Flashback: Some time in the 1980s, the whole Quincannon family went on a ski trip to Vail (minus Odin, who stayed home to run the slaughterhouse), where they perished in a freak tram accident. Odin was pretty tore up about it - understandably - and when all the coffins arrived back in Annville, delivered to his office, he pretty much loses his damn mind: Jesse's dad finds him elbow-deep in blood, coffins open and a disemboweled cow on the office floor, comparing the cow's and his daughter's intestines. The preacher tries to calm him, says something about God. But Quincannon is done believing in God - no God would do this, it's all meat, meat is all there is, no spirit, no soul. He hollers at John Custer to denounce God, "DENOUNCE HIM!" That is one disturbed individual right there.
Now: The first wave of Quincannon's men enter the church to run Jesse out of it. We don't get to see the fight (unfortunately, because the action scenes are usually so good) but he kicks their asses and sends them back out to Donny and Quincannon. Donny's all, but what did he SAY? The boys are all, he didn't say nothing. Inside the church, Jesse is working his way through a bottle of whiskey and muttering, "God, just bring Eugene back. I'll never use [the Voice] again. Just bring him back." Then he sees some movement in the dirt below the busted floorboards. He falls to his knees and scrapes away the dirt, grabbing a clutching hand and finally hauling Eugene out of the ground. He grabs the boy into a big hug. Eugene's all, is this real or is it a trick? Jesse pulls out his phone, ready to call the sheriff, but Eugene asks him to wait so he can have a drink of water first.
As the sky lightens through the windows, they sit in the pews and talk. Jesse has all sorts of questions about Hell but Eugene really doesn't want to talk about it. Jesse understands, but asks how he got out. Eugene says that he heard Jesse calling him so he just started digging up. Jesse: "You dug out of Hell with your hands?" Eugene: "It's not that far." Jesse thinks about this. After he calls the sheriff, Jesse tells Eugene that he was right, that he was wrong to force people to do things via the Voice. "I was told there'd be consequences. And here they are," looking out the window. "Should probably give it back." Eugene nods, "Sure, the guys at the motel." Jesse looks sharply at him, realizing that he never mentioned the angels to him, realizing that Eugene isn't really here. Imaginary Eugene shrugs, "We'll figure something out."
Meanwhile, off in her own storyline, Tulip has gone to a dog shelter and rescued an adorable bloodhound named Brewski. She takes him home and they play fetch.
Back outside, Quincannon rallies his troops, telling them about the food court-style cafeteria he has planned for the new slaughterhouse he's going to build here on the church land. But first they have to get that damn preacher out of the church. Word starts to spread around town about the stand-off and folks start showing up, bringing picnics and lawn chairs and boomboxes, waiting to see the show. Emily is there, rather upset. Inside, Jesse fills some Molotov cocktails in church wine bottles; imaginary Eugene notes that that's rather sacriligious. Quincannon's army advances on the church but Jesse is in the steeple with a rifle and sends them running. One guy drives up in a bulldozer and Jesse pegs him with one of the Molotov cocktails; the guy runs off as the 'dozer explodes. One guy, Clive - shouting "Food court! Food court!" - charges alone and Jesse literally shoots his dick off: "Extraordinary shot, really," muses Clive, holding his severed member in his hands. The sheriff drives up, wondering WTF. Then Jesse comes over the loudspeaker: "Send me the agents." Quincannon's all, "Asians?" But the sheriff knows who Jesse means.
DeBlanc and Fiore show up, toting their trunk. Jesse says he'll give up Genesis but first he wants to know if it's possible to bring someone back from Hell. One of the angels is all, NO, but the other one mumbles yes - but it's very difficult and dangerous. They don't want to deal with that now, though. Now it's time to get Genesis out of the preacher. Jesse lies down with the coffee can on his belly. While one angel plays the music box, the other sings the "Winkum Blinkum" song. Jesse tries to rationalize that maybe he was given this power for a reason, maybe God wants him to have it to do good things. But the angels are all, okay, so what good have you done with it? And Jesse has no answer for that. Finally, the coffee can shudders and they slam the lid on it. The angels pack up to leave but Genesis just isn't interested in staying where it belongs. It bursts out of the can and hurtles back into Jesse, knocking him into the altar. The angels frown, saying that it looks like they're going to have to do this the hard way - "The other option, then."
Outside, Quincannon gets ready to send his troops against the church again. Donny wanders off, a bemused smile on his face. He walks past his wife and over to his car where he takes his hat off and removes the sling from his arm. He takes out his pistol and kneels down, leaning into the trunk of the car with his head inside and pulling the trunk door down onto the back of his neck. He places the pistol into the trunk and pulls the trigger.
That night, Quincannon's men shoot the shit out of the church as Jesse hunkers down inside, still drinking from his bottle of whiskey, shooting back half-heartedly. Even imaginary Eugene has abandoned him. Then someone comes in the back, walking softly. Cassidy? No, it's Donny, actually, not dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound but instead DEAF from the gun being fired at such close range in the trunk of the car. There is blood pouring out of both his ears. Jesse: "Donny, what did you do?" Donny just laughs, "What? What, preacher?" He may be a bit crazy but he figured out how to deal with Jesse. Jesse puts down his gun and Donny hits him upside the head with his own.
Some time later, Jesse sits with Quincannon and all his men. Quincannon hands over the deed he wants Jesse to sign. The younger man takes it, but shakes his head, saying he doesn't understand what happened since he told Quincannon to serve God. Quincannon is all, but I am serving God: the god of meat. Jesse chuckles and signs over his church. When he hands the deed to Quincannon, however, he asks for a favor: he wants one more chance to preach, to bring God to the people of Annville. And if God doesn't show, doesn't speak to the congregation with answers they want to hear, then he will DENOUNCE HIM.
That night, Tulip snuggles Brewski, rubbing his ears. Her face hardens: "Goddamn you, Jesse Custer." She stands up, taking the dog by the collar and leading him down the hall. She hugs him and then opens a bedroom door and pushes him inside. We hear the dog growl, then some movement, then a yelp and a splash and some snuffling sounds. Ah: so that's where the badly-burned, needs-blood-to-recover Cassidy is.
Back at the church, Jesse is in the back of the sheriff's car, apparently arrested. The townspeople surround the cruiser, banging on the windows and shouting. The sheriff frowns: "Jackals." Then we cut to some sort of control center: there are alarms going off and gauges show that pressure is dangerously high. Some shlub presses some buttons and twists some dials, releasing some of the pressure until the klaxons stop sounding. Then he sits down with a magazine, keeping an eye on things.
Previously on Preacher / next time on Preacher
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