UK TV review: Preacher Season 3, Episode 3
Review Overview
Top Characters
8Top Setting
8Top Hat
8Chris Bryant | On 10, Jul 2018
Warning: This contains spoilers. Not caught up with Preacher? Read our spoiler-free review of Season 3’s opening episodes here.
“Welcome back to the tombs.” Staying firmly within city limits, Preacher is business as usual in Season 3’s third episode. Beginning with a 110mph race across states to call God ‘a dickwad’ to his face, and ending with a catacomb-based fight to the death, Preacher is truly the only show where this much violence, cursing, blasphemy, and witchcraft could be considered business – usual or otherwise.
Opting to focus on the connections between the three anti-heroes, AMC’s religious rollercoaster continues to weave together the lives of our lead trio into the L’Angelle household. Tulip – having successfully insulted the creator of all existence, returns to trick her way into an escape route, first with the dim-witted TC and then with the notably less dim-witted Madame Boyd, the L’Angelles’ biggest rival. Ruth Negga’s unwavering grit shines as Tulip recovers from her injuries and wastes no time returning to bare-faced threats and gun-waving.
Her preoccupation with freeing Jesse from his contract gives the titular preacher time to deal with other problems, like convincing Cassidy to leave. Having built the mistrust between the holy man and his best friend to a peak, Preacher reveals that gypsy-esque spell casters don’t suffer vampires gladly, and ritually burn them – which leads to a new tricky spectacle: the ominous Tombs.
The social dynamics between Tulip, Jesse, and Cassidy are placed thoughtfully under the microscope among the blood-and-guys melee, as the trio all try to protect each other in the midst of betrayals and suspicions. The writing team do a good job of ensuring they’re separated and weakened, without a moment of predictability or tedium creeping in.
Exploring the relationships between the three, as they separate and explore Angelville for what it is, centres the show in this supernatural redneck town, and makes sure audiences know there’s more to come. As “The Tombs” are whispered about throughout, the episode concludes there, bringing with it a brutal realisation, a couple of nasty weapons, and a fantastic top hat.
Preacher Season 1 to 3 is available to watch online in the UK exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, as part of a £5.99 monthly subscription. New episodes arrive weekly on Mondays.