climax before she's erased in 2004.
- Becoming the Mask: Tiffany was originally working together with the bullies to prank poor Freddy. But then she starts to actually enjoy being his prom date. In 2004, they are a couple.
- Big Damn Heroes: Behrad shows up in the nick of time to save Zari and several teenagers from Freddy's mom.
- Bloodier and Gorier: Appropriately, this episode is probably the goriest of the entire series period.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Exploited by Ava, who tells the killer to explain her reasons for returning to allow Sara to attack her from behind.
- Brick Joke: When Nora returns to the Waverider, she complains about how every kid she's been attached to so far has wished for a pony. After unintentionally becoming attached to Freddy the future slasher villain because he's the local child "most in need", she's annoyed to find that his second wish is for a pony. (Though it's implied she manages to talk him out of it off-screen.)
- The Bus Came Back: Charlie and Nora return.
- Butt-Monkey:
- Poor Freddy didn't have a nice time in high school, being repeatedly picked on by his bullying classmates. Then it's revealed in the original timeline that he took the blame for his mother's killings.
- Gary is still this. After trying a teleport spell, he is stuck walking backwards, until John fixes it.
- Call-Back:
- Ava's hobby of investigating serial killers comes up again, revealing she even has a podcast that none of the other Legends even knew about.
- Zari's social network site is called CatChat, a reference to her pre-Heyworld self becoming a cat when Constantine severely botched the timeline.
- Sara's previous deaths are brought up by Ava.
- Continuity Nod:
- Mick brings up being in juvie during prom, which is where he first met Snart.
- A subtle one, but this isn't the first time a villain has his first and last name taken from separate horror film villains note .
- Contrived Coincidence: Mick was actually a classmate of Freddy's. He only realizes this when they go to the reunion and he realizes that he went to the same high school.
- Death Is Cheap: Played with: Mick gets roasted to death by the Encore in 2004, but once Kathy is stopped in 1989, Mick's death is undone. Same goes for everyone else who died at the reunion.
- The Dog Was the Mastermind: Kathy Meyers, who appears in all of two scenes before the reveal, is the killer rather than her son Freddie.
- Dramatic Unmask: When the killer's mask is burned off in 2004, it reveals not Freddy, but his mother.
- Drowning My Sorrows: John, as he has to confront an old member of the Newcastle Crew, none other than the spirit of Astra's mother herself. Charlie helps him snap out of it.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Thanks to the Legends' efforts, Kathy is captured and imprisoned in 1989 before her killing spree can take off (thus reversing the vast majority of her murders), while Freddy is not only not falsely imprisoned and executed for her crimes but is able to live a happy, healthy life with his peers, and hooks up with Tiffany.
- Everyone Went to School Together: Downplayed. Mick went to the same school as Freddy and everyone else at the reunion.Sara: You went to school here?! Mick, this is why you need to come to team meetings!
- Evil Redhead: Freddy appears to be this, but it's ultimately subverted in that he's not the killer and thus not evil.
- Failed a Spot Check: It doesn't register in Zari's head that she is in 1989 after exiting the Waverider; she just assumes Freddy's limo is her ride, due to her attempt at using a ride-share app.
- Famous, Famous, Fictional: While the previous two episodes focused on Encores that were real, historical figures, this one focuses on a fictional character who is a pastiche of Slasher Movie villains.
- Final Girl: The trope is repeatedly discussed throughout the episode.
- For Want Of A Nail: In the new timeline Kathy's fate is unknown in 2004, but she's presumably still in prison. However, even if she still dies of a heart attack in this new timeline, she apparently no longer becomes an Encore, possibly because she didn't qualify as one of history's most evil souls without having managed to kill anyone this time (she wouldn't be executed, since *attempted* murder can only be punished with the death penalty if the intended victim was a witness, juror or court officer). There's also a good chance she's still alive in 2020, so her soul wouldn't be available to Astra in the first place.
- Foreshadowing:
- While the line is meant to be humorous, Ava saying "There are gaps in your psychological profile you need to answer for" subtly hints that the killer isn't actually Freddy.
- A throwaway line about giving someone a heart attack is preceded by the revelation that Kathy, the actual Encore, died of a heart attack after Freddy's execution.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: The Legends' meeting at the beginning of the mission features shots of two news articles that give the precise dates of events (Freddy is executed on June 4th, while the reunion happens on June 11th, both in 2004; the former is also indicated on the label on Freddy's body bag), as well as the full name of Freddy's main bully, Brad Shepard.
- Freudian Slip: When Mick is uncharacteristically worried about his former classmates."We gotta save Ali- I mean, the class of '89!"
- Godzilla Threshold: Sara is vehemently against Ray's idea of using the Waverider to change the history of the Encores, in fear of what altering the timeline would do...until this Encore of the week displays more supernatural powers than the Legends can handle (especially with Constantine leaving earlier).
- Gory Discretion Shot: We're spared the image of the poor woman who was crushed by the killer in a locker.
- Incest Subtext: Kathy Meyers' fixation with her son certainly has some creepy vibes.
- Internal Reveal: Charlie learns about the Astra situation.
- In the Back: How Ali dies before the timeline is altered. Sara also throws an axe behind Kathy when confronted with her.
- Invincible Villain: The resurrected Kathy Meyers in 2004 is an unstoppable monster, thanks to her telekinetic powers after being brought back by Astra. The only way she's stopped is when the Legends change history in 1989 so that she never becomes an Encore to begin with.
- It's Personal: Mick, when one of the victims happens to be his high school sweetheart Ali, who died in his arms.
- I Work Alone: Constantine leaves the Waverider at the beginning of the episode to find a solution for the Astra problem by himself. Well, alongside Gary.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Ava is beside herself with joy to be at the site of a massacre and geeks out after meeting said massacre's sole survivor. Then again when she and Sara are the "final girls".
- Lazy Alias: When first confronted by Ali, Mick briefly passes himself off using his late father's name, Dick.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: When the Encore becomes too much to handle in 2004 and traps Sara, Ava, and Mick in the school, while Ray, Nate, Behrad, and Nora go to 1989 and stop the killings from happening.
- Man on Fire: Mick is killed when the killer telekinetically throws his own fire back at him, but gets undone after Kathy is stopped in the past.
- Meanwhile, in the Future…: The majority of events shown are juxtaposed between 1989 and 2004.
- Mind over Matter: After being resurrected, Freddy's mom gains telekinetic powers, which she puts to brutal uses, like crushing one of the students in a locker.
- Mood Whiplash: The opening bit has a double-dose. First, we watch Freddy getting executed in front of his distraught mother, then it cuts to the coroner driving his van and singing to an upbeat love song. The mood switches back to the dark end of the spectrum very quickly when the body in the back starts thrashing around, the van goes out of control, and the driver is murdered.
- Motive Rant: Ava goads Kathy into one during the final fight, in order to give Sara time to improvise.
- My Beloved Smother: Freddy's mother is extremely possessive of him and can't stand the thought of him having other friends or a girlfriend. When he cancels their plans to watch a movie at home in order to attend prom, she snaps and tries to kill anyone standing in her way.
- Never My Fault: Kathy blames the kids at Freddy's school for getting her son imprisoned and executed, even though she brought it on herself by snapping and killing seven kids and chose not to speak up for her son when he took the fall.
- No-Sell: Kathy, after being resurrected, no sells everything Sara, Ava and Mick throw at her.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Nora finds common ground with Freddy by telling him about her own experience with giving in to her personal demons.
- Offing the Offspring: After Freddy rejects her planned massacre, his mother decides to kill him "for his own good". Behrad stops her just in time.
- The One That Got Away: Ali was Mick's date for the prom but he skipped prom and stood her up. Fifteen years later he still clearly regrets that decision. After being revived due to undoing the Encore's existence, she forgives him and they hook up at the end of the episode.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The aloof Mick is defensive toward Ali and angry over her death, revealing he feels bad about ditching her on prom night.
- Or Are You Just Happy to See Me?: When Mick and Ali are making out, she grabs Mick's crotch, where he pulls out his gun before they continue.
- Power Perversion Potential: When a Constantine impostor in a smoking jacket turns out to be shapeshifter Charlie, Gary asks her to "do that Constantine trick again."
- Prank Date: Freddy is set up in the "humiliation" version of one of these by Tiffany, but subverted when she ends up taking a liking to him and she deliberately prevents the intended prank from going off. Unfortunately, Freddy still finds out about it and storms off without realizing that Tiffany had changed her mind.
- Redheads Are Uncool: The ginger Freddy is unpopular with his classmates - at least until he finally manages to impress everyone.
- The Resenter: Zari resents Behrad for being their parents' favorite despite being a lazy bum in her eyes. She begins to change her attitude by the end of the episode, after witnessing him being a hero.
- Ret-Gone: Kathy's presence in 2004 as an Encore is erased after being apprehended in 1989.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Before the main plot even kicks off, Ray suggests this as a way to stop the Encores. It ultimately works.
- Shout-Out: While the title is one to Say Anything..., there’s plenty to slasher movies.
- For starters, the (supposed) killer's name is Freddy Meyers, wears a creepy white mask, a boiler suit, and using a kitchen knife (all signatures of Michael Meyers), he has telekinetic powers, and his rampage took place on Prom Night. On top of that, the actual killer turns out to be his insane mother, named after a famous horror movie's leading actress.
- Ava and Sara both mention Final Girls by name, while Nate compares the prank the school jocks are planning to spring on Freddy to Carrie.
- In addition, when Nora complains about how all the children she is assigned to ask for ponies.
- The climax has shades of Frequency: Kathy is fought in both 1989 and 2004, and getting thwarted by Behrad in the past causes the Encore to vanish in the present.
- Nate suggests that Freddy go see a movie instead of attending prom, name-dropping Ghostbusters II and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''.
- Skewed Priorities:
- Ava takes some time while hunting for the killer to record some notes for her podcast.
- Zari's biggest worry about being trapped on the Waverider is that she might be losing followers on social media.
- Surprise Jump: Nate and Ray accidentally give one to the team still trapped in the school.Sara: Thanks for the heart attack!
- Taking the Heat: As it turns out, Freddy admitted to being the killer to keep his mother out of jail.
- They Killed Kenny Again: Ava lampshades how often Sara has died after they were both final girls."Technically, you've died more than three times, so just give me this one, babe."
- Threesome Subtext: Ray's dates for prom are, essentialy, both Nate and Nora, even locking arms with both of them.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Zari starts to warm up to her brother and the Legends a bit more near the end of the episode.
- Trash of the Titans: Charlie makes herself at home at Constantine's old home, to say the least.
- Wham Shot:
- At first, it seems like things are going to go fine in 1989; Freddy managed to bounce back from being informed of the prank, and is about to leave in his limo with Tiffany and a few other new friends...and then a person dressed in the killer's outfit appears near the limo.
- Likewise, after getting blasted by Mick's gun, the Encore's mask falls off...revealing Kathy's face.
- Where the Hell Is Springfield?: Finally averted in regards to Central City, which is firmly placed in Missouri.
- Whole-Plot Reference: To the Slasher Movie genre.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Ray gets laughed at by Sara and Constantine for suggesting to reform the Encores.
- Yandere: Kathy for her son Freddy.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Nora gives a pep talk to Freddy, which ends up working. Later, Charlie convinces John when he's afraid to confront Astra's mother.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: After Nora helps Freddy get ready for prom, before she suggests a limo...Freddy: I gotta show up in style. I want a pony.
Nora: Ugh, seriously, kid?
