WiC Watches: Preacher season 4

Mark Harelik as God – Preacher _ Season 4 – Photo Credit: Lachlan Moore/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Episode 403: “Terrible Beauty”

Three episodes into Preacher’s final season, and it’s hard to get a bead on what exactly is going on. After a smashing opening episode, the season’s second episode spun its wheels, while the third episode was more of the same. Don’t get me wrong, “Terrible Beauty” is fun, but with the series finale looming ever closer each week, I wonder why we’re spending this much time on events that don’t immediately seem to carry much import.

Back at Masada, Tulip has successfully infiltrated the Grail’s headquarters, but finds herself held up by a bigger obstacle than machine guys: red tape. Sneaking into Masada as an injured Grail soldier, Tulip finds herself being delayed by a doctor who’s very concerned with her mental health. Despite beating said doctor to a pulp, he remains undeterred. It’s funny to watch Tulip stymied by bureaucratic nonsense, even if it ultimately means she doesn’t make much progress this episode.

Ruth Negga as Tulip O’Hare – Preacher _ Season 4 – Photo Credit: Lachlan Moore/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Likewise, Cassidy is stuck in place. His torture at the hands of Frankie continues, but its his emotional pain that’s clearly hurting him the most. Via flashback, we learn how Cassidy became a vampire and why he is the way he is. Back in the early 1910s, Cassidy abandoned a friend to his death during Ireland’s fight for independence. Sneaking back to his home, Cass is ambushed by an aquatic vampire, leaving him to eternally suffer over guilt for his friend’s death.

This late in the game, I have to guess Cassidy’s choice to stay behind in Masada is leading toward tragedy. It’s possible we’ll get his villainous turn from the comics, but him choosing to sacrifice himself to save someone — probably Tulip — looks even more likely. Either way, Cass doesn’t seem to have completely given up yet, as he’s secreted an angel feather away for some unknown reason, probably to try and escape.

As for the titular Preacher, Jesse’s storyline is still frustrating. After Jesse walked into the house of Jesus de Sade last week, ostensibly to rescue the kid who attempted to rob him last week, we immediately flashed forward to Jesse on a plane with his boots back on. This week, we watch as Jesse enters the house to discover some sort of weird sex club, with everyone from leather-clad gimps straight out of Pulp Fiction to samurais to pirates running around.

Jesse is determined to rescue the kid, but the kid doesn’t want to leave since he’s being paid quite well. And the samurai furries aren’t willing to let the kid go, anyway, leading to a wonderfully shot action scene where Jesse beats the living hell out of the entire house while Christmas music plays in the background. It’s fun, although it ends with the kid accidentally shot in the head, and Jesus de Sade’s head smashed in courtesy of Jesse.

But again, I have to ask what the whole point of this is. Spending multiple episodes on Jesse’s meandering trip to the magic Penis Rock in Australia is frustrating when we have should be building towards a climax. Likewise, when Jesse meets up with Hitler and humiliates the new ruler of Hell, it’s a good time, but are we really establishing a new foe for Jesse this late in the game?

Pip Torrens as Herr Starr – Preacher _ Season 4 – Photo Credit: Lachlan Moore/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Like last week, this would have been a completely enjoyable episode if it aired in season 2, but with the clock winding down, it’d be nice for the show to build some momentum. The final season of Preacher seems to have the opposite problem of Game of Thrones season 8, which bounded through events so quickly we barely had time to decide how we felt about them. Here, we seem to be going nowhere at all, albeit very quickly and violently.

Random Observations

• Arseface and the Saint’s slow trek through the Texas countryside, while amusing, also seems stalled. Is the Saint really going to walk to Australia? Are we supposed to be rooting for him? Who knows.
• Herr Starr’s continued obsession with his looks is becoming wearisome, even if he’s using Cassidy’s foreskins in an attempt to look more distinguished. Starr was a master manipulator, but since teaming up with God, he’s been relegated to the butt of too many jokes.