The Saint comes marching in.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
The quality of Preacher's second season has been proportional to the amount of screen time given to the Saint of Killers. When the Saint is front and center and carving a swatch of destruction on his way towards apprehending Jesse Custer, the show is an enthralling experience. But the past couple episodes have largely ignored the Saint in favor of Jesse's antics in New Orleans, and the overall momentum has suffered. Unsurprisingly, things got back on track immediately this week as our heroes found themselves staring down the barrel of Death's revolver.
"Sokosha" opened on a strange but intriguing note as we followed the travels of "The Technician" (Badge of Honor's James Kyson) as he went about his daily routine. It was several minutes into the episode before it became clear what exactly scheme this well-dressed businessman was carrying out, but the answer didn't disappoint. I'm regularly fascinated by the cynical, corporate-minded way this series treats the relationship between Heaven, Hell and Earth. The idea of poor people literally selling pieces of their souls for the benefit of the wealthy elite feels all too appropriate for this darkly comic universe.
The fact that Jesse seems so keyed into this underground business is all the more interesting. We're slowly getting nuggets of information about the L'Angelle family this season and Jesse's extremely traumatic childhood. The most exciting aspect of these reveals is that it's becoming clear that Sam Catlin, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have a much different take on the L'Angelle clan than we saw in the comics. This series doesn't always succeed in capturing the characterization of the comics, but I appreciate the ongoing attempts to take risks and try new things. And this is one area where it seems like those risks will be paying off.
This episode did a great job of building towards the long-awaited rematch between Jesse and the Saint, with a simple, wholesome breakfast quickly falling apart once Jesse realized their enemy was near. The resulting library scene was handled especially well, with a montage of imagery, animation and narration offering a cohesive account of the Saint's origin story. It was a nice touch to see panels of the actual Preacher comics interspersed in there. It's nice to think that versions of creators Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon exist in this world, contributing to the legend of the Saint of Killers.
The episode only got better as Jesse came face-to-face with his relentless enemy. Graham McTavish was at his most terrifying and intimidating here, giving this running conflict a much greater sense of urgency and danger. How do you reason with an enemy that can't be stopped and exists only to kill? Well, leave it to Jesse Custer to find a way. What started as a desperate fight for survival rapidly morphed into a comedy of errors as Jesse tried his best to rustle up a soul for his soulless foe. I loved seeing Jesse jump through hoops to build a homemade bomb, only for that bomb to do absolutely nothing but attract the attention of a bemused police officer. The silliness of that heist sequence combined with the ticking clock made for a very enjoyable conflict.
In general, it was a lot of fun to watch the relationship between Jesse and the Saint evolve drastically over the course of the episode. The connection between the duo is pretty straightforward in the comics, and this is another area where the show is embellishing and diverging from the source material in promising ways. There was a fleeting sense of connection between the two, as though a man empowered by Genesis is the only mortal truly capable of understanding the mind of an unholy killer. But that didn't stop Jesse from sacrificing a piece of himself to outwit the Saint. Quite a dramatic finish to this ongoing feud. You have to imagine that the Saint is going to be pretty ticked off when he's inevitably freed form his underwater prison. But now that Genesis has power over him, he's no longer the unstoppable, Terminator-like villain he once was.
Two other small scenes stood out this week. The first involved the revelation that Cassidy's "friend" Denis is actually his estranged son. That was an unexpected twist, and one that really speaks to the tragedy of being an immortal bloodsucker in a world where everyone else invariably ages and dies. It certainly gives new context to the patronizing way Cassidy has been treating Denis all this time.
The other standout scene was the very last one, as the episode came full circle with Jesse staring at his reflection in the bathroom. In the opening scene, he was cheerful and full of optimism about his quest to track down God,. Flash forward a few hours, and he's a much different man, one weighed down by burdens both physical and spiritual. I love that Dominic Cooper was able to convey so much about his character's state of mind without saying a word. Jesse may have defeated the Saint, but it came at a heavy cost. rarely has Jesse questioned the righteousness of his quest, but you can tell a part of him worries that he's become tainted through his metaphysical bond with the Saint.
The Verdict
"Sokosha" marked the high point of Preacher's second season so far. This episode was tense and dramatic, yet tinged with just enough of the series' trademark black humor to keep things on an even keel. It also succeeded in adding some genuinely new and interesting ideas to the source material as the relationship between Jesse Custer and the Saint of Killers took shape. The only question is how well the show can keep this newfound momentum going as Jesse and the gang figure out the next step in their open-ended mission.
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