Synopsis of 1×07: A preacher in Kentucky begins to perform miraculous healings. Constantine and Zed ain’t into it. Divine troubles ensue.
This week’s episode opens up with a man, Zachary, taking over his pop’s snake handling congregation. Zach brings in a fresh new snake and his sister lets him know they should use another, previously milked, snake – the snake isn’t important, it’s the message. Obviously he doesn’t listen, how else would we get an episode!
Snake preacher gets bit, dies quick. BUT WAIT! He’s brought back, a mysterious feather glowing red in his hand. The crowd goes wild! He heals a man’s missing leg and other such clerical duties (divine clerical, not desk job clerical).
After the theme we get to visit Zed, who IS in art class after all. Who woulda guessed! She has a vision of snakes about her feet and flips her wig. The life model, Eddie, approaches and hopes it wasn’t him. An obvious snake joke shoulda found its way in here somehow. I imagine it was cut. The two make dinner plans later in the week.
Back in Cabinus Occultus, Constantine is getting ready for their trip to Kentucky. He packs the usual, noting he needs protection of all kinds. Boom, rubbers. Oh ho, ho, ho, Constantine you devil. At least his promiscuity is safe.
C and Z go to preacher-man and begin their investigation. Something is up, but they don’t know what yet. Zachary begins to speak in Enochian, the language of angels.
Elsewhere, the man with a healed leg is at the doctor and begins to complain about feeling overheated. His irises go red. Oh shit! He murders his doc. It sounds like he’s turned into a velociraptor. I guess that’s the price for faith healing, turning into a dino-human (note: I may have just watched the Jurassic World trailer too many times. For real though, I can’t wait).
Back with C and Z, Zed touches the preacher and gets a vision. Flashes of light, a set of out stretched wings, arms reaching downward accompanied by Heaven’s horn section. Another cut to dino-new-leg-man and his ongoing murder spree down the highways, he runs off like a gorilla.
Out alongside the river Constantine and Zed discover hordes of dead fish. A sign of the bad juju afoot. Thinking this week’s case has some Heavenly participation, John summons Manny to get some advice.
After crafting a killer Sand Circle of Summoning, Manny shows up and does his usual song and dance about being unable to help directly. His role isn’t one to alter the course, just offer guidance. He leaves John with a tip: Look towards to the sun, and bounces out. Through a little bit of humming and sun staring (don’t do this at home kids!) Zed and Constantine track down an angel under a pile of leaves!
Turns out the angel, Imogen, was on her way taking a mortal’s soul to heaven when he pulled out a feather, damaging her wings and making her mortal. Everyone saw Dogma, we know that’s the only difference between Angels and Humans. It’s just science guys. As long as she is incomplete and in the human world, she is experiencing terrible pain. Constantine, Zed, and Manny need to get that feather back!
Constantine goes to get the feather from Zachary, letting him know that his healings come at a terrible price. The feather rebuffs Constantine and sends him backwards. Zachary kicks him out. Primal Ape guy attacks Zed in her tent (did I mention everyone was on a little religious campout? Well they are). Con stakes him, real good, and he reverts back to standard issue human coloring.
Turns out the folks being healed are turning into “ghouls” who are attracted to the lingering divine power of Zachary. Zed goes undercover in a baptismal gown to get close enough to snag the feather. Previously healed members of the congregation ghoul-out and John grabs some drift wood to start clubbing. Zed sprints off to the angels Imogen and Manny.
Constantine and Zachary are huddled in the church, fending off ghouls and Zachary drops the info that when he died from the snake bite, he did so with a mortal sin on his soul. Imogen wasn’t taking him to Heaven, she was taking him to Hell. John puts 2 and 2 together and gets, “Oh this isn’t a good idea then!” and runs off to prevent Zed from returning the feather to the fallen angel.
He doesn’t make it in time. Our climactic standoff has Imogen verbally sparring with Manny about wanting to possess Earth and grabs Zed by the throat, preparing to kill her. John begs for Manny to take action, he’s the only one present powerful enough to mess with another angel. Manny finally makes his choice, possessing Zed so he can take physical shape and pulling a Temple of Doom, ripping Imogen’s still beating heart from her chest. Zed comes to and is horrified to find a black heart of evil beating away in her hand.
The episode closes, Manny telling Constantine that there will be consequences for what he’s done, but at this point John is stoked to have Manny as an active member of his fight against the Rising Darkness. Zed is in the bath furiously scrubbing at her hand when her phone rings. It’s Eddie, wondering where she is. She begs off, saying she just won’t be any good tonight. Eddie understands, he’s such a good guy like that. The camera on Eddie’s face as he says it’s no problem, sitting in his car… Then hovers over his should to show a mysterious man in the back seat, a crucifix around his neck.
DUN DUN DUN.
Some final thoughts.
I like where Zach ends up. Interesting that he was gonna die but didn’t. He got that second chance to make good and he focuses on preaching to his flock with the knowledge that they had the gift of the Lord, but also the taint of the Devil. But mankind’s greatest power is its ability to choose.
This episode, much more heavily than any other, goes into the religious nature of the characters – that the big bads of week to week are demons and Hell and the Darkness are on the rise. The faiths of the characters Zed and John. I think it’s a worthwhile move in a show that has been pretty Freak of the Week heavy.
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