Preacher – Bleak City

By starrymag | September 1, 2019

By: Kelly Kearney

 

 

In this episode Jesse struggles with his past mistakes while trying to outrun The Saint of Killers and make it to his holy mountaintop meeting with God. Elsewhere, Tulip and Cassidy reunite in a bar outside of Masada, but things take an interesting turn when Jesus and the Archangel are added into the mix. With the clock ticking down to the end of the world will the Preacher, the Vampire and the hard-hitting Tulip be able to put away their differences long enough to save the world? Not if Herr Starr has his way!

 

Melbourne

After a tourism video on Australia ends in bloodshed and severed tongues, Arseface (Ian Colletti) is found hovering over a body while his traveling companion, The Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish), sits calmly with his thoughts. The massacre that lays at their feet seems to be affecting them both in different ways, with Arseface praying and the Saint silently seething. This leads to flashback of Jaxon (Shaun Goss); a chatty rental car agent who’s fixing Jesse (Dominic Cooper) up with a compact ride. While looking up available rental cars, the stuttering agent spots the all alerts bulletin on the wanted preacher and his mood quickly goes from friendly customer service rep to panicky and afraid.  Jesse realizes he’s been made and explains to Jaxon that he could force him with Genesis to get the car, but he’s trying to use his powers less these days. “I’m asking you to rent me of your own free will,” he says and the nervous attendant buckles under the pressure and gives up the keys. As a thank you, Jesse uses Genesis to cure the agent of his stutter. Unfortunately, using his holy powers alerts the Saint, who in turn, takes off running with Arseface by his side.

In the parking garage Jesse finds his wheels and as he’s exiting the garage he spots Arseface outside. Faced with saving Jesse’s life or alerting The Saint, Eugene looks into the preacher’s eyes and yells, “Go!” Jesse puts the pedal to the metal and screeches out into the streets of Melbourne before The Saint can blast him to Hell.

Struggling with leaving Arseface behind really starts to eat away at Jesse’s conscience. Pulling up to a crossroads in a desolate location, his distraction almost causes him to get crushed by a speeding truck. The close call pushes Jesse to go back and help the boy he’s consistently let down.

 

You Handsome Devil

Meanwhile, Tulip (Ruth Negga), Jesus (Tyson Ritter), the Archangel (David Field) and Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) walk into a bar and, while that sounds like the epic start to any joke, this fearsome foursome just needs a drink and some downtime after escaping Masada. Cass, with his new bleached blonde hair, knocks back a few shots with Tulip who updates him on her traveling companion Jesus. “A bloody handsome devil,” Cass calls the son of God, who seems to have just discovered the glory of arcade games. The conversation turns from Jesus to Jesse when Tulip asks Cassidy if he told him about their one-night stand. After promising her friend she won’t get mad if he did, Cass admits he spilled the romance beans and on cue Tulip punches him in the face. After getting that out of her system, the two have a couple more shots before they’re interrupted by a news report claiming Jesse has been spotted in Melbourne.

Back at Masada the news of Jesus, Cass and Tulip’s escape makes it to Herr Starr (Pip Torrens). Featherstone (Julie Ann Emery), feeling responsible, decides to sacrifice herself for her own incompetence. Just as Herr Starr orders Twoover (Alex Mikic) to kill her, the crafty Featherstone dives out the window in her trademark flying squirrel suit. If anyone is killing her it’s going to be Starr, not that generic Hoover replacement. Being too distracted by the news of their missing Jesus, Starr shrugs off Featherstone’s escape for a visit with Masada’s newest arrival, Hitler (Noah Taylor). Assuming the Nazi Hell leader is behind the missing savior, Starr goes full beast mode on Hitler and interrupts his racquetball game with an Allfather ass kicking. Hitler might be running things in Hell, but he still answers to the Grail, even if his ego leaves him seething on the floor in his tighty-whitey tennis shorts. It’s why, when asked, he tries to quell Allfather’s anger by lying about his meeting with Humperdoo (Tyson Ritter) claiming the slobbering holy child seems to be perfect. Hitler will say anything to get in good with the Grail’s leader.

Over in the land of Oz, The Saint kills Jaxon while Jesse is seen hiding out at a construction site and using Genesis to order the work crew around. When The Saint hears the call, he takes off with Eugene in the direction of Jesse and his booming voice.

Love Knows No Bounds

Speaking of the Preacher, Cassidy tries to smooth things over with Tulip for telling Jesse about their affair. The Irish vamp feels bad for betraying his friend and sleeping with his girl, even though he paid dearly with every foreskin he not so happily donated to the Grail. After all he’s just been through, Cass is ready to go help Jesse even if it means another round of torture and mayhem. Unfortunately, Tulip isn’t in the saving mood and decides she’s not going. Jesse is on his own. Instead, she’s leaving with Jesus to see Las Vegas and asks Cass to come with them. The vampire agrees to think about it while Tulip leaves to go tune up their ride. It’s too bad she doesn’t want to help Jesse because after using Genesis The Saint tracks him down at the construction site. Before he can locate his intended target a wrecking ball plows him down, allowing Jesse and Arseface to make their escape. A wrecking ball to the face can’t keep The Saint down for long and the cowboy gets right back up and continues his search.

Over at the bar Tulip’s been under the hood of her car making sure the purple beast is ready for her Vegas road trip. She and Jesus pass the time talking about their mutual paths in life and we soon find out Jesus’s was leading him to a conference his father is expecting him to attend. Like all rebellious sons, Christ wants to ditch his responsibilities and do his own thing, mainly to walk the earth.

As Tulip’s having a heart to heart with the son of God, Cassidy is inside the bar chatting with the Archangel about the turmoil’s of falling in love with his best friend’s girl. The Archangel tells him that love is worth the pain,and as an example he talks about his own forbidden love – a romance that was forbidden and eventually had him booted from heaven and into the hands of the Grail. That’s when the lights dim and the Angel goes from robes and sandals to dressed in his Sunday best. As the jukebox kicks on, the Archangel’s love emerges from the back of the bar and the two lovers dance as Cass grabs another drink and watches the show.

Jesus With a Shotgun

After fleeing from The Saint and finding a getaway car, Arseface and Jesse talk about what led them to this place. The disfigured teen asks Jesse why he never came to Hell to rescue him. Jesse apologizes and admits he feels awful for letting him down. He tells Eugene he is a good Christian, probably better than the preacher himself. Eugene accepts the apology, but their makeup talk gets interrupted after Jesse sets off the car’s alarm while trying to hot wire it.

Speaking of cars, Tulip’s is ready to ride but not before she and Jesus share a spliff and talk about their problems. It seems the Son of the Father is jealous of Humperdoo, who he claims is daddy’s favorite. Tulip tells him not to sweat it since “your father is an asshole.” After all, she’s tangled with God (Mark Harelik) on more than one occasion and she was so not impressed. Jesus is either too high or too wrapped up in his family drama to hear her, so she drops the insults and honks the horn to get Cassidy’s attention. If he is coming along, they need to go now. Cass hears the horn over the very loud Archangel sex-travganza, but decides he’s going to save Jesse and steer clear of his feelings for Tulip. When it’s clear Cass isn’t coming along, Tulip tries to put both the men in her life behind her and takes off down the road with Jesus. That’s when her new road-trip buddy gets a glimpse of what life would be like if he stayed on this path with Tulip. He envisions an armed bank robbery where he unloads a shotgun into an innocent man who just wanted to use the bathroom. The image doesn’t sit well with the peaceful savior and he starts to rethink the whole Las Vegas plan.

Back at the bar, we find out the Archangel’s love is actually a demon (Sue-Ellen Shook). In his post coital glow, the angel pulls out his sword and rams it through his demon love’s skull! Cassidy is shocked as the woman regenerates and the two lovers start fighting. Forbidden love between good and evil? Could these two be the parents of Genesis?

Down in Melbourne Jesse’s still on the run from The Saint and he beats up a cop to steal their car. Arseface hops into the backseat, but he two don’t get very far because Arseface pulls out a gun and shoots Jesse from behind! “You came back to apologize,” he says. “That’s all I wanted to hear and it still wasn’t enough.”

 

It’s the End of the World as We Know It

Jesse isn’t the only one having issues with his road bro, Jesus decides to part ways with Tulip and fulfill his responsibilities at the conference. Before they part she tries to really get Jesus to hear her thoughts on his dad, but Jesus doesn’t want to hear it. Instead, he gets out of the car and reminds her that they all have free will and his is choosing to go fulfill his fate. “Free will,” he says, “is what makes life so hard.” As he walks away Tulip pulls out the letter from Jesse she’s been carrying and decides to go back to the bar, grab Cass and go save her man once and for all. She’s just in time too because the Archangel and Demon are destroying the bar and Cass has no other option but to leave before he winds up in their crossfire.

As the clock ticks towards the end of the world, we find Jesus back at Masada where Allfather and Hitler are talking apocalypse shop. Jesus offers Hitler a hug and some forgiveness and all three sit down to go over their plans.

Meanwhile, Cass and Tulip get on the road as the vampire lists off all the deadly creatures that await them in Oz, a place which he refers to as “a bloody slaughterhouse.”  As the two drive off into the sunset, a bloody Jesse is seen crawling his way out of the cop car and landing at the feet of The Saint! It looks like Jesse’s fate is catching up with him and his friends had better hustle if they have any hopes of saving him and the world from impending doom!