“What the hell is Grail Industries, anyway?
That’s big things being teased, Tulip, and before the title card is even up too. Like last week’s nudge in the Saint of Killers’ direction, we’re shown our first glimpse of one of Preacher’s Biggest Big Bads. That instantly recognisable bald head, white suit and black fedora hints the introduction of one of the tale’s defining figures. No, not Agent 42 – a bona fide Starr. Bit of a mincing walk, though.
After a slightly uneven second episode, we’re back on steadier ground. The cat out of the bag, Jesse gets to have a little fun with Cassidy and the Word of God (never addressed as such), getting us a great Johnny Cash joke, Justin Bieber admission and Cass jumping full pelt into a wall in an attempt to fly. Still missing the red eyes (which would be vastly preferable to close-ups of Dominic Cooper sounding extra gruff), but it’s a good start. He seems less than stoked about it though, looking awfully sad and constipated about the whole thing. Perhaps understandable, as he did recently cause a guy to rip out his own heart, in front of his mother, no less.
It sure comes in handy later, though, as Bunny in a Trap Donny attempts to enact revenge upon Jesse in a public toilet. Super extraneous character Donny is a pain in the ass, and it would be great if he could go away now, but Derek Wilson and Cooper sell their cubicle time together well, the former doing a great line in shock and terror, the latter suddenly enjoying his power a bit too much. This, in turn, gives Jesse further cause for guilt regarding his abuse of the power, and stops him in his tracks from doing a Very Stupid Thing with Tulip.
The Very Stupid Thing being the big job she’s been harping on about since the show’s pilot. Not a hit as such, but rather a revenge mission against an old buddy/partner in crime. This gets us a flashback of ‘when it went bad’ (presumably a robbery or hit gone wrong), and Dominic Cooper looking dumb in a suit with a silly haircut. Nothing is revealed as such, but the mysterious Carlos would appear to have sped off in a getaway car, leaving Jesse and Tulip to take the heat for a pretty serious looking crime. At least it’s (apparently) not pre-Preacher Jesse as a hitman though, which I had been fearing since the off. The dodgy characterisation for Jesse still continues, although that works better if you see this as Jesse pre-awakening. He still thinks God might be listening and still has hope for his flock, unlike comic book Jesse, aware and angry from the off.
Elsewhere, Cassidy learns the truth about DeBlanc and Fiore, an exchange during which the show explicitly brings Heaven into it for the first time. There’s been a fair bit of beating around the (burning) bush so far, so it’s good to hear the show finally get Biblical. More Quincannon too, although his appearance is more in service to Donnie and his issues than anything else.
As that title might suggest, The Possibilities is more about setup and world building than really propelling the plot forward, the show still taking its ambling approach to the story and characters. It does so confidently though, constantly introducing enough ideas and teases that it doesn’t feel like it’s spinning on its wheels too much. Still, like Tulip, we are getting a little antsy in Anville. We’re ready when you are, Revr’nd.
