Constantine Episodes 10-12 Reviews: The Secret Lives Of Angels And Demons

"Quid Pro Quo" and "Angels and Ministers of Grace" were two of my most favorite episodes to date. They successfully fleshed out our supporting characters-- Chas and Zed. Incidentally, I think Zed and Chas are the best part of this show.

Chas' Job Has Put A Major Kink In His Family Life

In "Quid Pro Quo" Chas' back story is finally revealed. We've known for some time that Chas could not be killed. It turns out he was in a bar fire years ago. He would have perished except for the fact John had previously cast a protection spell on him. And this wasnt a run of the mill spell. Merlin's spell transferred the life sources of those around Chas to him upon death (47 souls total). So to recap, Chas is not immortal but he can be killed a bunch of times. In present day, Chas and his wife Renee are divorced. He was away from home working with John and missed many of their important anniversaries, birthdays and weekends with daughter Geraldine. Renee is seriously pissed at John too. She blames him for some of their marital problems. Slap him a few more times while you're at it!

Chas arrives to see Geraldine. When he goes upstairs, her life source has been sucked out by an unknown entity. The same thing is happening to lots of people in Brooklyn. The effects of the Darkness Rising are beginning to take effect. It turns out he culprit is Faust. John and Felix make a deal. John kills a demon named Karabasan and Faust will free Geraldine (but Faust later backs out). To be honest, that part was boring. Chas makes a new bargain with Faust. He will exchange his remaining 32 souls for Geraldine's. He slices his throat as proof. Make that 31 souls instead. But it's a trick. Chas blows them both up with a hand grenade. I guess that worked because Geraldine is back. And as an added bonus, Renee begins to realize that the sacrifices Chas makes are because he's helping people.

Zed reveals that the Resurrection Crusade is after her (and the group is led by her father). Earlier Zed tried to contact Geraldine psychically but this caused a seizure. At the end of the episode John visits Zed in the hospital. She goes to sleep but not before telling John his mother said her death was not his fault. John gets into bed beside Zed. That was a touching moment.

Constantine's list of relics continues to amuse. Aleister Crowley's shaving brush (say what?) and Achille's heel (specifically the sinew from his heel) were fun additions.

Jacob Shaw Is A Jerk

Since both Chas and Zed figured prominently in the previous episode, they were MIA during "A Whole World Out There". The story focuses on a group of friends who do a magical ritual with disastrous consequences. They encounter Jacob Shaw who kills them and then keeps them trapped between worlds. It's Constantine and Ritchie (who is now a professor) to the rescue. The episode was OK but no real surprises here. The info was pulled from various horror genres we've seen before. Nice visual of John drinking in front of the memory mirror (with Gary in it) at the beginning and ending of the episode.

In "Angels and Ministers of Grace" Manny the Angel tells John they must go to the hospital to see a woman (Taylor) who has some strange black vein marks. They stab Chas in the leg to get into the ER. Poor Chas is the Kenny of "Constantine". Zed touches the woman and has a vision of an angel trying to kill her. The woman dies and goes to the morgue. Zed has a epileptic seizure and is later determined to have a brain tumor.

Since Zed is busy with her health issues, John goes to the Mill House where Chas is researching the situation. It turns out John has a chard of the evil diamond there. It's of course in a protective container. He tests it on Chas to determine its effects. Pretty bad stuff. I really wish I had counted how many times Chas has almost died since the beginning of this show-- cause it would be a LOT. Maybe during my copious spare time.

Since John needs some serious help, he performs a spell to trap Manny on earth temporarily. He drops a vile of air from Hades and carves something into his chest. Manny expounds on the source of their problem. A sorcerer was terrorizing humans many years ago. God sent a beam of light down and injected the "calcified evil" into a black diamond. It was then broken up and carried to all parts of the Earth by the Great Flood (so no one could wield all it's power). If a person touches any part of the diamond, he/she goes crazy and gets super strong.

A particularly fun part of this episode was Manny in human form. He doesnt know how to use a computer. A nurse is having an affair with the guy whose body he had borrowed. She corners Manny in the supply closet. That was funny. He finds a murdered janitor and the smell makes him vomit. Not so funny.

Zed asks Manny if her visions are a gift from God or are a force for evil. He reassures her. Zed decides she will NOT have the surgery. She will try to use her gifts to help people until her death (whenever that is). The crazy killer turns out to be... Zed's doctor (Thomas Something). He got a chard of the black diamond while serving in Baghdad. He is killing anyone who squanders their second chance at life. John reverses Manny's spell and he takes the doc to heaven. Case closed.

In the last scene, Zed is praying in church and is joined by Constantine. He shares his fear of those he cares about dying (and we all know John does NOT like to share his feelings). Then Manny pops in. Zed can now see him as well. I'm not sure what this means for the likelihood of Zed surviving but it was a nice scene.

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). Two great episodes and one OK one. Next week is the season finale. Unless you've heard otherwise, it looks like "Constantine" wont be renewed (which is a shame since there are plenty worse shows on television).