TV Review: AMC’s Preacher 2×11, “Backdoors”

Perhaps the most disappointing thing about this week’s episode of Preacher was the lack of anything as crazy as Humperdoo. He certainly left an impression, as Jesse once again finds himself with a clearer mind when it comes to determining his next move, but “Backdoors” was kind of light on any major revelations. In fact, the biggest one was played pretty aloof, given the ramifications that involve a missing killer cowboy. Still, as this season begins to wind to a close, there are a few moving parts that seem to be getting ready for a possibly very bloody finale.

The focus belongs to Jesse and Eugene this week, as Tulip and Cassidy are not doing a whole lot, beyond reminding you of their state of affairs. I’ll get back to them, but let’s talk about Eugene. “Backdoors” spends a lot of time in Hell this week, as we are now seeing the tests conducted by the guards to learn who doesn’t belong. This gives Eugene, Hitler and Tyler a chance to visit Hitler’s Hell and see what he’s been dealing with as his worst day.

I express concern back towards the beginning of this season in regards to what this show is doing to Hitler. I’m aware it’s a crazy show that is in no way trying to condone his real life atrocities, but there is an apparent attempt to humanize the man for the sake of this series. Noah Taylor’s been great, but I’m hoping it has an ultimate payoff that happily puts us back in the mindset we should be in when it comes to “Adolf Fucking Hitler.”

With that in mind, we finish the whole take on Hitler’s worst day, as Eugene felt he needed to see the whole thing. Later on, the two go through with the plan to escape Hell. I’m not sure what’s next or even if this plan has any chance of working, but given how disconnected this storyline is from everything else on the show, I can only imagine it finally delivering something that makes it a worthwhile effort. This has been an entertaining subplot, but surely there’s more to come that involves Eugene being back on Earth.

Back on Earth, Jesse thinks he has figured out where God was. That man in the dog suit that the show reminds us of every week in the opening credits may have just actually been God after all, but it eluded Jesse at the time. Bringing this news to Starr, there’s little that the Grail seems to want to do about it. This is because Starr is still hoping Jesse will give in and take the place of the current Messiah, Humperdoo. Good thing this backfires.

While this episode finds things at somewhat of a standstill, there is good work done to further delve into who Jesse is. As we learn in the cold open, his Grandmother tortured him as a child. Placing him in a coffin and sinking it to the bottom of a swamp until he submitted to certain demands, it wasn’t easy being young Jesse. Reliving those memories thanks to Starr being able to get Jesse’s prayers and play them for him gives Jesse plenty to consider, but that doesn’t stop him from telling Starr to shove those prayers up his ass.

I was happy to see these two come together for a possible partnership last week, as opposed to a quick, violent standoff and the show continues to be doing a good job of setting up these two opponents for future hostile interactions. Not hurting is the continual humiliation of Starr, which is an element from the comics, but also a good way of keeping such a demented character in check, given the dark humor that comes from how evil and commanding he is.

It’s a shame Preacher couldn’t find a better way to handle the other important thing. The Saint is apparently missing from where Jesse thought he left him. It’s a strange choice to have Tulip confront Jesse about not sending The Saint to Hell off-screen and even more unusual to see the characters just hanging around the house, despite having this information. Preacher has been faulted for its relaxed pacing in the past and the second half of this season has had some issue in building momentum. Here’s a good example of where things have gone wrong, as something just didn’t feel right about the lack of urgency.

As we can see at the end, things are about to change as far as where The Saint is in all of this, but I still wish more was handled as far as Jesse being confronted about not sending The Saint to Hell. However, seeing the imagery of a box being lifted out of the swamp corresponds nicely to what Jesse sees as actual punishment. As he is looking for God to help him cleanse his soul, piecing together the fact that The Saint has a bit of Jesse’s soul in him is a good piece of character work. Jesse is also punishing himself and placing The Saint in the swamp was a way to help do that.

Other than that, it’s a waiting game as far as what will happen next. Tulip goes with Jenny in an attempt to get rid of The Saint’s weapons. Cassidy is dealing with vampire Denis who is showing how much of a jerk he is in this form. Starr is still figuring things out as well, which includes learning how many prayers he can stuff up his backdoor. It’s been a bit since getting some of the more flashy action this series occasionally offers, but moves are being made that suggest a change is coming.

Preachin’ To The Choir:

• Honestly just realized the pun presented in the title of this episode as I’m writing this. Well played Preacher.
• Hoover is not qualified for his job, and he knows it.
• “Jesus Jesus or just a bearded Latino?” – Cassidy doesn’t have a lot to do this week, but he does have some good lines.
• Yes, I do want some plum cake.
• Despite being a slight subplot, I did like learning about The Saint’s indestructible weapons.
• Best prayer: “Forgive me for shooting that komodo dragon.”