The Plot

In a fierce gun battle Jesse faces off against Quincannon and the Meat Men to protect his church, while Tulip tries to save a friend.

The Good

Preacher’s eighth episode, El Valero brings a satisfying mix of character development and action to the screen as Jesse gets embroiled in a stand off against Quincannon and his men while trying to bring Eugene back from Hell. Kicking off with a flashback which explores the roots of Quincannon’s hatred against the church, El Valero manages to bring a surprising amount of heartbreak to Quincannon’s character with Jackie Earle Haley giving some real depth to the character as he stands surrounded by his family in coffins after a fatal skiing trip accident, unable to tell the difference between the innards of his meat and his daughter. It’s a shockingly gruesome scene which stays with you well after the credits have rolled.

Meanwhile, Dominic Cooper gets to bring a bit more to the character he’s managed to bring to life so easily over the last seven episodes as he struggles to come to terms with his actions, with Ian Colletti’s Eugene essentially serving as Jesse’s subconscious. Having clawed his way back up from Hell, through the floor of the Church only to have the disappointing truth revealed soon after.

One of the more light-hearted parts of this weeks episode is thankfully peppered throughout, with Quincannon’s men trying, failing and trying again (and once more after that) to take over the Church but each time getting easily pushed back by Jesse as he uses makeshift firebombs and shoots people’s dicks clean off.

Also this week, we finally get a worthy conclusion to one of the season’s main plotlines, as Jesse gives in to Fiore and DeBlanc, inviting them back to return Genesis back to its coffee can home. But it’s barely five minutes before the mysterious entity ends up settling itself back into Jesse proving once and for all that there must be some kind of plan for Jesse considering all previous victims of Genesis have exploded bar Jesse.

The Bad

Once again this week, there is a distinct lack of the annoyingly elusive Cowboy. We’re now at only 2 remaining episodes for his role in this season to be revealed to us and again we’re robbed of the opportunity, making it harder for any interest in the character to remain.

Also notably absent is Cassidy. Last seen revealing himself to Jesse by walking into sunlight and promptly burning up, Cassidy is laying low this week while Tulip adopts pets to feed him and bring his strength up. While it’s a relief to see that he’s still alive, it’s a shame to see him locked away in a room while he heals. If not for the disappointing lack of his wisecracking dialogue, then at least for the missed opportunity of some vampiric gore.

The Ugly Truth

This week brings one of the better episodes in terms of character progression. Despite the lack of The Cowboy and Cassidy, some big moments make this entertaining enough.

Review by Johnny Ellis