'Preacher' Recap: 'On Your Knees'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

For the most part, season two of AMC’s Preacher has been a pretty uplifting affair. Because despite the tough spots and the tension that Jesse Custer and his friends have faced, they’ve found ways to present a unified front and watch each other’s backs in the process. That is…until last night’s episode, since ‘On Your Knees’ featured a story where quite frankly, everything went wrong. All the good, all the joy and all the unity these friends have enjoyed went flying out the window because Herr Starr is a brilliant villain and he always gets what he wants, plain and simple.
 
Yet oddly enough, this episode was touch deceiving when it came to its final goal of shattering Jesse’s world, because there was a serious bright spot in this one by way of Eugene’s tale. After all, the last time we left this young man, he and Hitler had jumped back into the Hole as part of Hitler’s escape plan and well…as it turns out, in order to escape this dark place, one has to resist the horrors the Hole has to offer and believe it or not, Eugene managed to do just that. He stood up for himself in impossible situations, allowing him to escape that awful place with Hitler at last, and while there’s a fair chance that nothing good will come from having one of history’s biggest monsters free from his cell in Hell…it was great to see Eugene finally take control of his life.
 
But that is where the joyous moments in this episode come to an end, because after that little slice of sunshine, it was back to business; specifically, Herr Starr’s grand plan to break Jesse Custer in order to get him to become the new Messiah and the first step in making that happen, was to unleash the Saint of Killers from his watery grave. In fact, it would seem Starr has kept the Saint in mind for some time now since the whole reason we didn’t see this deranged cowboy in the back of the truck last week is because the Grail did ye olde switcheroo to rescue him and prepare him in the event Jesse turned down Starr’s offer and once he did…the Saint was free to finish his business with the Preacher. 

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​Killing Jesse Custer is a task that the Saint was more than happy to resume and well…his return to Denis’ apartment was nothing short of brutal. He was able to avoid Jesse’s commands from Genesis with a well-placed hit to the throat and he made short order of Tulip and Cassidy before putting Jesse on his knees. But before he could deliver a drawn-out and painful end to our intrepid preacher, Hell stepped in and took the Saint back where he belongs and unfortunately for Jesse, once again being unable to defeat the Saint and have his friends put at risk once more only helped to shatter their confidence in him further, allowing for Starr to take the next steps in getting exactly what he wants.
 
Because shortly after the attack, Starr brings Tulip and Cassidy to the Grail’s offices and explains to them point blank, how useless they are to Jesse and his future and well, his words and their bluntness were the final steps to his powerful plan. Because it doesn’t take long for Tulip and Cassidy to confront Jesse about their meeting and his meetings with Herr Starr and well, shortly after questioning their worth to Jesse…it would seem this close-knit group is parting ways, and judging from the closing moments of the episode, it would seem Jesse Custer has made a choice after all, and is embracing the notion of becoming the new Messiah…
 
When all is said and done, credit is due once again to this show for delivering unto us one incredibly intelligent villain. Sure, Herr Starr can murder with impunity but to do this; to break a man without him even knowing it to further the Grail’s agenda, is pure evil genius and well…Starr’s actions made this episode heartbreaking on so many levels. You could see the hurt in Cassidy and Tulip’s eyes, and you could see that Jesse was at his absolute lowest as well and because of that, the bad guy wins this one and it should be interesting to see what happens in next week’s season finale as Jesse works to fulfill a role that deep down he knows isn’t right for him. Until next time.  

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