WiC Watches: Preacher season 4

Joseph Gilgun as Cassidy, Ruth Negga as Tulip O’Hare – Preacher _ Season 4, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Lachlan Moore/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Episode 407: “Messiahs”

If you’re looking for well structured, run-of-the-mill drama that takes itself seriously, Preacher is not going to leave you satisfied. If, however, you’re willing to overlook more than a few plot holes in favor of having an irreverently good time, well, Preacher just might be the show for you, and “Messiahs” is more of the same from this season. It’s not terrible, it’s not great, but it can be fun without making much sense. It is however, one of the seasons better episodes despite its flaws.

Last week, we saw the titular preacher plummet to his doom in the Australian outback. Of course, Jesse simply spends the episode in Hell and isn’t truly dead, but his friends, Tulip and Cassidy,still  set off on a rage-fueled revenge fest in Jesse’s name. Ruth Nega shines as Tulip here, whether she’s tearfully reading Jesse’s letter after his death or talking in the diner shortly before blowing someone’s head off. It’s not hard to see why Nega’s next gig is starring opposite Brad Pitt in Ad Astra. Joseph Gilgun is typically solid as well, playing Cassidy’s reluctance pitch perfectly. Cass is no saint, and doesn’t like any of the people Tulip is taking out her wrath on, and yet you still get the impression Cassidy isn’t fully on board with the revenge tour.

Tom Brooke as Fiore – Preacher _ Season 4, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Lachlan Moore/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Down in Hell, Jesse is offered the throne of Heaven by a returning Fiore (Tom Brooke), who can somehow tap into Jesse’s virtual reality torture chamber. Fiore was one of the first two seasons’ highlights, so it’s good to have him back, as is actually getting an idea of how this whole series was set into motion. Yes, we knew God was basically a selfish jagaloon unsatisfied with his creation, but it was still fun to watch him wander the streets of New Orleans, especially when he secures his famous Dalmation suit. Anyways, Jesse still somehow maintains his faith in God, despite learning his creator couldn’t care less about him or the rest of mankind. It doesn’t quite make sense, but perhaps it will be more fleshed out in the final three episodes.

Speaking of things that don’t make sense, God relying on a secretive religious organization to execute the apocalypse (couldn’t he just snap his fingers?) is somehow less zany than said apocalypse being started by a war between New Zealand and Australia. God might be readying some sort of crazy new bird species to take over the Earth, but why he needs the Grail is still beyond me.

As part of their revenge tour, Tulip and Cassidy kidnap Humperdoo and plan on executing him in front of God. It’s easily the highlight of the episode, but it still suffers from the occasional subplot that has no bigger meaning. Remember Hoover #2? Hoover #2 has been facilitating the negotiations between Hitler and Jesus back at Masada, only it turns out that Hoover #2 is really an undercover cop from who knows where who’s about to break this case wide open, commissioner. That is, until Featherstone shoots him in the head. It’s a subplot that doesn’t go anywhere, much like Featherstone herself at this point.

Aleks Mikic as Hoover Two – Preacher _ Season 4, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Lachlan Moore/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Not to sound like a broken record, but while the highs carry this episode, the lows quietly remind us that the series, like its protagonist, is far from perfect. There’s a lot of good in Jesse/Preacher, and “Messiahs” is mostly good, but the rest of it drags it down. With three episodes to go, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover, but it seems more and more likely the series might end before we do.

Random Observations:

• As happened last week, Herr Starr is tortured, this time losing his penis to a dingo in a really, really bad attempt at humor. It’s a pity, because Starr was a wildly entertaining villain from the moment we were introduced to him, but is now reduced to a punchline. And not a good one.
• Cass’ story about faith to the enraptured Jewish synagoue was a nice touch.
• Can we just pretend season 4 was some sort of virtual reality torture scene courtesy of Hell and go back to season 2 or 3?