Jesse Custer finds answers in a casino.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Two new episodes of Preacher in as many nights isn't a bad way to kick off the new season. And better yet, "Mumbai Sky Tower" proved to be a nice palate cleanser after last night's hyper-violent premiere, slowing down the action a bit and allowing the romance between Jesse and Tulip to blossom. Not that this slower approach did anything to diminish the show's gleefully black sense of humor.
Most of the action we did get in this episode was front-loaded in the first few minutes, as the Saint of Killers directed his wrath against an entire hotel full of gun enthusiasts. Despite the satisfying brutal nature of that shootout, the opening was actually the weak point of the episode for me. For one thing, the resolution to the cliffhanger from "On the Road" felt cheap and lazy. Jesse survived certain death from the Saint's bullet because a truck driver just happened to be driving by at the precise time and speed needed to intercept the bullet? Awfully convenient, that. I suppose you could argue that might have been a bit of divine intervention at work, but there's been no indication so far that God is actually helping Jesse and friends on their quest, or even wants to be found in the first place. Certainly, the source material would suggest otherwise.
The other problem I had with this opening sequence gets back to something I discussed in last night's review. There's something unsettling about Jesse's callous, selfish behavior here. He showed no concern about or gratitude toward the unlucky truck driver who just accidentally saved his life. And he had no trouble lining up the gun conventioneers to die protecting him. Sure, he did his best to make them flee when the battle turned against them, but that was too little, too late. As Is aid last night, it's sometimes tough to reconcile this morally dubious version of Jesse Custer with the fundamentally heroic and decent Jesse of the comics. And I do think we're slowly getting there, particularly after Jesse's conversations with Fiore this week, but there's still a long road ahead.
But if the show is still having trouble with that side of Jesse Custer, it's making great progress with the Jesse/Tulip romance. Dominic Cooper and Ruth Negga have shared strong chemistry from the beginning. You really get the sense that these are two troubled people with a long, rocky history together who just can't seem to quit each other. It's a lot of fun watching Jesse and Tulip grow closer again, even as one always seems on the verge of pushing the other away. It's a complicated but passionate romance, and one that captures the full appeal of the source material.
Tulip was plenty entertaining on her own this week, with the episode showcasing her both at her toughest and most vulnerable. Of the main trio, she's clearly the only one particularly bothered by the destruction of Annville. And why not? She was the only one who lost family to that massive methane explosion. Negga really shone in the sequence where Tulip recounted the story of the time her uncle cleaned himself up long enough to meet her teachers at school. We've seen plenty of Tulip's no-nonsense firebrand side. This was a welcome glimpse of the lonely, unhappy orphan within.
Conversely, it was fun watching Tulip kick some ass in her brawl with mob hitman Gary (Bloodline's Michael Beasley). That fight featured all the over-the-top violence we've come to expect from the series, but there was still a messy brutality to it, one perfect for a fight to the death between two trained killers. That battle reinforced the idea that Tulip is more than capable of fending for herself while also making it clear that she's in very real danger as the gang's road trip continues. As much as Preacher is a story about three friends hitting the road in search of God, it's also one about the various and sundry ways those three friends find their respective pasts coming back to haunt them. That clearly seems to be a focus this season.
Apart from Tulip, Fiore was very much the star of the show this week. His struggle was both hilarious and sweetly sad in a way that's textbook Preacher. As funny as the early montage was, with Fiore glumly taking in the sights of the casino and committing suicide again and again, you really had to feel for the plight of an angel locked out of Heaven and completely alone in the human world. That he was able to parlay his immortality into a gig as a stage musician was just great. I got a real laugh out of the sight of the first several rows of guests wearing ponchos to protect themselves from the "splash zone." This season continues to excel when it comes to capturing the sly, grotesque humor of the comic.
Fiore's character arc ended on a very strong note in this episode. He finally found something to fill the void left behind after DeBlanc's death (that something being Cassidy and his massive pile of drugs), only to watch his new friend sail off into the sunset again. Fiore's story ended in quiet tragedy. Rather than do what he could to aid his newfound friends, he betrayed them both out of a sense of lingering duty and a desire to find out what happens to an angel who truly dies. Fiore and DeBlanc will be missed, though I have faith in the ability of Sam Catlin, Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen to conjure up plenty more twisted oddballs to fill that void.
The Verdict
This week's Preacher started off on a sour note, again reminding us that the Jesse Custer of the show doesn't quite measure up to the Jesse Custer of the comics. Things quickly improved from there, however. "Mumbai Sky tower" gave us another healthy dose of violence and black humor, along with plenty of strong Jesse/Tulip romance and a great sendoff for poor Fiore.
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