Title: Preacher “See”
Network: AMC
Air date: May 29th, 2016
Genre: Drama, Black Comedy, Horror
Preacher is without a doubt quickly becoming my favorite new show on AMC. The cast of characters is excellent with equally excellent performances, not to mention it has the perfect blend of action and humor. Joe Gilgun as Cassidy is absolutely hilarious as the thick accented Irish Vampire. In the scene where he meets Arseface, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Good God, I’m sorry lad. As you were comin’ through the door there I went cold with panic.” Not to mention that church fight scene with Cassidy and the two mystery men… talk about brutal. The episode also opened with a very prominent character from the comics. While AMC has this character listed as the “Enigmatic Cowboy,” anyone who is familiar with the Preacher comics, will know him as the Saint of Killers.
The opening of the episode brings us back to 1881, providing some incredibly powerful images, including that of the Cowboy and the Indians hanging from that tree. That same tree is actually seen again later with Cassidy in the present day. The Cowboy is most certainly the Saint of Killers who is the main antagonist in the Preacher comic series. Actor Graham McTavish plays the character and will be playing a significant part in the TV series just like in the comics. Now in the comics, the Saint of Killers is a man who causes hell to literally freeze over due to the hatred in his soul. At first glance, it appears the TV series will follow a similar origin story for the character as in the comics and you get part of the idea of how it happens in the opening of “See.”
Cassidy has been such a fun character in these first two episodes and got another standout fight scene in the church with the two mystery men. In the Pilot episode Cassidy is essentially marooned in the town of Ratwater and in this second episode we discover that he has become a bit of a helper around the church. His intention still seems to be to leave but very early on Jesse tells Cassidy that he likes having him around. Clearly this comment meant something to Cassidy. We find out Cassidy is 119 years old and on the run from a bunch of vampire hunting vigilantes, who somehow seem to keep finding him. Therefore, Cassidy most certainly hasn’t had a connection with anyone in awhile being constantly on the move, so he probably is beginning to feel accepted in this town of Ratwater. I think this is what causes Cassidy to decide to return, thankfully in the nick of time to save Jesse in the church.
Talk about that brutal fight scene in the church. Those two mystery men show up to collect the entity that is in Jesse but even they seem to be it. They seem to already have experience in dealing with things of this nature because at first the try to extract the entity into a container with the children’s lullaby “Wnyken, Blynken, and Nod.” At first, I thought we wouldn’t be seeing those two again after Cassidy killed them, but at the end of the episode…there they are perfectly unharmed. They say they are from the government and I believe these characters are a variation of the Adelphi Angels from the comics. Ultimately in the comics, they are the ones who set the Saint of Killers free to find and capture Jesse but we’ll have to see how that all plays out.
Dominic Cooper continued to shine as the Preacher and by the end of the episode, knows that he has some type of power. Jesse continued to face the internal conflict of who he’s trying to be vs who he was. Tulip plays a big part in this because she knows about Jesse’s other side and she thinks it’s just a matter of time before that side comes back out. She’s trying to convince him that she knows who he is and she needs that bad part of him back to complete a job and proceeds to egg him on throughout the episode. We see a darker side of Jesse when it comes to a member of his congregation talking to him about his…urges, which involve a little girl on his school bus. Jesse doesn’t buy a word this guy is telling him and you can tell by his face that he wants to hurt him. This weighs on his mind throughout the episode and the interaction between the two is what leads Jesse to understand that he does indeed have some sort of power.
I really liked Jesse’s interaction with Arseface because it sort of caused Jesse to have his own revelation about himself. Arseface is troubled by “feeling bad” and in the opening hoped that being baptized by the Preacher would rid him of this and any sins. He tells the Preacher something most of us can relate to at one point or another in our lives, that he essentially lied to himself about his sins feeling washed away…but they really weren’t. He thinks that maybe he’s supposed to be this way because that’s what God intended. This is somewhat of a revelation for Jesse because maybe that bad man that he can be…is what God intended for Jesse.
The second episode in Preacher was fantastic and I’m thrilled with everything the show has done so far and can’t wait for episode three. Did you catch Preacher? If so what did you think and how do you feel about the TV adaptation of the characters from the comics? Be sure to let us know in the comments below and check back next week for our review of episode three.
- Characters: Odin and the Saint of Killer are introduced and we get to see more of Cassidy and Tulip
- Story: Jesse is beginning to understand he has power and two mysterious men are out for Jesse
- Cinematography: Powerful images in the opening segment and an awesome fight scene in the church.
- Acting: Joe Gilgun is hilarious as Cassidy and Dominic Cooper again shines as the Preacher
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