TV Show Review

TV Review: CONSTANTINE: Season 1, Episode 8: The Saint of Last Resorts Part 1 [NBC]

Constantine Episode 8

NBC’s Constantine The Saint of Last Resorts Part 1 TV Show Review. Constantine: Season 1, Episode 8: The Saint of Last Resorts Part 1 proved to be a good mid-season finale as the episode left our two leads in the midst of death. The two-part episode not only introduced another member of the Newcastle crew, but it also brought in some more back story from John Constantine’s (Matt Ryan) past as well as some nods from the Hellblazer comics.

The episode introduced us to Newcastle member Anne-Marie (Claire van der Boom), a character from the comics who became involved with John romantically in the past. The episode had two plots for both John and Zed (Angelica Celaya), as they were separately involved in some kind of trouble of their own. We also finally get a reveal on the Rising Darkness as far as who were responsible as we move forward into the final five episodes of the season.

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The episode begins with a couple in Mexico who just had their baby at a church where Anne-Marie works as a nun. Ever since the failed exorcism back in Newcastle, Anne-Marie relocated to the convent in Mexico for redemption. Suddenly, a demon attacks the mother and takes the child away. Anne-Marie then contacts John through a spiritual projection asking for his help in dealing with the demon. John agrees to help her and has Zed stay behind and housesit while he helps his ex-lover with the baby-snatching demon. Zed, however, has no idea what’s in store for her once she’s alone.

The case brings John and Chas (Charles Halford) to Mexico where they meet up with Anne-Marie. Despite John and Anne-Marie giving each other the cold shoulder, the two manage to get along as they get to the bottom of this case. The demon that they are trying to catch is targeting the husband’s family as the evil spirit took both his son and his grandson. Once Anne-Marie shows John where the baby’s placenta was buried, we see a tree bearing fruit that’s filled with blood, indicating the baby is still alive. John figures out that one of Eve’s sisters is behind the kidnapping, so he uses a spell to summon the demon and finds out it was the flirtatious nun he met earlier. After chanting a few names, John figures out the demon is actually Lamashtu.

The episode introduced us to three mythological creatures, demon Lamashtu, Pazuzu from The Exorist, and the invunche. We also learn about the La Brujeria, an ancient cult of warlocks thought to be extinct who are responsible for the Rising Darkness. Despite the Lamashtu being the monster-of-the-week, we learn that the demon vampiress was employed by the Brujeria to bring Hell and Earth together to increase her domain. With this revelation, we finally learn the truth behind the Rising Darkness that has loomed over our heroes all season.

John’s story with Anne-Marie was interesting to follow. Despite having her appearance altered from the comics, everything else about her strained relationship with John and how she became a nun stayed the same. Matt Ryan again pulls off playing the cocky warlock with ease as John tries to hide away the guilt of losing Astra. Anne-Marie has also been facing some guilt as well, but only because she blamed herself for introducing John to the dark arts when they were young.

John comes up with a plan to bait Lamashtu and kill it, but the only way to trap it was with Anne-Marie. This becomes another instance where John must make someone close to him make the sacrifice to ensure humanity’s safety like he did with Gary. The two ex-lovebirds reconcile and kiss before the plan goes in motion. Once they chase Lamashtu down the well, John and Anne-Marie get to the babies first. However, the episode ended in a sacrifice after the La Brujeria sends an invunche to go after John and Anne-Marie. John has no idea what to do, so Anne-Marie decides to sacrifice John in order to save the babies. John tries to hang onto his life as the invunche corners him.

Back at the cabin, Zed was also stuck in a pickle during the episode as her past finally caught up with her. During an art supply run, Zed runs into Eddie, the nude model from her art class whom we all know is up to no good. After having a drink, Zed touches Eddie’s hand and sees a vision of a white vault closing in behind him. After inviting him back to the cabin, Zed finally looks through his ruse and interrogates him. Eddie reveals that her father sent him and two other people to take her home.

We learn from Eddie that Zed’s real name is Mary and that she belongs to the Crusade, which is a nod to the Resurrection Crusade from the comics. Zed gets chased by two members of the cult, but uses the cabin to her advantage and uses the door she explored earlier and pushes one of her pursuers down the abyss. However, the other pursuer gets to Zed from behind and drugs her with an injection. Zed’s clash with her past seemed a bit weak and it was hard to believe that the guy who injected her had the drop on her so easily.

Overall, the midseason finale managed to go out with a bang. Despite Zed’s plot seemed to have gone out too neatly, we managed to get a few truths out about her background and how she fits into the Resurrection Crusade. What stood out was John and Anne-Marie’s story where we got more info on Newcastle and learned some new demons along the way. We hope that the season continues to thrive as more stuff from the comics gets adapted into the screen.

Leave your thoughts on this review and this episode of Constantine below in the comments section. For more Constantine photos, videos, and news, visit our Constantine Page, our Constantine Google+ Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ or “like” us on Facebook.

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Mufsin Mahbub

**Fired from FilmBook for Plagiarism** Mufsin is a freelance writer from New York who has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism at Long Island University. He has written for publications like HollywoodLife, Clubplanet, and Heavy. He is an avid lover for everything related to TV and film. He has gone to dozens of film screenings, press events, and loves to attend New York Comic Con every year. He gives an honest opinion on every TV show or film that people are going to be talking about.
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