Grab onto your saddles folks, because it’s going to be one hell of a ride!
spoilers ahead!
This week’s episode reminded me of the nursery rhyme ‘There was a little girl’, Jesse here being the little girl, because when he was good, he was very, very good, and when he was bad he was horrid! He just about drives everyone in his life away as he struggles to come to terms with his actions and their consequences. Is the title referring to Eugene, or is it referring to Jesse?
We begin where we left off with Eugene’s unholy exit, but we find out that it was witnessed by Cassidy upon the balcony and he doesn’t look happy. But no sooner than an emotionless mask had time to slip down onto Jesse’s face, the church doors opened to a flood of congregants. Aside from the Sheriff wondering where his son has got to, the sermon goes well. Jesse at one point appears to be considering using his powers upon them all, but instead just uses his normal voice to speak the message ‘serve God’.
In the not at all subtle transition, we go from the floor where Eugene was taken (along with hellish noises) to Quincannon’s office. He’s back listening to the sounds of the killing floor and is the picture of eerie calm, he’s finished his lovely diorama of the battle of the Alamo, so what is next in his agenda?
FLASHBACK: A considerably younger Tulip and Jesse are sat outside the principal’s office looking like they’ve been involved in a tussle. Soon the principal and Jesse’s father emerge, the other kids involved were badly injured and although Jesse says he was standing up to them like his father wants, Tulip is entirely unrepentant. Thanks to the pleas of Jesse they take Tulip home too, since she says her mom is in jail and her uncle is drunk somewhere. Later that night after they’re in bed, Jesse prays that he is glad his father did the right thing.
Back in the present our older Tulip is sporting some serious freerunning/parkour moves. It turns out she is chasing down some kids on bikes who’ve stolen her alcoholic uncle’s pants. She then tries to drag him inside but he’s too heavy and passed out, so she just sits on the porch steps and receives the disapproval of the entire neighbourhood.
We then see Jesse in an eerily calm state that seems to mirror Odin’s, then the camera sweeps through an abandoned Eugene’s bedroom.
In the church Cassidy finds and confronts Jesse about what he saw, but Emily interrupts the exchange. As they leave to attend church matters Tulip enters in the back with arms of shopping for dinner that night. They argue about Jesse and how he might react to the news they slept together, then him finding out about Cas being inhuman, with Tulip knowing that Jesse has got a hot head, while Cassidy believes that as a preacher he’d be more forgiving. The irony of a vampire arguing for good is not lost on me here! There is a brief mention of John Wayne being Jesse’s favourite star, hold on to this thought for another day…
FLASHBACK: We join the now cohabiting kiddo’s in the middle of a wrestling match on the floor, they’re disturbed by John Custer, who tells them the washing up won’t do itself. The pair seem to work well together and while Tulip is getting more dish soap, she overhears a phone conversation she shouldn’t. That night in bed Jesse is shaken awake by Tulip who makes him swear they’d be together ‘til the end of the world’. The next day the Texas dept of human services takes her away, with Jesse screaming and cursing his father the whole time. That night his prayer is for the death and deliverance of his father straight to hell.
Present day again and Jesse is overseeing more ministerial duties when Odin drops by for a chat. He confesses to him that he believes he’s neglected his birthright by allowing his business to decline, then he hands Jesse a deed transfer to sign for the church. He refutes the claim that he’s a christian man now, which leaves him lying… or he’s serving a very different god. After Jesse refuses to sign the church and land away, Odin leaves, quoting the William Travis letter ‘Victory or death’.
Outside Emily stands with Cassidy, concerned about what she may have overheard, but definitely knowing something is up. But once again Cas comes to Jesse’s defense, assuring her he’s a good man.
At the table Tulips less than gourmet dinner is soured by Jesse’s foul mood, worsened by Odin’s visit. The beginning of an argument is stifled when Sheriff Root drops by looking for Eugene, Jesse says he never saw him, to which Emily says that he came by to see him before the service. It seems she realises something is very wrong as she then covers for Jesse by saying she saw him leave after. At that moment the over catches fire due to Tulip’s mishap with vanilla extract, Cassidy tries to help her feel better, but it’s obvious as our Irish vamp is anything but subtle.
Jesse is hit in the face with a fire extinguisher after saying goodbye to the sheriff, Cassidy is pretty pissed that he seems to be unrepentant and caused Emily to be dragged into the mess too. Jesse launches into a tirade about how Eugene is not as innocent as he seems (shooting Tracy Loach after she spurned his advances) and if God wanted him to go to hell then so be it! Cassidy then throws the extinguisher to him and confesses his vampirism by walking into the sunlight and bursting into flames.
We cruelly don’t get to see what happens next, as the next time we see Jesse is when he returns to the kitchen and slams the extinguisher in Cassidy’s place. It doesn’t take long for Tulip to work out what has happened and Jesse realises she knew already, Emily meanwhile remains clueless.
Tulip says his father would be proud, and Jesse bites back where he knows it hurts by saying she knows nothing about standards, being an O’Hare, naturally she leaves upset.
FLASHBACK: Jesse is once again shaken awake, but this time it’s his father, he tells Jesse to hide under the bed and keep quiet. There is a banging on the door, John answers only to be struck repeatedly by two men with bats. They then approach the bed where Jesse is hidden, clearly in search of the boy. Outside later we are at a familiar scene, this flashback has been in the show before, John is on his knees with a gun to his head, he tells Jesse to be strong and be good before getting shot in front of his own son. (It’s worth noting that the man who pulls the trigger is sporting Jesse’s back tattoo on his wrist.)
Jesse is clearly having a breakdown as he rips apart the floor of the church, frantically digging and calls for Eugene to come back. Meanwhile Odin and his crew of workers are descending upon the church with the intention of taking it for their own… Victory or death?? Tune in next time!
Things we learnt this episode:
– Jesse blames himself for his father’s death.
– Eugene isn’t as innocent as he seemed.
– Jesse’s need to save the town is rooted in his promise to his father, he sees it as a repentance for damning him to hell/causing his death.
Betakitten is a Classics student who fangirls when she should be studying. A lifelong DC, Sci-Fi and Horror fan. After writing for blogs about TV shows she ended up here with The Collective to add a little Devilry to the mix.
(Twitter @betakitten)
Check out the incentives for our SDCC 2016 fundraising campaign here.
acollectivemind.com 