By The Nerdling
Jesse plots to remove himself from the clutches of his Gran’ma.
Spoilers for TC’s Swamp Consommé Recipe
Missed Payment Fees are a Bitch
The cold open mirrors Christine’s introduction as we follow a teenage Jesse working a deal with a high school teacher. The educator was having an affair with a 16-year-old student and she has become obsessed with him. He is on track for Vice-Principal and is married, the last thing he needs is some girl mucking things up. Jesse works out a payment plan with the teacher and takes him to Madam L’Angelle.
A week later, the teacher is happy as the spell worked perfectly. He makes a payment to Jesse, but it short a few bucks and promises to make it up that next week. The next week he doesn’t show leaving Jesse, Jodi, and TC to track the wayward educator down. When you miss payments with Marie, you don’t pay in cash or fingernails, you pay with your soul as Jesse finds out. He watches as Jodie and TC strap the teacher to an archaic machine and Marie extracts his soul. “How do you think she stays so young?” Jodie asks the horrified teenager.
Escape Plan
Genesis has been on the fritz since Jesse gave up a piece of his soul to the Saint of Killers. To escape the clutches of his Gran’ma once again, Jesse needs it back from the Grail. Lucky for him, Laura and Hoover are still tailing the trio for Herr Starr. Tulip finds the “mom-hair bitch” and her “ex” hiding in the bushes at the plantation. She is ready to execute her killer then and there, but Jesse talks her into giving the two over to Jodie and his grinder.
As the big man demonstrates his grinder, which is mostly for making sausage out of whatever animal happens to cross Jodie’s path while the blood is used as the base for TC’s swamp consommé, Jesse quietly unties Hoover and tells him to run. The others go looking for Hoover as Jesse frees Laura. She is to tell Starr he wants to work with The Grail. Tulip is pissed after she witnesses Jesse helping Laura, but he explains his need for his soul to her. He promises the second his soul is back intact, they will kill them all.
The preacher has Tulip and Cassidy start a shootout with a rival family, the Boyds, to keep Grand’ma, Jodie, and TC distracted while Starr is at the plantation. The Grail leader test Jesse’s authenticity to become the new Messiah by giving him a soul placebo. A test Jesse quickly fails when he tries to command Starr to “eat his own dick.” “If only,” Starr quips as Jesse realizes he has been duped.
Still trying to work over Starr, Jesse promises to not try anything if he goes to Starr’s vehicle to get the real piece of his soul. Tulip sees Jesse and Starr walking off together and assumes the worst (can you blame her?) and remembers God telling her to “get them sonsabitches” before she came back from the dead. She opens fire on the squad of Grail goons before Jesse can get his hands on his soul shard. Starr, Laura, and Hoover drive off as Starr decides Jesse can think about his actions in Angelville for some time. When Tulip realizes her mistake, she thinks of her father and his lament of never being able to do anything right. Jesse comforts her, but the thought still haunts her as Cassidy tries to talk her into leaving without the preacher.
With his plan to restore his power and leave Angelville for good (again) having failed, Jesse goes down to get the tombs up and running as his Gran’ma told him to do. A figure comes out of the shadows as Jesse is mopping the floors. It is the teacher, worse for wear and missing an eye, asking for help. “I’m sorry. I can’t,” Jesse says, echoing his mother’s words.
Thoughts
Just before getting the call from Jesse, Herr Starr was busy gunning down a temple of Hare Krishnas in India. To keep up the pretense of readying the world for the ascension of Humperdoo, Starr demanded the temple leader bend the knee to Christianity and shot him when he didn’t.
Maybe I’m just reading too far into the situation and I know it is a plot line in the comics, but everything with the Grail and the second coming feels like a commentary on what it going on now in U.S. politics. Those who claim to be Christians are demanding loyalty and retaliating on those who resist. Sometimes violently.
Jesse pissed off the Boyds by doing “murder” and “sex” according to TC and Jodie. Does anyone else hope we get to see some of those flashbacks. I kinda want to see more of badass criminal Jesse we only saw glimpses of in season one.
I love that Cassidy thinks all he needs to do is warmup the swamp consommé and all is good.
Next week sees Tulip attempting to free Jesse from Gran’ma and Cassidy roped into something bad with the L’Angelle family.
Till Then!
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, Facebook, and Instagram.
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