‘Arrow’s’ ‘Haunted’: Constantine resurrects the fun on the series

Well, that was fun. And desperately needed.

Through the first four episodes of its fourth season, “Arrow” simply wasn’t working for me. The show had become a bit dreary, a bit crowded and a lot burdened by the task of setting up characters for the “Legends of Tomorrow” spinoff.

Sure, Neal McDonough has been pitch-perfect as Damien Darhk, but through five hours of television, I still have no idea why he’s in Star City or what he’s doing or how he keeps using magic (or the force, or kinesis, or whatever) to terrorize people. The season’s A-plot, whatever it may be, had taken a back seat to building up White Canary and the obviously not dead Ray Palmer.

SIGN UP for the free Indie Focus movies newsletter >>

Then John Constantine showed up to perform a restoration spell on Sara Lance’s soul, injecting some much-needed life into “Arrow” in the process.

Matt Ryan’s take on the chain-smoking, ever sarcastic Constantine was an adrenaline shot for a series that has become a master class in brooding over the last month. Whether it was his demand for a cigarette on Lian Yu or his offhand remark that the restoration spell would either save Sara’s soul or kill everyone standing in the Arrow cave, Constantine’s refusal to take everything so damn serious allowed me to enjoy the show while appreciating the gravity of Sara’s situation. Previously on “Arrow,” I’d been unable to do both.

Instead, the English sorcerer serves as both an uplifting force and a welcome guide to the mysticism the show is dabbling in this year. The series’ stark turn from gritty crime superhero drama to “magic ... maybe?” has been a bit jarring, but at least Constantine helps us understand what has happened to Sara, dropping just enough exposition that I can grasp hold of the fistfight inside Sara’s mind. He even made the flashbacks, which have seemed especially disconnected to the main story, enjoyable this week.

Constantine’s heroics weren’t the only bright spot in “Haunted.” The subplot involving Diggle and Quentin Lance’s mission for Darhk, which wound up revealing some less-than-pleasant information about the death of John’s brother, was a welcome development. These are two characters who rarely interact directly, and they’ve both had their faith in the institutions and people around them shaken lately. Could be interesting to see them intersect more as time goes on, especially given Diggle’s recently healed issues with Oliver and Capt. Lance’s ever active mistrust of the man under the hood.

I’m not sure how long Sara is going to stick around, with Caity Lotz already cast to play White Canary in Legends, but her resurrection does raise some interesting questions for Thea’s arc. Did Constantine’s actions cure her of her need to kill Thea, or will that continue to dog her? Is there anyway to clear Thea of the blood lust she can’t ever satiate (since Ra’s is dead), or is she doomed to that almost vampiric need to kill? And how is Sara going to react to being raised from the dead in the first place?

For the first time all season, “Arrow” has me wondering what’s going to happen as opposed to wondering what the heck is going on, and that’s a very good thing.

Left In The Quiver:

• Curtis Holt happened to slip past Palmer Technologies Human Resources division that he was a bronze medalist in the Olympics? Weirdness of that aside, Curtis and Felicity’s friendship continues to be amusing, and his path toward becoming Mr. Terrific continues. Kind of hope Brandon Routh turns back up here as Ray Palmer for an episode or two before transitioning to “Legends” as well, because he also brings a much needed tonal shift when the show gets to dark.
• Maybe it’s just me, but did Oliver get over Laurel lying to him and making a deal with Merlyn that resulted in the deaths of five people just a little too quickly?
• Queen for mayor continues. Not sure if I care all that much yet, but at least the story line ties into the city’s narrative, as opposed to living in service of another show.
• I hate that I completely agree with Thea when she makes comments about Constantine being a “very specific kind of yummy.”

@JamesQueallyLAT is unfortunately not a very specific kind of yummy. But you should follow him for the latest on “Arrow” and “Daredevil,” big happenings in the CW/DC cinematic universe, and police and crime news in Southern California.

ALSO:

First look at the ‘Harry Potter’ prequel ‘Fantastic Beasts’ channels that old magic

‘The Golden Compass’ gets another shot as a TV series

First trailer for AMC’s ‘Preacher’ reveals a Western holy war