'Preacher' Season 2 episode 4 review: Viktor! Seth Rogen keeps proving why he is the man for the job

8.1/10

The second season of Preacher has done a great job of narrowing the show’s story to a central conflict between Jesse Custer and the Saint of Killers. However, there is one emerging subplot that has grown increasingly more interesting regarding a certain aspect of Tulip’s past.

For the past two episodes, she’s been (just about) dodging a man named Viktor to the point where she becomes a recluse simply whenever someone mentions his name. However, his henchmen cornered her at the end of the 3rd episode, which means we’re about to find out what he’s really made of. How does Viktor’s appearance affect Jesse’s search for God? Or does he just get in the way of it.

Picking up right where the last episode left off, Tulip hands over her gun to Viktor’s men. They take her into a van and drive off. As the henchmen bring Tulip into Viktor’s office, she can hear him screaming through the door. As he sizes her up, he wonders aloud what they’re going to do with her.

Meanwhile, Jesse finds Dennis’ place and brings Cassidy up to speed with the search. He asks where Tulip went, but Cassidy isn’t able to answer, although he does tell him she went out last night.

Down in Hell, Eugene comes face-to-face with Adolf Hitler. As soon as he does, the rest of the cells open and everyone walks out. Eugene tries to stand up to a man bullying an old woman, but when he calls him out, he simply shifts his focus. Adolf gets him to back down, but before he can do anything, a siren goes off.

Eugene’s forced to share a room with Adolf after he’s locked out of his own cell. Suddenly, the two of them are transported to Munich 1919. Adolf is sharing a table with a woman, but when a Jewish person bumps into him, he simply says my fault. The woman calls out communists and says they should be exterminated, but he feels very uncomfortable around her. As it turns out, that was his worst memory.

A tearful Tulip tries to apologize to Viktor. While this is going on, a man is getting tortured in the adjacent room. We still don’t know the specifics of their relationship, but he reveals that she brought her into his family, and in return she made a fool out of him.

After introducing Jesse to Dennis, who responds in French, Jesse gets Cassidy to keep searching for God as they still have 137 more jazz clubs to hit up. He’s not worried about Tulip, he figures she’s just running away from him since they’re in a fight. While Cassidy’s watching a Frankie Muniz commercial, he sees someone who looks like God. He’s just an actor, named Mark Harelik, but they track down his talent agency.

When they talk to his agent Teddy Gunth, he refuses to reveal his location. Cassidy lies and says they’re from Game of Thrones, and they’re offering Mark a recurring role (in rather hilarious fashion). Teddy truly doesn’t know where Mark is, saying he disappeared after being offered to play God in an out-of-town production. However, he still has a copy of Mark’s audition tape.

Back in hell: A menacing woman in uniform has a sitdown with Eugene. She threatens to put him in a manhole, promising it to be a much worse experience than his worst memory. She also tells him that his regular behavior won’t be tolerated in a place like this.

Jesse and Cassidy watch Mark’s tape intently. Even though he’s reading lines, he’s very convincing, but after he’s done, the director takes out a gun and point blank shoots him.

Tulip starts fighting back, kicks a few peoples backsides (as she does). She goes up to Viktor’s room and holds him at gunpoint, demanding to leave. However, three of his men come in and immediately and burst her bubble.

In the common room, Eugene finds Adolf doing a crossword. Eugene says he doesn’t seem that bad, then asks if he really is. The same bully starts picking on Eugene again, then beats up Hitler while remarking that he’s changed. Knowing that the woman is watching him, Eugene joins in on the beating.

After being unable to get through to Tulip all day, Cassidy believes she might be in trouble. He knows where she is, but she made him promise not to tell Jesse.

When he does, he raids Viktor’s compound and subdues everyone with Genesis. Viktor’s assistant, who’s been torturing everyone, knocks Jesse unconscious, and when he wakes up, he finds that he’s immune to Genesis.

He’s got to take him out the old-fashioned way, and when he stabs him, he reveals Viktor’s location. Jesse finds Viktor and puts him in a chokehold, but Tulip pleads not to kill him because he’s her husband. Meanwhile, Jesse’s use of Genesis alerts Saint of Killers, who starts making the trek towards New Orleans.

It was widely speculated that Viktor was Tulip’s ex-husband. It would explain why she’s been avoiding him while around Jesse, and why she couldn’t get married to him. But the fact that they’re still married, even after she supposedly back-stabbed him, adds an interesting new wrinkle to this show, all in all yet again I just loved almost everything, the pacing, plot, acting, comedy, action, and cinematography were all on point.

8.1/10