‘Preacher’ Recap: ‘Search and Rescue’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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

If there’s one thing I think we can all agree upon when it comes to this crazy ride, we call life, it’s that, we struggle when our negative actions are outright exposed. Because we find comfort in our more unsavory habits and proclivities, especially when they’re able to help us cope and move us from point a to point b. So, when someone, or the universe, takes the time to remind us that our actions are detrimental or selfish in their own right, we tend to immediately find pause. In part because we are irritated at having our quirks exposed, but also because, those little moments of reflection serve as a wonderful wakeup call that maybe we need to get our heads straight and quit with the silly stuff so we can properly move forward in life.
​
If anything, this is on my mind today, simply because that’s precisely what last night’s episode of Preacher focused upon. For ‘Search and Rescue’ saw our intrepid characters at a crossroads, since the universe and events forced them to face up to some of their silly quirks and that prompted everyone to take a moment and ponder upon their current situation and their next steps. But Cass was a little further ahead, since he chose to finally deal with his problems and his captivity in swift and brutal fashion of course, starting with Frankie. But more importantly, he also made the call to get the hell out of Masada when he realized his selfish sorrow put Tulip in danger since she would continue to go the extra mile to save him, and it was nice to see him care about someone other than himself and use those feelings to free himself from an existence filled to the brim with torture and pain.

Speaking of Tulip, her journey in this particular tale was a touch more complex because as the hour rolled on, since she more or less came to realize that she didn’t have a clue what she was doing at this point in her life. Sure, she’s down to rescue her friends when they’re in trouble, but a meeting with Jesus Christ (the regular Christ, not the dance motivated Humperdoo), allowed for her to realize that she really is directionless at this point and doesn’t know in the slightest what she wants out of life. She’s just going through the violent motions and seeing her hit this revelation was quite fascinating in its own right since it offered no easy answers. But the seed of self-discovery is definitely planted at this point and it should be interesting to see what she learns about herself and see her figure out where she wants to be in life, in the weeks to come.

But the centerpiece of the night once again revolved around Jesse and his quest to confront God and this was perhaps the most satisfying vignette when it comes to his journey to date. Because in this particular tale we found Jesse and Steve the Pilot adrift in the middle of the ocean thanks to the plane going down and Jesse saw this a grandiose test. One that related to faith, and one that taught him that he truly has none at this point, and that he’s scrambling to inspire hope in others and himself and failing miserably in both avenues because of that lack of said faith, and at this point the only salvation he’s going to find internally is to believe in something and help others do the same, otherwise everything he’s working toward is for naught. And I love that the series continues to take this supremely Biblical approach to Jesse’s spiritual journey and that it may finally come to a head now that he’s in Australia and is about to face evil once again.

For the Saint of Killers and Eugene Root arrived in the land down under shortly after Jesse did, thanks to some cool trickery with one of the Saint’s magical bullets, meaning that this long awaited showdown is growing closer and closer, and who knows how this one is going to end since we are in the final season. But alas, we will likely have to wait until next week to find out. So, in the meantime it’s best we celebrate another magnificent chapter in this tale. Because this one, did a phenomenal job of balancing character growth and plot advancement, which is no easy task when there’s so much to wrap up before the series finale, but this show is handling it in stride and it’s making every single episode fast paced and engaging and while I should be upset that we’re barreling toward the end of this unique saga, I have to admit that I’m supremely excited to see where this story is heading. Because this is just top-notch writing, the kind that brings about a wonderful ending and once again, I’m counting down the minutes until next week’s episode. 

---