Constantine
Episode Title: "Angels
and Ministers of Grace”
Channel: NBC
Director: Sam
Hill
Writer: Christine Boylan
Genre: Fantasy,
Horror
Runtime: 43
min
Rated: TV-14
Original Air Date: February
6, 2015
“Angels and Ministers of Grace” was
a quality episode of Constantine.
It was fun and emotional, just a good mix of the things that make a
single episode work. Unfortunately what we're seeing here, going
into the season (hopefully not series) finale, is a side effect of
the uncertainty surrounding the show. There was nothing new in this
episode about the Rising Darkness or Zed's family trouble. The lack
of an order for the entire season has left the story lines feeling
incomplete as the show is winding down. While “Angels and
Ministers of Grace” would have made a great mid-season episode with
another nine or ten to follow; it wasn't a great segue to what is the
season finale.
Some
of the best moments revolved around Manny, who was trapped in a human
body by John. Why did John trap him? That part isn't entirely
clear. Manny reveals that while occupying a human he is completely
cut off from Heaven and his powers, making him of limited value
during the conflict. I suppose John figured that if he forced Manny
to stick around that he could release him from the spell at the most
advantageous time. It's not really explained though and seems more
like a temper tantrum from Constantine.
The
driving force behind said temper tantrum? Zed is diagnosed with a
mass on her brain and John doesn't handle the news very well. It was
interesting to see the way John coped, or didn't, with the situation
because this is the first of his friends/partners that we've
witnessed the entirety of their relationship. The other friends,
former and current, that we see John use, abuse, and sacrifice have
always been part of that episode's story without being part of the
story of John's life, as the audience knows it. To see him
confronted with Zed's plight after we've watched them get to know one
another made it heavier. It also led to a great moment for Matt Ryan
as he described to Zed the way he gets through the day knowing the
sacrifices he's made and might have to make again.
The
conflict itself was resolved a little too easily. A Black Diamond
that is basically evil condensed into actual substance gave a man the
ability to punish those that are wasting their second chance at life.
It sounds a little corny put into words, but the story behind the
diamond was interesting and the deaths, especially the gory second
one, did not seem like good ways to go. Manny's ability to just undo
what the Black Diamond had done to its host made it seem like a cheap
way to end the episode. The case this week wasn't the star of the
episode though; the Manny moments and Zed trying to understand her
power and its source outshone the case.
Conclusion:
“Angels and Ministers of Grace” was a fun episode that explored
the characters and revealed a great deal about them. What it didn't
do was set the season up for a finale that seems meaningful to the
overall threat of the Rising Darkness. Without knowing that this is
where the season would end the writers haven't been given a chance to
really provide closure for the stories they've begun. It leaves the
episodes at the end of the season feeling hollow.
Rating:
7.5/10
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