This issue was all about Kit Ryan, the brave woman who dared to love John Constantine in spite of the blood and darkness that surrounds and follows him. To be fair, Kit specifically asked never to be involved in his exploits and occult vocation and John was true to this promise.
However, bad people happened during Fear and Loathing and Kit made a tough call to discontinue her relationship with John. She took a flight back to Belfast to meet her sister and her old friends. That's basically what this issue was about; an in-depth character work on Kit which was a nice break. I like Kit a lot and it was a shame we only really see her in the background while she was with John. In the earlier part of the relationship, she was present and interesting but as we get to the entertaining and average story arcs from Ennis, Kit was never in a participatory role again.
The justification for that is simply because she doesn't want to be tied to John's other life; the dangerous one where people get tortured and die horribly, and, sometimes, if John is lucky, he can actually save lives; and a few even deserve the redemption.
The last issue that we ever goto see Kit shine was when she had a grown-up conversation with John's niece Gemma who wants to follow her uncle's footsteps and become an occultist herself. Kit gave her some good and tough advice about choices and consequences and said something about how people are just who they are, not who we want them to become. That's why she loves John. She accepts that there is a part of him that she will never approve of but, at the same time, she wants to stay in his life to make him happy and for a time John was secure, fulfilled and even more focused because of Kit's moral support in the background. Their relationship felt meaningful enough to get invested in. However, I knew it wasn't going to last because the only disadvantage to this coupling is Kit's refusal to live and deal with John's other life. Like it or not, that is a part of him she can never escape from. So, while they are happy together, I was really only waiting for the other shoe to drop. Kit is a fierce, independent woman who will never compromise herself, her beliefs and where she stands, which is why I understand her decision to end things with John. It was too much for her and she can't ever convince herself that she could join John in his escapades with ghosts, ghouls and demons. I am going to miss her, though.
This issue gave us enough insights about her personal history to make us understand why she was such a good match for John--and why she will ultimately fail him and he with her. The final scene of this installment was heartbreaking. Like in most break-ups, Kit doubts her choice to leave John, even though her rationality is telling her that she would never want the kind of life that being with John Constantine offers--which is getting hounded, haunted and stalked by dangerous creatures. Still, she misses him and hopes that ultimately she made the fair choice for the both of them. One can only hope.
RECOMMENDED: 7/10
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