While in art class, Zed has a bizarre vision of snakes that lead her and John to a small town where a preacher has mysteriously gained the ability to heal his congregation.

Another solid entry in the shortish Constantine season. The episode again shows off the acting chops of Matt Ryan in the main role, and proves that he’s definitely a main draw for the series (and we’ll hopefully see more of him if Constantine were to show up in a DC movie).

The episode dives a bit more into some of the mythology of this world, and the fact that there’s angels and demons and what this means when it comes to religion for the world. All of that comes from Zed who wants to discuss it all further. It’s a short discussion, but is more so for the viewers than anything else, and much needed as I’ve wondered all of this myself.

Particularly solid on the episode is the last ten minutes or so. There’s a twist that’s really great, and one I honestly didn’t see coming. The ending was really solid, and makes things a bit clearer of where some folks align in the good and evil scale. It’s also a bit clearer as to what’s going on and what Constantine will be dealing with, and why.

Overall, the episode is a solid one, continuing a good streak for the series. As usual though, Ryan is the draw here, his portrayal is really spot on. The downside is the episode continues to tease the big bad at a glacial pace, something that needs to speed up a little bit, where the only movement occurs in the last minutes. What’s sad is, with some minor tweaks, the series can go from really good, to really great.

Overall rating: 8

 

When a young boy is taken over by a malevolent spirit, John must put aside his misgivings over exorcising a child and convince the parents that their boy is not all that he seems.

The latest episode of the in-doubt series is another solid entry, much improved from the early episodes. It’s not a great episode, but still continues the string of entertaining episodes that do well to expand the Constantine universe and Constantine the character.

Kicking off right away showing the character’s penchant for sleeping around and causing problems, it’s clear the real focus is on the character himself and his past. And by the end that’s very clear.

Constantine failed in dealing with demons and children in the past, so his hesitation is understandable. He has to overcome that to succeed, and in a rather satisfying way he does. The episode also wraps up as hinting towards something bigger down the road, something that was needed earlier in the season.

There’s some solid dark humor, all delivered with an entertaining smartass glee by actor Matt Ryan, who has inhabited the main character since the start. Ryan is a true draw for the series.

With a bit of reworking, and the Halloween(ish) theme, the episode would have been a solid debut, instead of the lackluster beginning. Hopefully the series continues this positive course, and Constantine gets even more of a chance to show off.

Overall rating: 8

 

In New Orleans, Constantine’s unusual knowledge of a string of crimes gets him into trouble with Detective Jim Corrigan. He must form an unholy alliance with Papa Midnite when a voodoo ritual to help people communicate with their dead loved ones takes a deadly turn.

Its taken about five episodes, but Constantine I think has finally found its groove. This episode has a really solid mix of paranormal ghost busters, but wrapped in that is a bigger story, and direction for the series. That comes at the end of the episode where Constantine asks Papa Midnite for some help to figure out about a “rising darkness.” All of that sets some tension, as Constantine gets a hint at some of the adversity he’ll face. But bigger about the episode, is the sense of world building.

The first four episodes can all really stand on their own, but with the introduction of Papa Midnite, and now Jim Corrigan, we’ve got characters we can expect to see multiple times, and an ongoing narrative, other than the mystery that is Zed.

The series is getting much stronger, and that’s actually pretty impressive since it stumbled so much from the start. I’m crossing my fingers that the series gets the chance to show us what its fully capable of.

Overall rating: 8

 

When Constantine’s old friend Gary Lester accidentally releases a powerful demon in Atlanta, John is forced to determine exactly what he is prepared to sacrifice in his battle with the underworld.

Hmmmm, so the demon is basically a bulimic. Other than killing folks, the issue is? While the demon in this episode definitely had me squirming (I hate bugs like that), my big thing was… so what? What’s the threat? Why should I care there’s this demon who’s making people eat a lot?

When it comes to that though, the one thing that’s nice is the episode plays off of three things, real world famine, fear of disease like Ebola, and addiction. All are a bit loose, and it’d be great if there was some more commentary concerning the three. But really, meh.

There were some good things about this episode though. We get to see Constantine trip balls, and mixing that with his dry smart ass comments actor Matt Ryan is the consistent standout of the series. He’s fun to watch, and deserves much better episodes and writing. The other thing that’s great is that the series is upping the gore a bit. It was seriously an issue the first two episodes, but these past two have a bit more gross and seem to start pushing the gross out factor you’d hope in a series like this.

Overall, the episode is just ok. Last week’s episode was a step forward, but this is a bit of a step back. Still better than the first two episodes.

Overall rating: 7.25

 

John and Zed engage in a dangerous confrontation to save a woman and her family from sinister forces. John’s efforts force him to confront the darkness in his own life – while also coming face to face with a new powerful adversary in Papa Midnite.

The third episode in, we finally get to see the potential of Constantine. This episode is much darker, and bloodier than the first two. That’s something I’ve criticized the series for, being sanitized. There’s lots of blog, and corpses, and blood, and moments that are actually cringe worthy. Yay! This is what the series needs to happen!

The story itself is about a killer record that packs a hell of a punch. I’d say to story is good, except it’s the plot of a concept album and comic from Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Ghostface Killah. Generally, been there, done that. The plot too is a bit convoluted on top of it, and could have used some editing to streamline itself a bit.

What the episode really does is introduce Papa Midnite, giving Constantine his first true adversary for the series. Comic book characters are often defined by their rogues and villains, and the first two episodes didn’t give us any. The second episode actually might as well have been the pilot, and would have been better off mashing itself up with the first through some creative editing.

The series too is ramping up the mystery, especially with Zed who we know little about. It’s a good thing, as it creates a longer narrative than just a monster of the week series. Sprinkle in a good dose of humor and things are looking… better.

Overall, the series is showing improvement from a poor first outing, and second episode shuffling. The question though is if the series will get a chance to find an audience. The ratings aren’t so hot, and many will probably have abandoned the series before this point. I guess you can sum up this episode and the series as a whole with one word, “frustration.” Here’s hoping we continue to see improvement, even small steps will go far.

Overall rating: 7.25

 

Deep in the mountains of Western Pennsylvania, John is the small mining community’s only defense against an ancient Welsh spirit. In the course of protecting these isolated innocents, John finds a vital new ally in a mysterious young woman named Zed.

Only two episodes in and Constantine has already had a shake up, dropping it’s leading lady for a new mysterious woman familiar to fans of the comics series. Also not present is Chas, which makes me wonder how much he’ll be a part of the series. It also made me wonder why there wasn’t a reshoot of the pilot episode. I have no idea if the average person would think this.

The overall episode is pretty meh, with Constantine running around trying to figure out what’s going on in a town. It’s a little bit X-Files, with a demonic bent. This could work long term, especially with a team dynamic.

But, many of the issues from the first episode remain. The episode doesn’t go quite far enough, but is better. I think the bigger issue is the shift in characters from the first episode. It indicates to me that the series doesn’t know what it wants to be. Further, the end of the first episode hinted to expect one type of series, and now we get something else. Generally, the second episode leaves me with similar impressions as the first. There’s potential here, but it needs a strong creative team and vision behind it. Right now, I’m not seeing it.

Overall rating: 7