Con SuiteThe Reactor

Recap: Preacher – Viktor

By Miclpea

SPOILER ALERT-Preacher- Season Two-Do not read if you have not seen episode four of Preacher.

Quote of the Week- “Fake God is a local actor. “

The episode, Viktor, focuses on three plot lines.

  1. Jesse’s search for God while Cassidy worries about Tulip’s safety.
  2. Tulip’s relationship with Viktor and his crew.
  3. Eugene adjusting to his existence in Hell.

Let’s start with Eugene…

Ian Colletti as Eugene; single†- Preacher _ Season 2, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Skip Bolen/AMC

Eugene is the proverbial ‘stranger in a strange land.’ He is the innocent who must navigate his way safely through the worst humanity has to offer. His guide and protector in this wasteland of humanity is Hitler (played by Noah Taylor). The irony of the situation is that one of the greatest villains in human history is protecting Eugene in Hell. Eugene actually begins to believe that Hitler is not such a bad fellow.

This state of affairs does not last long since the head guard, Ms. Mannering (played by Amy Hill), informs Eugene that his good qualities such compassion are not appreciated in Hell. If his good qualities persist, he will be thrown into the Hole, which is a horror worse than their private hells everyone there is experiencing. Later, one of his fellow inmates, Tyler (played by Justin Prentice), confronts then starts to assault Hitler. Eugene must face the decision whether to stop the beat-down or join in with the gang assaulting Hitler. Eugene surprisingly takes part in beating Hitler even though Hitler had defended him. Eugene fears that those who are watching the inmates, will not see him taking part in the beating and send him to the Hole. Hell is changing Eugene and not for the better.

Tulip’s return to Viktor’s control is the most compelling story of the episode. Viktor has a beautiful mansion which is the control center of his criminal enterprise. We learn that Viktor (played by Paul Ben-Victor) is a man who is not afraid to get his hands dirty when we see him discarding blood covered clothing after he tortured a prisoner. Viktor is obviously upset with Tulip when they finally meet but oddly he gives her the run of the mansion to think about what she has done.

Tulip walks through the mansion where she tries to reconnect with her old compatriots but no one wants to talk to her. Viktor’s daughter even goes as far as to spit in Tulip’s face. It is apparent that Tulip’s absence (or departure) has caused a tremendous rift in her former relationship with everyone in the mansion. Tulip eventually tries to escape by threatening Viktor with a gun to his head. He tells her to go ahead but she does not shoot him and Viktor’s men stop her. We learn at the end of the episode why she did not shoot Viktor.

Meanwhile, Jesse continues his search for God. Although Tulip does not join him and Cassidy, Jesse is not concerned as he believes that she is fully capable of taking care of herself. Cassidy knows that Tulip is in trouble but he refuses to break her confidence. If Cassidy were just a bit smarter, he would have told Jesse that Tulip was in trouble and this episode would have taken an entirely different path. Instead, Jesse takes a nap. Unbeknownst to Jesse, the super-secret, crypto-religious fascist organization with designs on total world domination has sent the bartender, F. J. Hoover, to watch Denis’ home. Remember that F.J. is the bartender who sent Jesse to the club where he found Lara, the femme fatale,

Joseph Gilgun as Cassidy, Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer – Preacher _ Season 2, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Skip Bolen/AMC

Of course, this is Preacher so we have to cross into the insane. Cassidy is watching television when he recognizes one of the actors on the commercial. It is God or more precisely, the person who pretended to be God in Jesse’s church. Cassidy and Jesse go in search of the fake God who is a local actor in New Orleans. The irony is that they are searching for the real God and fake God in the same place, New Orleans.

They find the agent in one of the more brilliant and hilarious scenes in the episode. Cassidy is able to convince the agent that they want to hire the actor, Mark Harelik, for a recurring role in Game of Thrones. They convince the agent but he does not know where his client but he does eventually give them the actor’s audition tape for the role of God.

While viewing the tape, Jesse learns that the actor was shot after he was awarded the role so that they could use Mark in heaven to play God. As Jesse concentrates on the screenshot of Mark being shot, Cassidy finally confesses that he thinks Tulip is in trouble. After getting all the details from Cassidy, Jesse goes to Viktor’s mansion.

Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer, Ruth Negga as Tulip O’Hare, Paul Ben Victor as Viktor – Preacher _ Season 2, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Skip Bolen/AMC

At Viktor’s mansion, Jesse immobilizes everyone by using the voice of Genesis before he stopped by Viktor’s head torturer, Pet (brilliantly played by Sean Boyd). Pet always uses a set of headphones which play loud music as he tortures his victim. In an epic fight scene, Jesse beats him without using the voice of Genesis since the Pet is wearing his headphones turned up to the maximum setting. After Jesse stabs Pet and removes his headphones, Pet tells Jesse that Tulip is in a bedroom upstairs. After kicking in the door to the bedroom, Jesse enters and starts to choke Viktor to death. Tulip finally and reluctantly reveals that Viktor is her husband.

Of course, in order to save both Lara and Tulip, Jesse has to use the voice of Genesis several times. Guided by the voice of Genesis, The Saint of Killers has followed them to New Orleans.

This episode gives us several revelations. We learn that an unassuming actor from New Orleans played the “fake God.” We finally understand why Tulip did not want to marry Jesse and why she was afraid to come to New Orleans and see Viktor. If there is one thing we have learned from watching episodic television, it is that secrets are always revealed. The other fact we know to be true is that the longer a secret is kept, the worse the consequences when revealed. Tulip should have learned this lesson because the consequences of keeping her marriage a secret may well destroy her relationship with Jesse.

Special note: I’m packing my bags for the journey to San Diego Comic Con! I will combine the recaps of episodes five and six after I return from Comic Con.

Are you watching Preacher? Join the conversation on Friends of Comic Con forum by clicking here.

Miclpea

I love going to conventions around the US and Canada. I'm an ardent fan of all things science fiction and especially The Expanse. I'm a senior writer for Friends of CC and I have co-written a science-fiction script called Punctuated Equilibrium.