On the one hand “Rage Of Caliban” is exactly the kind of Constantine episode I want, and on the other, it’s hollow and not very scary. It’s another step in the right direction that allows the world to be a little more fleshed out, and showcases our titular hero on a solo quest.

This week was pretty much a solo-John adventure. Chas may have tagged along but he offered so little in the way of story development that I hardly considered him at any point throughout the episode. With that being said, I think Constantine would benefit from more episodes like this. Having Zed take a week off let us get to know the rough and tumble Constantine I love.

From the first scene of John in bed with a mysterious women, to the final scene of him lighting up, everything here was pitch perfect in terms of character. Which is admittedly Constantine’s strong suit so far. Matt Ryan has been nailing his portrayal of John to the point of near legend. I honestly can’t think of a performance as nuanced as this likable asshole in the whole of DC’s live action appearances.

There is something about this down and out mage that really charms. Be it his haphazard problem solving, or his self loathing Matt Ryan’s John Constantine is the one we’ve craved for a very long time. So why did an episode featuring only him, still feel like it wasn’t as good as it could be?

Well the answer is rather simple. The horror here, and the basic premise isn’t far outside anything we’ve seen before. It may be new to the world of the show, but for the most part the possessed child has worn thin as of late. There are some fun additions here, however. I mean, it was cool to see John reflecting the kid’s magic back at him with the mirror.

And the finale in the horror fun house was a really good time. I enjoyed seeing John in a room filled with flayed flesh even though I knew it was fake in the context of the show it still felt like a step in the right direction. See, even though this week had some gore, I just don’t feel like it goes far enough for the grit of this universe.

Consequently the loss that John is recovering from still doesn’t feel all that dire. We know he has a certain sensitivity towards cases involving children, but this week nothing felt particularly out of the ordinary. He still felt as if he had a pretty good handle on everything.

The writers seem to forget that Constantine doesn’t really have a good handle on anything other than people. His magical knowledge while robust is haphazard at best. He makes most of his solutions by flying on the seat of his pants, and right now he feels almost too good at his job. I know I just spoke about his past failures but I don’t feel any vulnerability from that.

I want to see John making solutions up out of his ass. I want to see him in over his head, and while I think the show is building there, I’d like to get there sooner. The rising darkness needs to bring a monumental failure back to John to really sober him up, or drive him to drink further.

Plus I didn’t see him really con anyone this week. That is far and away the most fundamental aspect of his character we’re currently missing. I often have to remind myself that my John Constantine is a wheeler dealer bastard on the verge of hell. He never quite knows what he’s doing but has enough confidence for ten people. He’s also not afraid to be a little selfish.

So far Matt Ryan’s a bastard, and he’s got a flimsy moral compass, but I don’t see the pain in his performance and I have yet to see the vulnerability. Which I think would add to the horror. Since each week has been a by the numbers genre convention horror show, I’d love to see something that scares John. I need something unpredictable, and something that takes some chances with the storyline.

Let’s move past the possessed children and get to the heart of what scares our favorite bastard, other than his perverse fear of smoking on camera. Although he almost got over that this week, so all things considered I’m pretty happy. More episodes like this with a little more unpredictable plotlines and I’ll be the happiest I could be.

What did you think of “Rage of the Caliban”?

Did you miss Zed this week?

Do you agree John needs a little more vulnerability?