Constantine Episode 1.09 The Saint of Last Resorts: Part 2

With the Invunche seconds away from pouncing on him, John grips Pazuzu's medallion once again and recites a new spell - then burns the iron-hot medallion on his arm. The Invunche reaches him at this very moment, ready to tear his victim to pieces - but John has changed. His eyes glow red and his fierce growl sends the Invunche away.

John invited a demon into his body.

An irate Manny appears, angry that John chose to take advantage of the First of the Fallen's temporary power, knowing full well what comes next: complete demonic possession. He refuses to help John, so John turns to Chas. They have an incubatory period before the demon officially (and irrevocably) takes over John's soul. John reiterates specific instructions: if they fail to exorcise the demon Pazuzu, Chas must kill John. Just as John suggests a tricky self-exorcism, the demon emerges - and John wakes up, surrounded by dead Mexican nationals and police. Did he kill these men in a possessed haze? It seems that way, and his actions land him in Mexican prison, where friends of the dead nationals attempt revenge and inadvertently trigger John's demon again - with deadly results for the prisoners.

Meanwhile, Zed struggles in the back of a van, kidnapped and on her way "home." Vengeful and defiant, Zed manages to slip out of her cuffs and overtakes her captor, tossing him to the curb and hijacking the vehicle. She contacts Chas and joins him in Mexico to help hunt for John, quickly zeroing in on their best hope: Anne Marie. It takes some serious convincing, but in the end Anne Marie agrees to contact John using the magic of bi-location.

The holograph-like version of Anne Marie reaches John in the prison, and soon enough Zed and Chas arrive with tools to help John self-exorcise, including a knife called the Ceremonial Tibetan Phurba. If all else fails, plunging it into John's chest should exorcise Pazuzu's grip on John's soul. Thing is, the knife will only work once.

Zed and Chas sneak into the prison and prepare for the exorcism, buoyed by the surprise arrival of Anne Marie, looking to atone for her betrayal. But their attempt fails because the incubation period has passed; John is too far into the possession process. Before this sinks in, another surprise arrives in the form of a creepy, snake-like man. He identifies himself as Vicente, the original serpent - the tempter. Terrified, Anne Marie uses the knife to kill Vicente, and although it saves them from his ancient ire, now John is out of options.

To ease the pain of his transition, John uses a prison connection to obtain heavy sedatives that send him into a drug-addled slumber. Chas and Anne Marie slip him out of the prison in a body bag and drive him back to the mill house. They decide to try a late-stage exorcism and fasten John to a bed, anticipating a serious reaction from Pazuzu. Still hazy from the drugs, John explains that only a true believer, someone who has experienced a divine epiphany, will stand a chance in exorcising Pazuzu from his soul. It has to be Anne Marie.

From the moment Anne Marie initiates the exorcism, Pazuzu possesses John and, one by one, challenges the very core of everyone present. Anne Marie doubts her abilities and falters under the demon's pointed criticism - until Zed encourages her to forgive herself, to release the guilt Anne Marie feels for introducing John to the dark arts. She redoubles her efforts and, as John thrashes about in the throes of Pazuzu, a newly impassioned Anne Marie spouts the ancient words - and it works.

Later, a recovered John bids Anne Marie a bittersweet goodbye and tops it off with an apology for all the pain he caused her after Newcastle. She doesn't buy it - after all, John doesn't do apologies - but she no longer harbors any resentment. Anne Marie exits with a smile and leaves John, Zed and Chas to their task at hand: the continued battle against the Rising Darkness.