‘Preacher’ Review: You’re a Bad, Bad Man

Many turn to religion for hope, for need, for fulfillment, for faith in the things they want to desperately believe in. And Preacher is definitely trying to push this faith on himself, partly because he believes in it perhaps, but mostly because he wants to believe that he can do good for others. There’s nothing more interesting than watching someone trying to be better, only to realize that perhaps it’s a losing battle and we should embrace certain parts of us that we’d rather hide.

“See” begins immediately after the pilot episode. Preacher has been possessed by an unknown being and has promised his church congregation that he will indeed try and save them. From themselves, from life, from him, who knows? But, he’s willing to try. And so he’s baptizing everyone outside in a kiddie pool, atoning for their sins. There’s a bus driver confessing that he’s into a little girl on his bus. Sexually. If that’s not disturbing enough, his confession that he can’t stop thinking about her is even more so. Promising not to tell anyone of the man’s confession, Preacher advises him to stop sinning. Which, ok, sure, he can stop doing, but that isn’t really going to erase the deep-rooted and disturbing problem that this man has.

Preacher is at the end of his rope. It’s like, no matter how much he tries to help people, it doesn’t do anything. Nothing gets better, nothing is solved, the world is still a shitty place. Sure, he’s serving God, but what purpose is it serving? Visiting a woman in a vegetative state after an accident doesn’t help matters. When he offers his words of comfort, promising that it will get better, the woman’s mother replies, “Those are lovely words, but unfortunately, that’s all they are.” And words aren’t going to wake her daughter from her permanent coma-like state. Even Eugene Root, whose face is disfigured after a gun found its way to his face, and who is excited about the idea of transformation, finds doubt in it by episode’s end, believing the baptism didn’t work.

Jesse tells Cassidy that he’s a changed man. Tulip is quick to inform him that change doesn’t come so easily. And that, deep down, she knows he’s a “bad, bad man” no matter which way he tries to turn or how many people he thinks he can save. Of course, the irony here is that, after being possessed, Jesse’s words do have power. After Linus, the perverted bus driver, still hasn’t taken the hint and stopped thinking about the little girl and possibly performing sexual acts, Jesse goes to him and shoves his head into a bathtub, demanding that he “forget her.” It’s then that Jesse realizes his true gift — he can quite literally use the power of his words to affect people’s minds and make them bow to his will. With this conviction, he arrives back at the home of the comatose woman, asking her directly to wake up. Demanding it. The episode ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger, but there’s no doubt that she will heed his request.

The question then becomes: Is this what Jesse is meant to do? Is this what God had planned for him all along? What are the repercussions of this new gift? There is a lot to be answered, but “See” is on the right track in getting there.

Elsewhere in the episode, Cassidy battles Fiore and DeBlanc, the two men investigating the exploding preachers. While out for the count, Jesse is left lying on the church floor while Cassidy bloodily fights the two men, who were trying to gruesomely cut Jesse up with a chainsaw. It’s a dark and disturbingly gory fight that leaves Fiore and DeBlanc unconscious and possibly dead. We also learn that Cassidy is indeed a vampire and that he’s 119-years-old. He’s also running from a bunch of “vampire-hunting religious vigilantes.”

“See” also introduces new characters: Odin Quickcannon and a Man with no Name. Quickcannon is a meat-processing company owner and is dead set on destroying a house that sits on land that he wants. He’s very briefly in the episode and doesn’t do much except bulldoze the house he came to bulldoze. The Man with no Name exists in 1881 and he’s roaming the seemingly never-ending and deserted land of Texas. He’s mysterious and quiet and… that’s all about there is to be revealed about him. So far.

“See” continues what the Pilot started, except now it’s getting the chance to further explore the characters and more of the story. And it definitely is an attention-grabber. The varying themes of dark and light continue and every time Cassidy, and especially Tulip, grace the screen, it’s time to really pay attention because their individual relationship with Jesse is where we’re learning the most about him. Plus, Tulip is a favorite of mine already. And with that, “Preacher” isn’t running on full steam yet, but it certainly is getting more and more intriguing and mysterious by the hour.

80%

80%

Great

"See" has a lot of character and plot development. Tulip and Cassidy are the key to Jesse and the mysteries that the episode sets forth are slight, but it's clear they'll prove to be more useful later. A well-rounded episode with lots going on.