Constantine

IMDb

I had planned to review another DC series this week, but because Constantine was recently discontinued, I decided to write about it instead.

The show follows John Constantine, played by Matt Ryan, who uses his knowledge of the occult to battle all things evil and demonic. The series happen after his great failure to save the soul of a little girl, Astra, from a hellish demon. This event shatters his magic dabbling group and shakes his faith in himself to the point he starts doubting what is good and what is evil.

But our hero can’t stay away from the fight for long. Called to action by an angel and the desire to pay the devil back, he faces off against a new threat to the mortal realm.

The series is now officially over after just one season, and while they weren’t brilliant, they were good and deserving of continuation in my opinion. So definitely give it a watch.

But let’s take a look at episode one, Non Est Asylum. Spoilers ahead.

The episode opens with Constantine in a mental institution, and we shortly learn he checked himself in because in “his line of work, there are days one needs to forget.” And the series are already saying things better than I could ever summarise. Short, to the point, and relevant exposition. Mostly shown rather than told as the asylum scenes demonstrate the protagonist’s desperation and hint at the gravity of past events.

Mostly, Matt Ryan’s acting and the clever dialogue work together to make the backstory presentation work. The scenes actually interest the viewer and don’t overstay their welcome before we move to the more relevant events in the present.

It isn’t long that the supernatural comes knocking in the form of a spirit, he once knew, and Constantine has no choice but to follow its call, and warming.

Liv, played by Lucy Griffiths, is the daughter of a psychic friend of his, and she’s in trouble. The demons are after her.

Here I need to note that the character is somewhat stupid when faced with life and death situation. I understand she’s just a normal girl, but it didn’t stop my mind from screaming “just run bitch,” every time she fell over and half heartedly crawled away from danger instead of springing to her feet and sprinting the hell away. She’s just a bit too clueless, and her self preservation instinct is close to nonexistent. But I guess I can squint and accept it, considering the supernatural nature of the threats.

It is at this point that we meet Manny, the angel, played by Harold Perrineau, who is, through the series, pushing Constantine along his path. The angel reveals that while Constantine was away, a new evil has entered the picture, and through the series we uncover piece by piece its identity and goals.

Now we don’t know whether Constantine is walking towards darkness or light, and he constantly needs to rely on faith he no longer possesses. This is one of the main themes of the series even if our motivations are noble can we really know if our actions lead to good or evil? Do we serve Heaven or Hell? The greater morality of the quest and Constantine’s action remain vague, and in the context it works. Saving the world is left in the hands of humanity that often can’t see the greater picture and has to depend on its own interpretation of events and morals.

Right from the start, we are also told redemption isn’t the goal. Constantine’s fate is sealed. It is his duty, rather than reward, that motivates him.

But back to Liv. After the death of her neighbour and the constant attacks to her life, she agrees to let Constantine protect her. Together with his friend, the undying Chas, played by Charles Halford, they take her to a safe house, and reveal the truth about her father, and her heritage as a seer.

Then, long story short, the only way to save her is to defeat the demon, and so they lure the beast and exorcise it. Only problem is, the creature feeds on electricity, and in the middle of a modern city, that isn’t exactly scarce.

They do manage to defeat it, saving the day, but making this choice also has its costs. While they were fighting the demon, an accident she foresaw came to fruition. So they stopped one evil at the cost of letting another happen.

Constantine is a lot about action and consequence. Even if you defeat evil at one front, it will stab you on the other, and that is what makes things exciting. You never know where the forces of darkness will retaliate from, and you never know whether the actions of the hero no matter how noble will aid Heaven or Hell.

In the end of the episode, Liv decides all of this is too dark for her, so she walks away while she can. But not before before leaving Constantine a scary map to alert him of the key events as they happen.

So that’s Constantine in a nutshell, the struggles of mankind in the face of greater wars and machinations between Heaven and Hell.

The acting is okay, Matt Ryan’s performance as Constantine definitely dominates every scene, though the actress playing Zed, a later sidekick, could use some lessons. And the plot is decent, well thought out, it always delivered on its build up.

It is truly a mystery to me, how even though Constantine got a substantial number of positive reviews, it got cancelled. I guess the market just wasn’t feeling in the mood for a new fantasy, gods and devils, series. I sure was eager for some of that. Constantine delivered, and I wasn’t disappointed, but I guess one season of promising build up is all I’m getting. It’s sad when producers disregard niche audiences even when a product is competent.