The city of Dakota dedicates a memorial to Virgil's mother and other paramedics that died in riots five years ago. Virgil worries that he's forgetting her, and feels helpless about how she died. He and Richie then save a new Bang Baby, Nina Crocker, who can manipulate time. Virgil decides to see if he can save his mother.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Bittersweet Ending: Despite Virgil wanting to prevent his mother from dying in the past, Jean insists on doing her job despite the risks. Nina decides to use her powers one last time to ensure she never became a Bang Baby; deeming her abilities too dangerous. However, Virgil learns that his mother still remembered his actions, and her co-workers recall her calling Virgil her "superhero" that night. Also, Nina proves to be much happier as a normal girl, although she no longer remembers Virgil or Richie.
- Blessed with Suck: Nina hates that she can move forwards or backward in time uncontrollably. By the end of the episode, with the remote fried, she decides to go back in time one final time to make sure she never ended up at the Big Bang where she got her powers.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Even when warned about what will happen to her if she goes back on the streets, Jean still chooses to do so in order to help injured people.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: Static in the past has to leave his mother on the roof after saving her from a wall collapsing.
- For Want Of A Nail: Nina uses the remote's final two-year limit to go back to the Big Bang and stop herself from becoming Timezone. This allows her to remain a normal girl in the present.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Jean likely knew that Virgil was trying to warn her that she going to get killed that night, but she went out and did her duty anyways.
- Honor Before Reason: It is implied Jean knew, based on Virgil's tone, that she was going to die that night. But she went out into the riots to do her duty anyways.
- Hope Spot:
- Thanks to Gear, Nina finds a way to control her powers, and perhaps use them for hero work. Richie crafts a remote that allows it to be controlled gives her a costume and decides to test the remote by going five years into the past to save people — Virgil's mother— from the riots. Then Ebon steals it and Static fries the remote twice trying to steal it back, which sabotages it. Nina decides that her powers are too dangerous and goes back to the Big Bang, to stop herself from becoming a metahuman.
- With Nina's powers, Static has a chance to save his mother. He saves Jean from a collapsing wall, tells her about the future, though not about her dying, and makes her promise to stay out of danger. Then just as he has to return to the present, Jean returns to the streets, and Virgil finds that she still died.
- How Do I Shot Web?: Played for Drama. Nina has no control over her powers, until Richie crafts the remote.
- I Am Not Shazam: Contrary to what was often used online, Nina's superhero handle is Timezone, not Flashback (that's just the title of the episode. though for some reason she is called Flashback in the episode's end credits).
- In Spite of a Nail: Jean still dies despite Virgil's rescue attempts.
- I Want My Mommy!: When Virgil is returned to the present just as he sees Jean returning to the streets, he immediately returns home calling for her. The way his voice breaks as he calls out "Mom!" is heartbreaking, especially on seeing she's not in the house, meaning she still died five years ago.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Static fries the remote twice stealing it back from Ebon, rendering Nina's powers uncontrollable again.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: If Ebon hadn't been obsessed with using Nina's powers against her will, to the point of attempted kidnapping twice, Static and Gear wouldn't have discovered her powers, and Nina wouldn't have taken the opportunity to become normal.
- Never Say "Die": Virgil himself invokes this when trying to convince his mother to stay out of danger. He can't bring himself to tell her that, in the present, she's dead. Instead, he tells her she gets "hurt" that very night. It's implied that Jean understands what he's really saying, but goes back to work anyway because she knows that people need her help and accepts what happens.
- Ret-Gone: After Nina stops her past self from gaining powers, her Timezone persona has ceased to exist.
- Ripple-Proof Memory: Static and Gear remember the episode's events, even though Nina doesn't. Ebon may not either, since he returns to the present unconscious.
- Shrine to the Fallen: The city puts up a statue of Jean with two other paramedics who died that night, to commemorate their duty during the riots.
- So Proud of You: Jean expresses to Virgil how proud she is to know that her son grows up to be a superhero. It ends up being the one bit of consolation he has when is unable to save her.
- Stable Time Loop: The news reports that Jean died due to stray gunfire, but when he goes back in time Virgil saves her from a collapsing wall. By saving her, and warning her about the future, he set up the specific circumstances for her to be shot.
- Status Quo Is God: Virgil fails to bring his mother back, and he and Gear don't get a new member for the team.
