Preacher - 'He Gone'

Plot lost.

No question, Jesse Custer is starting to lose it.

Interleaved with flashbacks to his past - his troubled childhood friendship with Tulip; his father's rejection of his friend because 'she's an O'Hare'; his bitter prayers for God to kill his father and take him to Hell; and his father's subsequent execution in front of his son's eyes - Jesse struggles to deal with the implications and consequences of his harsh words at the end of the previous episode, and effectively does so by deciding that it's not his problem. God has a plan, he's part of that plan, and so what will be will be. Right?

As Tulip tries to become part of his life, Emily tries to admit her feelings and Cassidy tries to be a confidante, Jesse systematically rejects them all, scorning Tulip's cooking, telling Emily she was foolish to believe in him, and letting Cassidy burn in the sun when the vampire tries to call him on his bullshit. Even Tulip, despite telling Cassidy in no uncertain terms that Jesse would reject him if he really knew what Cassidy was, is disgusted by his rejection of his friend.

The sensitive Celtic complexion.

So far, no-one has raised the issue that Jesse's experiments with Cassidy proved that he can't compel someone to do something beyond their abilities, which strongly suggests that anyone could just go straight to Hell if they felt so inclined.

To cap it all, Odin Quincannon returns to collect on his bet. His god, it turns out, is his business and his family legacy, so Jesse's command has made him more ruthless, not - as the bet stipulated - a Christian. With enemies at his gates - literally, Quincannon bringing all of his men and machinery in the night to knock down the church - and all of his friends telling him that he's an arsehole, Jesse breaks through the floor and starts calling for Eugene to come back.

Or... Actually, he yells: "Come back!" and I can't imagine that his failure to stipulate a name will in any way bite him in the arse.

Between the flashbacks and his reactions in the present day, it emerges that Jesse's devotion to God is based not in faith or love, but in fear and guilt, and his sermons it is clear that this is how he wants to appeal to others. When he tells Odin Quincannon 'With God, all things are possible,' it comes across as a platitude, but his threats of hell fire are entirely sincere. Props to Dominic Cooper, whose restrained performance is the heart of this episode. Ruth Negga and Joseph Gilgun get to do the big performances, but Coopers is all in the face, the eyes, and the maniac grin when the power of Genesis crashes through him.