Sara goes into purgatory to rescue Ava from Neron's clutches. Meanwhile Constantine manages to capture Neron, but the crafty demon knows exactly what buttons to push.
Tropes:
- Achilles' Heel: Demons are vulnerable to true death while they're on Earth. They usually hide in vessels and are simply exorcised, but if caught outside a vessel they can be destroyed for good. This is what happened to Mallus, and what Constantine and Nora plan to do to Neron.
- Ambiguously Bi: In-universe; Charlie is surprised to hear Zari offhandedly describe herself as straight.Zari: What is this, Legends Eye for the Straight Guy?
Charlie: You're straight? - Badass in Distress: Ava starts the episode as Neron's prisoner, with him intending to use her as a host for his partner, Tabitha.
- Batman Gambit: John and Nora come up with an impressive one — they get Neron to think they won't trust each other so she'll be easy prey for him. It's all an act to get him to drop his guard so they combine their powers to kill him, while leaving Desmond behind. Unfortunately, Ray was not informed.
- Bittersweet Ending: Sara and Ava are reconciled and Nate is at peace with his dad's legacy. On the flipside, Desmond is now free of Neron, but now (predictably) wants nothing to do with John. Nora is in a coma, and now Neron is inside Ray.
- Brutal Honesty: Constantine, as always, is pretty blunt. He tells Sara several times that Ava's chances of survival against Neron are pretty slim.
- Call-Back:
- The battle between a Mallus-possessed Damien Darhk and Beebo gets a mention, as well as Constantine's encounters with Nora.
- Ava being a clone is referenced with a warehouse full of various Ava "models".
- Card-Carrying Villain: Neron isn't exactly offended when Nate dubs him an "evil bastard".Nate: You evil bastard.
Neron: Yeah. Demon. - Darker and Edgier: The whole episode has surprisingly little comedy and feels more like a Constantine episode.
- Destroy the Evidence: At the start of the episode, Nate and Gary are shredding Hank's files about his plans for the magic theme park in order to keep such a misuse of funds from ruining the Time Bureau.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The way Neron thinks of Tabitha, it's easy to come to this conclusion.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: A dog barking its head off at Ray is the first sign that Neron has possessed him.
- Faux Affably Evil: Neron is all charm while gloating about murdering Hank and describing his unholy plans. It's taken up to eleven when he possesses Ray, losing none of Ray's Nice Guy demeanor while remaining the monstrous demon he's always been.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Just as Ray has stepped out of the Time Bureau, a dog suddenly barks at him. Then it is revealed that Neron has possessed Ray.
- Hannibal Lecture: Neron is great at psychologically breaking people.
- Hate Plague: Neron is a walking, talking, and really quite gleeful one. He causes multiple fights at his motel just by arriving, and his influence causes John and Nora to briefly be at each other's throats, and Nate to punch Ray, although the Legends being aware of his power allows them to get a grip on themselves before things go too far.
- Innocently Insensitive: Ray telling everybody that it is "good news" that Hank got killed by a demon. It was meant in a way that he is glad Nora is innocent, but it comes across as quite tactless instead.
- Insecure Love Interest:
- Ava, which becomes a plot point when her purgatory turns out to be her anxieties, the most prevalent being her fear that she's not exciting enough for Sara, who will become bored of domesticity with her.
- Sara as well, as she secretly does want a life with Ava but fears she can't be the partner Ava needs.
- Internal Reveal: Nate learns that Neron killed his dad.
- Ironic Nursery Tune: Neron whistles "Pop goes the Weasel" while spreading his Hate Plague.
- Jerk Justifications: Ava explains that she didn't really condone the torture of magical creatures. She was just scared at the thought of having supported it and acted defensively. Similarly, Constantine's rougher edges are on full display — as are the reasons why he has them.
- Jewish and Nerdy: Gary is revealed to be Jewish when he mentions he had a dream about going to shulnote .
- Just the Way You Are: In the final step to free Ava's soul, Sara chooses her out of all the other tailored AVA clones and makes it clear she doesn't want any other woman. Fittingly, she finds the real Ava in the "As Is" section of the mall.
- Let Me Get This Straight...: Nate's reaction after he hears that his dad made a deal with a demon for a magical theme park. He just sighs, slumps back in a chair, facepalms, and says the following in a completely defeated tone.
- Manipulative Bastard: Neron tries to con Nora into releasing him by promising to resurrect her father. It seems to be working...except Nora (and Constantine) saw it coming a mile away, factoring Neron's manipulative tendencies and arrogant assumption that it'll work into their Batman Gambit.
- Manly Tears: John, after Desmond leaves him.
- More than Mind Control: Neron claims that his Hate Plague powers don't create conflict, but rather amplify negative emotions that are already there.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Nate is immediately remorseful after punching Ray.
- My Greatest Second Chance: After Nora is put into a coma, John vows that he will help save her and not abandon her again, like he did with her as a child.
- Never My Fault: Desmond's anger at John sending him to Hell conveniently ignores that Desmond was dragged to Hell for making a deal with the demon to protect Constantine (which he didn't bother telling his boyfriend about). Though he now understands why John's relationships never last.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Ray interrupts the spell to banish Neron, nearly killing Nora and allowing Neron to possess him.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Neron's demon cohort Tabitha never appears; we only get ominous warnings of her approach and the grim implications of what's going to happen if she possesses Ava.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Nora brings up the fact that both John and herself watched loved ones turning into demons, as a Call-Back to what happened with Mallus and Damien.
- Poor Communication Kills: John and Nora failing to inform Ray of their plan to banish Neron has some nasty consequences. Justified though by the fact that Nora couldn't think about the plan in any way due to her Psychic Link with Neron.
- The Reveal: Neron wants the magical fugitives to inspire fear in humanity, so they'll give up their souls to him.
- Revenge Before Reason: Nate tries to confront Neron alone and almost accidentally frees him.
- Third Line, Some Waiting: Right there in the title: the texting, the demon battle, and the relationship limbo.
- Shipper on Deck: Charlie, Mick, and Mona try to get Zari the courage to ask Nate out. Mona even has a
Portmanteau Couple Name for it: "NatAri". - Shout-Out:
- To The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, obviously.
- The different kinds of Ava dolls bring Barbie to mind.
- Skewed Priorities: In the midst of Sara fighting to save Ava's soul and John and Nora's attempts to defeat Neron, Mona, Charlie, and a reluctant Mick are counseling Zari on how to ask out Nate.
- Speak Ill of the Dead: At first at least, Nate is not shy on voicing his opinion that his father's idea of a magical theme park was an absolutely terrible one. At the end, he seems to have changed his mind.
- Tempting Fate: Discussed. Sara admits this is why she avoided planning for the long-term future; her messy past has always prevented her from doing so or derailed it.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Desmond can't forgive John for banishing him to hell.
- Undying Loyalty: Weird and vaguely creepy though it may be, Gary does everything in his power to ensure Ava's comfort while she's comatose.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Zig-zagged with Desmond. He's grateful that John freed him from Neron's control, but still pissed that he sent him to Hell which effectively ends any chance he and John had together. John fully expects this, but it still hurts.
- Wham Episode: Desmond is free from Neron, but is now inside Ray.
- Wham Line: A unique one as Ray starts whistling "Pop Goes the Weasel" to show Neron is now possessing him.
- You Are in Command Now: Mikey T. hands Nate command over the building site, now that his dad is dead.
