Written by Tyler McPherson
Preacher took a more sombre tone with its third episode, ‘Damsels’. The trademark dark humour the show has come to be known for was still present, especially in the first half, but for the most part this episode took a step back and allowed the plot to move forward.
‘Damsels’ saw the return of Eugene Root (Ian Colletti) and Tracy Loach (Gianna LePera), the first time these characters have appeared since season one. In a scene that was reminiscent of the Saint of Killers introduction, viewers discover how Tracey ended up in her comatose state, and how this led to Eugene’s attempted suicide that transformed him into the man he was. Hell was a useful tool for providing these flashbacks to before the accident, but it was a very brief moment.
Too soon the story returned to Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy, who were busy searching for God in the jazz clubs of New Orleans. Once more the characters divided into two groups, and this allowed the story to divulge into two directions.
It felt like Tulip was kind of acting like a child in the first scenes of ‘Damsels’ but it quickly changed once her and Cassidy left the jazz clubs behind. The quieter tones of her story included opening up to Cassidy about the threat of Victor and her past as a hitman. It was great to see Cassidy be something more than comedic relief, or a character that does whatever Jesse and Tulip says, in this episode. His impassioned speech about being useful was something that Tulip needed to hear, although she pretty much dismissed it.
Her confrontation with Victor’s men at the end of the episode was a nice ending to the episode. It is divulging the plot even further beyond that of the search for God and will mean that more about Tulip’s mysterious past will be revealed in the upcoming episodes.
On the hunt for God, Jesse was finding failure in almost every club. It wasn’t until a tip from a bartender that he found Lara Featherstone (Julie Ann Emery), a jazz singer. After asking Jesse to meet, Lara was kidnapped by some unknown people dressed in white suits. The choreography of the fight scene here was brilliantly done, and it served as a reminder that Jesse also has a dark past in the show.
Lara began preparations to leave but in the process filled Jesse in on her kidnappers. She alleged that the group was a sect of crypto-religious nuts bent on ruling the world. She neglects to mention why these people are after her, but in the final moments, after Jesse and her have parted ways it is revealed that she is part of this group. And they now know that Jesse has Genesis., which he used in this episode, so the Saint of Killers is most likely right on their tail again.
It seems that in episode four Hell is going to have a prison break. Eugene returned at the end of the episode to discover his cell empty and a new partner to help him escape. In one of the more comedic moments of the series this turned out to be Adolf Hitler (Noah Taylor), now sporting a pot belly.
‘Damsels’ not only provided a solid story based episode, but it managed to introduce a whole bunch of new characters and really start the ball rolling for season two of Preacher.
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