Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
The Arrowverse has been at a relative low ebb in early 2018, and I have to wonder how much of that is simply due to the absence of Legends of Tomorrow. You can’t put your best superhero show on extended hiatus and not expect consequences. Thankfully, Legends has returned, even as the rest of the Arrowverse takes a brief break for the Olympics. Better still, the series remains in fine form thanks to an episode that brings in a terrific guest star and advances the Mallus conflict considerably.
That guest star, of course, is Matt Ryan’s John Constantine, who made his second Arrowverse appearance since the untimely cancellation of NBC’s Constantine. As much as it was a treat to see Constantine stop by Arrow a couple years ago, ultimately his appearance felt more like a means of scooting the plot forward than a natural, elegant story development. Here, the writers were able to integrate Constantine into the mix more smoothly, building on all the recent developments with Mallus and the Darhk family. If anything, this seems like the perfect opportunity to induct Constantine into the fold on a semi-permanent basis. That doesn’t appear to be in the cards this year.