After a relatively slow build, the first season of AMC's Preacher came to an explosive finish on Sunday night, leaving many viewers shocked yet excited for what's to come. Preacher is based off the comics by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon and follows smalltown preacher, Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) who gains mysterious powers after bonding with an entity called Genesis.Showrunners Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Sam Catlin did a great job of bringing to life the world of the comics, from the characters to the general tone it felt like it was doing Ennis and Dillon's comics great justice. However, they also put their own spin on things to keep it more interesting and unpredictable even for those familiar with the comics. The pace was slowed way down, characters like Odin Quinncannon (Jackie Earle Haley) and Hugo Root (W. Earl Brown) were more human than their comic book counterparts and in general things felt a lot more developed. This makes the future of the show a bit unclear even for those who have read the comics, but judging from the events of the show and what happens in the comics I have put together a couple of predictions for the second season of Preacher. Mild spoilers ahead.
Road Trip!
With God declared missing and Annville reduced to smithereens, the season finale saw Jesse, Tulip (Ruth Negga) and Cassidy (Joe Gilgun) hit the road in search of the big man himself. This is essentially where the comics begin so it's safe to assume that from here on out the show will follow the source material more closely. If that's true then it's possible that we'll see our trio of heroes travelling all over America, encountering a variety of strange characters. From New York and the deranged serial killer known as the Reaver Cleaver to San Francisco and the perverted hedonist Jesus DeSade, the possibilities are endless for Jesse and co. in season 2 if the writers decide to follow the plot of the comics. One thing is for certain though and that is the pace will be sped up a fair bit now that the gang are out on the road.
Family Matters
We have already been given a brief insight into Jesse's past in season one, his relationship with his father, his father's death etc. But that merely scratched the surface of Jesse Custer's troubled childhood. In the comics we learn that he was raised by his nasty, bible thumping grandmother Marie L'Angelle and her duo of sadistic henchmen, Jody and T.C. who were also responsible for the death of his father. We have seen a number of hints at these characters, Jesse mentioning a 'mean old lady', his tattoo, his father's death, these cannot simply be mere throwaway lines. Most likely season 2 will delve deeper into Jesse's past and his miserable time at Angelville, giving more details on his horrible grandmother and the men who killed his father. They could even be introduced to the main story like in the comics, going after Jesse and taking him back home, I think it would be a great storyline to explore but at the end of the day I don't write the show. Only time will tell how exactly these characters will be introduced but from what's happened so far on the show I can only assume that they will at least appear in flashbacks and hopefully in a larger role at a later point.
When the Saints Go Marching In
Season one saw a number of mysterious flashbacks regarding a figure known only as The Cowboy (Graham McTavish), a mysterious gunslinger from the Old West who resided in hell until being called upon by Adephi angels Fiore (Tom Brooke) and DeBlanc (Anatol Yusef). In the final scene of the finale, The Cowboy stands in the remains of Annville after leaving hell, looking into the distance and plotting to kill Jesse and complete his mission. Fans of Ennis and Dillon's comics will know that this 'cowboy' is in fact The Saint of Killers, an immortal bounty hunter with supernatural abilities who is tasked with killing Jesse. The Saint is a prominent baddie in the Preacher comics and acts as a constant threat to Jesse and co. who is always on their trail. Now that he has finally made his way out of hell in the show, it looks as though The Saint of Killers is set to begin his mission to kill Jesse Custer. McTavish has already been fantastic as The Saint in his brief appearances this season so I look forward to seeing more of him in season 2 where he will inevitably cross paths with our heroes.
Arseface Returns
One of the most shocking parts of the first season, even for those who have read the comics, was Arseface (Ian Colletti) being accidentally sent to hell by a frustrated Jesse. The fact that this never happened in the comics makes Arsefaces story all the more unpredictable, but to write such an interesting character out of the show so soon would be a big mistake and even Jesse admitted in the finale that he hasn't forgotten about him. So what's next for poor old Arseface then? Well he is absent from the comics for quite a while and when he does reappear he is out for vengeance against Jesse for killing his father. In the show, Arseface is in a similar position: his dad presumably was killed in the Annville explosion and although Jesse was not responsible for this, Arseface could very well be holding a grudge after being sent to hell of all places by him. So if Arseface was to return sometime in the next season not only would he be angry at Jesse, but also grieving over the loss of his parents and everyone else in Annville, we can see why he would want revenge on our hero. So I'm pretty certain that Arseface will return and hopefully in season 2, it's just a matter of how that puzzles me.
The Holy Grail of Baddies
In the third episode of Preacher, a reference was made to a certain 'Grail Industries' before the appearance of a mysterious bald man in a white suit. His appearance was brief and his face was never seen, in fact this whole subplot was never referred to again which left a lot of people feeling a bit puzzled. Those who have read, or are familiar with the comics will know that Grail Industries is a reference to The Grail, a powerful religious organisation whose main goal is to preserve the bloodline of Jesus Christ in order to produce a Messiah for the impending Apocalypse. They serve as the main antagonists in the Preacher comics and have a strong presence throughout. As for the man in the white suit this can only be Herr Starr, a high ranking member of The Grail who becomes obsessed with Jesse Custer. Starr is a brutal sadist who cares about nothing but his own personal goals, he is violent and cunning and stops at nothing to achieve said goals. He acts as an overarching bad guy during the course of Preacher and has a storyline just as interesting as our heroes. Due to this brief appearance in episode 3 and the strong prominence of The Grail in the comics, it seems like a no brainer that they will appear in the next season. Showrunner Sam Catlin has even expressed interest in introducing Starr in season 2. It would be wonderful seeing such a fierce baddie coming to the show so hopefully he'll be making a much greater appearance in the next season.
So those are just a few speculations as to what will happen next season, some may come true and others may never happen at all but we will find out for certain when Preacher returns next year. I hope you've enjoyed the show and this post, I'll be making an announcement regarding my blog very soon so stay tuned for that, until next time!
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