“Abra Kadabra” is episode eighteen of season three of The Flash.
The episode opens at Stagg Industries. Two guards are patrolling and one is telling the other that they might need to find a new job; the company may have been bought out. They have millions of dollars of tech that no-one is using. Like a glass box-thing in front of them. From behind which a man walks, saying that they won’t mind if he absconds with some of it. The guards shoot at him, but he appears inside the box. Then he leaves and they end up inside. He tells the guards that they might be able to figure out how he did it, but he doubts they have time, as the box starts to fill with water.
At Jitters, Iris is showing Joe and Cecille her ring, explaining that, in the previous episode, “Duet”, Barry sang to her, then proposed. She said yes. Cecille has four tickets her sister can’t use, to an event on the first weekend of July, and would they like to go. A bit awkward, because Iris is supposed to be dead by then. Barry says they will make it.
Cisco is vibing the future again but it hasn’t changed. Caitlin says they have to start with what they know. Unfortunately, they aren’t managing to understand things until after they have happened, like Savitar’s prophecies. Except for the newspaper headline about Killer Frost. Joe, Barry and Julian get buzzed about a crime scene. Caitlin has a word with Julian before he leaves; there’s an envelope from Central City Opera. Julian got them a while back, because Caitlin said she had never been. Now, she can take whoever she wants. Caitlin keeping back a piece of the Philosopher’s Stone was damaged Julian’s trust in her.
The guards didn’t get out of the water-filled box in time. Barry is puzzled as to where the water came from, as there isn’t any nearby. There aren’t any CCTV cameras, Julian has got nothing and nobody is talking about the stolen tech. Barry doesn’t want to be spending time on this; Joe doesn’t either. They will just have to solve it really quickly. Then Cisco contacts Barry about a robbery in progress at Kord Industries.
The man who robbed Stagg is there. He assumed Barry would show – and he knows his name – he just didn’t expect him to be so young. He claims he is from the future. He knows about Barry’s doomed love, Iris, and about Barry’s greatest foe, Savitar. He claims to know everything about Savitar and Barry. Barry attempts to grab him, and is left holding an arm. Then Gypsy breaches in and knocks the man down. He still escapes, in a cloud of cards.
Gypsy explains that the man is called Abra Kadabra. They think he has some sort of nanotechnology built into his body, allowing him to mimic magic tricks. Both Caitlin and Cisco mention Clarke’s Third Law; any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Abra Kadabra is from the 64th century. He’s at the top of the Collectors’ most wanted list. He committed some robberies on Earth-19 and many died. He showed up again, stealing from tech companies, just as he is doing here. Barry thinks that Abra Kadabra nay be the key to saving Iris. But Gypsy is going to want to take him home.
Cisco is unable to vibe Abra Kadabra. So, he uses a satellite to track people from other Earths. Gypsy would like that tech; Cisco offers to come home with her and fix her up. Then he detects Abra Kadabra at Mercury Labs. He and Gypsy, along with Wally and Barry, head there, but all they find is a hologram.
Julian is examining the residue from Stagg Industries as Joe and Caitlin watch. Caitlin assumes it’s from the nanotechnology. Julian is talking about it when Abra Kadabra appears and knocks them down. Caitlin managed to activate her SOS and Barry shows up, managing to catch Abra Kadabra. Gypsy wants to take him home – for execution – but Abra Kadabra claims he knows Savitar’s greatest secret and the key to defeating him. His name. With Abra Kadabra locked up, Barry tells Gypsy he needs to speak to him first. Savitar, he says, is the God of Speed, the first speedster and unstoppable. Future Barry defeats him – but only after Savitar kills Iris. Abra Kadabra is willing to tell Barry Savitar’s name – but only if he isn’t handed over to Gypsy.
Iris doesn’t want to let a murderer go to save her life, no matter how many others they have caught. She doesn’t think Barry wants to as well. Joe, it seems, is another matter. He agrees to let Abra Kadabra go. But things go badly and Abra Kadabra gets loose and steals something from the time vault.
Gypsy is definitely not pleased and they still don’t know any more about Savitar. Plus, Abra Kadabra needs catching again. Caitlin attempts to apologise to Julian, but he isn’t in a forgiving mood. Until Caitlin gets injured in Abra Kadabra’s escape. This has consequences. Barry also has a new plan for preventing Iris’s death. That may also have problems.