‘She’s got an axe!’
Finally, we know what the entity inside Jesse is. (If you’ve read the comics, you can skip this bit.) It’s called Genesis and according to the angels (DeBlanc and Fiore), it’s a “mistake”. An angel and a demon had a love affair, and somehow gave birth to the most powerful entity in existence (including God, it seems like). This also explains why it looks and sounds like a baby.
But they interrupt the exposition dump to go beat up a woman who turns out to be a more powerful angel, a seraph. Fiore and DeBlanc are running away from her for, er, reasons. Let’s get this out of the way: no one’s motivations in this sequence make any sense at all. DeBlanc and Fiore have already been caught leaving heaven, so why would they make it worse by fighting a seraph? Jesse ostensibly believes in God, so shouldn’t he just do what angels tell him to do? (Also, does the existence of DeBlanc’s additional corpse mean the angels’ deaths add more matter to the universe? Just a thought.)
It doesn’t matter, though, because the ensuing fight at the angels’ motel room is hilarious, starting from the beginning: the show’s aggressive location text tells us we’re at the Sundowner motel, superimposed over the actual Sundowner motel sign. The angels come back again and again, shrieking bloody murder. By the time the camera pulls back through a bullet hole, peephole-style, to show only a taste of the bodies, splashes of gore, and repeated bursts of light indicating an angel has died and been revived, this fight has made a strong case for itself as the best of the show so far.
‘Clones, dirty clones’
Just as Jesse and the angels have managed to restrain the seraph, Cassidy shows up and shoots her. (It’s funny.) Some time later, the angels canvass the motel room, now full of copies of their dead bodies, and Jesse rejects their authority. After all, the angels reject any claim over Genesis, because they’re “just custodians”. Jesse, instead, thinks that his possession of Genesis is God’s will, which is a theory that may be tested very soon.
Meanwhile, Tulip shows up at Emily’s house, throws her kid’s “art thing” at the wall and storms out, shouting about how Emily should stay away from Jesse, who Tulip still refers to as her boyfriend. (Honestly, Tulip has nothing to worry about. I still have to look up Emily’s name every time she does something significant enough to show up in one of these.) This seems like the end of the subplot, except Tulip comes back in and agrees to try and fix the clay dinosaur she broke, even offering to help out with church errands. This makes no sense, but does Tulip love kids? (She had one, from the sound of it. Unless she’s lying to Emily.)
Jesse and Cassidy decompress, wash their clothes and compare tattoos. (On the skull on this back: “A mean old lady gave it to me.” If you’ve read the comic, you’ll know who this is. If you haven’t, the Custer family reunion is going to be fun!) And Cassidy doesn’t say anything about Tulip, which becomes extremely awkward when all three of them are in the same closet at the church. Tulip’s ongoing love for Jesse is obvious – she’s almost forgotten Cassidy – but the vampire is now torn, and Joseph Gilgun manages to look genuinely sad and sympathetic during these scenes. We’re headed for a love triangle blow-up.
‘In my head, it all sounds the same’
When a couple of kids take a friendly interest in Eugene, an eventual beatdown or humiliation seems like a foregone conclusion. Instead, they sneak off to light sparklers in a tunnel, in a shot that manages to be aesthetically pleasing and sweet while still evoking the gunshot that took off most of Eugene’s face. That Sunday, in the church, he reveals himself to be Preacher’s moral conscience, telling Jesse he doesn’t want to be forgiven, at least not through the use of Jesse’s power. “It’s cheating,” he says, and he’s right.
Jesse is the villain, now. He’s firmly decided that all of his impulses are God’s will. Contrary to his advice to Miles – who is struggling with the decision to turn Quincannon in to the authorities – he has forgotten what it’s like to listen to your conscience. There’s an especially telling moment when Jesse declares that once he keeps his promise and saves the town, he’ll be “free”. Free to do what? Go back to his old life with Tulip?
He’ll have a lot more on his conscience when that happens. At the height of his anger, preparing to go out and deliver a sermon (for which a PA system has been rigged outside the church, maximizing Jesse’s ability to influence the townspeople), he snaps at Eugene and tells him to “go to hell”. Eugene disappears. Three guesses where he went.
Notes from the nave
- There’s no cutaway to the angel and demon actually getting it on, but if you haven’t read the comics you might want to seek out those panels. They’re really something.
- The Sundowner motel offers ESPN and HBO, but not AMC. Sad.
- Both Cassidy and Tulip reject beers offered to them because it’s 10am. Romance!
Quote of the week
Cassidy: “God may not make mistakes, but people are bloody famous for it.”
Cassidy kill count
One! But it’s an angel again, so he’s up to 10 for the season. Sort of.
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