This episode doesn't really have a central plot per se. Instead, it juggles three story lines. Other episodes have done this but this one doesn't do quite as good a job. It results in an episode that feels more like wheel spinning and filler for a good majority of it.
The Constantine plot has the most going for it. Not only does it have the biggest ramifications, but it was also the strongest just from a character perspective. Ryan's fantastic, as usual, but we get to see John's past come back to haunt him and him respond by taking measures to undo it. This also plants a potential seed as far as the season's big bad goes. Neron is only mentioned, but he is a heavy hitter in the comics; it makes sense that he could be the one going after John. We'll have to see how that plays out, though.
Another sub-plot has Sara trying to act as mediator after Ava and Mick have something of a falling out. You can't really fault Ava for taking the magical diary. Even if Mick was able to have it without any serious negative ramifications, the possibility of somebody else coming in and swiping it (whether they knew about its power or not) is too great a risk. I can kind of see why Mick was miffed, but he should have been smart enough to get her reasoning.
The Mona plot was...strange. I mean, Mona is odd enough where her falling in love with the Kaupe would make sense, but at the same time...it's odd. Maybe they were trying to parody the trope, but at the same time, the episode plays a lot of those scenes perfectly straight.
It does result in an amusing identity mix up when Nate goes to talk to Mona on Gary's behalf only to be met by ambiguous dialogue that Nate assumes is in reference to Gary.
Oddly enough, the plot that inspires the title is the most blase and is even an afterthought as far as the episode goes. The killer doll thing has been done a lot, but you'd think that they could have done more. It doesn't help that "Mike the Spike" is a pretty weaksauce villain. There are one or two creepy moments, but he's pretty underwhelming and his dialogue isn't menacing in the slightest.
Overall, this was one of the weaker episodes for the show. It has moments, but it never really gains momentum due to having too many things going on. Some of the gags and jokes work, but some are fairly cringe inducing.
Really, the episode's big saving grace is the cliffhanger, where John's attempt to change the past has huge ramifications for the timeline. It's not quite as bad as the team breaking time back in season 2, but about on par with Barry and the whole Flashpoint fiasco. We don't get a full glimpse of the ramifications, but Zari is a cat, and an adorable one at that.
After a pretty strong string of episodes, this one was a let down. I mean, nobody bats 1000, but it's still a shame to see.
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