Preacher
Episode 2.3 “Damsels”
Directed by Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
Written by Sam Catlin
Starring Dominic Cooper, Joe Gilgun, Ruth Negga, Gianna LePera, Graham McTavish, Tom Brooke, Ian Colletti, Julie Ann Emery
AMC
Air date: Monday, July 3rd, 2017, 9pm

Preacher‘s second season started off with a bang with a back to back night extravaganza last week on AMC. Not hesitating for a minute, Sunday night’s premiere opened with an epic 10-minutes that saw our heroic trio of force carrying Preacher, Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper), his partner in crime and occasional lover Tulip (Ruth Negga) and Irish Vampire sidekick Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) engage in a bloody explosive laden shoot out with the Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish). He is sent from Hell to kill Jesse to stop Genesis, the all powerful force that possesses him. Meanwhile, the trio is evading death from the Saint, while chasing down God who has disappeared. After a trek through Texas to the Mumbai Sky Tower casino, they encounter rogue angel Fiore (Tom Brooke) and get a lead on God, to the jazz capital of the world, New Orleans. This is bad news for Tulip as her past is rapidly catching up to her. Through two episodes, Preacher has been suitably epic. Laugh out loud funny, shockingly poignant and emotional, and brutally violent and bloody, the chase for God continues…

Check out my review of Preacher episode 3 below.

When is getting accidentally sent to Hell a good thing? The answer is… when the town you live in gets completely annihilated by a methane explosion, and you’re only technically still alive because you’re in Hell. That is the state of poor Eugene (Ian Colletti) aka Arseface. See, Eugene was trying to be a devoted friend and prevent Tracy (Gianna LePera) from committing suicide. That didn’t go so well for him, and now he’s forced to relive this on a loop for eternity… Hell is a bitch.

The tension is palpable for the trio as they head to New Orleans. Tulip is angsty. She just left Jesse at the altar and is NOT shy about not liking their destination. It gets real kinky real fast when their first search for God ends in a shady Bourbon Street basement and… no, I’m not describing it, you just watch. No other show on TV can pull this stuff off. Soon, Jesse is on his own and tensions are building. Tulip is becoming a paranoid wreck that she’ll be recognized, and somehow, Cassidy has a connection to a place they can stay. I know I say it all the time, but Joseph Gilgun has the unique ability to be hilariously funny while doing nothing at all. And then just when you think he’s comedy relief, Cass calls Tulip out on her shit and it gets real.

Jesse gets a tip to a jazz singer, Lara Featherstone (Julie Ann Emery). She’s got this sultry Sharon Stone mid-90s vibe, but she gets spooked by his interest in God. Of course, even spookier is the crew of white clad white masked goons who try to kidnap her. In yet another epic action sequence, Dominic Cooper channels his inner 80s action hero, and single handedly beats down the crew, and escorts her off to safety. Lara wants to pay back his generosity, but he uses all his power, and Genesis to stop her. The small subtle emotions on Jesse’s face – he loves Tulip, but he’s obviously questioning her love for him since she abruptly stopped their wedding, and has been distant since.

We learn that Jesse is being set up, and that Lara, the sultry blonde is actually in with the white coats, and a short-haired brunette. We catch a glimpse at the leader of this organization, Herr K. Starr, who looks like a Ernst Blofeld-Bond villain type. While Jesse faces an uncertain future, the shit is about to hit the fan for Tulip.

This was an excellent episode that set up the foreseeable future of this season. That being said, there was almost no way to keep up the frenetic pace and crazy amount of gore and gags from the first two episodes. Consider me spoiled I guess. I liked how this week we got to see a wider range of emotions from the three leads. Ruth Negga portrays Tulip with a constant state of worry, until this calm acceptance comes over her towards the end. Cassidy is desperately trying to be everything to both Tulip and Jesse, and tripping over himself to gain that acceptance. Julie Ann Emery is a provocative new character that I can’t wait to learn more about, and poor Eugene goes from Annville to Hell and now has to deal with Hitler! And this was an episode that was relatively calm.

Preacher is just tour de force TV right now. Acting, writing, action, characterization, mystery, you name it, you want it, they got it. Tune in next Monday night at 9:00pm ET for a new episode of Preacher only on AMC.

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Videos

Preacher: ‘Welcome to Hell’ Sneak Peek Ep. 203

While exploring his new surroundings, Eugene learns he’s sharing a cell block with none other than Hitler. Don’t miss the next episode of Preacher, Monday, July 3 at 9/8c.

Preacher: ‘Men In White’ Talked About Scene Ep. 203

Lara tells Jesse about a crypto-religious fascist organization with designs on total world domination — and then things get weird.