Constantine S01E03 – Review

By: Mark Verheiden & David S. Goyer (story)

The Story: Looks like those Footloose folks were right; music really does lead to damnation.

The Review: I don’t think any of you will blame me for going into this episode with a slight sense of doom, especially after the last two seemed committed to making Constantine as much of a Supernatural rip-off as possible. This isn’t so much a reflection on Supernatural‘s quality so much as it is on Constantine‘s shortage of originality. That doesn’t make Constantine unwatchable. You can even enjoy a show like that. It’s just not compelling television.

On the plus side, if you do feel compelled to tune into Constantine every week on the dot, there’s now some hope that you’ll more often than not be rewarded with decent entertainment. That’s hardly gushing praise, but that’s about as far as the show has proven itself with this episode. With a premise that feels halfway novel—a blues record bearing the voice of Satan itself—both you and the characters are that much interested in seeing where it leads.

Actually, there are a number of things which keep the plot interesting even after the gory effects of the record wear off. In contrast to previous episodes, the threat being faced here arises not from any easily identifiable baddie, but from a confluence of different motives: bluesman Willie Cole’s original sale of his soul to the devil; Jasmine Fell’s own soul exchange to save rocker-husband Ian from cancer; Anton, unscrupulous soul broker; and voodoo master Papa Midnite who wants the record as insurance against his own damnation. While Anton and Midnite’s motives are the most overtly villainous, they’re still a step up in complexity than the evil-for-its-own-sake of Furcifer or the misguided vengeance of Lannis’ wife. With the forces of heaven and hell so forcefully in play, Constantine will always be in danger of becoming too black and white. It can use all the amoral players it can get.

This episode also noticeably invests a lot more time piecing together the show’s various magical elements. It’s not just John bloodying himself up and trying not to bite his tongue on Latinish spells anymore. Oh, it’s still there, but the writers seem to understand it’s best to cut back a little in favor of mystic objects, which at least come with some backstory and semi-logical limitations. John also confirms that spells do indeed have their price, which is an old yarn, but a necessary one to keep the magic under control.

What you’d like to see more of is John using his ingenuity (with perhaps a touch of supernatural help) to solve problems. Employing a Southern accent and a Health and Human Services ID (courtesy of an appearance-changing card with a “pretty bloody backstory”) to see a patient after visiting hours is exactly the thing I mean. If John can apply more of that to the serious obstacles in this show, he’d be doing double-duty of making it more entertaining and closer to his original character.

After all, the John of Hellblazer couldn’t depend on someone like Zed or even Chas to always bail him out. That said, this episode makes a better case for John to have an ongoing supporting team, at least where Zed is concerned. It’s a little troubling how quickly she takes over as John’s wingman, even usurping Chas’ role as chauffeur, but maybe that’s all to save her from cipherhood. Verheiden-Goyer ensure her visions are vague and ambiguous enough to not be a crutch, and she has the common sense and sensitivity to be a useful sidekick to John. If the show can give Chas and Manny similarly specific roles, we just might have a decent gang of heroes on our hands.

Conclusion: Against all odds, an episode that’s unpredictable enough to be worth watching. As promised, a serious reconsideration is under way.*

Grade: B

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: * And for those of you who keep telling me to give Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. another chance, I have and I’m happy with what I see, but if I have to review another weekly series, I won’t even have time to poop anymore. Priorities!

– Interesting how everyone keeps saying “acetate” instead of “record.” What’s up with that?

– As John jumps the fence around Ian Fell’s mansion, Zed queries, “Isn’t that illegal?” That’s just bad writing, coming from a casual pickpocket.