Welcome back brothers and sisters to our weekly feature, the Preacher Book Club, where we talk about the latest episode of AMC‘s Preacher, dissecting the episode at hand, annotating the changes made from the Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon comic book series and attempting to predict about what will be coming next. So let’s dive right into our thoughts and annotations on Preacher Episode 2.05!
Dallas
As pointed out last season, this whole subplot of Jesse and Tulip as bank robbers that work for the mysterious Danni is an all new addition to the series and was not in the comics. Jesse and Tulip also never had a pregnancy that was lost and they never worked with a guy named Carlos. However, it is nice to see the scene being set for what was done in season one in this episode, especially since the show kind of blew everything up there in that finale.
John Wayne
In the comics, Jesse’s obsession with John Wayne stems from a few different places. When Jesse’s father fought in the Vietnam War, Wayne visited his platoon and every soldier a custom lighter with “F*ck Communism” etched into, the very light that Jesse carries around with him. Later still, after seeing his father die, Jesse is watching a John Wayne movie on television (specifically McLintock!, the same movie seen in the episode) when John Wayne himself reaches through the TV and starts talking to Jesse. Wayne follows Jesse around throughout the comics as sort of his guardian angel or imaginary friend, offering guidance and pushing him along when he needs it. It’s a shame that’s not happening on the show, but they’re working around it well enough. There is another nod to Wayne later when we see the type of cigarettes that Jesse smokes: Pilgrims.
Reggie
Like this whole backstory, there never was a Reggie in the Preacher comics.
Boo-Berry
Tulip is correct. Boo-Berry IS awesome.
“Going back to Annville”
In the comics, the thing that tears Jesse and Tulip apart is Jesse’s family, who kidnap him and bring him back home, and not Jesse’s own choice to leave and start over. It’s certainly a dynamic change from the source material but offers a little more opportunity for dramatic exploration than a simple misunderstanding.
“I was rich once”
Cassidy makes this remark after he enters Viktor’s home, but in Cassidy’s past that we know from the comics this isn’t true. In fact it’s quite the opposite, he just travels from city to city, making friends and seeing them dissolve from drug addictions, and living in poverty. Perhaps he said this as a way of concealing the fact that this remains true in the series.
“Why should I trust a lying, junkie Vampire…”
This line from Jesse, and Cassidy’s reply, is a perfect summation of their friendship. They bust each other, sometimes they come awful close to hitting each other, but deep down they’re brothers and they have a bond that can’t be broken.
