With Barry in prison, Ralph must stand against the second Trickster.
- 10-Minute Retirement: After surviving a horrifying acid attack from Trickster, Ralph decided it's not worth the trouble being a superhero since he's not as invincible as he thought he would be.
- Adaptational Intelligence: Big Sir was mentally handicapped in the comics, but he does not appear to have that disability in this episode.
- Affably Evil: Axel was being genuinely chummy with the new inmate, Barry, thinking of him as a fellow killer.
- Almighty Janitor: Barry volunteers to be part of Iron Heights' janitorial staff, with no one inside being the wiser about him being the most powerful inmate around.Barry: And hey, you're talking to the newest member of the Iron Heights janitorial staff. I'm the fastest mop alive.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: Big Sir saves Barry from a small group of inmates; the ensuing beatdown resulted in the audience (other inmates that didn't want to join in on attacking Barry) cheering.
- Appropriated Appelation:
- "Axid" is created as a portmanteau of Axel's name and acid; eventually, Team Flash resorted to calling it that as well.
- Team Flash instantly accept the press' latest christening of Central City's new hero, the Elongated Man, much to Ralph's chagrin.
- Artistic License – Chemistry: No matter how nasty the axid was, they could have made it much less powerful by simply diluting it with a massive amount of water, rather than worry about figuring out some way to neutralize it entirely.
- Atrocious Alias: How Ralph feels about the names given to him by the press — first Stretchy Man and then Elongated Man, the latter of which, unfortunately for him, the rest of the team decides to become his official handle.
- Attention Whore:
- At first, Ralph only cares about his personal fame and media attention.
- Axel in his Trickster persona is a villainous ham trying to get his dad's attention.
- Ax-Crazy: Apparently Axel's craziness doesn't come from just his father.
- Bound and Gagged: The Trickster has his kidnap victims trussed up this way. Vibe and Killer Frost are also tied to chairs.
- Brain Bleach: Most of Team Flash are wincing in disgust when they saw Ralph's melted skin.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Axel Walker, the Trickster II, comes back after a three-season hiatus.
- The mysterious waitress from Barry and Iris' wedding shows up in The Stinger.
- Prank hasn’t been seen in anything since the original series.
- Call-Back:
- Henry Allen was a physician, and this is the basis of Dave's debt of gratitude to him. Henry immediately noticed Dave's condition at a time when the prison doctors have now gone home and cannot be reached in time, and Henry volunteered to operate on Dave, saving his life.
- An obscure one: in order to trigger Caitlin's transformation into Killer Frost, Cisco and Harry call out "Lexi LaRoche", the name of a childhood bully Caitlin briefly mentioned in "The Flash Is Born".
- The Cameo: Beebo is one of the many toys the Trickster and Prank use as deadly weapons.
- Casting Gag: Axel's mom is played by Corinne Bohrer, who just like Mark Hamill before her, played Prank in the 90's series.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Even in prison, Barry can't help but be a hero, first when helping contain a Prison Riot, and later saving Dave from a lynching.
- Continuity Lockout: The mystery girl played by Jessica Parker Kennedy returns after first appearing on what was technically an episode of Supergirl.
- Continuity Snarl: In "Tricksters," it was hinted that James tracked Axel down and trained him and revealed to him he was his father with Axel was surprised by. Here, it's said Axel grew up knowing all along James was his father. Granted, this is the Post-Flashpoint timeline, while "Tricksters" took place before Barry created Flashpoint.
- Cowardly Lion: When push comes to shove, Ralph is willing to face down certain death to save his friends, and even nearly sacrifices his own life in the end.
- Dare to Be Badass: The essence of what Barry says to Ralph.Barry: Rise up. Rise above that fear.
- Dirty Coward: Ralph, at first, who bails out after the first sign of mortal danger.
- Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Prank only ever wanted Axel to be a normal child, not to follow in his parents' footsteps. At least, when she is on her meds. Without them, she happily supports him.
- Expy: Just like the original Trickster was one for The Joker, Prank is one for Harley Quinn (although the 1990's Prank predates Harley Quinn).
- The Family That Slays Together: Axel and Prank have this dynamic. The latter even says this word for word at the end of the episode.
- Fun T-Shirt: The Mystery Girl wears one that says "You have died of dysentery", which Cisco—who is fond of this trope—admires. It's subtly implied she chose this specifically because Cisco would notice, for an as of yet unexplained reason.
- Graceful Loser: Axel and Prank are actually cheerful while being arrested, already planning their breakout and next scheme.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Attempted by Ralph in the end, using himself as a shield to cover Vibe and Killer Frost when the axid is released above them. Thankfully, it is rendered harmless by then.
- Hollywood Acid: Axel's new "Axid" is bright pink and viscous, nebulously described as regular acid modified with an "X" element, giving it a pH value of -50 allowing it to completely dissolve a normal human (or a Beebo), and painfully injure Ralph's otherwise nigh-invulnerable physiology. However, it can still be contained by galvanized steel, and had no apparent affect on the chair, floor or other surroundings when it was demonstrated on a Beebo.
- Incest Subtext: At the very least, Ralph seems to think this of the relationship between the mother-and-son duo of Zoey and Axel:Ralph: I have a rule against fighting terrorists with an Oedipus Complex.
- Innocently Insensitive: Ralph suggests that Barry should get himself a gang while in prison to tide him over until they can prove his innocence. Iris doesn't find it remotely funny.
- Knee Capping: The Trickster manages to hurt Ralph with an acid spray gun, right in the knee.
- Kryptonite Factor: The team even directly calls the axid Ralph's kryptonite. Not that he gets the reference, apparently he's unaware of their Kryptonian friend.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: It's been a week since Barry had started his sentence in Iron Heights, as evidenced by the warden's commendation of his good behavior, and that Barry has scratched tally marks on the walls (right next to his father's own etches) counting the days he's spent inside.
- Mood Dissonance: In the beginning, there is a criminal strapped to a bomb with terrified hostages...who then makes strange demands to the police before being comically subdued by Ralph.
- Mundane Utility: Barry uses his vibrating powers to phase his hand through the prison glass and hold hands with Iris.
- Mum Looks Like a Sister: Prank's youthful looks could easily make her pass for Axel's sister instead of mother.
- Mythology Gag
- Prank going "off her meds" may remind fans of a memorable scene between the Flash and the Trickster I in Justice League Unlimited.
- Near the finale of The Dark Knight, Joker's goons also pulled a trick where they switched places with their hostages.
- That mysterious waitress is really fond of the term "Infinite", confusing Ralph and Cisco.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: While in prison, Barry avoids using his powers in full view of security cameras. However, when a group of inmates are beating up Dave, Barry notices that the inmates have disabled the cameras, making him free to use his powers to quickly deal with the attackers.
- No Medication for Me: Axel's mom decides to stop taking her meds, reverting back to her psychotic old self, in order to be closer to her son.
- Noodle Incident: Apparently James Jesse broke out of Iron Heights last year, but this is the first time we're hearing of it.
- No-Sell: Ralph pretty much ignores Axel's bombs and throwing stars. His acid...not so much.
- Not So Invincible After All: Ralph is barely affected by bullets, bombs and pointy weaponry, so he doesn't even try to dodge Axel's attacks, which backfires quite badly when being shot by an acid gun.
- Pungeon Master: Ralph loves making puns based on his stretchiness.
- Reformed Criminal: Whatever Dave aka Big Sir has done in the past, he proves himself to be a decent human being in the present.
- Screams Like a Little Girl: Ralph has an extremely high-pitched scream.
- Shout-Out:
- Ralph compares going to face Axel Walker for the first time to a Thunderdome-style showdown.
- After their first encounter, Axel calls Ralph Stretch Armstrong.
- Sinister Shiv: Barry is threatened with one of these.
- Skewed Priorities:
- Ralph worries far too much about his costume and general publicity at first, instead of the endangered innocent lives.
- While investigating on the Trickster and Prank, Cisco takes time to point out the ridiculous costumes from back then and later argues with Harry about bubblegum.
- Spinning Paper: Ralph's official superhero moniker chosen by the public, Elongated Man, is revealed this way.
- Split Personality: When taking her meds, Prank shows herself to be worried about her son and encourages him to stop being a criminal like his father. When not taking them...she is pretty much the Arrowverse's version of Harley Quinn.
- Token Human: Since Axel is not a meta like all the other villains Team Flash tackled, Cisco couldn't use STAR Labs' metahuman tracker to find him. Axel being the Attention Whore that he is, however, they find a way to track him down anyway.
- Traveling at the Speed of Plot: Despite the fact that Axel and Zoey threatened to kill the hostages within one hour of their broadcast, Ralph still somehow had enough time to travel to Iron Heights note to converse with Barry, and then return.
- The Triple: After two reporters asked Ralph basic questions that pertain to the crisis he prevented, a third reporter asks about his relationship status, which Ralph enthusiastically answers.
- Underestimating Badassery: Ralph doesn't take Axel seriously at first, which almost costs him his life.
- Unholy Matrimony: The original Trickster and Prank, back in the day.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Axel believes he needs to get his father's attention so James will want to see him; his mom tries to spell it to him that James is a deadbeat dad who never cared about him and never will.
- Wham Shot: The mysterious waitress from Barry and Iris' wedding approaches Cisco and Ralph at CC Jitters, and is seen writing the same symbols Barry was writing when he escaped the Speed Force in her journal.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The two hostages Trickster used to lure Team Flash out (but Ralph specifically). By the time Vibe and Killer Frost arrive, the hostages they "saved" were actually Axel and his mum setting them up for a trap with power dampeners.
- Window Love: Barry does this with Iris, and when the camera's turned away, uses his speed to phase his hand through the window so they can actually touch.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Barry gives Ralph some much needed pep talk to go and face the danger.
