Cecile is forced to confront her past in order to break free from a psychic prison. Meanwhile, Chester takes over for Cisco but makes a mistake that puts Barry in serious danger. Joe investigates Kristen Kramer's old military ties and discovers an unsettling truth.
Tropes:
- Artifact of Doom: The golden mask itself seems to have a mind of its own, and a malevolent one at that.
- Battle in the Center of the Mind: Cecile fights the Mask's influence in one of these.
- Been There, Shaped History: The Mask has been used by various historical figures.
- Blatant Lies: Barry and (visibly disheveled) Iris trying to deny that Chester walked in on them having sex in the STARchives.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Sue returns in this episode to assist in the heist of the Golden Mask.
- Roger Hayden/Psycho-Pirate plays a large role in the backstory, with the mask he wore taking center stage as the episode's primary antagonist.
- Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Zig-Zagged. Roger Hayden is finally referred to by his moniker of "Psycho-Pirate" (despite him not actually appearing here), but the mask isn't referred to as the Medusa Mask like it is in the comics.
- Continuity Nod:
- Chester brings up Cisco's supervillain card album.
- One of Cecile's clients is Eric Frye.
- The Mask is trying to take control of the Thinker Chair to form a permanent bond with Cecile.
- Both Barry and Chester (at different points) bring up the time Grodd trapped Barry in his mindscape.
- Barry dismisses the idea that Bashir/Psych could be the one who trapped him in the mindscape since he and the other Forces are allies of Team Flash now.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Cecile had a mental breakdown after her mom died of cancer and spent some time in a mental hospital as a result.
- A Day in the Limelight: A joint one for Cecile and Chester.
- Distaff Counterpart: Sue seems to have become Team Flash's go-to master thief in place of the various Leonard Snart(s).
- Doing In the Wizard: Chester states that the legend of the mask says that Gilgamesh imprisoned a powerful demon inside it, then adds that today the being would be considered a psychic metahuman. This is despite the fact that actual, literal demons canonically exist in this universe. (That said, Chester probably doesn't know that, being fairly new to the world of superheroing, so he may just be unwittingly viewing an Outside-Genre Foe in a context more familiar to him.)
- "Eureka!" Moment:
- Iris is the one who realizes that Cecile is not herself.
- Chester realizes that the Mask wants to use the Thinker's chair to form a permanent bond with Cecile.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Sue only appears to be this at first, but at the end she decides to stick around for a while, at least for the time being.
- Hyde Plays Jekyll: What the Mask does with Cecile's body.
- I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: "Cecile" is a lawyer, not a cat burglar.
- Laser Hallway: Sue faces one, though instead of the usual "laser gymnastics" techniques to get through the laser grid, she uses ballet moves.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Chester walks in on Barry and Iris having a moment in the STARchives.
- My Greatest Failure: Cecile wasn't there when her mom died, which caused her immense guilt.
- "No More Holding Back" Speech: Cecile gives an epic one to the Mask, explaining how she has overcome her pain, before taking back control of her body.
- Noodle Incident: Sue makes an offhand remark about a job she and Ralph had in Tunisia.
- Outside-Genre Foe: While the series usually deals with villains in the realm of science-fiction, the episode's villain is a mystical Ancient Evil sealed within a golden mask.
- Present Absence: Cisco's absence is a plot point in this episode, as Chester struggles to replace him.
- Put on a Bus: Not that she had much focus before, but Baby Jenna is now staying with Cecile's aunt.
- The Reveal:
- It turns out that it wasn't a blast of Sage Force that hit Cecille the night of the Force Storm, but the Mask psychically possessing her using the storm as a cover.
- Cecile has been carrying around a lot of emotional baggage, not being there when her mom died and spending time at St. Carmine's Psychiatric Hospital after a breakdown.
- Cecile and Joe uncover that Kristen Kramer lead a unit of hers into an ambush years ago, being the only survivor. They suspect she is covering up working for the enemy.
- Sole Survivor: Kramer's last mission resulted in her entire squad falling into an ambush, with Kramer herself as the last one standing. However, Joe suspects that Kramer herself set up the ambush.
- Spotting the Thread: Sue is the first one to spot that something is wrong, as everything is going too easy.
- Stepford Smiler: Turns out Cecile has been hiding a lot of guilt and pain behind her seemingly cheerful personality.
- Taking the Bullet: Barry takes a psychic blast for Cecile.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Sue, word for word, when the possessed Cecile is forcing her to shoot herself with a tranquilizer.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are:
- Barry gives Cecile the pep talk needed to break out of her mindscape.
- Iris encourages Chester not to feel disheartened by Cisco's absence and feeling inferior to him. He takes it to heart and helps saving the day by destroying the Thinker Chair with the Samuroid sword.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: Barry points out that he and Cecile will die for real if they die in her mindscape.
