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“Imagine The Possibilities,” ‘Preacher’ ep.3 Recap

blame it on Meka June 13, 2016
preacher-recap3

Before anything, I have to apologize for skipping last week’s recap. Due to both Governors Ball and Hot 97’s SummerJam, I ended up missing episode two on its regularly-scheduled night and instead recorded it.

In short: there was the introduction of another major character in the show, Jesse Custer was nearly killed by those two mysterious guys who tried to remove the entity that bonded with Custer in episode 1 (giving him the power of The Word of God, or, mind control) with a chainsaw but Cassidy ended up killing them… only for them to not be dead?! Jesse also forced a member of his congregation, who just happens to be an elementary school bus-driving pedophile, to quell from acting out his urges of sexually assaulting one of his young passengers. And Tulip is the embodiment of stress on the show, constantly tempting Jesse to revert back to his old, dark ways. She’s literally a woman that is half Aphrodite, half professional life ruiner.

Fellas, we all know at least one woman like that in our lives.

preacher-cassidy-head

Keep in mind that I am in no way a professional reviewer of television programming, and I am likely the least qualified person to do so. On the off chance I have a weekend with some free time I spend it watching DVR’d episodes of Archer, playing Super Smash Bros. and sleeping. With that said…

WARNING: Spoilers ahead.

So here we are at episode three. In what is a norm for AMC original programming, things move at a snail’s pace yet picks up when least expected (as evidenced by episode two’s chainsaw scene). Speaking of Tulip, this episode — title “The Possibilities” — starts off with her continuing with her plot for this “job” that she has been asking Jesse to accompany her on. Oh look, another “mysterious” character-type sighting; that makes four up to this point, including the two dead-but-not-really dead guys trying to get Jesse’s newfound power and the cowboy at the beginning scene of episode two. This will all make sense as the show progresses, but AMC has a penchant for making its viewers go through chutes and ladders before revealing everything. It’s like going on a date with a former stripper that now wants a “normal” life.

The two fake-dead guys… okay, I’m getting kind of tired of having to “allude” to these guys as “mysterious characters” in this show, especially if you’ve read the comic book and know who they are already. Fortunately I don’t have to do that anymore: they’re revealed to be fallen angels from Heaven, and have been trying to locate and reclaim the power that made its way to Jesse in order to safely keep it… in an old coffee can.

Meanwhile, the third recipient of Jesse’s power is revealed. A comatose teenager — the victims of a horsing accident that also left her with a massive dent in her head — opened her eyes after Jesse’s command. But then the show quickly switches to a scene with Geico Peter Pan kid and his father Donnie (you know, the one who “hits” his mother in a sadomasochistic way, and whose arm was gruesomely broken by Jesse in the bar fight in the first episode) trying to explain why he’s quite literally beating her cheeks. There is a lot going on with this show, all at once, making it feel like there are about 27 different storylines going on simultaneously that they somehow try to tie all in with each other. It’s a bit much at times.

Jesse, who is now aware of his power, shows it to Cassidy in a rather funny way: he makes him hop on one leg while singing Johnny Cash and admitting he likes the music of Justin Bieber, before taking a header into a wall. While Jesse feels like he is cursed somewhat, Cassidy sees it as something much more. The power is shown to be a morally conflicting ability, at times completely enveloping Jesse at times before he catches himself just before things spiral out of control.

Tulip returns to once again persuade him into doing that “job,” which apparently isn’t a caper but a revenge mission on their former associate Carlos, who left them hanging after a bank heist. While heading to his last known location, Jesse has a change of heart but not before Donnie tracks him down to take his own revenge out on him. Naturally, it doesn’t end like Donnie planned, with Jesse nearly forcing him to commit suicide before somewhat acknowledging the depths of his power and stopping at the last minute.

Meanwhile, the two fallen angels attempt to take Jesse’s power again, instead running into Cassidy. Or should I say, Cassidy runs into them… with a van. Once again, though, they come back to life, and after explaining their situation to Cass he agrees to help them out.

preacher-angels

Okay, so after three episodes I’m at a proverbial crossroads with Preacher. It’s not a terrible show, but it has lost some of its luster since its first episode. But seeing as how I’ve already dedicated three hours of my life to it I’m relegated to-slash-stuck watching it to see what happens.