ARROW Season 4 Episode 5: It's John Constantine!



Okay, other stuff happened in this episode, important stuff, but let's just dive right in shall we? This was the Constantine episode. Constantine is back.

John Constantine was created by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette and John Totleben and debuted during Moore's epic run writing Swamp Thing back in 1985. Personal side note: I once had the opportunity to tell Moore I thought his run on Swamp Thing was, to my mind, the greatest comic book ever written. He humbly thanked me and shook my hand. I nearly fainted. Seriously, check out Saga of the Swamp Thing Volumes 1-6, reprinting Issues 20-64.

In 1988 Constantine got his own comic, Hellblazer, as part of DC's Vertigo imprint (think “more adult content”) that would run for 25 years — equally worth your time. He's still part of the DC comic book universe these days, albeit in a rebooted more “superhero comics” fashion. In 2005, we got the CONSTANTINE film, which whilst taking liberties with the source material (mostly changing Constantine from one of my own countrymen to a bleedin' yank) wasn't that bad. 

Then in 2014, NBC tried to make a CONSTANTINE TV show. I say tried; they made and aired 13 episodes before it got cancelled. Full disclosure: As of writing this, I haven't watched more than the first two episodes. I didn't enjoy it and felt CONSTANTINE didn't really work as a prime time US TV show. It was too “clean” for my liking. Anyway, back to the point, after it's cancellation there were calls for streaming services to pick it up. I heartily agreed as those kind of services don't have to worry about advertiser's sensitivities or formatting a show around ad breaks for 23 weeks of the year (I have a thing about the US TV model. That's a story for another time.) 

No one else picked up CONSTANTINE and the show was dead. But the character wasn't. ARROW showrunners wanted him in their show, so the social media hashtag #ConstantineonArrow became a thing. So adamant they were to make this work, they switched the shooting of Episodes 4 and 5 to fit actor Matt Ryan's schedule because he was doing a play, with Keira Knightley no less. NBC's wardrobe department handed over John's trademark shirt and tie combo and trench coat, and execs stated for a fact the John Constantine we would see in ARROW would be the same as in his halted NBC run. (Meaning NBC's CONSTANTINE is now canonically part of the CW Arrow-verse and I have to watch it. *sigh*) 

Did Constantine fit? Did it work? Well, yes. Not without problems, but yes. 

With Sara in desperate need of some kind of magic mojo to help with her posthumous bloodlust, the introduction of Constantine seemed just right. But introducing him in Oliver's flashbacks was genius!

The problem now establishes Oliver having known about magic and knowing a magic user for the last few years without mentioning it aside, this is a return to the brilliant dual narrative structure the ARROW writers played so masterfully with back in Season 2, when the show was its strongest. Now, it is still a bit dumb that in the exact episode when Team Arrow need him, we see Oliver meet John... but I get it. Tight schedules and all that. 

Constantine was on the island five years ago to find some kind of magical artifact (frankly, it wasn't that important to the plot) where he meets Oliver whilst he's undercover with the slaver-soldiers. He comes to realise Oliver is actually one of the good guys, primarily because Oliver saves his life and lets him go, but maybe also because he crosses over a magic seal with no ill effects? Who can say. Before parting, Constantine warns Oliver of the type of forces on the island of Lian Yu that make it such a tempestuous place. And gives him a new tattoo. Yes, a new tattoo. The story of the scars and tattoos on Oliver and how he got them has been neglected for some time, the showrunners even admitting they had a story for the origin of the Asian symbols on Oliver's torso for Season 3 before abandoning it. But now we have it! Constantine magically transferred them from himself to Oliver, calling it an “insurance policy.” What do the writers intend? A protection spell? An extra life? Honestly, I don't think even the writers know yet as the second half of this season hasn't even been written, but they do leave the door open to more magic in the near future as well Constantine's return, with Oliver offering to help him any time, any place, should he need it. 

Much of the ARROW fandom applauded this episode for having Oliver and Laurel work through some long standing issues and perhaps finally get closure on the open wounds left there. After being told by his mayoral campaign consultant to distance himself from his friends where they may be a potential scandal, Oliver resolves to stand firm and keep those he loves close to him no matter what. It's been fun to see an Oliver that doesn't always fly off the handle, creating unnecessary drama and instead one that keeps his head and tries his best to do the smart thing as well as the right thing. Laurel too, made me realise that I'd been too harsh on the character considering all she's been through over the last few years. But her being all too quick to pull a gun on her sister, oh look it's resolved with an tranq arrow was, well, clumsy. I keep using that word to describe this show, but they keep tripping themselves up with things like this. But ultimately, with Constantine's help (who get's his own sword fight action sequence), Oliver and Laurel cross over to the other side to pull Sara's soul back into her body. No longer a wedge between them, Sara's back! 

In the episode's major sub-plot, Lance and Diggle work together to help Lance stay in Dahrk's good favour by running an errand to a local server farm. Hearing more about how Lance got into bed with Dahrk before finding out he was behind the Ghosts helped flesh out that story, but highlighted a problem I've always had with it. Lance mentions Dahrk has surveillance on Laurel. Photos of her as he's had her followed. How can Dahrk not know that Laurel is the Black Canary? And by extension, the identities of the rest of Team Arrow? Anyway... the device Lance is asked to hook up to the servers erases several military names, including Diggle's brother Andrew. Why does Dahrk want the records of dead serviceman erased? 

Questioning Dahrk, Lance finds out that Diggle's brother wasn't just a poor guy in the wrong place at the wrong time but had his hands dirty with drugs and arms deals in Afghanistan before being taken out by HIVE for being the competition. Upon hearing this (corroborated by Lance's “legit” sources, that neither ex-military Diggle or his ARGUS agent wife apparently have access to) Diggle seems to accept it as a form of closure – making the prospect of his brother's on screen return, albeit as a clone member of HIVEs army, all the more juicy. I mean, they're literally called Ghosts. 

Meanwhile, at Palmer Tech... Can we just take a second to note Curtis Holt wearing the “Smallville” version of his superhero costume in the form of gym gear. I recognised the colour scheme, but only on my second viewing spotted the signature “Fair Play” mantra that Mr. Terrific has on his costume. We find out he's not just trying to stay trim for his husband (are we ever going to meet him?) but he's actually a bronze medal winning olympic decathlete. A bit of a leap I know, but Mr. Terrific is meant to be modern Renaissance Man. 

Downing energy drinks like it's his job, Holt manages to uncover the real final hidden message from Ray Palmer, revealing that he's still alive! Of course the CW's very own promo for LEGENDS OF TOMORROW revealed that AND how he survived so I don't quite what they're thinking with this. But I know next week we're going to find out...

Written by Nick Whitney, ARROW Beat Writer