Since the series premiere, AMC’s latest comic-to-television adaptation has proven to be a ferocious blood fest, soaked in graphic amounts of crimson and a strong emphasis on gore. It’s a real feat that Preacher manages to get away with so much in terms of its level of violence. This week’s episode is, once again, an example of the show’s gruesome nature.
So little has been disclosed about Graham McTavish’s mysterious brooding performance as The Saint of Killers. And here, the western bounty hunter receives his most bloody, most brilliant moment yet. Guns a blazin’, The Saint of Killers is given an unforgettable piece of television, slowly tracking along the western bar as he slaughters its occupants, and later cleanly slicing the head of the bar’s singer. Tarantino-esque. Brilliant.
Back in the present, we return to the predicaments of Jesse Custer. Having been arrested for the gun toting of last week’s episode, Custer is now on the lamb after escaping from Sheriff Root. Following the events of the shootout, Custer convinces landowner Quincannon of another proposition: he will bring God himself to Annville on Sunday’s sermon.
Meanwhile, DeBlanc and Fiore, helpless and desperate, resort to a journey into Hell. In quite the humour and gorgeously lit scene, who knew getting a ticket to Hell was as simple as going to your local flight centre? Just further south. Apprehensive and alerted, the plans for the two angels are derailed further by the hands of Jesse Custer…alongside their connection to Heaven.
Cassidy, still recovering from his sacrificial burning, slowly begins to recuperate from his charcoal, vampiric state. As a result, Tulip turns to Emily for help. Emily, confused by the absurdity of the situation, takes a route that essentially ruins the show’s most innocent characters. Convincing Mayor Miles Person of danger, she lures Miles into the home and has him eaten by Cassidy. Scary shit indeed. What happened, Emily?! Sheriff Root, discovering the blood covered motel walls of DeBlanc and Fiore, finds the surviving remains of Seraphim, legs and arms amputated and left alive in the room’s bathtub. In quite the confronting scene, Root performs euthanasia on Seraphim. Horrified by his actions, Root breaks down, only for Seraphim to spawn again and leave the motel undetected.
Jesse returns to Cassidy as they make amends. There, in a fitting example of bromance, they decide to bury the body of Miles together.
Meanwhile, having fled Annville, Tulip is found sitting directly opposite Carlos, tied and strapped to a chair, giving him a dead, cold antagonising look.
The pieces of the puzzle are all culminating in next week’s season finale, but before they do, we are finally disclosed how The Saint of Killers forms season one of Preacher. In an incredible, yet somewhat jarring flashback sequence, the infamous killer is given a sprawling reintroduction, from his opening scene in episode two to the opening bar massacre scene. Brilliantly, it is revealed land The Saint of Killers is nothing but the one, the only, Hell. Arriving at their destination, DeBlanc and Fiore present the bounty killer a request: to kill a certain Preacher.
It’s been a wild, bat-shit crazy ride, Preacher. While certainly pushing the envelope further than most, this week’s episode saw gore taken to the wildest, most confronting extremes the show has depicted yet. Amazingly, as the show draws to its season finale, the sprawling narrative of Preacher finds more fashionable and unpredictable turns that have viewers guessing what the outcome entails. For a penultimate episode, Preacher soars across the board. Bring on the finale!
 THE REEL SCORE: 9/10
Next time…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxEbvE4C0lE
