The episode opens with Constantine’s old comrade, Gary Lester (Jonjo O’Neill) attempting to board an airplane. It seems Gary has brought a possessed bottle back to Atlanta with him. The sheriff picks it up and drops it immediately. AH! Massive cockroaches everywhere! They even crawl into Officer Ned Pepper’s (Mark Jeffrey Miller) mouth.

John Constantine (Matt Ryan) and Zed Martin (Angelica Celaya) discuss dabbling in drugs. That ain’t going to fly on NBC considering the network won’t even allow for cigarettes. Manny (Harold Perrineau) shows up to save the day and put the drug abuse talks to rest. Manny questions Zed’s ability to help John. As Manny leaves, time returns to normal. Zed is left wondering, “Who hit the pause button?”

It seems someone has broken into John’s house. After entering, John discovers Gary and his army of beetles. Gary explains he went on a bender and ended up in Sudan, where he found his opportunity to make up for old mistakes. Gary exorcised a demon and trapped it in the bottle. Of course, Officer Pepper is now possessed and going on a rampage at the airport.

When the show returns, Constantine is creating a magical bottle, which will be used to capture the spirit. Const explains Gary’s descent into drugs. After praying over the bottle, the symbol on the bottle glows blue. Time to trap a demon!

At the grocery store, another person is possessed. This time it is a woman. She runs around the store eating everything in sight. Is this the cause of the American obesity epidemic? Got to blame someone, right?

Gary explains the past and how everyone thought John was insane, but jumped on the opportunity to travel to New Castle. He explains that a woman was possessed and John knew how to save her, while the others had no true powers. Despite John’s plan, everything went wrong. As Gary freaks out, Zed imagines Gary’s run in with drugs and drops to the floor.

When the show returns, Constantine flashes his magical CDC pass and enters the crime screen. He puts on his Ebola mask and goes to work. Rectify’s Sharon Conley becomes a witness, along with her song. The pair discuss seeing a lot of bugs. Constantine heads to the employee’s area, while walking with a swagger. He discovers several people dead and one man has beetles coming out of his mouth.

Const finds a possessed woman eating raw meat slabs. He begins praying over her with the bottle. She turns into Linda Blair and does the convoluted crab walk. The praying works and John traps the beast inside of his magic bottle.

Zed explains how she experienced Gary’s withdrawal symptoms, when the two touched and gives John some new sketches. Before leaving, John suggests the two keep their hands to themselves. With John gone, Zed touches Gary and instantly becomes addicted to Meth. The pair hatch a plan to head to Albuquerque, New Mexico to see a man about blue meth, while Const seeks a shaman about a demon.

When the show returns, Constantine meets Nommo (Charles Parnell) and requests answers to finish off the demon. He asks Nommo about the demon’s origins. Const experiments with a new psychedelic, known as The Mist. He complains about the taste, before he begins tripping balls. Now, he’s experiencing a computer screen saver, before Nommo pries out his eye and puts it into his own socket.

The pair discover the sacrifice that allowed the demon into the world. Very brutal sacrifice scene, before the beetles enter the sacrificed man’s mouth. After discovering the information, Const comes back form his bad trip and realizes he needs one of those fancy blades.

Meanwhile, Gary regrets not being able to do more. The pair touch again, which gives Gary the opportunity to make his escape. Now, Zed is really experiencing delirium tremens. Pretty soon she is going to need an Intervention with Dr. Drew. Or is he too busy with those pregnant girls?

When Const arrives back home, Zed is high from making contact with the junkie. She explains Gary only wants to help and is going after the demon on his own. Constantine suggests it is Gary’s heroine addiction that is driving him forward. He discovers Gary being beaten by drug dealers and saves him by trading the men some of The Mist.

Gary explains he was high all day back in New Castle. John comforts Gary and explains nothing was his fault. He also reveals he knew Gary was high at the time. Constantine expresses his believe that everyone can change. The CDC is seen on television and John invites Gary to help him capture the demon.

The pair show up at the museum, with the intention of stealing the sacred knife. As John prepares to break the window, Manny shows up and questions his abilities and desires. Then, the window is broken and Gary enters. Using his highly toted junkie skills, Gary picks the lock and steals the knife. Meanwhile, John has possessed the guard and has him dancing like a machine. Gary and John leave with the knife.

When we return, John and Gary strut into the crime scene. Both use their imaginary CDC passes. They discover a man eating uncontrollably. Const reveals that they need a living person to complete the act. Gary is happy that his life will finally mean something. The pair begin the exorcism.

Const prays over a kneeled Gary. The possessed man falls and the beetles fly from his mouth. Gary nods and the beetles enter his mouth. John carves his face and forehead with the knife. Gary now resembles Charles Manson. When the pair arrive back home, Zed is upset with Gary’s new face and John’s actions.

John holds Gary’s hand as he writhes on the bed. Manny pays them a visit, as the show ends.

Review


This was a surprisingly good episode of Constantine. Quite frankly, it was probably the best episode yet. Jonjo O’Neill played an interesting Gary Lester. The heroine addict was a little redemption story. While we’re still lacking a main villain or central struggle, this was a worthwhile episode. We really got to see how far John will go to capture his demon. Nobody is safe, when Constantine has a job to accomplish. Manny’s interaction with Constantine is definitely interesting and allows us to get a look at John’s mental inner workings. Overall, the episode deserves an 8.5 out of 10.

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