This week’s episode of Preacher is pretty jam-packed with development. As we’re getting closer to the finale, the show is ramping up the drama instead of tying up loose ends. Fingers crossed it will all manage to come together.
Last week, we left off with Jesse (Dominic Cooper) at the Grail, instructed to kill the Allfather (Jonny Coyne). Jesse tries his best to make good on that promise, but it’s not quite that easy. Despite an impressive display of strength and fight choreography, including an elevator scene reminiscent of Captain America, Jesse isn’t able to kill the Allfather for one major reason: he’s too fat.
Jesse shoots the Allfather, but it’s just a flesh wound – not surprising, there’s so much padding before any major organs. The Allfather and Herr Starr (Pip Torrens) restrain Jesse and begin to extract Genesis from him and pump it into Humperdoo (Tyson Ritter), who immediately explodes. Apparently, since Genesis is the combination of an angel and a demon, you need the exact combination of good and bad in you to become a host. Jesse seems pretty upset at the realization that he’s half evil (I could have told him that), but also upset that the Allfather has cloned Humperdoo, and is willing to keep trying until they get it right. It’s a montage of various Humperdoos exploding, while Jesse begs Herr Starr to get him out of there.
Herr Starr is becoming an interesting character these past few episodes. He’s working with Jesse and showing him vulnerabilities we didn’t know he had. He could easily grab a gun and kill the Allfather, but he won’t. It makes me wonder where they’re going with the character. Obviously, he’s sticking around on the show as he’s wildly entertaining, but is he going to join forces with Jesse and the gang? I could see Starr joining the quest to find God. He’s clearly not loyal to the Grail’s mission of protecting Humperdoo, and he has no love for his proteges (more on that in a minute), so it’s definitely plausible. The unholy trinity might become a foursome.
Meanwhile, Tulip, Featherstone, and Jody are off on their sidequest in Japan. They pose as HR reps in a workplace harassment seminar with awkward sexual banter between Tulip and Jody that’s pretty great. For the actual heist, everyone plays to their strengths: Jody bashes some heads in and then does a crossword, Featherstone brings a laptop to hack into the system but is bested by Tulip, who doesn’t let a mild electrocution get in the way of her craftiness.
The rivalry between Tulip and Featherstone was bordering on annoying until that moment, honestly. Featherstone was consistently outsmarting Tulip and it felt like the writers were dumbing down Tulip for the sake of a joke. Once Tulip got her ‘win’ and proved that she’s still the quick, resourceful badass she’s always been, things felt more on an even footing.
Cassidy’s also starting to get back on equal footing with Eccarius. After another lame attempt from Hoover to kidnap Cassidy, Les Enfants du Sang nab him instead. Cassidy texts Herr Starr who is totally fine with them all killing him, which is already comic genius enough, and then we immediately lead into Cassidy and Les Enfants deciding to kill him with bees like in the Wicker Man. It’s at times like this that I really love this show.
Eccarius, of course, has his own motives and decides they should make Hoover a vampire. Hoover agrees, not wanting to die by bees, and the ceremony happens immediately. And, so does his time to ‘fly away.’ Cassidy’s suspicious at the rush, as well as how he still hasn’t started to gain any of Eccarius’ powers despite turning several people. To top it off, Lisa, the girl turned and sent away last week, hasn’t been texting him back. (Side note: Cassidy the concerned friend harkens back to season two when he was constantly texting Tulip to check in on her. He’s a softie, really.)
The shoe finally drops when Cassidy goes to throw out the trash and finds Lisa’s bloody belongings, which – really Eccarius? That’s just lazy. Cassidy arrives in the nick of time to save Hoover, but Eccarius is still super-strong and easily overpowers him. Looks like the honeymoon is over.
That would be a full enough episode as is, but now Satan’s back in the mix. Gran’ma’s mystery phone that Tulip picked up a few weeks ago is actually a direct line to hell, and Gran’ma’s summoned a meeting. Satan is apparently the one that gave her rejuvenation through eating souls but he’s more than willing to take her down to hell with him now. Gran’ma has another plan: she knows Jesse has Genesis, and that Satan would be interested. So Satan sends his henchmen after… Tulip O’Hare. I guess he takes Tulip (solving Gran’ma’s first problem), Jesse goes to rescue her, Satan gets Genesis (solving her second problem).
And that’s when Tulip’s O’Hare curse, one of the themes running throughout the season, comes in handy again. The Angel of Death comes for Tulip, knowing she’s a brown-haired woman in a Grail suit and not much else, and Tulip points her in Featherstone’s direction. (She really should have been nicer). Unfortunately, Featherstone had the suitcase of souls with her and now they’re all getting carted off to hell, on the same bus as Eugune, Hitler and the Saint. Tulip thinks she’s screwed up, but she really just saved herself. I imagine by the season’s end (in just a few weeks) she’ll realize there is no curse, and all the times she’s ‘screwed up’ have actually been for a reason.
And hopefully, by the time the show officially ends, she’ll have kicked God’s ass like she promised.
