Preacher – See

By: Kelly Kearney

On this week’s episode of “Preacher,” Jesse is finally coming to terms with his new powers while being sought after across the globe by two unknown cowboys who plan on cutting that spirit out of him. Throw in a few baptisms, a kid named Arseface, a relentless and criminal ex-girlfriend and a bromace with an Irish Vampire and you have the best TV adaptation of a comic book since “The Walking Dead.”

Flashbacks and Making a Splash

We flashback to 1881, we see a haggard cowboy is crossing the plains in search of medicine for a sick girl. The sound of barking dogs can be heard in the background. Cut to current day Annville, Texas where Preacher Jesse (Dominic Cooper) is baptizing his parishioners. While Eugene “Arseface” Root (Ian Colletti) seems excited to start this new transition into a more faithful and godly existence, he might be the only one. Tulip (Ruth Negga), Jesse’s ex and current temptation, is a relentless reminder of Jesse’s crime days before becoming a servant of God. She keeps trying to tempt him back to his old ways to join her on a shady job. When she shows up to be baptized, it seems out of character for Tulip until she makes her motives known. Flirtatiously she asks Jesse to “save me father” and then thanks him afterwards for “getting [ her] all wet.” It’s fairly obvious that Tulip knows how to get to Jesse and she’s banking on those skills. It’s also obvious that Emily (Lucy Griffiths), the waitress and Jesse’s new found friend, is jealous of the flirty vibes Tulip is throwing at the Preacher. Emily covers by complaining about the church’s new handyman Cassidy (Joe Gilgul). Apparently, Cassidy spends more time drinking the communion wine then he does fixing anything at the church. Little does Emily know that Cassidy is a vampire and not really all that handy with a tool belt. He’s also Irish and well I’m not one for stereotypes, Cassidy does love his drink. After the baptisms, the local school bus driver, Linus, pulls Jesse aside for a little one on one. Linus (Ptolemy Slocum) has been having unnatural desires for one of the young girls on his bus. He wants forgiveness for this sin and a reluctant Jesse tells him he has to avoid acting on these desires and repent for his sins. That is the only way to God’s forgiveness. As Linus describes slipping further into his pedophilia, Jesse hears dogs barking. Could they be the same dogs the cowboy heard back in 1881?

Old Habits Are Hard to Break

With Linus’ confession comes similarities in Jesse’s own redemption. Change came to him in an epiphany by way of colliding into a god like spirit, but has he really changed? He tells Cassidy he’s on the good guy’s path, but Tulip isn’t buying it. Tulip corners Jesse and climbs onto his lap and whispers in his ear that he’s always been a bad man. She wants that bad guy back and she wants him to help her with this, no doubt, highly illegal job. She tells him, “…Sooner or later, Mr. Bad Man’s gonna come around and he’s gonna say yes.” Jesse is haunted by the fear that people can’t just change on their own regardless of how bad they want it. The advice he gave to Linus was the standard penance, but will it actually change him? Is Jesse this new man he’s trying to be or will he always be Tulip’s partner in crime. This idea that people can’t change through sure will gets even more muddled when Eugene confides in Jesse that he doesn’t feel any different since his baptism. The disfigured teen says, “What if this is the me God wants?”

When First You Don’t Succeed…Scrap It and Try Something New

Throughout the entire episode, Jesse keeps trying to stick to this new and enlightened path, but every time he applies his Christian methods, they fail. He makes a call to the grieving Mrs. Loach (Bonita Friedericy) and her sick child with casseroles and good cheer. He promises her that God will reach her, but the mother isn’t buying it. She tells him, “Those are lovely words but unfortunately that’s all they are…Words won’t open her eyes again, or help her ride a horse again. They won’t even help change her diapers.” She goes on to thank him for the casserole because unlike his thoughtful words, she can at least feed that to her dogs. Harsh words that strike a chord with the struggling Preacher. Eugene was hoping the baptism would change him, it didn’t. Linus was hoping that his faith could end his unnatural desires, but Jesse can’t stop grimacing every time he sees that yellow school bus. Deep down, he knows you can’t will change, at least not without a little push and Jesse has that power. His power of suggestion, of which even he’s not quite sure how or why it works, can make anyone do anything he wants. So, it’s not a far leap for an ex criminal to take a short cut and decide to use those powers to force change.

Moonshine and a Bloody Good Time

Now questioning his faith and righteous path, Jesse meets up with Cassidy at All Saints Church and the two get blind drunk. Cassidy tells Jesse that he doesn’t think God has a plan for him, but Jesse’s not so sure. He’s still trying to process the fact Cassidy is a 119-year-old, Irish vampire being chased across the planet by religious watch dogs. These two newfound BFFs are quite the pair. After a few rounds of homemade moonshine and a debate about whether or not the movie The Big Lebowski is overrated, Jesse passes out. Unbeknownst to him, two men tracking the spirit that lives inside Jesse have come to unceremoniously cut it out of him. With Jesse unconscious, and those same dogs from 1881 barking in the background, Cassidy goes into protect mode. He fights off the two men in what can only be described as a chainsaw wielding, gory homage to Kill Bill. Bloodied and enraged, Cassidy fights in a way that would make Tony Montana proud to call him his “little friend.” The two spirit chasers are dead and Jesse slept throughout the whole ordeal. I have to say, that is one strong batch of hooch!

The Power of Suggestion

Once Jesse decides to use his powers to force change, he breaks into Linus’ apartment to do a little Preacher style convincing. He’s pushed aside his principles in faith and forgiveness to ensure Linus never touches that young girl. Jesse drags Linus to the bathroom and baptizes him in a boiling hot bathtub. With the powers he’s just starting to understand, Jesse makes Linus forget about this girl. He wipes his memory of her completely. When he mentions the girl, Linus has no idea who the Preacher is referring to. When Jesse was hit with this wandering God spirit that gave him the power of suggestion, was that gods will? Does God want Jesse to use his powers to speed up the process of absolution? Who knows, because God left heaven and is now on a permanent vacation from humanity that leaves the job up to Jesse. Jesse, who has a lifetime of bad decisions and criminal choices.

Open Your Eyes

Following the massacre at All Saints, the two presumably dead spirit hunters are alive and well and chatting with Sheriff Root (W. Earl Brown) while pretending to be government officials. Now that Jesse is sober and used his power to erase Linus desires, he heads over to the Loaches’ and puts his powers to the test. He tells the comatose Loach girl to open her eyes, but the episode ends leaving her possible recovery up in the air. Can Jesse will this girl back from the brink of death? Will Tulip ever take the hint and see Jesse as a new man? Will these spirit vigilantes catch up with the Preacher? Can Cassidy drink All Saints out of every last drop of communion wine? Hopefully, all these questions will be answered in the upcoming episodes. As for now, Jesse and Cassidy need to figure out why god left humans to their own devices and why was Jesse, of all people, chosen to be imbued with this spirit.