Everything Has Its Price in Preacher’s “Sokosha” 

Who knew the Saint of Killers could be civil? After Allie bought herself (and Tulip) some time by sending him in the wrong direction, it gave the three of them time to escape once again. Once they learn of Fiore’s death, they realize they’re on their own for finding a way to stop the Saint.

In what feels like a throwback to an ’80s movie montage, they do some actual research at the public library and learn of the Saint’s sad and violent past. Now that they know what he is, they feel better equipped to figure out what he wants.

“Sokosha” is the first time we get to see Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy getting along as if nothing was wrong. They share the wierdest, most sugar coma inducing pancakes over breakfast while laughing about their plans for the day. Cassidy’s suggestion about getting shot in the chest (for money) gets a hard pass from everyone else, but no one except Jesse seems interested in looking for God. Though the mention of the lounge singer does get Tulip’s attention.

Everyone is vulnerable in this episode, even the Saint of Killers; who is a man so terrifying that even Hell fears him. Watching the crew learn about his history is tedious because we already know the story, but seeing him change once he has a soul was well worth the wait. This is a big departure from the comics even though Jesse does eventually get the Saint to change course.

This takes a page from the procedural cop drama playbook, which is a nice departure from Preacher‘s usual fly by the seat of the pants approach to solving problems. The audience doesn’t quite know what the trap is, even after its sprung, but Jesse’s confidence when he’s face-to-face with the Saint makes us believe he knows what he’s doing. And when Genesis finally cracks the Saint’s facade, the smirk on Jesse’s face is all too satisfying.

Even more shocking that Cassidy finally coming clean that Dennis is his son is just how raw Tulip is in this episode. She wears all of her emotions, not just the ones she wants people to see. She’s really and truly nervous, maybe even scared, that Jesse won’t meet the Saint’s demands and that this could be the end for all of them. In the first season, this would have seemed out of character for the ballsy brawler. However, after seeing into the past with “Dallas,” it’s good to see so many layers to her dynamic character.

Preacher just wouldn’t be itself if there wasn’t something over-the-top happening. When Jesse high-tails it to the Voodoo house to buy a soul, he slips into his old self without skipping a beat, and even name drops his mother’s maiden name, L’Angell, which is a family that still carries a lot of clout in town. He made the decision to step back into what he called, “the family business,” but something tells us that whole toeing the line thing won’t work for him. And the fact that he dumped the Saint in Angelville has to mean we’re not done with Jesse’s past just yet.

Of course, there’s also the matter of Jesse having stolen hundreds of millions of dollars in souls from the “Happy Soul Go Go” Japanese company. We have no other context about them except that they pushed all the other soul takers out of the market. Unless, of course, this is part of Herr Starr’s larger plan? Or is the Japanese company a front for Jesse’s family in Angelville? Hopefully we’ll find out one way or the other soon.

It was great to see that everyone has a breaking point, and it will be interesting to see who is able to push which buttons moving forward.

Preacher returns next week with “Pig,” which airs Monday at 9/8c on AMC.