Given that, so far, we’ve only been fed tiny morsels of information about who was present at the Newcastle SNAFU and the events that transpired there, it’s only fitting that this week’s episode should put a little flesh onto those bones.

Okay… Food analogies aside, this is probably one of my favourite episodes so far. It pits John, Chas, Zed and one of John’s old friends, Gary Lester, against a particularly nasty foe. Gary, a recovering junkie, returns from a massive bender in Sudan with a captive hunger demon in tow. Obviously it doesn’t stay captive for long and goes on a feeding frenzy, forcing Gary to seek out Constantine’s help.

It’s likely the fact that this episode is based so heavily on the first issues of the comic that explains why I love it so much, and, in a similar way to the comic, it serves to define what sort of person Constantine is and the lengths to which he’ll go to ensure the success of his endeavours.

There are some very nice moments in this episode especially with the dynamic between Zed and Gary, which serves to offer Zed a bit of insight into both the human condition and the kinds people that Constantine surrounds himself with.

Another thing this episode does well is getting across the point that Constantine is fallable. He can be beaten. But he really doesn’t like to lose, and will go to extraordinary lengths to redress the balance where he can. Ultimately, the choices John makes in this episode, and the silent agreement from his angelic companion, show that this series is not afraid to make the hard decisions. This can only bode well for the future.