Constantine On Arrow: Round Table For “Haunted”

How Did We Feel About the Introduction of the Famous Mage?

Steve Lam: I loved the introduction.  Although it’s sort of an overused trope in TV, Arrow executed it perfectly.  Even though I was expecting Constantine to appear in this episode, I didn’t expect the person being interrogated to actually be him.  Okay, I’ll admit that when they did pan back and show some of the blonde hair, it gave it away.  But that’s only because I knew Matt Ryan was guest starring and the character was blonde.

The introduction is also wrought with conflict.  It wasn’t an easy greeting.  We have Ollie and John instantly butting heads and not knowing what the other wants.  This lent to a lot of the character development and arcing.  I also have to give props to the music guy for including Constantine’s Bear McCreary-composed harpischord-driven theme when we first see his face.  I’d say Arrow gets a solid B+ for the debut of John Constantine into the Arrow-verse.

Nick Tylwalk: I’ve found the flashbacks to be pretty tiresome this season in general, so having Constantine show up there was a pleasant surprise. Arrow has already beaten into our heads that Lian Yu is an unusual place, so it stands to reason that among its secrets are the mystical kind as well.

What was great was that their initial meeting on the island set up Constantine perfectly for his role in the present day scenes without prior knowledge of who he is or what he does. His line about being “a little hardscrabble” but still on the side of the angels was pretty much all newcomers needed to know.

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