Constantine Gets Very Dark, But Not Quite Dark Enough
- Thread starter Fanghawk
- Start date
I wonder if part of the reason that [i[Constantine[/i] pulled back at the end was to try and conserve viewers. I'm not sure if they've announced a full season yet, and the show writers could have decided to neuter the ending, while still telling an interesting (and relatively faithful) story on the screen, to try and keep people watching.
In these reviews (and elsewhere), so much attention is brought to the fact that Constantine doesn't smoke in the show, but he clearly does. There was a scene in this episode where you see him put out a cigarette when he walks into the cabin (though you can never see the cigarette in his hand) and in the coal mine episode, you can see him breathing out the smoke. Yeah, you don't see the cigarette, but his smoking is still there.
Ok what is up with Zed's accent? Seriously is it just me, or does she have some strange accent that keeps peeking through every now and then, between here "trying to be an American" accent? I don't know the comics, so is Zed an established character, and if so, is she from somewhere specific? I don't have a problem with the actress' performance or anything, but her accent seems to be leaking and it throws me off. xD
I completely respect the reviewer's opinion, I mean, I understand what he thinks the problem is: the show is not enough like the comic book. I've read the first Hellblazer book and I knew that this episode was directly taken from the first storyline.
However, I found the episode AMAZING! I never thought for one second that it was not Constantine's plan to convince his friend to sacrifice himself. It was marvelously done!
(sorry for the double negative
However, I found the episode AMAZING! I never thought for one second that it was not Constantine's plan to convince his friend to sacrifice himself. It was marvelously done!
(sorry for the double negative 
I actually think the way the episode ends shows how Constantine is a bastard through to his soul. He gave Lester an impossible choice to make, then casted himself in a better light to Zed. The fact that the Angel dude knew all along and what seems like saved Lesters Soul, is just proof for Constantine that he isn't lost to hell. Basically, in one fell swoop, he saved the day, made himself seem better by making Lester have a choice, and prove that the Save My Soul is legit. That is a pretty clever bastard to me.
I haven't read the comics, so I don't have a predetermined image of how Constantine should behave, at least not a very clear one. From my perspective, this was a great episode, the best one so far (and the show seems to be on an upward trajectory, quality-wise). The Constantine in the show is an arsehole and he's more than willing to let people come to harm if that's what it takes, but at the same time he's not ambivalent to it. He'll make the sacrifices, he'll make the hard choices, he'll do it without blinking, but he won't be OK with it because these aren't things anyone should be OK with. Add to it a really great performance by Matt Ryan and you get a solid foundation for a show (which is in turn being eroded by Zed, who's poorly written and not very well acted).
However, I can understand that fans of the comic might have issues with a different interpretation of the character. I know I despised the TV version of Harry Dresden, being a longtime fan of the book series. Granted, as far as I can tell Constantine is closer to his original form than the Dresden Files TV series was...
However, I can understand that fans of the comic might have issues with a different interpretation of the character. I know I despised the TV version of Harry Dresden, being a longtime fan of the book series. Granted, as far as I can tell Constantine is closer to his original form than the Dresden Files TV series was...
The episode was good. I like that it's gotten a more Hellblazery feel than the New 52 comic does. And I like the fact that he does the scheming backstabbing bit.
And I do think that Constantine as a character has some compassion. Sure, he hides from it, sure, he suppresses the guilt, But what about the storyline where he was homeless and, was it a daemon or vampire who kills the guy he was squatting with. And then asks him if he was his friend, to which a despondent looking Con. says 'He must be. He's dead.' or words to the affect of.
I always thought his character was more playing the hard man about it, but most of the time he stabbed people in the back he felt it a little.
Even in the original Gary Leicester storyline, he drinks himself to oblivion rather than listen to the screaming.
Side not, it would have been cool to see Papa Midnite being the Shaman in this episode. In the comics, they had a fairly psycho relationship, and it would have added to the characters to have them fighting it out last week, only to be working together in a 'what ever you do, don't mention the war' kinda way this week.
But all in all, it wasn't a disappointing retelling of the classic story.
And I do think that Constantine as a character has some compassion. Sure, he hides from it, sure, he suppresses the guilt, But what about the storyline where he was homeless and, was it a daemon or vampire who kills the guy he was squatting with. And then asks him if he was his friend, to which a despondent looking Con. says 'He must be. He's dead.' or words to the affect of.
I always thought his character was more playing the hard man about it, but most of the time he stabbed people in the back he felt it a little.
Even in the original Gary Leicester storyline, he drinks himself to oblivion rather than listen to the screaming.
Side not, it would have been cool to see Papa Midnite being the Shaman in this episode. In the comics, they had a fairly psycho relationship, and it would have added to the characters to have them fighting it out last week, only to be working together in a 'what ever you do, don't mention the war' kinda way this week.
But all in all, it wasn't a disappointing retelling of the classic story.
In the comic, Constantine gets Gary Lester doped up and tricks him into being the vessel for the demon. There is no choice or sacrifice. Constantine basically exploits an addict's weakness to manipulate him into doing what's needed
So at first, I shared the reviewer's opinion: the episode wasn't dark enough. It missed the opportunity to show what a bastard Constantine is.
But then the more I thought about it, the more I realized it actually worked better. Lester's sacrifice shows a nobility in contrast to Constantine's scheming.
What's more, Constantine never once thought to just ask Gary Lester to do it because he didn't have faith in his old friend to do the right thing. After all, he's just a "user". And to me, that makes him more of a bastard.
I really do like the way the show is slowly unveiling the character. With each episode we see that, while Constantine may do the right thing, he doesn't always do it in the best way.
So he's shaping up to be a pretty good anti-hero for network television.
So at first, I shared the reviewer's opinion: the episode wasn't dark enough. It missed the opportunity to show what a bastard Constantine is.
But then the more I thought about it, the more I realized it actually worked better. Lester's sacrifice shows a nobility in contrast to Constantine's scheming.
What's more, Constantine never once thought to just ask Gary Lester to do it because he didn't have faith in his old friend to do the right thing. After all, he's just a "user". And to me, that makes him more of a bastard.
I really do like the way the show is slowly unveiling the character. With each episode we see that, while Constantine may do the right thing, he doesn't always do it in the best way.
So he's shaping up to be a pretty good anti-hero for network television.
Ah, ok that makes sense then. I knew I was hearing some other kind of accent peeking through from time to time and it was confusing the hell out of me. xDWolyo said:
I really liked the episode, but I'm actually getting kind of annoyed with the angel guy. He keeps showing up to shove Constantine into the thick of things, all the while shit talking him about how terrible of a person he is. But he also implies that only Constantine can fix this problem, so then when he does something less than noble, the angel gives him shit for...well for basically being himself. It's like he shoves Constantine into a room that's on fire, and tells him to put the fire out, and the only thing he has to use is a box of kittens, and then he gets pissed at Constantine for killing the kittens to put out the fire. And all the time I'm like "Dude! The fuck did you want me to do!? I was short on options here and you keep pushing me!"
I enjoyed this episode quite a bit. Better than the rest. Zed had nothing to do in this one other than show some cleavage and tell me what a bastard Constantine is. The special effects were very well done this episode.
You can't keep a hunger demon in a bottle with the Seal of Solomon on it to specifically trap mystical creatures. But you can keep it in a meat locker?!? Just weld the damned demon up in a steel box then.
I also cringed at the concept of the "meat shield" when Constantine hid from a thousand attacking/swarming bugs in said freezer by pulling a side of beef over himself. A side of beef weighs around 300lbs. Constantine isn't just a bastard--he's a glorious bastard. Maybe he has some sort of beef (or pork) shifting talisman? Still, if you're a swarming bug, just go around. It isn't like a slab of beef is am impenetrable barrier.
So, there's the dance scene with the security guard. That was good. It left me believing Constantine can manipulate people's minds. Hypnosis? Magical beguiling? I like that I don't know everything he can do. But I also want to know what he is doing. He's like The Doctor. I need that attractive semi-daft travelling companion for him to explain things to so I know what's up. This is Zed I guess--not so much daft as "new to this". But she didn't get to tag along for this one.
And Constantine's "be what you need it to be" playing card was back again in this episode. I thought the homeless dude stole that last episode when he thought it was a platinum credit card. I never saw it get retrieved. But ,maybe he has 52 of them.
Yeah. So, there's me complaining about engineering when I have no problem watching folks swap eyeballs or fall into anti-gravity traps. Seems a bit dumb of me to do so. Oh well. Keep 'em coming. (I read a book on anti-gravity once--I couldn't put it down.)
You can't keep a hunger demon in a bottle with the Seal of Solomon on it to specifically trap mystical creatures. But you can keep it in a meat locker?!? Just weld the damned demon up in a steel box then.
I also cringed at the concept of the "meat shield" when Constantine hid from a thousand attacking/swarming bugs in said freezer by pulling a side of beef over himself. A side of beef weighs around 300lbs. Constantine isn't just a bastard--he's a glorious bastard. Maybe he has some sort of beef (or pork) shifting talisman? Still, if you're a swarming bug, just go around. It isn't like a slab of beef is am impenetrable barrier.
So, there's the dance scene with the security guard. That was good. It left me believing Constantine can manipulate people's minds. Hypnosis? Magical beguiling? I like that I don't know everything he can do. But I also want to know what he is doing. He's like The Doctor. I need that attractive semi-daft travelling companion for him to explain things to so I know what's up. This is Zed I guess--not so much daft as "new to this". But she didn't get to tag along for this one.
And Constantine's "be what you need it to be" playing card was back again in this episode. I thought the homeless dude stole that last episode when he thought it was a platinum credit card. I never saw it get retrieved. But ,maybe he has 52 of them.
Yeah. So, there's me complaining about engineering when I have no problem watching folks swap eyeballs or fall into anti-gravity traps. Seems a bit dumb of me to do so. Oh well. Keep 'em coming. (I read a book on anti-gravity once--I couldn't put it down.)