Constantine: Waiting for the Man

Hellblazer #4 (April 1988) art by Dave McKean Read More Constantine In the latest Constantine episode, it's all about Manny the Angel and Zed. This was a pretty standard monster of the week episode. If you've seen the episode, click below .…

The Constantine finale is partly an adaptation of Hellblazer #4. It's not a great finale, especially because it doesn't wrap up all the setup from the pilot. This is probably because of two things: they lost the lead actress from the pilot, and also in the middle of production, the series was unexpectedly cut short for only 13 episodes. I think by that point, pre-production and stories were already written that they couldn't re-write the finale to everybody's expectations.

I got the feeling that the producers knew the show was cancelled in 2014 when the producers were calling for the #saveconstantine hashtags. We have not heard of a renewal for a second season, and the showrunners probably said, f*** it and steadily defying NBC's stance on "no smoking" for Constantine. I noted this when I started seeing more cigarettes on screen - starting with Episode 11 - but it may be too little too late.

There is hope however, people are saying that the show may be picked up on the SyFy network as Hellblazer (* Thanks to Hatori Sohma for dispelling this rumor) and will allow on screen smoking and drinking... but until they officially announce it - I do not think Constantine television show will survive. Which is really a shame because, despite my complaints about the super villains, I still looked forward to seeing John Constantine on TV every week.

Despite the passionate (and sometime vocal) fanbase for Constantine, I have a sinking feeling that this is the final episode we will ever see. What we did get from NBC was actually pretty good, all things considering. I'll be the first in line to buy the Bluray when they release it.

If you've seen the episode, click below to read the recap and how the television show compares to the original Vertigo Hellblazer comic books.

Warning: Contains spoilers.

Constantine Episode 13: Waiting for the Man (13 Feb 2015)

Gemma and the three dead child brides art by John Ridgway

Half of this story was based on Hellblazer #4 (April 1988), also entitled "Waiting for the Man", written by Jamie Delano. I've always thought of the Velvet Underground song, but I guess it is an old saying. Anyway, there are some changes from the written comic books, for example the girl kidnapped is Constantine's niece, Gemma Masters (who is actually a reoccurring character in the comic books). In the show, they distant themselves for any relationship to Constantine by making the girl as Vesta Whitney. Maybe it's magic, but no child is that stupid or native enough marry a grown adult serial killer pedophile. Anyway, the TV show did a great job on adapting this storyline, complete with the three dead child brides who lured Gemma away.

If that wasn't enough, the second storyline called back Papa Midnite into the mix. In the TV show, Midnite thinks he will get his dead sister back to life - however that doesn't make sense to comic book readers. After all, Midnite was the one who murdered his sister and bound her to the living so he can tap in to the dead world, via his sister. I personally thought they could have ended the show with Midnite being arrested by the cops, I would have been fine with his fate.

The writers also brought back Jim Corrigan, and as comic book fans, we all know that he'll will become The Spectre, the spirit of vengeance.... Before he becomes the Spectre, he has to be murdered. What Zed saw in her vision will ultimately happen, and she made the decision to warn Jim. His story has not been resolved, but we saw his character developing with his brand of justice at the end of the episode.

There is a big reveal at the end of the episode.

If Constantine lives on in late 2015, I'll continue to cover it.... until then - this is goodbye for now.

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Comments

[Hatori Sohma]

Moving to SyFy was just an unfounded rumor. A couple of days ago a representative from SyFy said on Twitter that that wasn't true.
https://twitter.com/Syfy/status/566345640532512769

[W♥M]

Thanks for letting me know... I had a lot of doubts that they would move to SyFy. I really think this is the end of Constantine. But who knows, I have a little hope it will live on.