By: Jaclyn Cascio (@jaclynator)
This week marked the arrival of the tenth episode of Preacher’s second season. With only three more episodes remaining of the season, we can only wonder what surprises are in store. This week showed us the team once again going their separate ways with individual struggles and adventures. How did it go? Read on for a review of “Dirty Little Secret.”
Only Preacher can pull off a cold open with a sex montage starring Jesus Christ (Tyson Ritter) without going over the top (and even come across as surprisingly tasteful). Throwing in some modern day slang with the dialogue and some All-American Rejects references later in the episode was a stroke of genius that added to the fun of “Dirty Little Secret.”
The most unfortunate part of the “Dirty Little Secret” was the lack of main cast interaction. The trio started off the season with a search for God together, but this episode split them up and sent them on their merry ways. While their individual journeys are still entertaining, Jesse (Dominic Cooper), Tulip (Ruth Negga), and Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) truly are at their best when they are together. This week failed to capitalize on the natural chemistry that is exuded by the team when they are united.
That being said, where did their solo adventures take them in this week’s episode of Preacher? Cassidy was apparently trying to connect with his newly turned son, trying to be the father he never was. The situation is beautiful ironic, as Denis (Ronald Guttman) looks to be the older of the two, but Cassidy is the expert at being a vampire and has now been able to fall more naturally into the role of mentor and father, because of his older status as a supernatural creature. But there’s some trouble coming, as Denis seems to be struggling with his new appetite. I can never get enough of Cassidy, so I’m hoping for some pay-off with this story soon!
Meanwhile, Tulip is still crumbling under the weight of her encounter with the Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish). Negga once again gave a spectacularly emotional performance this week, and the potential fallout that may come with her neighbor and so-called friend “Jenny” (Julie Anne Emery) may bring Tulip to rock-bottom in future episodes. While Negga’s performance as a traumatized victim is convincing and well-done, little progress has been made to cope with the problem. Tulip’s story is starting to feel a little stale, and the character is so dynamic, she deserves to be given more than the role of victim.
While “Dirty Little Secret” didn’t do Tulip (Negga) any favors, the unlikely team-up of Jesse and Herr Starr (Pip Torrens) managed to move the story forward with some irreverent twists along the way. Bringing the two characters together showed the surprising similarities between them, reminding us that Jesse might be earnest in his search for God, but the road he’s taking to get there certainly isn’t straight and narrow. Their trip to see the “Messiah” this week took the audience back in time to see how The Grail got started a few thousand years back. (It also showed us the product of 25 generations of inbreeding.) Of course, even a visit with a descendant of Jesus Christ can’t be taken seriously with Preacher. The interaction with Jesse and challenged Humperdoo, with a fantastic and funny performance by Ritter, fit the mold of Preacher to a “T”!
With the team split up, their solo stories aren’t as interesting as they could be. We missed out on a great opportunity for Cassidy to meet a special needs descendant of Christ and some sass from Tulip as Jesse gets desperate for answers. Splitting the team up also seemed to result in a total lack of action this week. The trio together become a recipe for disaster, and usually that disaster involves a gun fight or an explosion or two. However, pulling the characters apart leaves us with the emotional stories to explore but no blood and gore to entertain our dark humor.
A final positive note for “Dirty Little Secret” this week is the unique camera shots that made their way into the episode. There were some creative and fun angles, from a view of Jesse’s head in a bag to shots up at Tulip through a stovetop. Action and stories may not have been at their best for the season, but the unique camera shots were consistent with the unique flavor of Preacher, keeping it interesting and fun!
Overall, this week wasn’t a favorite of the season with the characters dallying in their individual journeys with no action. However, this week The Guild was shown to have quite an interesting origin story and All-American Rejects jabs throughout the episode were fun “Easter eggs” for the viewers. I would have wished for some blood and gore, a detached arm or trailing intestine, but we can’t always get what we want!
To keep watching the remaining three episodes of Preacher, you can tune in to AMC every Monday night at 9/8c.
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via The Nerd Machine
http://www.nerdhq.com/preacher-dirty-little-secret-review/
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