Ritchie Simpson might not look like much at first glance, but he’s proof that looks can be deceiving.
On the last episode of Constantine, Ritchie made his grand reappearance, much to his own dismay. He was hesitant to work with John to take down Jacob Shaw, but eventually he accepted his role and fulfilled it with dazzling results. John, at the very least, must’ve been happy to have his ‘ace’ back. After all, Ritchie was the only one who had never been starstruck by the likes of John Constantine.
Ritchie is the antithesis to John in a lot of ways. Where John is brash, rude, and sour, Ritchie is quiet, reserved, and laid back. Still, the pair have a lot in common — whether Ritchie wants to admit it or not. They both harbor a lot of guilt over their past deeds, and they both are afraid of what’s to come regarding the Rising Darkness. Though John has already sworn himself to stop the coming onslaught of demonic power, Ritchie needs a little more persuasion.
But when he finally gives in, the resulting show of his power is downright awe-inspiring. In Constantine season 1, episode 11, “A Whole World Out There,” we see Ritchie enter Jacob Shaw’s dreamscape and manipulate it to work in his favor. Even John couldn’t do that. In the end, Ritchie completely changes the world and destroys Shaw. It’s no wonder he considered staying there.
But he didn’t, and we will forever be grateful.
Ritchie is this show’s reluctant hero. He’s been through a lot — culminating in the incident at Newcastle — and no one can blame him for not wanting to get back into the business. He knows about the Rising Darkness, and he knows how powerful it is. Just in this last episode alone we learned that his data mining computers kept crashing because of the sheer amount of demonic activity that has been cropping up lately.
Despite the fact he was handed an opportunity to start over in a whole new world, Ritchie listened to John and returned to the real world. It’s the harder, darker, grittier path, but it’s also the right path. Ritchie is setting himself up to lose a lot more than he already has — perhaps even his own life — but the fact that he’s willing to go through with it anyway makes him a true hero at heart.
This is also true in the comics, as Ritchie did end up sacrificing his life in order to help John take down the Resurrection Crusade, which, if you remember, is the cult that Zed’s father leads. Ritchie’s life didn’t technically end when his body died, however, and he went on to live in a digital world. That is, until something bigger and badder came along. (But we’ll leave you to just read Hellblazer to find out what happens there.)
Ritchie may have been apathetic and unassuming in the past, but we’re certain that’s all about to change. Never forget the power he holds within. John convinced him to use it once, but we’ll have to wait to see if he’ll be persuaded to do it again. If he does decide to step up to the plate, John will have gained a powerful ally against the Rising Darkness and the Resurrection Crusade.