Episode 2 of Preacher picks up immediately after the premiere, with Jesse unsuccessfully using Genesis to stop the Saint of Killers. The Saint fires a shot meant for Jesse but a random truck driver is hit instead causing his truck to plow into the Saint. The noise wakes up the residents of the hotel which was hosting Greater Association of Gun Aficionados conference. The attendees run out, fully armed. Can I say the biggest surprise in this scene is that there were Black people in the group?
Jesse orders them to stop the Saint. I’m not going to outright say that Jesse has a disregard for the lives of other people (outside of his very small friend group). I will say that he has no problems forcing people to stay in a dangerous situation. Maybe they would have stayed and fought without the order but that choice was taken away from them. Interestingly, Cassidy was also with this group and wasn’t affected by the voice.
If someone walked away from a truck hitting them and then bursting into flames, it’s best to assume bullets aren’t going to be as useful as you thought. Not only is the Saint unhurt, he’s also not stopping. He can’t be bargained or reasoned with. He doesn’t feel pity, remorse or fear. He won’t stop until everyone is dead. Yes, he’s basically the terminator in cowboy form.
The Saints kills the gun aficionados and then starts in on the rest of the hotel residents. Cassidy and Jesse go back for Tulip. The news about Annville has finally caught up with them. Tulip is taking it hard. I know they’re in the middle of running for their lives but Jesse seems to have compartmentalized that loss a little too quickly. Remember the flock you were so concerned about last season Jesse? They all went up a ball of methane and fire, try to show more than 5 minutes of concern. If anything, this strengthens his resolve to find God. Luckily, because they do seem to have a lot of luck on their side, they manage to get out of another certain situation. Cue the title card.
Cassidy throws out theories on who’s tracking them – Terminator from the first movie, the one from the second one, and, randomly, the Nazgul. I appreciate Cassidy on so many levels. He then remembers a commercial for the Amazing Ganesh, a performer at the Mumbai Sky Tower casino and throws that out as somewhere they can go for help.
Wondering what happened to our angel friends from last season? When we last saw Fiore he was newly returned from hell with a traumatized look and no DeBlanc at his side. Now Fiore is waiting for a shuttle to the Mumbai Sky Tower in a location straight out of Breaking Bad. Homage or indication that these worlds are connected, you decide.
Fiore is going through it. He’s missing his best friend and stuck on Earth. Set to a rendition of “That’s Life,” a montage shows Fiore losing himself in gambling and sex while trying to commit suicide in a variety of ways. The latter leads him to becoming the Amazing Ganesh. His amazing magic trick is to kill himself every night to the oohs and aahs of an excited audience. I’m not squeamish but wearing a poncho to keep the flying viscera from ruining my clothes is the opposite of fun to me.
Fiore isn’t willing to help them. After last season, who can blame him. He does give up two interesting bits of information though. He (and DeBlanc) hired the Saint of Killers, saying the actual name. More importantly, he reveals that every time Jesse uses Genesis, it’s like sending out a tracking beacon for the Saint. Trying to impart on Fiore the severity of the situation, Jesse tells him that God is missing and he needs Genesis to find him. Fiore understands the magnitude of the problem, he just doesn’t care enough to help.
With Jesse getting nowhere, Cassidy offers to try to convince Fiore to help. This leads to my favorite sequence in the episode. No one parties like Cassidy. I guess once you know you can’t die, why not indulge in every vice you can get your hands on. Cassidy introduces Fiore to his buffet of drugs and they manage to squeeze a weekend of partying into a little less than 3 hours. They play frisbee and basketball, have pillow fights, read Archie comics in the bath and finally relaxing in their blanket fort while eating pudding. By the end, Fiore has a crush and Cassidy has his agreement to call off the Saint.
While all of this is happening, Tulip continues to mourn her uncle. Jesse suggests they get married. Not the best proposal. Not really a proposal at all. But she agrees. They head to the chapel casino but Tulip catches sight of a familiar face and ends up meeting the man, who’s name is Gary, at her hotel room. Considering her past, Gary seems a little too nice. He smiles as they catch up though she is noticeably anxious. Then he brings up his boss, Victor, who is looking for her. When Tulip refuses to call Victor, Gary opts to make the call himself. Things quickly get violent when Tulip tries to stop. What follows is a knockdown, drag-out fight between the two. I hope she didn’t leave her card on file with the hotel for damages. She ends up beating him with the pager from the chapel. That’s when Cassidy walks in. Now there’s another secret between them.
The wedding doesn’t happen after all. Beating a man to death is such a buzzkill. Jesse has an epiphany and guesses that if he likes Jazz so much, God should be in New Orleans. Guess who’s also in New Orleans? Victor. And the road trip continues.
Fiore promises to call off the Saint for his undead bae. “Find Peace” he tells Fiore, sending up the Genesis beacon for the Saint. Probably not the best parting words. When the Saint arrives, not only does Fiore not call off the contract, he asks the Saint to kill him. As we saw with DeBlanc, the only thing that can kill an angel is the Saint’s special hell gun. With both Fiore and DeBlanc dead, there’s no one left to end the contract. Too bad Jesse doesn’t know that. Overall, I preferred this episode to the premiere and that’s mainly due to Cassidy and Tulip.
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