Preacher
Episode 2.1 “On The Road”
Directed by Sam Catlin
Written by Sam Catlin
Starring Dominic Cooper, Joe Gilgun, Ruth Negga, Lucy Griffiths, W. Earl Brown, Anatol Yusef, Tom Brooke, Ian Colletti, Jackie Earle Haley, Graham McTavish
AMC
Air date: Sunday, June 25th, 2017, 9pm

Finally! Preacher returns to AMC for Season 2 and Preacher Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper), Tulip (Ruth Negga), and Irish vampire Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) are, as the title suggest, “on the road.” Last season, Jesse was possessed by Genesis, an all powerful half-godly/half-demonic force. It’s so powerful that angels from Heaven came looking for him and it, and they’re hilariously unsuccessful at retrieving it. Jesse feeling revitalized by the power of Genesis tries to save his small Texas town of Annville and bring them the voice of God himself, except for one problem: God is missing. Annville finds this out full force when a methane gas explosion wipes out everyone in the town except for three who happen to be eating at a roadside diner on the outskirt of town”¦ you guessed who. The search for God begins”¦ NOW.

WARNING: Spoilers for Episode 2.1 of Preacher….

And in one jaw-droppingly epic 5 minutes, Preacher‘s second season blows away everything else on TV in 2017. As the three argue over what happens to discarded foreskins post-circumcisions, “Come On Eileen” plays on the car radio and soon the trio are surrounded by cops and under gunfire from the Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish). I won’t give too many details, you need to see it to believe it. The Saint is not to be trifled with as he shows by pulling out a poor gas station attendant’s tongue.

Cassidy is having a conflict of conscience being that he and Tulip slept together in Season 1 and Jesse doesn’t know about it. Tulip does not want to see Jesse’s reaction to that nugget of info. They go to one of Jesse’s old friends, a minister named Mike, who locks parishioners in cages to curb their urges. When Jesse brings up God, Mike offers whiskey. Jesse’s story draws some hilarious banter, although no answers. And to make matters worse, especially for Cass and Tulip, the three end up side-by-side by side in Mike’s bed. Joseph Gilgun KILLS it in every scene. He is the consummate show-stealer.

The gang heads out to New Orleans and soon enough Mike is left alone as the Saint approaches. They frame McTavish as a giant. He is a legit 6’2″ — having met him in person at a convention, he dwarfed me. Here he is enormous and his raw emotionless interactions make him a character out of a horror film. Before dying, Mike had told Jesse of an odd encounter he had with a stripper and that sends the trio to the club to investigate whether God is walking on Earth as an exotic dancer. Suddenly I’m getting flashbacks of Jay and Silent Bob watching Salma Hayek dance in Dogma.

The strip club scene goes exactly how’d you think. Jesse and Tulip have their plans foiled by Cassidy’s stupidity which leads to all sorts of craziness. We do find out one crucial bit of info, God was there, not for the girls, but for the jazz. Jesse is on the right track and despite his failures of the day, celebrates with Tulip in a way he has not done in a long time. But the Saint of Killers is coming, and it appears nothing will stop him.

This episode felt like Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Sam Catlin channelled their inner Quentin Tarantino and let loose and epic hour of violence and sadistic fun. There were great character developments and interactions, and jaw-dropping action sequences. What is great is the subtle moments that show how important the three main characters are to each other. The smile on Tulip’s face as Jesse breaks the bathroom door down for her. Cass pleading his case to Jess because of the fear of losing his only friends. God, I love this show!

Not enough can be said about the opening sequence, but Twitter was going crazy watching. I love that they’re all totally oblivious to the fact that Annville was wiped out in a mushroom cloud, despite it constantly being on the news all around them. When you wait for a favorite show of yours to return for a new season, this is the type of premiere episode you hope to get. You don’t have to wait long to rejoin the three leads, as they’re back at it Monday at 9pm on AMC for the premiere of Episode 2.

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Video

Preacher Season 2: ‘The Search for God: Day One’ Premiere Sneak Peek

Jesse and Tulip discuss the best strategy for how to find God while Cassidy obsesses over a disturbing fact about the male anatomy. Don’t miss the Season 2 premiere Sunday, June 25 at 10/9c.