Season 1, Episode 3:
The Devil's Vinyl
Jasmine Fell has been looking for a very specific record for a while. Now that she has it, she wisely decides to have an analysis done on it. Not just any analysis, however; a spectral one. And who's the man for the job, but one of John Constantine's old friends? Unfortunately, Bernie Reed is Too Dumb to Live, and listens to the record right after being told not to. Curiosity Killed the Cast (or at least that particular part of the cast) ensues as Bernie is forced to kill himself. When John hears about this, off he goes to investigate. Unfortunately for him, one Papa Midnite is out to get the record, too - and he's not about to take no for an answer.Tropes present in this episode include:
- Bait-and-Switch: John thinks Ian Fell sold his soul to advance his music career, but Jasmine really only wanted to save his life.
- Big Damn Heroes: Zed jumps the homeless guy who was about to stab John.
- Bigger on the Inside: The millhouse.
- Brief Accent Imitation: John fakes a Southern accent at one time.
- Cast from Lifespan: John has a few spells like these, and he uses the Dead Man's Hand to communicate with Bernie post-mortem. Unfortunately, they're in a morgue, and it works on every body in the room.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: What the record inflicts on the poor sods unlucky enough to hear it.
- Cutting the Knot: While John is worrying over how to figure out what "Moonrise" means, Zed... simply Googles it on her phone.
- Deal with the Devil:
- The legend of the acetate. It's said the musician who recorded it made a deal with a devil, then the devil came to collect and killed him mid session. It's said the reason the record is cursed was because it recorded the devil himself.
- Jasmine first signed away her soul to save her husband's life - then she promised to find the acetate for Anton, the soul broker she initially made a deal with. This gets people killed.
- Demonic Possession: Downplayed; the record can't possess anyone outright, but touching it with bare hands is enough for people to fall under its sway.
- Driven to Suicide: Bernie, of the Psychic-Assisted Suicide variety.
- Everyone Has Standards: John is disgusted with soul brokers, who prey upon desperate people in order to make their contracts.
- Evil Is Deathly Cold: The record is freezing, and it frosts over anything it's set on if it's left alone.
- Fan Disservice: John shows up naked, covered by a Scenery Censor. Also, blood. (He's working on a spell.)
- Harmful to Minors: The record possesses Jasmine's young daughter, partially due to Jasmine being stupid enough to leave it out in the open, after her daughter sees it frost the shelf.
- The Heart: Zed has a more personal touch than John does.
- Hollywood Voodoo: What Papa Midnite does.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Papa Midnite has this view on what he's doing.
- It Can Think: It's implied that the acetate wants to be played, and will possess anybody it can in order to make that happen.
- Kick the Dog: The Crazy Homeless Person who, when coming upon a prone, bleeding John, promptly decides to steal his coat and his shoes and then tries to stab him.
- Literal Metaphor: John and Chas force Anton to eat his words, thus breaking the contract.
- Man of Wealth and Taste: Papa Midnite, who has a much more more polished, conventionally handsome appearance than John.
- No-Sell: The deaf busboy is naturally unaffected by the record.
- Post-Modern Magik: Several magical items in this episode are more modern than mystical, from Papa Midnite's revolver to the acetate itself. Of course, both items are rather old-fashioned for the twenty first century.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Papa Midnite has no desire to kill John outright, as doing so will stain his soul. It doesn't mean that he won't slice John's forearm to give him an incentive not to struggle when he's tied down.
- Revenge: Lucifer takes souls, the purest expression of God's love, as revenge for casting him out.
- Percussive Pickpocket: Zed, once again.
- Science Marches On: Jasmine sold her soul to save Ian from cancer. Ian points out that he's got a much better chance, now that there's better treatment available.
- Super Power Lottery: What Zed's won.
