Saturday, November 1, 2014

NBC Constantine Season 1 Episode # 2 "The Darkness Beneath" - Recap and Review


Matt Ryan as John Constantine in NBC Constantine Season 1 Episode 2 The Darkness Beneath

In the town of Heddwich, Pennsylvania workers in a mine are hearing strange noises and are quitting their jobs. This creates a major headache for the owner, Lannis.

Lannis' personal life is not rosy either. He takes bath in the shower. The water turns muddy and then stops. Lannis's luck runs out, when he is burned to death by flames in the shower. 

This incident comes to the notice of John Constantine (Matt Ryan). However, this time he has to work on the case alone as Chas (Charles Halford) still has a warrant out for him in the state of PA for a train derailment.

After arriving at the mining town, Constantine does some investigation in the mines and is scared out of his wits. He tries to get some details from Lanner's widow, who throws him out.

Angelica Celaya as Zed Martin in NBC Constantine Season 1 Episode 2 The Darkness Beneath

At the end of the pilot episode, we saw a girl drawing Constantine's pictures. She is revealed to be Zed Martin (Angelica Celaya), who happens to be in Heddwich at this very moment.

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The rest of the episode focuses on how Zed and John team up to unravel the mystery behind the deaths of the miners.

After the strong pilot episode, this one is a bit of a letdown. The focus is primarily on Zed Martin. She has “clairsentient” powers that nicely complement John's in his fight against supernatural forces.


Matt Ryan as John Constantine with Angelica Celaya as Zed Martin in NBC Constantine Season 1 Episode 2 The Darkness Beneath
 
The show heavily foreshadows a physical intimacy between John and Zed. This point is hit over our heads with a sledgehammer.

The plot takes a backseat. There was a mention of Coblynau, spirits of the dead miners. These are harmless by nature. John initially suspects pastor Ellis McGee (James Le Gros), but ultimately deduces the identity of the culprit.

It is not really a mystery and astute fans would be able to easily recognize the character pretty quickly. It was more like a SyFy/Asylum movie with special effects that would also befit such a production. Interestingly, the pilot episode fared better.

Djimon Hounsou as Midnite with Keanu Reeves and Shia LaBeouf as John Constantine and Chas Kramer in 2005 Constantine movie

Now that Zed has been introduced nice and proper, things should return to normalcy. The preview for the next episode indicated the debut of Papa Midnite. 

As some readers might remember, Djimon Hounsou portrayed Midnite in the 2005 Hollywood movie, starring Keanu Reeves as John Constantine. In the NBC show, Michael James Shaw plays this character.

The humor was the sole saving grace of the episode with John referring to himself as Occasional Dabbler in the Dark Arts.

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Image Sources: DC Comics, Warner Bros. Television, National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

2 comments:

  1. We haven't got this in the UK yet. Wasn't a fan of the Keanu flick but have just picked up a few of the graphic novels from the local library sale for next to nothing so will have a read! The lead looks just like the comic book one though.

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    1. Thanks GK for stopping by.

      Matt Ryan is excellent as the lead character. He has a likeable sense of humor.

      I think you will enjoy this show.

      B2B.

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