The final season of The Flash begins with a "Groundhog Day" Loop.
Tropes Featured in this Episode:
- All Just a Dream: The Action Prologue with the team fighting against Tar Pit turns out to be this.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Asked by Joe on how Barry put together the "future notebook" and what it means.Joe: This book of yours may predict a future where Iris is safe with you...but is she happy?
- Because Destiny Says So: Barry is very dedicated in following his notebook about future events to a T. Iris has a differing opinion.
- Big Bad: The villain is revealed as The Red Death, an evil version of Batwoman. Owen Mercer is her henchman.
- Big Damn Kiss: Happens between Allegra and Chester after the blast wave from the fusion detonation passes harmlessly through them and the rest of the city, thanks to Barry having phased it, and they realize they're still alive. It doesn't seem to lead to a Relationship Upgrade, though, as afterward they're both left staring awkwardly at one another.
- The Bus Came Back: Joseph Monteleone AKA Tar Pit, a Metahuman from Season 2, returns in this episode, but only in a dream.
- Came Back Wrong: Something obviously happened after Chillblaine tried to bring back Frost. But the new entity that Barry meets says she is neither Frost nor Caitlin.
- Evil Sounds Deep: The Red Death.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: The episode is about Barry and Iris getting trapped in one. This gets lampshaded by Cecile at one point, who is surprised that nobody else had the same thought (although even she doesn't seem to notice that it's taking place on February 1st, the day before Groundhog Day).
- Idiot Ball: Despite having been stuck in a time loop over fifty times, apparently Barry never considered nabbing the new Captain Boomerang before he opens the box containing the accelerator.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When Barry first appears, he says "Welcome back. Let's do this one last time!"
- Legacy Character: When Owen Mercer reveals he uses boomerangs as weapons and asks to be referred to as "Captain", Barry recognizes he is this for Digger Harkness a.k.a. Captain Boomerang, who mostly menaced Oliver and was last seen nearly six years ago when Merlyn sacrificed his own life to kill him.
- Mr. Fanservice: Barry spends about half of the episode shirtless.
- Screw Destiny: Iris does not wish to have all of her life pre-planned. Eventually, she turns down Cat Grant's offer, instead expanding the Citizen with the help of Sue.
- Starter Villain: Subverted with Tar Pit, who is just appearing in a dream sequence, played straight with Captain Boomerang.
- Superior Successor: Owen Mercer is this to Digger Harkness, as his boomerangs are high-tech and he also has Deflector Shields and teleportation technology.
- Took a Level in Badass: Barry takes another one, this time phasing a nuclear explosion.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Owen Mercer escapes, reporting back to Red Death.
