Complaints and blasphemy raise their heads on AMC’s Preacher

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As with the last Preacher post, three more episodes to digest: “Holes,” “Puzzle Piece” and “Dirty Little Secret.” And so much to discuss with these chapters.

I have two main topics regarding “Holes” (episode 8): Hell and Tulip.

I’ve griped about Preacher‘s view of Hell previously. But this particular episode revealed even more about the realm. You see, inefficiency is the name of the game in the Underworld. The Powers That Be down under can’t even determine if a soul is supposed to be present (in this case Eugene) let alone damned. No wonder the place is a circus of failing circuitry, too few “employees” and poor implementation. You’d think the devil himself would be laying the hammer down, commanding his underlings to right all the wrongs Hell is experiencing. But he’s nowhere to be found. He hasn’t even been mentioned, come to think about it. Instead, we simply have that one stoic woman overseer whose bark seems worse than her bite. Overall it could be concluded the right hand of Hell doesn’t know what the left hand is doing, truly. It’s being run into the ground, so to speak, with no sign of improvement. It may very well be just one person they can’t find who’s present when he shouldn’t be, but if Eugene represents even a minor wrench in the machine, can you imagine how many other screw ups there are down there mucking up the place?

I almost feel sorry for Hell. Almost. Let’s hope it gets its act together. Cross your fingers.

Tulip? She’s a mess. Worse, she’s revealed herself to be leaning the way of psychotic, preferring to suit up and be shot at by a bunch of gambling lowlifes more than anything else. (Heckuva way to pass the time.) But she does have one redeeming quality: The dump of a homestead the trio is currently shacking up in is riddled with holes and her idea of tidying the place up is filling them all in. You know … to improve the overall ambiance of the place. Uh huh, right. Conclusion? She’s bonkers … certified bonkers, I tell you!

Look: In my lifetime I’ve been out with the likes of more than a few chicks akin to Tulip. Sure, they’re fun to be around for a few months, good for some laughs and adventures. But believe me … their “true colors” come out in relatively short order for all the world to see. Tulip is definitely one of these chicks. It would be better if Jesse dumped her like a bad habit rather than keep her around. She’s trouble and she’s often an annoyance, some of her “best” qualities when you come right down to it. Also, she’s gotten “lost” with no clue as to her whereabouts, she’s caused more of a ruckus for Jesse than anything else and, to top it off, she was married to a New Orlean’s thug until very recently, causing the gang all manner of troubles.

But fondness and familiarity do strange things to one’s mind; they cause the heart to tug and the mind to wander in different directions other than logical ones. All to say Tulip isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Jesse’s stuck with her of his own accord.

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“Puzzle Piece” (episode 9) was a mess of a chapter. From Herr Starr’s rape fantasy (something we didn’t need to witness, tossed in there for comic relief more than anything) to the ridiculous BRAD strike drone right on down to the drunken, mistaken “threat” that was to take out Jesse but turned out to be a non-entity in the end. And yes, I know – that rambling sentence might be confusing but it made more sense than the better part of the hour “Puzzle Piece” attempted. Any redeeming qualities the episode offered culminated at the end with the hint Herr Starr and The Grail might be able to aid Custer in his hunt for The Almighty. And … the demise of Harry Connick Jr. which was infinitely funny.

Which leads us to episode 10, “Dirty Little Secret,” a shocker of an episode if ever there was one, depending on your point of view.

Now, I’ve touched several times on the necessity of suspending belief when it comes to Preacher. It’s something you really needed to do with this latest episode.

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It opened with rampant sex being committed, complete with shadowy shapes offering various poses and positions of the two engaged. Immediately you’re wracking your brain in an attempt to put two and two together: How is all this copulation integral to the story? You didn’t have to wait long to find out. It’s immediately evident when the male of the couple dresses himself post activities: He is none other than Jesus Christ, the subject of the title of the episode.

Not long ago on AMC we were arguably offered one of the most horrific, goriest few minutes of television on a series. I’m of course referring to the seventh season opener of The Walking Dead where Negan walloped the bejeebers out of Abraham and especially Glenn. Brutal as the show can sometimes be, even many of its fans objected to the savagery that unfolded during the episode. Well here, on Preacher, we have yet another controversial opening that flies in the face of good taste and decorum. Not that Preacher has been known for either of those two items in its short history to date. But it was pretty gratuitous and downright blasphemous, even to those who have the simplest of understandings of Christianity and its tenets.

Still, it wasn’t the suggestion of Christ having an affair that was shocking so much as it was the overt body grinding being perpetrated on the small screen by He and His partner, sounds of passion adding to the overall effect. Blasphemous and shocking? You bet. Funny? I guess, if you’re into that sort of thing. Personally I’d be lying if I said it didn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth. And I’m no prude. But the producers of the show didn’t need to go to such extremes to carry out their point, later to be revealed it was Christ’s eventual heir from that union whom The Grail is sheltering and protecting for later world domination.

As if that wasn’t enough, the mother of Christ’s child is beaten to death to preserve their secret “meeting.” Pretty hideous stuff, just as distasteful as that TWD episode.

Did Preacher cross a line here? It’s one thing to make suggestions (God having gone missing, the spirit offspring of an angel and a devil residing in Jesse Custer as the source of his power, Christ having fathered a child who becomes the entire reason for a secretive organization such as The Grail) and another altogether depicting suggestions in graphic realism. And especially so when the subject touches on beliefs in contrast to a religious order which would interpret them as profane and disrespectful.

Granted: Preacher’s story line doesn’t parallel a Boy Scout instruction manual. Little about the show isn’t disquieting at times. But it’s all in the vein of the original comic story from which the program is based, right? So … where’s the harm?

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Now, just has unsettling may have been the reveal of Christ’s eventual and latest heir, the off-kilter, genetically lacking Humperdoo who obviously shows his affection for those he likes by relieving himself on them and grinding against them, thus his name. (Yes, having read the books I saw that one coming.) But that act wasn’t anywhere near as impactful as the events at the start of the episode.

But it’s just a show. It’s just a story. It’s just fantasy and entertainment. Again: Where’s the harm?

All in the eye of the beholder it seems.

What did you think of these episode? Did Preacher cross a line? Start a conversation in the comments section below!