A back-water preacher performs miracles and draws the attention of the man himself, John Constantine. With all this rising darkness talk over past episodes, we’re finally introduced to a more…divine plot-line. It’s angels versus angels versus Constantine in “Blessed Are The Damned.”

Continuing the rotating cast of characters that ‘Cosntantine’ has made a feature of, Chas is out of town this episode. The only explanation that John gives is that Chas is “making good with his daughter.” It’s comforting—and even inspiring—to see a show that’s more than likely headed towards cancellation still giving its all to expand its universe, broaden its characters, and lay threads for theoretical episodes beyond the show’s 13th and final. Constantine himself has the luck of the devil, though, so maybe a season two order is in his future. We’ll have to wait and see on that score. Better yet, maybe the Chas’s daughter thread will be neatly tied into the resolution of the this season. A guy can dream.

This episode introduces audiences to a few more rules for the angels of the world, which is welcome information. Manny and his angelic ilk have been a particularly fascinating piece of the Constantine puzzle. They can guide and advise the humans they are assigned to protect, but are unable to directly affect any earthly outcomes. “Unable”, as we see this episode, probably isn’t the best description of their limitations though. It’s difficult to say more without dropping spoilers. Two words for you: Angel Summoning.

“Blessed Are The Damned” introduces us to a wealth of new God-mythology that proves to be just as powerless to stop the rising darkness as Constantine is. The effect is delightfully depressing: there are no angels—and certainly no God—who will ride in on pegasi to save us measly humans from the ravages of a coming Hell. This show has been great at keeping the stakes high each and every episode, always reminding us that as bad as things are now for humanity, they’re going to get A LOT worse before they get any better, and this episode is no exception.

Like Zed, the audience might feel hope at the sight of an angel, but ‘Constantine’ delightfully twists that instinct around on us. And if the final scene of this episode is any indication, the twisting will certainly continue with the introduction of The Resurrection Crusade, a fanatical Christian group from some of the earliest issues of ‘Hellblazer.’ Is Zed the messiah that the Crusade is searching for? Is the Crusade even searching for a messiah in this incarnation?

 

Despite some pretty lousy plot elements (why again do the healed people become “ghouls”?) and cheesy effects (why, oh why, are those light flickering?), the show’s humor, high-stakes action, and super enthralling world of myth, monsters, magic, and Marlboros continues to entertain.

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