Season 1, Episode 7:
Blessed are the Damned
A small town preacher, named Zachary, is upset that his sermons are drawing less and less of a crowd. His sister is less worried about the crowds than the message, but the preacher is desperate to get more people to come... so he's got some live rattlesnakes, complete with the prerequisite venom. His sister is worried, but the preacher claims that God has "anointed" him. Predictability ensues as the preacher is bitten by the very upset snake, who does not like this weird stranger handling it. Just as the preacher seems to die, he gets back up, and manages to heal a man who has lost his leg.Meanwhile, Zed is in art class when she sees snakes twining around her ankles...
Tropes present in this episode include:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Zachary quickly gets a swelled head about his sermons.
- Agent Scully: John is this to Zed's Agent Mulder; while Zed wants to believe, John thinks there's something more sinister going on. John's right.
- And Show It to You: Manny rips Imogen's heart out when she holds Zed hostage, saying that as an angel, Manny will do nothing.Manny: Like Hell.
- Artifact of Doom: Imogen's feather, which grants Zachary Healing Hands, but turns the people he heals into mindless ghouls.
- The Atoner: Zachary decides to become this, upon learning he was to go to Hell. He confesses to a hit-and-run, and his next sermon shows a much more humble point of view.
- Back from the Dead: Zachary, upon dying from the rattlesnake's bite, gets back up again.
- Belief Makes You Stupid: Zachary. Unusually for this trope, he gets better.
- Dark Is Evil: A fallen angel's wings are black.
- Fallen Angel: Imogen, who pretends that she isn't fallen.
- Feels No Pain: Angels do this. However, they also can't feel things like the sunlight on their skin.
- Healing Hands: Zachary develops these after he comes Back from the Dead. Unfortunately, the people he heals don't stay that way.
- Heel Realization: Zachary learns that he was supposed to go to Hell instead of Heaven, due to striking someone with his truck and driving on instead of getting help. He resolves to be a better person.
- It's All About Me: The preacher's sister believes he cares more about the attention he's getting than the people who show up to his sermons.
- Kick the Dog: Zachary throws his sister out of the house.
- Made of Evil: John describes the black fluid dripping from Imogen's severed heart as "concentrated evil", and warns Zed to put it down before she gets infected.
- Manipulative Bitch: Imogen tries to convince Manny to turn against his father.
- Our Angels Are Different: They have their own language, Enochian, and it hurts when they are taken to the mortal plane. Their wings also turn black when they fall.
- Pet the Dog: John is quite gentle with Imogen, and is genuinely concerned for her. Too bad it's wasted.
- Power Echoes: Imogen's voice.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: The people the preacher heals, upon turning into ghouls.
- Scenery Censor: The art model is discreetly covered by an art student's sketch pad.
- Too Dumb to Live: The preacher, who decides that it's a good idea to handle live, venomous snakes because he thinks his faith will protect him. He's wrong.
- Troll: John purposely tells Zed to go in the wrong direction when she's looking for Manny.
