Martin Carr reviews the first episode of Preacher season 3…
Coated in a sheen of Louisiana voodoo, seeping sultry from pores coated in Southern sweat and welcoming us back with plantation melodrama, this third go round shows potential. Penned by Breaking Bad alumni Sam Catlin and featuring Michael Slovis behind the camera, ‘Angelville’ cross cuts between transgressions with a lean towards sordid, salacious moments of kitchen table surgery.
That the wounded Tulip spends much of her time in a Dogville inspired version of purgatory, or that Cassidy and Jesse play second fiddle to a dominating matriarch, should not diminish this strong return to form. Mixed colour mediums, close up camera work and stomach churning shots of food consumption, play right into the mood Catlin is aiming for. Betty Buckley puts in a memorable performance as the indestructible grandmother who may just be immortal, while Jeremy Childs makes for a formidable adversary as Jodie when Jesse comes calling.
There is still that overwhelming sense of deviant behaviour which hangs over the entire Preacher premise. God is still bedecked in a Dalmatian gimp suit offering up sage advice to Tulip during moments of spiritual crisis. Joe Gilgun still personifies Cassidy with such understated care that his casting feels more like serendipity than a considered audition process. Whereas Dominic Cooper has embraced Jesse Custer and his flaws without resorting to caricature. Screen consuming title boards and idiosyncratic musical choices also add to the charm which continues to single out this Goldberg-Rogen joint as a black sheep. There are devils in the detail which do much to lift this third season into the realms of returning prodigal programming. McTavish’s Saint of Killers is absent without leave but those IMDB credits alone still promise a return for Herr Starr and more besides.
After the hit and miss affair of season two it is heartening to see there are those intent on carving off a slice of televisual pie to ride home. ‘Angelville’ might not be the grade a prime cut of pitch black comedy which the first season delivered on, but there are glimmers of goodness coming. Best you pull on that dog collar and buckle up that belt because the devil is coming and he rides a pale horse.
Martin Carr
Originally published July 5, 2018. Updated January 8, 2019.
