Constantine Episode 12 Review: If The End is Near, At Least Manny Got Some!
A-. <p class=. . . ANGELS AND MINISTERS OF GRACE
NBC’s “Constantine,” based on characters from DC Comics’ “Hellblazer” series, aired what is in all likelihood its second-to-last episode Friday. The network released a list of shows that had already been renewed for next season this week, and “Constantine” was not one of the shows listed. That’s too bad, because as this week’s episode, “Angels and Minsters of Grace,” proves, John Constantine is one of the best characters to hit TV in recent memory.
Plot Summary
The episode starts with a feel-good scene, as a young woman is seen walking through the seediest area of a city, looking for some heroin to help her deal with a death in her family. Once she gets what she is looking for, she finds a nice dark area to shoot up . . . and is immediately attacked by a man with super-human strength, who beats her senseless and injects both needles of heroin into her.
Nice!
Meanwhile, John Constantine is trying to convince Zed to get back on the horse and begin using her psychic powers when he is interrupted by Manny, who informs him of the young girl who has been brutally attacked. JC packs up the gang and heads to the hospital where the girl is being treated, only to realize that he is up against a powerful and ancient artifact of evil known as the Black Diamond.
Knowing that desperate times call for desperate measures, John manages to knock Manny out just long enough to bind him to a human host so the two of them can work together and bring the killer down.
Meanwhile, Zed discovers that there is a scientific explanation for her psychic talents, leaving her to question whether her powers are a fluke, or a gift from God,
Why It Worked
Manny:I don’t know how you get anything done.
John: A little bit of denial and a whole lot of gin.
Once again, the writers’ decision to streamline the plot allowed “Constantine” to focus mostly on – you guessed it – John Constantine. The show’s other characters – Chas, Zed, Manny – are interesting secondary characters, but it has become apparent that the writers really don’t know quite what to do with them yet, especially Zed, whose “kidnapped by a cult” plot got dropped immediately once the show returned from its winter hiatus. That may be due to the fact that NBC only ordered 13 episodes for season one, but whatever the reason, this series will live and die with Matt Ryan’s ability to bring John Constantine to life, and since Ryan never fails to make JC the sort of flawed hero you can’t help but like, keeping the plot simple has proven to be a great idea.
Having said that, the show had some fun with its secondary characters, especially Manny, who spent most of the episode trapped in a human body. I expected the requisite experiences – Manny experiencing pain for the first time in his life – but to have Manny attacked by a co-worker who proceeds to perform oral sex on his more-than-willing self – brilliant, and hilarious. Chas had some nice moments, as well, being the sucker who gets to do all of the dirty work cooked up by Constantine, and the writers even managed to make Zed’s character sympathetic while wisely keeping her in the background for most of the episode.
For the most part, “Constantine” has given fans of DC Comics ‘ “Hellbalzer” series a reason to campaign for another season, and from what I hear, NBC Universal is trying to find the show a home on one of the networks it owns, such as SyFy. I’ll keep you posted on the show’s ultimate fate, but for now you should make it a priority to get caught up if you are behind and tune in next Friday for the season finale, “Waiting for the Man.”