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Which, ok, the countdown for renowned American holiday, Black Friday, is something that we do (unfortunately) see in the real world. People wait outside for doors to open, for sales to drop etc.

The thing is, this ticking and the musical accompaniment that eventually starts up is meant to parallel the exact same ticking and theme we hear again at the end of the night. At the end of the musical. If it was just supposed to be a thematic opening title sequence made for the pro-shot release, then why is it included on the cast album? The other two musicals in the trilogy don't include their title card sequence in their cast album. Prologue's inclusion tells me that parallel is purposeful. This is supposed to tell us something.

But ok. Musicals are meant to carry musical themes throughout them. That could reasonably explain the theme being played at the beginning and at the end. Just a thematic nod. The ticking itself could be explained by it referencing the count down to the sale of Wiggly (and the resulting chaos) in the beginning and the countdown to flip the day at the end. Both are reasonable and would fit within the story Black Friday tells.

So if I want to seal this theory, I should probably be bringing something else to the table. If only I had a song... with lyrics that loop. With lyrics that literally ask the question: Will tomorrow come today?

Oh. Huh. Would you look at that...

Well since you already either have the cast album up, or the musical itself up, go ahead and do yourself a favor and listen to What if Tomorrow Comes again. Besides the fact that Kendall absolutely kills it (the whole cast does actually), really listen to the lyrics. Because you'll probably notice little gems such as:

Do you all see the memories, tomorrow, reminds me.

What if tomorrow comes and takes the night away?

And of course:

Will tomorrow come today?

If you still want more, trust me, I got it. Take a look at this:

The choreography in this moment specifically has almost everyone on stage look down at their hands, almost as if 'waking up', almost as if realizing something. Remembering something. (God I wish I could get my hands on a copy of the digital ticket and see the full number. Kendall gets her deserved spotlight in this moment for the pro-shot but I just love this musical so much and would love to see the full stage and every little detail they put into the show.)

So. If you're now on board with where I'm going with this, then I suppose we need a reason for the loop to be occurring in the first place. Something or someone needs to have triggered it.

Black Friday is specifically and unapologetically Wiggly's musical. The Lang brothers have confirmed and reinforced that fact on various livestreams. Also, I mean, we see him so much. So while The Bastard of Time and Space would be a fitting culprit for trapping a bunch of people into repeating the same horrible day over and over, I don't think that's what we're meant to be inferring.

So if it's not Tinky, then who else would even fit as a suspect?

Gosh, if only there was one other character who every time their powers have been described by the Lang brother's, either in livestreams or narrated in released media, as having the ability to 'reach through space and time' and oh...

Oh.

Oh pookie. You really are the biggest walking tragedy Hatchetfield has ever seen.

Now. To be clear. I don't think Lex triggers the loop on purpose or even fully by herself. I mean, she really wouldn't know how nor do I believe she would even want to. But through existing lore we already know that Lex's powers will end up triggering on their own when Hannah's life is in danger. (Read about said lore and the trivia question it stems from in this wonderful post here.) And I don't know about you, but I can't think of a more dangerous and lethal situation than the possibility of nuclear retaliation.

Let's combine that knowledge with the fact that Hannah's powers have been confirmed by Willy boy himself to be alike to a nuclear power plant in terms of potential. Throw in two absolutely terrified magical sisters whose goal is not to be separated, and I think there's a very reasonable case to be made that Lex's powers to bend space and time probably activated the moment they heard that whirring noise at the end of the night.

That they not only activated, but were actually heightened to such a degree by Hannah's own powers that it kick-started a timeloop, resetting everyone back to the start of the day without any memory of the tragedy that awaits them in the mall. Every time they do reach the end of the night, Hannah realizes the loop and helps everyone else to see it too. That the real reason the survivors all huddle around and wait for the night to flip over together is because it hasn't yet.