The episode that a lot of Arrow AND Constantine fans have been waiting for finally arrived tonight, as Matt Ryan officially became part of The CW’s DC TV Universe by reprising the role of John Constantine after the NBC series ended earlier this year. Not only did Constantine’s fun guest spot work as an amazing Arrow/DC TV package, but “Haunted” worked as a very solid hour and regular episode for Arrow, as Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance made some major progress in their overall relationship, which has been due for quite some time now.
Seeing Ryan getting over to this universe and portraying the same loveable sassy fella was a thrill, and the thing that I appreciated a lot with his appearance wasn’t just his actions in the present, but also in the past which is the area of the new season of Arrow that I’ve cared for the least. In order to make sense about how John and Oliver knew each other, since they hadn’t seemed to before NBC cancelled Constantine, the writers cleverly had John be part of the island scenes this week to show how they met. For once this season, the flashbacks were interesting, but only because of John’s presence there, which might be saying quite a lot about the flashbacks that the creative team have picked this season. Seeing Amell and Ryan have fun with it and give us the dynamic all fans had wanted was a blast, even if Constantine wasn’t around in present for as long as I had hoped for (but more on that in a bit).
With Sara being on a crazy killing spree in Star City, her return comes to Oliver’s attention, and it allows for him and Laurel to have some of their best scenes in a very long time, with Laurel finally getting to be the one to give Oliver a necessary wake-up call. Remember the hallway scene these two shared back in Season 2 of Arrow? We basically get the reverse setup this time, as Laurel calls out Oliver on his hypocrisy and, honestly, crappy treatment of her over the past few years. I truly appreciate the writers being aware that Oliver has gotten away with so much, while Laurel, who does similar acts for the greater good, like wanting to give her little sister a second chance at life, gets unfair criticism. That finally ended as Laurel went off on him and also dropped a major truth bomb: that he doesn’t treat her as an equal.
As Sara is in desperate need to get her soul back, Oliver starts making up for his past treatment of Laurel by calling Constantine for help and asking for her trust. First off, within two seconds, Ryan blends in perfectly with the gang, and his charming wit makes you wish more and more that he could be a recurring character (Side note: I’m not sure what was funnier, seeing Diggle’s reaction to Barry’s super-speed for the first time last season, or his utter disbelief about Oliver knowing someone like Constantine). Together, Constantine, Oliver, and Laurel enter the other realm to get Sara’s soul back, and I’ll admit that I may have geeked out a little just seeing the Green Arrow and Black Canary on a mission together, especially one in a mystical realm. As I mentioned, Constantine’s presence in Star City was shorter than I expected, but I appreciated every second of it.
While this Arrow/Constantine event has been said to be a one-time deal, the Arrow writers do leave the door open for these two to team up again someday. Let’s be honest: seeing the love that this episode is going to get, are DC and Warner Bros. really going not going to take advantage of another opportunity to bring these two characters together again ? I doubt it, and I’m willing to bet that Ryan will be back to live on as Constantine in this universe sooner than we think.
In addition to Constantine’s appearance in “Haunted,” the other part of this episode that I enjoyed the most was Oliver’s scene with Laurel at the campaign office near the end of the episode. I couldn’t be more grateful for Oliver rejecting his new political strategist Alex’s suggestion that, for strategy’s sake, he should keep his distance from Laurel due to the yacht incident involving Sara all those years ago. Instead, Oliver gives Laurel the biggest respect he has ever given her in a long time and admits that it’s time for him to start being a better best friend to her, which gets wrapped up with a nice hug. Oliver Queen, you have not failed this city; that’s all I’ll say.
“Haunted” had a lot of other great story developments, such as the new revelation about Diggle’s brother and Felicity and Curtis decoding Ray Palmer’s full message, continuing to set up for Legends of Tomorrow, but what really stood out in “Haunted” was every single second that Constantine was in it, as well as Amell and Cassidy’s characters progressing forward in a fantastic way. It was about time that we got the Green Arrow and Black Canary on equal ground.
Arrow airs on Wednesday nights at 8/7c on The CW.
[Photo via The CW]
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