After a Cassidy-heavy episode last week we finally get to see Tulip and Jesse spend some real time together, which turns out to be something of a mixed blessing. On the one hand there’s a lot to like. Dominic Cooper and Ruth Negga have great chemistry together, visibly drawn to one another with an undercurrent of high energy. Plus we get some much needed information regarding exactly what Tulip wants Jessie for. The downside is that, much like the pilot, Jesse simply runs up to the cusp of doing something dramatic, only to back away at the last moment. Keeping in character, but leaving us with a sense of being robbed of a real climax.
At the very least ‘The Possibilities’ attempts to get the ball rolling as it opens on Tulip, receiving the information she’s been looking for. Through flashbacks we begin to see that this is less about some big score and more of a personal vendetta for her. To her credit Negga lets Tulip’s guard slip just enough to show how much this means to her. This shift in mood is then punctuated by sequence of sharp, but slow string instruments that feel eerily similar to 2013’s Under the Skin.
Given how much impact the ending lacks it’s pleasant to see the episode begin to deal with the consequences of Jesse’s actions. In addition to wiping the memories of a would-be paedophile last episode he also tried to use the Word on a comatose girl. Now she’s opened her eyes and the whole town is abuzz with the news. Jesse however prefers to hide away in his church, reflecting on what his power can do. Appropriately Cassidy is the guinea pig for his first round of testing in a sequence that’s amusing, but brief. Only when Tulip shows up does he find a meaningful way to use The Word. Revealing that the job she’s been teasing has been to find the location of Carlos, an associate from their wilder days who botched a job and got several innocent people killed in the process. It’s all Jesse needs to hear before jumping into Tulip’s car ready to wreak vengeance.
With Jesse gone it falls on Cassidy to deal with Fiore and DeBLanc, the very agents of Heaven who Cassidy thought he had killed last week. When it’s revealed that the two have apparently limitless bodies to resurrect into you may be worried that their attempts on Jesse’s life are going to get repetitive. Thankfully this is Preacher where no act of gonzo violence is ever the same as the last. Cassidy quickly dispatches one set of angels with the church van and is about to pummel them all over again before they assure him it’s Jesse they want. The confrontation ends with Cassidy agreeing to mediate between the two parties, which feels like an odd turn of face. While the angels were more reasonable this time around it doesn’t change the fact that they were willing to chainsaw Jesse to death. Cassidy is clearly a buffoon but even he’s not stupid enough to trust Fiore and Deblanc so quickly. If he has some hidden agenda here then director Scott Winat is doing nothing to hint at it.
Of all the episodes so far The Possibilities dedicates to most time to the storylines occurring in the background of the show. We check in with the Root family; Arseface, his uncaring father and catatonic mother, for what feels like needless filler. Jesse’s miracle healing is retold to Emily Woodrow, a character who has been present but never actually done anything to merit a mention so far. And we return to Donny Schenck an angry, abusive husband and Quincannon employee who received a smack-down from Jesse two episodes prior.
This latter storyline brings some importance though, when Donny decides to corner Jesse at gunpoint in a gas station bathroom. He wants revenge for the beating Jesse gave him, for making him the laughing stock of Annville. But Jesse has the Word and he’s on the rampage with Tulip now, he’s not going to take threats lightly even at the wrong end of a gun. He orders Donny to put the revolver in his mouth and pull back the hammer just long enough for Jess’s better nature to take hold. Donny drops the gun and runs out and Jesse is left with no more stomach for vengeance.
Jesse walking away is a big disappointment. While it’s understandable that he doesn’t want to walk the road to vengeance the path he is on is going nowhere. Preacher is in serious danger of being a series that does not know what it wants to be about. Of being a poorly stitched cloth made from many different fabrics that struggle to connect to each other. Will Jesse be able to maintain his faith? Are there others who know of his power? What is really keeping him in Annville? These are questions that the show needs to answer quickly if it’s going to gather the momentum it desperately needs.
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