Constantine Boosts Arrow Ratings, Deserves His Own Show Back

Last night fans rejoiced as Matt Ryan returned to his role as the Hellblazer himself – John Constantine – to guest star on an episode of The CW‘s Arrow. It proved to be a good move, considering the episode hit a 1.0 – the highest rating this season since the premiere (1.09). Even I was watching it – yes, me! And why does it matter that someone as insignificant as I found myself watching last night’s episode, you may ask?

Because I haven’t watch Arrow since Season 1.

I think I left off somewhere in the second half of the first season, I know we had just been introduced to Roy Harper. I fell behind somehow and just couldn’t be bothered to catch up. The show didn’t grab me as well as it should have, and now I find myself 3 seasons behind and still unable to marathon it. As Sheldon Cooper once said, “we happen to live in a Golden Age of television”.

Yet despite having almost no clue about what was going on or who the new characters were (Sara’s back and Thea is Speedy? When did THAT happen?), I didn’t hesitate in tuning in last night just to see Constantine’s return. And I know for certain I’m not the only one who did – the ratings know it too. A lot of Constantine fans tuned in just for John; have a look at the #ConstantineOnArrow hashtag on Twitter and you’ll get a glimpse of the ongoing support. Despite being one of many ‘superhero’ shows on at the time, Constantine was wonderfully unique and interesting, and my favourite DC show to date. It had just enough horror and occult to lure in fans of the supernatural while still maintaining its comic book roots. In fact, it’s probably been the most source-heavy comic book show I’ve seen – the look, the characters, the storylines, all pulled straight from the books. And don’t even get me started on Matt Ryan, that guy was perfect for the role.

Sadly, Constantine was dealt a poor hand in some aspects. It aired in the undesirable time slot of late Friday nights on NBC. It received dislike from critics saying it was “something we’ve already seen in Supernatural“, which turned people away from learning that it is in fact quite different (also John Constantine’s been around since the 1980s, so guess who came first kids). Bottom line: the show didn’t get its chance to shine. An unfortunate and unfair fate since it was an excellent way to introduce people to a character many had heard of but not read about.

John’s appearance on Arrow wasn’t just a hat tip to the fans, it reminded us all how much we miss the show, and showed that the fans are definitely still out there. I don’t care how unlikely it is, my fingers are still crossed that Constantine will return someday, somehow. Fans have been rooting to #SaveConstantine all along, but perhaps these ratings will add some fuel to the fire.