Things are beginning to come to a head as we inch closer to the end of Preacher‘s first season, so let’s take a look at what happened in this week’s new episode, “El Valero.”
The episode opens with a new look at the true connection between Quinncannon and Jesse’s father. Each addition to this particular story is gorier and zanier than the last, and I’m loving how it is slowly being given to us. The scene also dovetails nicely into the happenings at the present as Quinncannon is trying to take Jesse’s church from him. Last week’s episode had such a huge cliffhanger, and the follow-up to it played out in a very fun way. It also (finally) brings us the “return” of Eugene, and this return brings SO MUCH new material to the table. It’s actually done in a completely different way than I expected it to, and I love how Preacher is managing to subvert expectations in unexpected ways.
As hard as it is to believe, the preacher’s present situation isn’t the only thing covered in the episode. Despite the tight running time, we also touch on both Tulip and on the situation between Emily and Miles. One of the reasons that Preacher is working so well as a series is the way that it’s able to perfectly blend its secondary plots with the main one. You can always tell what the most important thing in an episode is, but the tertiary stories are given the same amount of respect as the primary plot, benefiting the show as a whole. That’s really a major accomplishment that not many series are able to do.
One aspect of Preacher that’s always been present is the dark comedy, but it’s often taken a backseat to plot (which, in my opinion, is very unnecessary). “El Valero” brings that dark comedy back to the fold in a huge way, though, and it ends up working better than it has at any point in the series so far. The entire sequence of events surrounding Jesse’s retaliation on Quinncannon’s crew is absolutely hilarious, and it’s done in a way that doesn’t at all detract from the progression of the story. It managed to get even better and better as the episode went along, and I actually can’t believe how well all of the aspects of the episode worked together.
Even with all of the comedy in the episode, “El Valero” still managed to be incredibly dark. The biggest examples of this would probably be Donny’s scenes and the attempt to excise Genesis from Jesse. What makes this tonal shift work so well, though, is how perfectly it stays “even,” for lack of a better word. You never feel an instance of emotional whiplash (as is often the case with similar circumstances), and it raises the bar so much more on what this show is capable of doing.
There’s nothing to really discuss about it, but I do think “El Valero” featured the first instance of Eugene’s infamous nickname being used (unless it happened earlier in the season, and I somehow forgot), and I really appreciated the way it was done and by whom it was spoken. It worked very well within the context of the series.
“El Valero” was another fantastic episode of Preacher, and it’s building into something clearly special for the season’s final act. I have no idea where we’ll go from here, but I also absolutely can’t wait to find out.
What did you think about the newest episode of Preacher? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!
[Photo Credit: AMC]
Follow Us
Visitor Rating: 5 Stars