'Preacher' Recap: 'Sundowner'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

As the old saying goes, when it rains, it pours and that colloquialism can most certainly be applied to AMC's Preacher; because holy cow, after weeks of drought when it comes to answers about the mysterious world Jesse Custer inhabits, we found ourselves treated to a trickle of elucidation last week and this week...well it became a downpour. Everything we ever wanted to know about the creature inside Jesse finally came to light and in many ways, 'Sundowner' served to finally focus exactly what season one is going to be all about.

But before we get into that, let's talk about what's inside of Jesse because that was downright fascinating. We learned from our two angel friends that the being that inhabits our favorite preacher is known as Genesis, and this creature is more or less considered a grand abomination since it is the offspring of both an Angel and a Demon and well, that's about all we really got before one of the coolest and wildest opening sequences the show has ever put together came to fruition in spectacular fashion when a Seraphim was discovered in their presence and she was more than happy to battle it out with the angels and Jesse in an desperate bid to bring Genesis back where it belongs.

Yet this episode was more than just answers, it was the grand push for character development that we've all been waiting for. Every single character featured this week let their guard down; showing us their weaknesses, showing us their hopes, their failures and it was absolutely and utterly magnificent. I loved seeing a vulnerable Cassidy this go round and what good resides in him as he came to realize what Tulip means to Jesse. It was great to see Tulip finally play ball and try to get into Jesse's good graces because she loves him and it was equally beautiful to see Eugene finally find some meaning and comfort in this world when a decent act came his way and it was equally as fascinating to see him reject any good karma that falls into his lap because of his past transgressions. If anything, Eugene was quite the important part of the story, since he is what facilitated the focus of this show for season one...redemption.

Despite the fact that Jesse has the best intentions at hand, he is truly sinning with pride through and through because he is a man filled to the brim with regret when it comes to his life of poor choices and crime and it has consumed him to set things right and make people's lives better, whether they like it or not and he is finding himself drunk with the power that Genesis gives him and well, Jesse's journey this episode was damn near heartbreaking as we watched his inner demons nearly swallow him up and what he did to poor Eugene, condemning him to Hell (at least for the time being one would hope) should now serve as the catalyst to finally force him to listen to reason and finally put himself on an actual path of redemption and serving God for the right reasons, rather than trying to squelch the fire raging within his soul. 

The road back will be paved with challenges however, because regardless of how hard Jesse begins to push to set things right, so much damage has already been done. The just and unjust from Heaven and Hell alike are no doubt going to be looking for Genesis for their own purposes and our two bumbling angels are still out there as well. Not to mention, whatever darkness the power of Genesis unlocked in Odin Quincannon's heart is no doubt growing in strength and now Odin has the Mayor to serve as his lackey since he helped cover up the murder of the Green Acres representatives. In the end however, this was one wild and crazy episode and every single second of it was an absolute joy. This is Preacher finally reaching its potential and if it stays like this for the rest of season one, we are in for one incredible ride. Until next time.

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