Unlike some, I was never reflexively opposed to the idea of John Constantine having a more or less constant entourage following him around on his show. There are definitely merits to having the character constantly alone, particularly since it would emphasize the extent to which the abrasive aspects of John pushes everyone away no matter how hard he tries, but at the same time the sharp demarcation between those who hate Constantine and those who trust him far past the point of reason says just as much about the character, as well as providing some as yet unexploited opportunities to comment on the nature of fandom, but I digress.
All of that said, the various hangers-on only really work if they exist as characters in themselves, not merely as functional tools in the arsenal of the main character. Otherwise they might just as well be spell circles or reliquaries that occasionally deliver lines of exposition. We have gotten some hints of that sort of development with Zed in the last couple of episodes, and now we get a sudden rush of that sort of development with Chas. In this episode alone, we are introduced to his wife and daughter, told about his first run-in with Constantine, given an explanation for his extraordinary resilience, and shown perhaps the biggest piece of character development we have gotten in the show so far.
While the introduction of all this information can feel somewhat rushed at times, the backstory given to Chas is genuinely compelling and tragic, all tied up into a thought experiment that never loses its sense of the human cost of the magic involved.
The plot of the episode is - perhaps by necessity - not as interesting as everything that surrounds it, although it does manage to slip in one dramatic little twist just at the climax. Fans of the comic will doubtless be pleased at the introduction of legendarily weaselly magician Felix Faust to the show, and we will doubtless be seeing more of him down the line. Also, the last two scenes in the show may be the best that this show has yet produced.
In fact, while by no means perfect, this episode is one of the best of the series so far. And, as I mentioned above, if we are to be saddled with not only John Constantine but with his ragtag family, then developing the characters that make up that family can only bode well for the future of the series, and I will be returning to see whether the show can make good on its promising new direction.
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