Translate

Tuesday 22 May 2018

Constantine 1.8 "The Saint of Last Resorts" Part 1 Review

                                                   Image result for constantine saint of last resorts part 1
Zed frantically sketches and Constantine comments her strength's coming back.  The Old Testament says if you touch an angel you can see what they see.  The Ivanche ripped throats in Noah's day.   He gets a message from Anne Marie but she's in Mexico.  If the demon was human she would've gone elsewhere for help and Constantine owes her.  She appeared to him using bi-location: the power to be in two places at once.  He slept with her once when younger and "magic was his salvation when growing up and she hooked me up with the occult scene."

And Chas didn't get to drive a green Mexican taxi.
Matt's Liverpudlian accent is strong in some scenes.
Constantine knew one of them would go to Mexico but there'd be Tequila and skinny dipping involved.

Anne Marie: "don't call me honey."  She should be thankful I add sarcastically!  Mentioning Judith, Gary and Ritchie.  Judith we had yet to encounter and probably would'v been ep 14 if the show had lasted.

Zed finding that door obviously will come in handy.
Constantine uses rune stones and mentions wall dwellers, fairies all targeting children.  Yes it was the nosy nun!  If she was afraid why snoop around.
Constantine: "Sister flirtatious - she started it."  See!

Constantine lost Anne-Marie's trust when he left her bed and went "trawling for girls."  He apologizes.  It's his ego she hates.  As in Pride and Prejudice fashion, Anne Marie and Constantine had their own Lizzie Bennett and Mr Darcy scene going on here.  What with her prejudice against his arrogance and  his pride in being the only one who can help, well ya gotta there!

They go to his house and Constantine finds "human fruit!"  Yuk.  Akin to the tree of forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden, evil more like.  One of Eve's sister's is at work, "goddess of hell."
Anne Marie: "your arrogance is out of control."  When Constantine tells him his baby is okay.  The woman will cast a reflection only in water.  Chas tells Anne Marie how Constantine can't work if he lets people get too close to him, like Anne Marie.

Watching all these eps gave me deja vu, especially on first viewing!  Have no idea why!!

Silly not much of a goddess, she let's him see her reflection in the fountain goddess, she let's him see her reflection in the fountain.  Sister flirtatious was just an amateur.  He mentions their names, Di Rehih, Nama, Lilith, Lamashtu!  As soon as Constantine said Sister of Eve Lilith did come to mind See Supernatural below.  Well that would've been too Supernatural if it had been Lilith so luckily it wasn't!  Lamashtu eats children and is also a kind of vampire.

He's told about La Brujeria - warlocks in Chile.  During prehistoric times wielded magic before God struck them down and there is no spell to stop them.
Constantine mentions the Rising Darkness and that the fight was started by the Brujeria.

Anne Marie: "you can't care about anybody and do what you do," as she repeats what Chas told her.  And another chicken bites the dust.

Constantine;:"I'll have to dress as a woman."  Yeah would've loved that!
Anne Marie: "no price is too high to save them" they're babies.  Newcastle was his failure and she had nothing to do with it or anything to repent for.  She should've "shagged him" instead of showing him magic.  It was his world and she says he took that world to hell.
Anne Marie volunteers to take the baby and it was what he wanted her to do all along.

He mentions the icon of Pazuzu and he and Lamashtu were soulmates.
Hell and earth will become one Lamashtu tells Constantine and they figured out how to break the boundary for the Rising Darkness.  Anne Marie shoots him to get the Pazuzu to attack Constantine.  "Oh you're a quick study luv."

This was the mid-season finale so part 2 didn't follow the following week.  Fall finale which brought everything to a head and Constantine face to face squarely with Anne Marie once more.  The one who got him into the occult scene.  So it was pointless her having a go at Constantine for what he does/did and for what happened to Astra.  Who could have foreseen that.  She's not 'clean' or pure either in the sense that she too carries around guilt for what happened.  But appears to find it easier to blame Constantine for everything.
Her guilty conscience led her to become a nun and Constantine's line of "get thee to a nunnery." Why do women always have to retreat to becoming nuns to hide from their guilt and shame.  As she also accuses him of hitting on a 'Bride of Christ' - yet she snogs him back!

As for the phrase "get thee to a nunnery"  - it has a double meaning (double entendre) since a nun signifies pureness - the other meaning of nunnery is a brothel.  Thus Ophelia (from Hamlet) in many ways both chaste and impure at the same time.  Something reflected in Anne Marie - her turning to God when things went awry.  Yet she was the one most into the black arts.

Why did it have to be Chas to put things into perspective and tell her that Constantine can't/doesn't let people get too close to him.  Did she really not know him that well.  In 1.?/ it was Chas who told Zed this to discourage her from staying around.

We get the first mention of what's behind all this Rising Darkness - the Brujeria from the Spanish meaning of "witchcraft."  Coven of ancient witches/warlocks hailing from South America.  Their ultimate goal: to destroy heaven.  Witches plotting to take over the earth and what better way to do this than get an angel on their side (Manny.)  But there's lots that could've been done with this storyline.  They are behind the Rising Darkness, as said.  Their 'governing body' is called  "The Council of the Cave" and they themselves are protected by the Ivanche - which they also created themselves.  Zed draws one here and one is also revealed in reality here too in the sewers.
In Swamp Thing they were behind the death of an American girlfriend of Constantine's called Emma.  The Brujeria also appeared in Swamp Thing Issue #46 Revelations.
Eve's sisters were Naamah, Durgia, Lamashtu, Lilith.  Lamashtu being behind it here.  In the comics, Anne Marie is much older than Constantine, at least by 20 years.  She had to be to get him involved in the occult.

Supernatural Lilith mentioned in 3.12 Jus Im Bello
It is a myth that Lilith was Adam’s first wife. One tale says that God created Adam and Lilith was his twin, they were joined at the back.  Not getting the equality she demanded from Adam, stated by one Muslim legend, she left him and slept with the devil, thereby leading to the creation of the Djinn (made from fire.)  The name is also found in the name of Sumero-Babylonian goddess Belit-ili.  Lilith is also the name for a night demon in search of children to kill or kidnap (see 1.18.)

Pazuzu is "King of the Demons of the Wind."  He is conjured or invoked in a response to other demons - mostly Lamashtu using an amulet with his likeness as Constantine had or by his effigy in some form.  Is a demi-god but not associated with possessing humans.  (Appears as the demon in The Exorcist films.)  No that mantle was taken on by Constantine when he needed him to save his life and thus had to embody him to do so.  Lamashtu is actually a goddess.
Pazuzu, a god or demon, was invoked to protect new mothers and infants against Lamashtu's malevolence, usually was depicted on amulets and statues, as he was here.  Pazuzu was said to be the harbinger of famine and drought, he was also invoked against evil for protection.
Daniel Cerone: "did John take the Pazuzu inside?  Yes.  Told you he was bi."
Matt: "question - once you've had a demon inside you - will you ever be the same?"
Daniel: "you tell us squire."
(No you're not the same re Supernatural."
"John runs a prison.  Pure #Constantine."
"Love it when John gets all emotionally dark and honest.  Man needs a hug."  #Constantine."
"That was John's 4th shot in this scene alone.  #Constantine"
"Our brilliant prod designer Dave Blass, currently sitting in my living room, designed and built that sewer on our stages. #Constantine"

Judith is mentioned here as part of the Newcastle Crew re Daniel Cerone's comments about her eventually making an appearance and the script for 1.14 which was already written and introduced us to Judith.

In some respects, Anne Marie gave Constantine his "unjust desserts" when he hints at perhaps needing a human sacrifice (she says she's willing - but would be respectful if he came straight out and said it.).  But the tables are turned when Constantine is the one getting shot by her and becoming the "sacrifice" to the Ivanche causing him to take drastic action.

Obviously this cliffhanger had to be resolved unlike 1.13, had to be cos couldn't leave Constantine dangling between life and death.  Although the (un)natural progression of this would be his soul in hell.

This episode showing the series really found its edge and would continue to grow from strength to strength.  I mean look how much was included in this episode.  So fast-paced containing more backstory than you could throw an apple (from Eden) at!  As well as some serious mythology and those creepy demons.  What more could have been on the cards just to show how intriguing this show could get.

Zed is their salvation.  Seems like Constantine is the world's salvation and Zed too is the same but for the Crusade and their own nefarious ends.  Explaining her running away.
Eddie tells Zed her father wants her home and calls her 'Mary.'  Only we learn about about Zed is and how her father wants her back for their own purposes, which wouldn't really have any bearing on the Rising Darkness would it.   But it goes deeper than that it can't really be all about witches.

Angelica: "there comes a moment where maybe I just want to kick some girl's ass [Anne Marie]..."  That moment Matt was talking of - ha - where you just know that connection is there - the romance more than just the physicality of it all.

Daniel Cerone tweet: "Matt Ryan possessed is about to blow your mind.  I wish I were watching for the first time.  You're all beyond lucky."  17 January 2015

#Constantine is not a role model.."
"This episode the VFX team were nominated 4 V ES award ."
"That's his magic and his curse."  Quote from the pilot used here.
Filming took place inside an actual prison.
A mausoleum was used as a convent.

My Matt Ryan book.  Yeah I know a lot of you are fans in name only which is fine and are only fans of Constantine but this was a labourious one to write so do check it out!! And there's plenty Constantine in it too!!

No comments: