Written by The Nerdling

Jesse learns more about the Grail and their mission, Tulip forms a deeper friendship with her neighbor, Cassidy is having trouble reigning in Denis.

Spoilers on the Road to God…

Humperdoo

After introducing himself to Jesse, Herr Starr quickly offers up the Grail’s resources for Jesse’s quest to find God.  Starr takes Jesse to the Grail offices and introduces him to the Pope and the Archbishop of Rome.  Jesse demands to know where God is hiding and the two men spout ridiculous theories of rebellious seraphim and creation of a new, more worth species.  As the two holy men leave, one lets a reference to a “him” slip.  Jesse commands Starr to divulge Jesus’ affair with a married woman the night before his crucifixion and the Grail’s mission to protect the messiah for when the end times come.

Jesse orders Starr to take him to the 25^th great-grandchild of Jesus.  Upon meeting the future leader of humanity, Jesse falls to his knees in awe and Humperdoo (as he is known by The Grail) pees on him.  Generations of inbreeding to keep the blood pure have left the messiah physically and mentally disabled.

Driving Jesse back to Denis’ house, Starr confesses his true reason for seeking out Jesse.  The commander of the Sampson unit knows humanity is doomed if the poor inbreed man is to lead.  But Jesse has the Word.  The preacher is a God-fearing man, unafraid of a fight.  Starr offers Jesse a chance to be humanity’s leader instead of Humperdoo.  Jesse turns him down, but Starr is working another angle while Jesse mulls things over.

Secrets never stay buried

Meanwhile, Tulip and her neighbor “Jeanie” (Laura Featherstone continuing to play her meek alter-ego) bond over their shared tragedies.  Jeanie tells Tulip about her drunken, abusive ex-boyfriend she is running from.  Tulip reveals some of her past, including the recent run in with the Saint of Killers, and the emotional scars it left her with.  When Tulip expresses doubt the Saint is back in hell, Jeanie fans those fires of suspicion.

The two women play Rock Band and Jeanie mentions Tulips time in Dallas robbing banks.  But Tulip didn’t tell Jeanie about Dallas and begins to question her story.  Realizing she slipped up, Laura has Hoover pretend to be her ex-boyfriend and slap her around.  Tulip comes to Jeanie’s rescue and all doubt of her new friend disappears.

In the bathroom bandaging Jeanie’s wounds from her “fight” with her boyfriend, the neighbor points out there is a loose floor board and encourages Tulip to patch it up.  There, Tulip finds the Saint’s guns and realizes Jesse lied to her about sending the Saint back to hell.

Thoughts

Starr seems to really understand Jesse.  He knew exactly how to play the preacher so he would “discover” the lack of leadership from both the Clergy and Humperdoo.  If Starr would have shown him these things outright, Jesse would have been less inclined to believe him and the offer to take over as messiah would not have been as effective.

It was obvious Starr knew Jesse was going to turn him down as well.  Laura manipulating Tulip into finding the Saint’s guns and fanning the romantic vibes with Cassidy is Starr’s plan to isolate Jesse from the people he trusts the most.  And judging by the promos for next week, the plan will be very effective.

I think Starr doesn’t understand Jesse cannot be manipulated like the Clergy and Humperdoo.  Starr assumes he will still be the one calling the shots when the world ends and Jesse becomes the leader of humanity.

Cassidy spends the entirety of the episode looking to make up time with his son by ordering him prostitutes, going to arcades, and getting tattoos.  Unfortunately, Denis is dealing with cravings of a newly made vampire and doesn’t feel the need to control them.  This is not going to end well for our favorite vampire.

Preacher has really mastered the art of the cold open.  More often than not, we are thrown into a situation with no explanation and eventually, the story starts to unfold.  The week’s was brilliantly done.  We have no idea who this man and woman are, or even what time period we are in.  Then slowly we are given clues until the big reveal.

The fact that Preacher doesn’t have a mainstream following has to be why they knew they could get away with the show opening on Jesus having fairly graphic sex with a married woman.  If this show had a bigger following, there would be some serious outcries from the religious watchdogs.  Great use of shadows to convey the various dirty deeds without having to outright display anything.

Till Next Week!

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The Nerdling was born in the majestic land known as Texas and currently resides there after several years of journeying through Middle Earth in a failed attempt to steal the one Ring from that annoying hobbit, serving the Galactic Empire for a time, and then a short stint as a crew member on the Serenity. Since moving back to her homeland, Nerdling flirted with a hero reputation. Saving children from the dangers of adoring domineering, sparkly vampires (champions with souls are the only vampires worth loving) and teaching normals the value of nerdom, all while rooting for her beloved Dallas Stars. Then came the Sokovia Accords and her short spell of saving others came to an end. With Darth Vader’s reputation rightfully returning to badass status, Nerdling is making her way back to the Empire. They do have cookies, you know. You can find her on Twitter @nerdlingstale.