‘Preacher’ Recap: ‘Messiahs’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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If there’s one phrase that rings true more often than it should in life, it’s that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Because time and time again, the smallest decision or the life changing one reinforces the sheer power of this particular phrase and it’s one that also works well within the framework of television and film and the written word, since stories are a perfect place to explore this reality in the most unique ways imaginable. And it just so happens that this is on my mind today, simply due to the fact that Preacher went full bore into this notion during last night’s episode, since God’s plan to take Jesse Custer out the equation, engendered quite the reaction from his friends.
 
For ‘Messiahs’ saw Tulip and Cassidy do anything but fold over losing Jesse. Instead, they were outright furious over what just happened and decided that they needed to make things right and when you’re that angry and that broken, the only way to feel a sense of justice is to elicit a little revenge and the need to get back at God brought the duo to the Big Apple. Wherein Tulip pulled off a big-time job for Dany in order get exactly what she wanted; Humperdoo, who Jesse had entrusted to his old crime boss for safekeeping. But when Dany denied her the Messiah, Tulip pushed harder than ever before, beating the tar out of her old boss, forcing her to give her the son of Christ. But kidnapping doesn’t exactly elicit a sense of retribution or justice now does it? Which is why Cass was quick to inform Humperdoo’s guardians that the plan is to kill the Messiah to teach the Lord quite the lesson.
 
Yet while all of this was intense and dark and powerful in its own right, the story had more to explore than notions of vengeance. For this particular tale confirmed the fact that Jesse Custer indeed died because of the fall that he endured at the end of last week’s episode, and that meant the series finally had to inform us as to where his soul had gone and well, kudos to the story for handling that in masterful fashion to say the least. Because at first glance it seemed as though the deal with Gran’Ma meant nothing with the Devil now six billion feet under, since Jesse was greeted in the Afterlife by Fiore and given quite the option when it comes to his time in eternity. For with God gone and a war brewing between good and evil, Jesse was offered the Lord’s throne, where he could command the armies of Heaven to victory in the coming apocalypse.
 
But this was something that Jesse simply did not want, for to do so would be an epic sin in its own right and that’s when we came to learn that this little offer from Heaven came forth in order to get him out of his real destination; Hell itself. And it’s a deal that Jesse may still take up, now that he knows exactly what God’s grand design is about now. For Fiore revealed that shortly after Genesis was turned loose upon the universe, the Almighty seemingly had a breakdown, since that’s when He flew His heavenly coop and partied hearty on Earth in epic fashion and during his travels, the grand design came together. And it would seem that the Lord has decided that He’s just straight up bored with humanity and our world as it stands, and He’s ready to put a new species on the planet and see how it thrives and the only person that might be able to stop it is Jesse, provided of course he’s ready to sit atop that throne.
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If anything, I have to admit that I loved that particular twist for several reasons. First and foremost, because it’s so simple in its own right, since one would think that God has bigger designs than creating a human/dinosaur/bird hybrid thingy, but this being’s potential has definitely caught the Lord’s fancy. But I think I loved this reveal more so because it was just so very Preacher. For only this show would feature a story wherein a powerful deity would be prepared to end billions of lives to satiate curiosity. But outside of that lovely surprise, this really was an engaging episode, one that kept you guessing, one that kept you entertained and one that featured everything we love about the series. And now that we know what the grand design is, it should be interesting to see what steps Jesse takes to save his friends and all of mankind because I just don’t see him turning his back on the world in its hour of need. Because he really is a good man deep down and this final challenge, may serve as his redemption. Until next time. 

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