"Preacher," Year Three

Very minor spoilers ahead.

The Angelville issues of the "Preacher" comic were some of my favorites, and the villains they introduced were among the series' best.  I found the bayou-dwelling L'Angelle family wonderfully gruesome and evil, in a way that was much creepier than the series' usual roster of freaks.  So I was tentatively looking forward to their appearance in the third season of the "Preacher" television series.

The premiere wastes no time introducing Jesse's voodoo practitioner Gran’ma (Betty Buckley), who lives at Angelville with her minions Jody (Jeremy Childs) and T.C. (Colin Cunningham).  Jesse is forced to go to them for help when Tulip is at death's door, and they demand a high payment. Once again, the epic "Preacher" road trip to find God is stalled for most of the season in a single location.  However, Jesse's family troubles aren't the only thing he has to worry about. The Grail's leader, Allfather D'Aronique (Jonny Coyne) is moving to bring about the return of the Messiah (Tyson Ritter), something that Herr Starr is desperate to prevent.  Also, Satan (Jason Douglas) sends the Saint of Killers on a mission to round up a few of Hell's escapees.

This year of "Preacher" avoids the dreaded mid-season lull by making much more use of its secondary cast and cutting down the episode count.  The motivations of Tulip and Cassidy are still pretty flimsy, but when they get split up, they actually get to do some fun stuff and have no shortage of good scene partners.  Tulip goes off with the Grail agents on her own mission and ends up dodging Satan's crew. Cass gets tangled up with another vampire named Eccarius (Adam Croasdell), who has cultivated his own cult of followers in New Orleans.  Herr Starr is essentially upgraded to protagonist for several episodes, and has some fantastic scenes with the memorably disgusting Allfather. Oh, and Eugene and Hitler are still in play, though they don't show up until later in the season.

I found the first few episodes of this year were the weakest, because they focus so much on the L'Angelles and Jesse's past with them.  Frankly, they're very different creatures in show, since a major character has been removed from the story, changing the context of the interactions, and some of the material has been toned way, way down.  In the comics, the L'Angelles were hideously abusive monsters. In the show, they're real people - perfectly reasonable, even occasionally goofy people. It took me a few episodes to get used to this, but it mostly works.  Attempts to add to the Angelville mythology, however, mostly fall flat. Additional love interests, a zombie fight club, and a squicky erotic roleplay interlude all feel a little half-baked and tacked on.

What does work, and what the creators should keep in mind for any future seasons, is getting the most out of their full ensemble.  Having the Grail elbow its way into other storylines was a great idea. Some of this year's best moments come from characters getting thrown together in new combinations or with new dynamics.  Tulip and Featherstone's ongoing hostilities morph into a delightfully bitchy forced partnership. Jesse and Starr are similarly uneasy allies when the Allfather comes into the picture. They anchor the best episode of the season, where an attempted assassination of the Allfather goes completely wrong.  Even the stoic Saint of Killers is more engaging when he has a scuzzy Satan to interact with.

I also like that "Preacher" has embraced absurdity to a greater degree.  Elaborate fight scenes break out with little provocation. New characters like the Allfather and Satan are cartoonish in appearance, but they work perfectly well in the off-kilter reality that has been established in the "Preacher" universe.  And I don't mind at all that the series isn't remotely faithful to the comics at this point, because it's doing some things better. Eccarius and Herr Starr, for instance, are far more fun in the show. There are plenty of winks and nods for fans, though.  John Wayne finally shows up this season in a dream sequence.

    

This has been the most consistent season of "Preacher" yet.  If the show's creators can keep this up, I look forward to seeing where Jesse and the gang get stranded next.

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