Constantine, Episode 12: Angels and Ministers of Grace
Yeah, we're at the penultimate episode of not just the season, but the series. Because of all the cancellation and stuff. It's a bit sad, really, how ultimately filler-y the series ended up being. Way too many episodes are just generic horror movie cliche settings, building up cryptically towards the ever-present Rising Darkness without really revealing anything. We get some nice buildup for recurring villain Papa Midnite, the B-team and hints at Zed's ever-mysterious Resurrection Crusade backstory. Alas, it seems that with one episode left to go, and this one being relatively filler-y as well.
Don't get me wrong, as always there's something relatively good here with developing both Manny and Zed -- a two-for-one deal when most Constantine episodes generally tackle a single supporting character. We get some nice funny moments as Manny gets himself trapped within a mortal body, and some deeper ones as he gets a bit more metaphysical and kinda goes all flustered over things that he previously really doesn't seem to be bothered with. Zed gets to face the question of whether her visions are side effects of a tumour, or something granted to her by higher powers. Chas even gets significantly more screentime than his non-spotlight episodes, and has a more emotional role as he keeps emphasizing to Constantine the need to pay attention to his allies' mental health. It's a nice little question and honestly these plot threads could've been running through so many of the more filler-y episodes of the past.
We get a nice little DC Comics nod too, with the Black Diamond, the cursed plot device of the week. I kinda smiled a little when the Black Diamond got mentioned -- the Black Diamonds are pieces of Eclipso, the Angel/Spirit of Wrath that kinda likes going around and causing shit as one of DC's bigger villains. We don't get a mention of Eclipso or any of that backstory, though, other than a sly nod about the properties of the Black Diamond, how the shards want to rejoin with each other and stuff. It's otherwise an unremarkable demonic plot device granting berserker powers and amplifying anger.
The plot, though? Again, like last episode, it has nothing to do, really, with the Rising Darkness and the Resurrection Crusade and I probably have to make my peace that only one, if any, of these big organizations will play a role in the series finale. It's a generic cursed plot device causes a serial killer, and the episode even plays out like a generic Scooby Doo episode -- around one-thirds into the episode and we're introduced to an obviously assholish ugly-looking character that looks like the obvious killer but is not, and there's a good-looking guest star that is memorable enough to remember if he shows up later, but doesn't really give much of an impression... other than he's suspiciously unremarkable for someone that the show lingers so long upon. And lo and behold, the crazy angry drunkard isn't the killer, but rather the nice doctor who showed up a couple of times to deal with Zed.
The main points of the episode, of course, go to Manny as he actually gets a chance to be a character instead of a plot device that yaps mystical gibberish. Though honestly I'm not quite sure just why Constantine trapped Manny in a mortal body other than to get back at all the passive-aggressive mysticism he's done throughout the season. Yes, Constantine is a dick, but honestly that really could've been written far better.
Overall, though, it's a far stronger episode than most of its filler ilk, and possibly the strongest of the filler episodes, really, considering the character work done for Zed, Constantine and especially Manny, but it's overall really just filler... and one that's unfortunately placed one episode before the finale. And that's not an optimal spot for filler episodes.
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