As Preacher makes its way deeper into New Orleans, the show delivers an episode that takes some steps sideways in order to thicken personal character plot lines. Season two has set the focus onto a couple of major events so far, but “Viktor” took the time to dive deeper into Tulip’s hazy background and Eugene’s deeper exploration into Hell and everything it has to offer. The episode definitely sidelines Jesse and Cassidy a bit in order to accomplish this, but does so in a way that displays why Cassidy is such a fun character while still keeping the focus on the disappearance of God.
One of the more interesting Season two of Preacher has done within the first couple of episodes is provide small teases that the show would be diving into Tulip’s past. Her character has been a mystery up to this point but Ruth Negga is so great in the role and Preacher is such a wild show that her character’s background has never felt necessary. Tulip is a really lovable character and while it’s definitely no surprise that she was involved with some bad people, Preacher really does a nice job of delivering this sense of deep rooted betrayal when she gets brought back to Viktor’s house. Even with the revealing information that she ran away from Viktor, her husband, the situation feels like there is plenty more of the story to be told. Yet, this does begin to fill in the blanks on why Tulip seems so back and forth on the concept of marriage and the come and go nature of her and Jesse’s relationship.
While Tulip’s background continues to grow into something that becomes more interesting each week, the utilization of it in “Viktor” feels like a way to step away from the search for God. While Jesse and Cassidy do manage to make a development with whatever is going on, it doesn’t feel like much to run with. The first season of Preacher gave viewers a fake God and “Viktor” addresses how that came to be, with a character actor being shot in order to be sent to Heaven after he “got the job.” Again, it’s not much to go on, which is made clear in the episode, but Jesse is focused on the right question, which is essentially who was running the casting on Earth that has these connections to God and Heaven? Although getting a full episode of Jesse and Cassidy together is always tons of fun, the main plot definitely seemed to be taking more of a step sideways for the week to get everything else up to speed. Tulip’s kidnapping and connection to Viktor is what pushes Jesse to go on a Genesis rampage in order to find her which therein has the Saint of killers finally making his way into New Orleans.
Between this and getting to spend lots of time with Eugene in Hell, Preacher is working to keep everything relevant with how much is actually going on in such a short timespan. Eugene in Hell is probably the most fun story to follow because the show begins to play with a mythical setting that they can make their own. The show presents Hell in such an awesome logical way, being more of a massive jail that seems to self-operate instead of having people in fiery pits being tortured by demons. As “Viktor” explores a little more of Hell, it turns out this is only one level of the establishment, which seems to be malfunctioning more than usual. This is odd because for one, with God missing and Heaven seemingly in chaos, now Hell is also experiencing problems; and two, Eugene happens to be a direct part of the malfunctions. This could be a result of Eugene not actually meant to be stuck in Hell, or it could be the result of something greater; however, it’s clear that if he wants to survive, he’s going to have to learn to be a bad person.
Preacher remains a ton of fun so far in season two and seems to be taking the steps to have everything swirl together in New Orleans. Without even focusing on the fact that Jesse still has over 100 different jazz clubs and bars to search for God in, the show now has more variables distracting from the main mission. The crew will have to begin dodging the Saint of Killers again which could also cross over into some of the current stories occurring with Tulip’s past and Viktor’s heavily guarded mansion. Regardless, there is a lot beginning to brew in New Orleans and it feels like Preacher is going to take some big steps in the near future that will continue to expand the show’s wild nature.
Other Thoughts:
– Preacher is one of the few shows that can somehow deliver a twisted world where Hitler is a victim.
– The show’s fight scenes and musical choices continue to go strong for another week.
– Oh…. hey Frankie Muniz…. random but hilarious cameo there.
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