I asked my husband the other night how he was feeling about this season of Preacher, since he’s an even more devoted fan of the comic books than I am (he got me to read them in the first place). He thought for a second and then said, “I feel like the episodes keep getting better.” I tend to agree, and I think it’s because this season is tracking the original material much more closely than in the previous two.
Granted, I’m ready to get the hell out of Angelville (which, spoiler alert, we don’t get to do in this episode – close, but no cigarette), but I have been genuinely enjoying the demented-and-disturbing-yet-hilariously-funny romp.
The character who HAS gotten out of Angelville, Cassidy, is alone and self-medicating (with elephant tranquilizers, among other things). He goes on a dating site, called “Bite Me,” and meets up with a cute little lady who claims to be a 200+ year-old vampire. She talks about the life being lonely, and Cass thinks he has found something great … until they start making out in the bathroom and the woman pulls out a set of fake pointy teeth. Cassidy very nearly attacks her, but decides to belly up to the bar instead. In his drunken stupor, he doesn’t notice Featherstone, who is disguised and keeping tabs on him. Why? Well…
…because Starr REALLY needs to lure Jesse out of Angelville and convince him to be the Messiah. Humperdoo can’t even manage a simple greeting without behaving like an imbecile, but when the Allfather (played by Jonny Coyne) sees that the descendant of Jesus CAN perform a mean soft-shoe, he wants to expedite his ascendancy to the throne. Watching Pip Torrens squirm while watching Humperdoo, and THEN while talking to the Allfather about him, was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while. For all of the blood and guts and gore and souls in this show, Preacher does humor really, really well. Starr decides that he needs to get Jesse on board with his plan ASAP, so that leads to the Grail kidnapping Cassidy and forcing him to film a ransom video. Just as Starr is explaining the terms, some unknown figures kidnap Cassidy right back. It’s Les Enfents du Sang! That should be fun next week.
Things in Angelville are fairly status quo – Jesse and Tulip want out, Gran’ma wants them in, and T.C. and Jody are the muscle making the latter the reality. After learning of Cassidy’s escape, T.C. and Jody barge into Jesse and Tulip’s room, engaging in a crazy fight sequence that includes using a toilet brush and a hairdryer as weapons. When the pillow feathers have settled, Jesse winds up in a coffin. Well, THE coffin. At the bottom of the swamp. Connected to some kind of combustible contraption that allows him to breathe (and not much else). If you read the comics, you know that the coffin was a part of Jesse’s childhood, so much like when he was younger, he spends his time in a fantasy world – a black and white western movie, with John Wayne as his compatriot. Well, in the TV show it’s not really John Wayne, but rather a close approximation (I guess licensing was an issue, which is why I figured they had avoided the apparition altogether to this point). Whoever he is, he convinces Jesse that he needs to get the heck out of the box and back to Tulip – so he slowly lets enough water in to cover and protect him, and then he lights a cigarette (with the “Fuck Communism” Zippo that he stole from Jody an episode or two back – FINALLY, the payoff) and sends it up through the airhole so it blows up the whole contraption.
While Jesse is figuring out his escape from the coffin, Tulip is handcuffed to a radiator in the house. Gran’ma visits, and the two sassy gals exchange some super sassy words (there is NO love lost between these ladies). Despite Jody sniffing out Tulip’s every escape plan, she winds up getting free, locking up and/or punching her male adversaries, and heading downstairs to get rid of Gran’ma for good. The two women tussle on the floor, but Tulip overcomes Gran’ma and chokes the life out of her…RIGHT as Jesse bursts through the door. There’s no time for chatting, though – Tulip drops dead right after Gran’ma does. Apparently, that sneaky old broad tied Tulip’s life to hers (by drinking the fingernail/hair concoction during the resurrection), ensuring that Jesse and/or Tulip wouldn’t be able to do exactly what Tulip just tried to do. Jesse performs CPR and mouth to mouth and revives his grandmother, and Tulip pops up immediately thereafter – but not before seeing God, again, who tells her that she is failing his pass/fail test. Rude.
Oh. And there was some weird Civil War cosplay situation going on between Gran’ma and T.C. I’m just gonna leave that right there.
Where do you think this leaves our happy little dysfunctional Angelville family? Will we EVER see Eugene/Arseface and Hitler? Tune in next week…
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