Constantine
Episode Title: "Quid
Pro Quo”
Channel: NBC
Director: Mary
Harron
Writer: Brian Anthony
Genre: Fantasy,
Horror
Runtime: 43
min
Rated: TV-14
Original Air Date: January
23, 2015
In
“Quid Pro Quo” we finally get some background information on Chas
and his relationship with Constantine. After Chas' daughter's soul
is stolen just prior to his visit the team gets together to get it
back. It was odd placement for this kind of episode in the season;
the finale is right around the corner and I was really hoping to get
more information on the Rising Darkness. Instead we get a standalone
episode that really tried to delve into the Chas character.
Unfortunately, it was lacking the extra emotional impact that a
family member in danger should have imparted on the audience, mainly
due to the fact that this was also our introduction to the
characters. If there had been more than a passing reference to Chas'
daughter previously it would have helped greatly; instead she seemed
more like any other random victim.
The
most successful moments of “Quid Pro Quo” were the scenes setting
up and dealing with the aftermath of Chas' immortality. We discover
that he's not really immortal, he's become the vessel for 47 other
souls as a result of a jokingly cast spell from John and a subsequent
tragedy. Chas, knowing that he survived something that so many
others didn't, dedicates his life to making sure that his extra
chances don't go to waste. The audience sees the strain that this
put on his marriage, with his wife Renee unable to accept the amount
of time he spent away from home they eventually split. It seemed
like an overreaction from her, but I suppose the writers needed to
create conflict somehow and the easiest way to do that is to make
sure that no one has a happy home life.
The
antagonist in this week's episode was none other than Felix Faust.
It seems strange that a fairly well known character in the DC
universe would be dispatched over the course of one episode. With a
chunk of the episode being devoted to the pursuit of a demon that had
been tampering with Faust's plans there was little time to develop
the character. In the end the demon-hunt doesn't even matter, Felix
changes the terms of their agreement. I would have preferred seeing
more evidence of how bad a guy Faust was. Yes, the audience saw more
victims being taken to the hospital, but there was very little first
hand information to convince the audience that he deserved his grisly
end. I like to see my evil bad guys being really, really evil.
Ultimately
Chas outwits the sorcerer, and does so just in time for his ex-wife
to see him make the sacrifice. While I liked seeing Chas take things
into his own hands it left John sitting quietly on the sidelines for
the majority of the episode, especially the conclusion. This is
something that I don't mind in small doses, but it's a fine line to
walk between giving the side characters compelling stories and making
sure the focus is on the main character.
Conclusion:
“Quid Pro Quo” does a good job of explaining some of the
complicated history surrounding John and Chas. The case itself could
have used more setup to make me care about the newly introduced
characters. Without that setup it seemed less like a family crisis
and more like the monster of the week episodes that we've already
seen.
Rating:
7/10
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