Constantine "Danse Vandou" (REVIEW)
the fifth episode of the premier season...
written by Omar Castillon (@omar_castillon)
“Do I look pretty?” (insert cricket noises) this is what you hear before a ghost stabs the life out of a random stranger before the opening credits. This random ghost is one of many that plague the streets of New Orleans where John Constantine and his crew venture to find out why these supernatural deaths have been happening. One more addition to mention is the introduction of Jim Corrigan played by Emmett J. Scanlan. Jim Corrigan does have a long history in the comics world that is a bit too long winded for this review. If you are really interested in his involvement in the DC universe, just follow this link to read his very complex story. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Corrigan)
Back to the case at hand, Constantine and crew travel on to New Orleans and right off the bat two different homicides occur merely hours apart from each other. It doesn’t take long for the three of them (yes Chas is back) to find a similar connection between the deaths of innocents. Constantine and Zed investigate an accident in the woods while Chas investigates the scissor wielding murder ghost. Corrigan gets involved when Constantine warns him of another death (the woods car accident) and arrests Constantine for being an accessory to murder. This is all a misunderstanding and Constantine gets a chance to dive deeper into the investigation of the supernatural beings.
Chas and Zed get a little more screen time in this episode becoming a lot more useful than in the episodes before. Zed uses a bit of her charms to find out what happens in the accident in the woods and even teams up with Corrigan since she did have a vision of Corrigan in his childhood. This connection gets a bit strange closer to the end after the supernatural problem of the week gets solved. It’s a bit mysterious as to what happens between Corrigan and Zed but just know that it can and possibly will lead to a future plot point. Chas on the other hand shows how indestructible he can be whenever he encounters the killer ghost in an alleyway and is slashed and stabbed to death…almost… Once the police arrive at the scene, Chas recovers from his wounds in a similar fashion to Wolverine in the X-Men universe.
As for who is behind the resurrections in the episode it’s none other than Papa Midnite himself. Constantine and Papa Midnite’s interaction is the biggest highlight of the episode as they team up to investigate who the real culprit is behind the evil energy surrounding the spirits Papa Midnite resurrected. The reason why they have been such angry spirits is not because of Papa Midnite’s voodoo magic (that’s just one part) but the guilt the people involved with the spirits have towards the spirits themselves. It’s explained a whole lot better in the episode and makes much more sense when you see it from beginning to end.
This episode carries a bit more emotional weight and also an identity of its own. Constantine as a character and as a series has finally picked up the pace in the storytelling department. The wittiness and the heart are slowly developing. You actually begin to care where Constantine ends up and what happens to his crew trying to fight the impending doom that is the “rising darkness.” This may be vague for now, but I’m certain that it will soon have a face and a proper name behind it in no time. I say tune in to the episode and just have fun with it. Be glad it’s not extremely gross like last week’s episode (although it is pretty good too). Keep those fingers crossed for more insanity that will happen on the next episode.
