Pour yourself some jambalaya and go kick der fuehrer, it’s time for a new Preacher y’all! This week Tulip wanders aimlessly around a big mansion while Cassidy saves the day with some Game of Thrones knowledge. Go cue up some Billy Joel, because here be spoilers for season two, episode four: “Viktor.”
1. The titular Viktor
After last week’s superlative episode, I wasn’t sure if Preacher was going to take off on an unstoppable tear. This week things calmed down a bit, never rising to those same heights, but Preacher is firing on all cylinders, and even a transitory episode is filled with the good kind of insanity.
Although the episode is called “Viktor” we don’t spend a lot of time with the man. We sort of meet him through Tulip’s meandering through his operation. We see his minions (some of whom are mad at their follicles for giving up), and see his mansion. We spend a moment with a girl who is presumably his daughter. The set of Viktor’s mansion is gorgeous, probably the best in the series so far, and a lot can be made of the details. Of course, it’s the final seconds of the episode that explains the weirdness- Viktor is Tulip’s husband. Wuh-huh!? Does that mean that girl is her daughter!?
That’s sort of the failing of this episode, it causes us to wonder, but cuts out before we can deal with the only interesting part of the implications. Fortunately, Ruth Negga is a goddamn international treasure, and I would watch her in just about anything, including a nervous meander through a mysterious manor.
2. Increasingly Urgent Punctuation
Jesse is totally consumed with his quest to find God, do he doesn’t really worry about Tulip. Cassidy does though, and his texts keep adding exclamation points and question marks. I wonder if he knows about Emojis?
Tulip sees the texts, and the episode goes out of its way to give her chances to text him back, but she doesn’t. Maybe she thinks she deserves what she has coming to her? We’re set up to believe its brutal torture, but given the reveal at the end, that seems to have been a fake-out.
Also, Dennis is still there. He’s still weird. He’s still speaking French. What the hell Dennis? Is he another vampire? This is going to be one of those things that simmers for a while and then becomes abruptly essential, so keep an eye on our heroes weird, weird host.
3. “Even Dinklage flies business”
Lucky for Jesse, Cassidy is pretty into the TV biz, so he knows how to talk to “God’s” agent. It turns our that the fake God from the season one finale was a human actor, who appeared in a Hurricane Katrina infomercial with Frankie Muniz. I have no idea how Seth Rogen and company pulled Malcolm out of retirement to pee on a fake homeless person while wearing a purple suit, but I think it was worth it. I gawked.
Cassidy uses his TV know-how to get fake God’s audition tape but promising a role on Game of Thrones, complete with a fake musical lick. One thing the show does very right is have Cassidy become useful in the least expected ways. He’s good for a drug binge, and to be a shoulder to cry on, and to be a fake HBO casting scout.
The audition tape becomes out next clue in the hunt for God. Now we need to figure out who shot the actor to send him to heaven, and also why they were so certain he was going to heaven.
4. The Adventures of Eugene and… Hitler!?
The highlight of this episode was Eugene’s adventures in Hell with his new pal Adolf Hitler. We learn a bit about Hell’s mechanics, which are malfunctioning. Of course there are too many souls, and of course Hell is breaking down. They all interact in a holding room, presided over by Amy Hill (of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and um, Seinfeld!). That’s some excellent casting.
We don’t see all of Hitler’s worst memory, but it seems to be related to his rejection from an art school big shot. I’m sure we will come back to it. The fuehrer himself seems to have chilled out in the afterlife, and is the nicest guy we meet in Hell, quickly befriended Eugene and protecting him. Of course, dear Arseface repays him but heiling the man while kicking the crap out of him. He’s in Hell, and he needs to act the part.
Continued belowMaking Hitler a fan favorite character never happened in the comics per se, but that is just so Preacher. Well done everyone. Noah Taylor is credited as a featured cast member, so I think we’re going to spend a lot more time with Adolf.
5. Abuses of Power: Uptown Girl Edition
I’m such a sucker for tonally dissonant silly upbeat music. “Uptown Girl” in a torture chamber is no “Stuck in the Middle With You,” but like I said, I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff. The fight scene was well choreographed, and involved using a severed arm as a weapon so: awesome.
Jesse does what he should have done last week, and he mostly avoids getting into fights by using the Voice. I’d say every single use of it was Righteous. It saved him the trouble of beating up goons, save for the torturer, who was smart enough to use headphones to block the music out.
The big problem with trying to use the Voice is the Saint. We finally see him, following the Jesse down to New Orleans, ready to unleash his wrath. I hope you’re ready for it preacher.
