PREACHER - Ep. 2, 'See' - A TV Review

SPOILER WARNING - I will be discussing events explicitly from both this episode of the AMC series 'Preacher' and the comic series 'Preacher'. So if you don't like it, GTFO.

WOW! What a difference another episode makes. While the pilot had a meandering feeling to it that made the direction of the episode seem unclear, this episode was focused, well-paced, and far better constructed than anything we'd previously seen. The pilot's flaws also called attention to its divergence from the source material. Episode two, titled 'See' diverged even further from any of the comic's early story arcs, but was still so interesting on its own merit that I didn't even care. The acting and tone of the show were eased back a little, though still fairly outrageous, and yet it made all the difference.

Dominic Cooper's performance is much more subtle in this episode. Rather than playing as if he's hiding his past from everyone, he plays as though he's fighting his past, denying it even to himself. He starts this episode doling out front yard baptisms. Everyone plays along with the notion that water can wash away sins, but it's clear that no one, including Jesse the baptist, really truly believes in it. That becomes evident when Eugene (a.k.a. Arseface, whose nickname's foundation was laid in this episode) goes to see the Preacher to let him know the post-baptismal euphoria had worn off.

The late night drink Jesse shares with Cassidy, in one of the episode's strongest scenes, underscores the theme of the episode - fate versus free-will, and nature versus choice. Jesse is the subject of most of this conflict, with Tulip is on one side of the argument, constantly nagging at Jesse to give in to his baser impulses, and ironically, Cassidy, the vampire, is on the other. The creature of the night sits there arguing that Jesse isn't a puppet in God's master plan, and that he can take charge of his own life.

And while Jesse seems to finally decide which version of himself he can be, torturing the not-so-poor Linus with scalding water to rid him of his pedophile impulses, Jesse discovers the power of his Word.

The comic made Jesse's power, what they called 'the word of God' pretty clear from the jump off, but this episode teases out it's effectiveness pretty well throughout. From his inadvertent silencing of everything around his church, to the cliffhanger of whether or not it will work on a comatose young girl (who may or may not have some kind of connection to Arseface) the use of the Word and the teasing of the power of Genesis were both handled pretty well here.

The mysterious duo from last week, DeBlanc and Fiore also make a much more prolonged appearance in this episode. Finally out of the shadows and played by Tom Brooke and Anatol Yusef, the two angels (it's not clear yet that they're angels within the show, but the comic establishes them as divine in the opening issue) have a wild and crazy night as they attempt to extract Genesis from the extraordinarily drunk Jesse. During an ultraviolent and surprisingly hilarious brawl with Cassidy, the duo take turns slicing up the Irish vampire with varying degrees of success. But even their divine power is no match for Cass, and they end up butchered with a chainsaw and buried in a trunk out in the middle of the desert...

Until they're shown, alive and well and talking to Sheriff Root in one of the final moments of the episode. To the non-comic viewer, it's a solid tease - who the fuck are these guys? and more importantly, what are they??

And speaking of good teases, let's talk about the episode's prologue, which gives us a glimpse at the origin of the Saint of Killers, credited now only as "the Cowboy". We barely got a look at Graham McTavish's face, but damn if his wardrobe and makeup aren't absolutely spot-on perfect. With only a couple of minutes of screen time, we learn several things about this man - he's hard, he's tough, he's under no illusions about the "wonder of God's work", but he's got a family. And he's willing to ride a dangerous trail to save his daughter from illness. I can't wait to see more of the Saint's story, but I do wonder - in the end, will it be more effective to tell his story before we've already come to fear his deadly power? Would it work better to fear him, and maybe even hate him, before we know it's ok to pity him? I'm very curious to find out.

Not all was wine and roses in this episode, though. Ruth Negga continues to bug the shit outta me, with her annoying presence, and the way any momentum in the show comes to a screeching halt any time she shows up. She plays Tulip like an annoying child, hassling the older brother to take her out to play. The one good thing I can say is that the way they're developing her character, showrunners Rogen and Goldberg may be setting her up to not be the pure-hearted love interest of the comics at all. They may be going a darker route entirely. Which would be interesting.

 And as much as I love Jackie Earle Haley and would literally watch him read a phone book, the introduction of his portrayal of meat kingpin Odin Quincannon was underwhelming. It is strictly an introduction of his face and little else. We see him buy a house and immediately bulldoze it...and that's about it. There's very little to establish who he is or what he is. It was a scene that felt as muddled and pointless as much of the pilot. But hopefully, that'll get rectified pretty quickly.

This was a damn solid episode, but even if it wasn't, if a show can end an episode on a strong note - one that makes me shriek or gasp or yell out "no!!" to the TV because I can't stand to wait to see what happens - that's usually a pretty good sign. It means I've become fully invested in the story. And Jesse trying to use his power to wake up the gravely injured girl achieved that response. And I'm glad it did. I am genuinely excited for next Sunday's episode.


FINAL SCORE - 8/10

Preacher airs on AMC, Sunday nights at 9/8c