‘Preacher’ Season 2, Episode 5 recap: ‘Dallas’

Last week on Preacher, Tulip was taken captive by a mafia boss named Viktor while Jesse was searching for the actor who portrayed God in the Season 1 finale.

However, the episode ended with Jesse learning about the danger that Tulip was in and going to rescue her, only to learn that Viktor was her husband. Here is a look at the recap of Preacher Season 2, Episode 5 – Dallas.

Previously in Dallas

The entire focus of this episode was about what led Tulip into the arms of the man we only know as Viktor. Much like last week, this episode starts at the moment that Episode 4 ended, with Jesse in Viktor’s bedroom, attacking the man while Tulip yells that he is her husband. Jesse starts to lose focus, which the episode shows in a strange handheld, blurry take as Jesse drags Viktor down the stairs and to the torture room. When he gets him there and starts to set him up in the torture harness, Tulip tries to stop him. Jesse tells her to “Get Out” using Genesis and she is forced out while telling Jesse to remember Dallas.

The large part of the episode involves what happened to Jesse and Tulip after the robbery went bad and Carlos ran out on them. Remember from earlier episodes that Tulip was pregnant during that robbery and lost her baby in the ensuing panic. After that, both Tulip and Jesse chose to leave the life of crime and start a life on their own. Tulip got a job working for a realtor while Jesse started working as a bartender.

They have a friend named Reggie who hangs out all day with Jesse, smoking pot while Jesse drinks and either watches John Wayne movies or sports on TV. There is a really interesting moment here that plays into the episode later on and really focuses on Jesse’s mindset in general.

Reggie and Jesse are talking about John Wayne (who is a hero to Jesse – he actually gets advice from a vision of John Wayne in the comics), Reggie explains that Wayne is patriarchal. In other words, all women in John Wayne movies are damsels in distress need to be saved by a man. It really describes Jesse Custer as well.

Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer – Preacher _ Season 2, Episode 5 – Photo Credit: Alfonso Bresciani/AMC

Things get interesting when Dany, the woman we met in Season 1 who hired Tulip to steal that map, shows up to have dinner with them but is really only there to offer them jobs. Jesse and Tulip refuse the offer and Dany mocks their quest for normalcy before leaving.

Meanwhile, Jesse and Tulip are trying to get pregnant again. Jesse goes to the convenience store, buys beer, cigarettes, and a pregnancy test and then the two have sex and then later test to see if she is pregnant. It never works. Jesse even tries praying to get help but she still doesn’t end up pregnant. In a brilliant and interesting segment, they show this sequence over and over again at one point.

It has to be pointed out that they are showing this in the exact same manner that they show how people in Hell relive their worst moments after they die. It is obvious – Jesse is in Hell and is living this over and over again.

Except the kicker comes when Jesse stands on a chair to turn off the smoke alarm after Reggie’s pot smoke sets it off and sees that Tulip has hidden a stash of money and birth control pills in the air conditioning vents. Tulip has been taking birth control pills to keep from getting pregnant and started working for Dany again behind Jesse’s back. The two have a fight and Jesse loses control and beats the hell out of Reggie for no reason when Tulip tells him that he will never be saved.

Tulip says this is who she is and Jesse tells her that he is leaving to take over his dad’s church and that ends their relationship in Dallas.