'Preacher' Recap: 'Dirty Little Secret'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Over the course of its two-season run, AMC’s Preacher has been a great many things. It’s been a rip-roaring comedy from time to time, or a wonderful foray into horror, and a cinematographer’s dream come true as well. But despite its ability to be a chameleon storytelling wise, one thing has remained at its core, the fact that it is a story about a man desperate to find meaning and direction in life by way of Jesse Custer’s plight.
 
Yet, what has made such a journey so incredibly fascinating over the past couple of years is the sheer fact that it has told Jesse’s tale without ever once dropping us into familiar territory. This isn’t the age-old story of redemption that we’ve seen time and time again, Jesse Custer has always been a renegade/anti-hero who is fully aware of his actions in life. It’s been all about that personal quest I made mention of a moment ago, which is why I found last night’s episode, ‘Dirty Little Secret’, to be such the jaw-dropping surprise.
 
Because this particular story not only managed to push the envelope in incredible fashion as this series is wont to do, but it finally put Jesse in a truly tough place, one that could change the course of the series and his world in ways we never expected by challenging his fundamental beliefs, and it accomplished all of this by once again dropping exciting new concepts into our lap, all while doing the unthinkable…and giving us a story that quite frankly was rooted in some core concepts of Christianity.

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​After all, the best moments of this episode, were the ones that Jesse and Herr Starr shared together. Wherein Jesse learned how Jesus Christ fathered a son and how that son eventually fathered his own and how generations later…the Grail’s plan to keep a pure Messiah through a specific inbreeding process forced Starr to lose his faith in the Grail’s greater plan because the Savior is simply not fit to lead when trouble arrives and the genius of those twists and turns, is the sheer fact that Starr believes that Jesse, should step into that leadership role and bring order to the world with the power of Genesis.
 
I call such a plot line genius simply because…how often do you see a tale about good versus evil…where evil, actually admires the hero enough to the point where they want to work with them and eventually…for them? I honestly cannot think of one, and racked my brain trying to find an example of this. Either way, it was amazing to see everything Jesse’s ever believed in shatter before his eyes and to see him deal with the fact that he is going to be forced to choose between continuing his search for God on his own, or succumb to the temptation that the Grail is offering and enjoy unbridled power.
 
That’s where the story becomes supremely religious, since resisting the temptation of evil is a core theme of the Bible and Christianity for that matter, and it’s oddly refreshing to see it pop into the story now. If anything, this is hands down the best episode to date that Preacher has offered up since it challenged the audience and their beliefs in lighthearted fashion and challenged our character in new ways and a day after watching this one, I’m still smiling over how good this episode turned out to be and I cannot wait to see where the series is headed after this powerful and fascinating twist. Until next time. 

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