Constantine returned with a bang as John decided the only way to survive the attacking Invuche demon was to call on a demon, allowing himself to be possessed by Pazuzu. This event let us have one of the darkest episodes of Constantine yet.
The possession itself did what Constantine wanted, healing him and tricking the Invuche into leaving. As he surfaced though, he informed Chas that they either had to exorcise the demon, or kill Constantine. They could not allow freedom for Pazuzu. As Constantine went to find everything he needed for the exorcism, he found himself getting thrown into a Mexican prison for killing several gang members. To get him out, the team needed a few mind games with Anne-Marie’s help and a nice sized dose of heroin.
In the end, Anne-Marie was forced to perform the exorcism on the almost-too-far-gone Constantine. Success left us almost exactly where we were before the midseason finale. And yes, Zed escaped her captors within about five minutes of the episode starting. In addition, the sake from the Garden of Eden (aka the Trickster) showed up and was taken down by a quick stab from Anne-Marie.
Positives
Even when Constantine’s story finds itself lacking, it makes for a truly excellent character piece. You can tell the writers get Constantine at every turn. This episode also wins serious points for having no magical deus ex machina get whipped out that had been introduced just twenty minutes earlier. The ins and outs of Constantine, in addition to the excellent handling of Anne-Marie made this a solid episode all alone.
The final exorcism scene, though it had a few moments of poor dialogue, had an awesome intensity. That went to a level of darkness that Constantine can make use of a lot more often. I also loved bringing in the Trickster. He was a creepy villain with an interesting snake motif, and was probably a familiar concept to a lot of people.
Negatives
Fast resolution. This was a problem across the board. Anne-Marie’s crisis of faith. Zed’s capture. Trickster’s attack. All of it was swept away too fast. The Trickster was the most glaring of all of them. He was such a cool concept, and I sincerely hope he can come back (especially if we get a season two). I know the focus was on the possession of Constantine and not Zed’s backstory, but her escape was way too quick and convenient.
The Verdict
While it didn’t move plot forward at all, Constantine still had a solid return. Hopefully it can secure a season two in the remaining weeks.
