Preacher recap "Mumbai Sky Tower" S2E2 6/26/17

So, the Genesis voice does not stop the Saint, who keeps coming, raising his gun and firing at Jesse.  An unlucky delivery van happens to be driving by.  One of the Saint's giant bullets goes through the van, turning the driver to slush.  The van swerves, runs into the Saint and crushes him against a streetlight.  Jesse's all, whew!  Behind him, a posse-worth of gun nuts (there is a "Gun Aficionado convention staying at the same motel) run out, clutching their various firearms.  As everyone watches, and Jesse's relief dissipates, the Saint emerges from the wreckage, Terminator-like, and keeps on coming towards his prey.  Jesse uses Genesis to command the gun aficionados to "stop him" and they simply POUR bullets into him.  He stops, shakes it off, and raises his own guns, methodically dispatching every single aficionado even as Jesse Voices at them to RUN.

Drawn by the ruckus, Cassidy drags Jesse back to the motel so they can collect Tulip and go.  Unfortunately, she has found a news report on t.v. about how Annville got all blowed up.  She is stunned, and Jesse gets drawn into watching as well until an errant bullet destroys the t.v. and they all run for it.  The Saint works his way up and down the motel, blowing everyone he sees away.  The body count is high, y'all.  He almost corners them but they escape through a window and drive off.  The Saint is a little perturbed by this, his quarry continually escaping.

The next morning, Cassidy says he thinks he knows who might be able to help them.  You see, last night, while Jesse and Tulip were getting it on, Cassidy was watching t.v. and saw an ad for a casino magician, the amazing Ganesh, and he recognized him as Fiore, one of the two angels who tried to reclaim Genesis back in S1.

A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO

In a very nice, wordless sequence, we see that Fiore is adrift following the Saint's killing of his partner, Deblanc.  He finds his way to a casino, the Mumbai Sky Tower, and tries killing himself over and over again - which never works because of the whole angel-regeneration thing (unless killed by the Saint of Killers).  Eventually, the lounge singer notices him and they work up an act that becomes very popular:  the lounge singer kills Fiore/Ganesh in any number of gruesome ways and Fiore/Ganesh regenerates right back.

Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy go to the Mumbai Sky Tower to find Ganesh.  Tulip isn't feeling it - still shocked about Annville - and leaves the boys to it.  They speak with Fiore, who is completely uninterested in helping them get the Saint off their trail - he hired the Saint, after all.  The angel blows them off but Cassidy has picked up on his ennui and tells Jesse to leave it to him.  Jesse goes to find Tulip, who is sad about losing her uncle Walter, who was a drunk but her only remaining family.  Jesse's all, he doesn't have to be your only family - let's get married!  Tulip:  "Excuse me?"

Meanwhile, Cassidy is waiting for Fiore in the angel's room.  When Fiore comes back after his show, Cassidy convinces him to get high - they both get SUPER high - and in another charming, mostly wordless sequence, run around the room together, giggling, building forts, tossing frisbees, drinking champagne, sobbing in each other's arms in the hot tub.  More than anything, Fiore has been lonely since Deblanc's death.  Cassidy has picked up on this and without overtly pressuring the angel to change his mind about helping with the Saint, tries to bond with him.

There's a long line ahead of Jesse and Tulip at the lobby wedding chapel and when they go to the bar to drink while they wait, Tulip sees a big dude staring at her.  She tells Jesse she's going to go change her shirt and when she comes out of their room, the big dude is waiting for her.  Tulip:  "Heyyyyy, Gary."  Gary: "Hey, Tulip.  Nice shirt."  It seems that Gary works for a Victor - who owns casinos all over Texas and Louisiana - and it seems that Tulip has some history with this Victor.

After a chat with the lounge singer (while waiting for Tulip), Jesse figures out that if God likes jazz, they will likely be able to find him in New Orleans.  Cassidy finds him, telling him that [he assumes] Fiore will take care of the Saint; Jesse's all, great! and we'll go to New Orleans after Tulip and I get married.  Cassidy:  Married?

Up in Jesse and Tulip's room, Gary says that Tulip needs to talk to Victor, like, now.  She doesn't want to.  He presses the issue.  She refuses again.  So then they fight.  Gary is huge, picking her up by the neck and tossing her around the room.  She manages to get some good licks in, however, finally beating him (either unconscious or dead, hard to say) with the heart-shaped buzzer the wedding chapel handed out for the wait.  It's now that Cassidy shows up - "Jaysus! What happened?" - and Tulip snarls at him, "Do not tell Jesse!"  Then the heart-shaped buzzer goes off.  Time to get married.

Jesse and Fiore are in the wedding chapel, waiting.  Jesse confirms that Fiore will call the Saint off and then he can use the Genesis voice again.  Fiore's all, no, you really shouldn't, it's bad - and what else is bad is that boy you sent to Hell.  Jesse: Eugene?  Fiore was supposed to get him out of Hell but is all, nope, it's terrible down there, I can't do it.  At least Eugene isn't completely forgotten.

Tulip finally shows up and says no, she doesn't want to get married - they don't need to.  They all go out to the car.  Fiore asks where they're going next and Jesse tells him that they're going to follow the music and go to New Orleans.  Tulip shivers: Victor must be in New Orleans.  Fiore has told Jesse that the way the Saint is tracking him is by homing in on the Genesis voice, so before they drive away, Jesse uses the voice to tell the angel to FIND PEACE.

This brings the Saint to Fiore.  Their deal still holds: if the Saint kills Genesis, he will see his family again.  Fiore tells him that Jesse is heading to New Orleans but he needs him to do one more thing.  So out in the evening Ganesh show, the Saint shoots Fiore, actually killing him so he can't regenerate.  The audience boos loudly - that's not what they came to see - but the dead angel has a beatific expression on his face.  It seems he has, in fact, found peace.

Previously on Preacher / next time on Preacher

Preacher recap "On the Road" S2E1 6/26/17

Hey there, y'all - welcome back to the Preacher recaps!  If you've forgotten what happened last time (since it's been nearly eleven months), there's a link down bottom to prior posts.  Let us begin!

THE SEARCH FOR GOD

DAY ONE

Our heroes - Jesse, Tulip and Cassidy - are on the road in Tulip's car, shooting the shit and talking about nothing the way you always do on a road trip.  They now know that God is missing and they're off to find him.  Around the time that "Come On Eileen" comes on the radio, Tulip has blown by a cop doing 97.  The cop gives chase, a few others join him and Jesse suggests that maybe she outrun them, just for fun.  Tulip notes that they're low on gas ... but okay.  The show switches over to a grindhouse-film look - grainy, with scratches and skips in the frames - as Tulip easily ditches the cops.  And just as they've gotten clear, her car runs out of gas.

The cops surround them and drag them out of the car.  Cassidy insists that he needs his umbrella or he'll burst into flame.  The cops are not inclined to believe him, of course, so he dashes across the tarmac and dives into one of their cars, smoking slightly and singed around the edges.  As the cops menace them, Jesse asks Tulip if it's okay if he uses the Genesis voice.  She doesn't like it but it's clear they aren't going to talk their way out of it.  So Jesse uses the VOICE, telling the head cop to mace his own nuts, another one to recite "Yellow Rose of Texas," another couple to hold hands, etc.  He's just getting into it when, from out of nowhere, massive bullets start flying, splattering cop bodies and heads into red slush and generally being terrifying.  It's startling and gory and awesome.  As Jesse fetches Cassidy, who has been hiding from the sun and/or shooter under a car, Tulip manages to siphon gas from one of the cop cars ... using a length of someone's intestine.  Seems gratuitous, especially with the intestine flopping around behind the car as they drive off.  Jesse and Cassidy peer out the back window as Tulip drives away, trying to make out who's been shooting at them.  It's the Cowboy, obviously.

Some ways down the road, the kids stop at a convenience store.  Cassidy instructs Tulip on how to get the taste of blood/intestine out of her mouth:  hot sauce, followed by Yoohoo.  Jesse uses the Genesis voice to tell the convenience store owner to just pretend they weren't there.  They try to figure out why they were being shot at and finally deem it to just be an unlucky start.  Cassidy:  "Smooth-ish sailing from here on out."  A little later, after they've left, Jesse's Genesis instruction works out poorly for the convenience store owner: the Cowboy walks up and inquires after "Preacher."  The man is literally unable to give him any information and so the Cowboy reaches in and rips out the poor guy's tongue.  Eeeuw.

Jesse has decided that they need to consult a religious scholar/family friend he knows, figuring that if anyone knows where God might have gone, it would be a man who studies such things.  Tulip and Cassidy (mostly Tulip) are skeptical, then, when they drive to a rundown rural ranch.  While Jesse goes to meet up with his friend alone - the man is apparently a little skittish around strangers - A still-smitten Cassidy tries to convince Tulip that they should tell Jesse about their hook-up.  Tulip:  "I'm going to try not to exaggerate here but out of all the stupid things you've ever said, that is the stupidest."  Cassidy: "I don't think that's true."  They are distracted from this conversation when they discover a girl locked in a cage in the garage.  Before they can get her out, Jesse shows up with his scholar-friend, Mike.  Mike gruffly explains that the cage is part of the service he offers his parishioners: cold-turkey cage cure for drinking, drugs, Internet (the current girl in there is an Instagram addict or some such).

They go into Mike's house and Jesse explains what's been going on.  Mike is not surprised to hear that God has gone walkabout; he hasn't heard Him when he prays of late.  He doesn't have any hard answers for them - and scoffs when Jesse wonders if there's anything in any of his books - but does say that one of his parishioners (Tammy) recently seems to have been scared straight when she saw God.  Jesse's all, God is here?  Mike gives him Tammy's business card and, after an uncomfortable night with all three of Cassidy, Jesse and Tulip in Mike's guest room, the kids head off to talk to this woman.  It isn't long before the Cowboy is at Mike's doorstep.  But Mike recognizes him (we have a name: the SAINT OF KILLERS) and is ready for him.  Before the Saint of Killers can make him talk, Mike stabs himself in the heart with a small knife.

The kids go to a strip club that Tammy runs.  An excellent jazz trio - not what you would expect in this kind of joint - is playing on stage.  While Cassidy goes off to find himself a lap dance, Jesse and Tulip meet with Tammy in her office.  She is not inclined to talk to them but eventually admits that yes, God was there.  Behind Jesse and Tulip, on the video monitors, Cassidy is tangling with the club's security for having put hands on the stripper.  Tammy doesn't want to tell Jesse and Tulip why God was there (they think it was for one of the girls) and so they discuss, in front of her, if he should use Genesis on her.  She gets more and more fidgety; on the video monitors, the security guy and Cassidy are wrestling over the security guy's gun.  A nervous Tammy stands up, pulling a knife.  And then, through the wall, the security guy's gun goes off, striking Tammy in the chest.  As she dies, Jesse uses Genesis to ask what girl God had come to see.  She scoffs, calling him an idiot and telling him that God came to the club for the jazz.

That night, they go to a motel, Jesse and Tulip in one room, Cassidy in the adjoining one.  To blow off steam, Tulip locks herself in the bathroom.  It's a thing they do: Jesse knocks the door down and then they have surprisingly sweet, cathartic sex.  Later, Jesse goes outside for a cigarette.  He looks down the street and there, walking in and out of the patches of light from the streetlights, comes the Saint of Killers, implacable.  Jesse shouts STOP at the approaching man, several times, using Genesis.  The Saint of Killers does not, in fact, stop.  Uh-oh.

Previously on Preacher / next time on Preacher

In the meantime

Things will pick up around here soon, once Preacher gets going again. 

In the meantime, I was recently back east - Midcoast Maine - to see family and was introduced to two new (to me) brewpubs.  Maine has a ridiculous number of breweries (both production and brewpubs).  There's a beer trail you can follow, with more than 80 breweries all around the state.  Go out and explore! The two I went to are:

Oxbow Beer - We went to the Newcastle location (there's a tasting room in Portland too) and it was SO MAINE.  Difficult to find/in the middle of nowhere/tiny little sign on the road.  Surrounded by trees, the small tasting room has three picnic tables outside, so you can swat mosquitoes and pet the friendly cat while you drink beer.  Port-o-johns available in the parking lot.  Every car in the lot on that Sunday afternoon was a Subaru.  And all the late 20s/early30s post-modern hippie women were wearing galoshes with their skirts. 

Flight Deck Brewing - The Flight Deck has a problem.  They intended to use their Brunswick brewery (located in the former shooting range at the old naval air station) to produce beer to sell to area restaurants.  But their tasting room has become so popular that they can't keep up with demand and are selling way more retail/to individual imbibers than they planned.  Good problem to have!  They have an arrangement with local food trucks too so (a) dogs are allowed in the tasting room because there's no kitchen and (b) good food awaits just outdoors.