‘Preacher’ Season 2, Episode 8 recap: ‘Holes’

On this week’s episode of Preacher, “Holes,” Cassidy continues to struggle with mortality while Eugene learns there are worse things than Hell.

Previously on Preacher, Jesse Custer had sent Eugene to hell and the poor guy had to deal with meeting a whole bunch of evil people where Hitler wasn’t even the worst of the group. Also, Jesse is trying to find clues to the identity of the men who covered up God’s disappearance, someone is spying on Denis’ apartment, and Cassidy is facing the tough decision of watching his son die or turning him into a vampire.

Here is a look at what happened in Episode 8 of Season 2 of Preacher – “Holes.”

Joseph Gilgun as Cassidy, Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer – Preacher _ Season 2, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Michele K. Short/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Cassidy is going through Hell

We learned in “Pig” that Denis is Cassidy’s son and is dying. As Cassidy learned last week, Denis wants him to turn him into a vampire so he can live but Cassidy refused, causing Denis to say he will die hating his father. This week, we learn that Denis is about 71 years old when a flashback shows Cassidy standing in the hospital nursery, promising to be the best day ever. We all saw how that promise turned out.

Throughout the episode, Cassidy battled the decision of whether or not to turn Denis to save his life. Cassidy really is trying, getting a translator on his phone to speak to Denis in French and understand what his son is saying. However, this also helps Cassidy hear a pained cry from Denis to “bite me.”

Cassidy even goes to Tulip to ask her if she would ever want to be a vampire. She comments that it would be cool to live forever and feel no pain. This gives Cassidy a chance to really spill his soul to her by saying that he feels pain when he sees everyone that he has ever loved die. Tulip, being Tulip, simply said: “that sucks.”

Cassidy even calls an old acquaintance to ask advice. After convincing someone named Sheamus that he doesn’t want money, he explains that he has a son who is dying. Sheamus simply says “don’t do it” and hangs up. The episode ends with Cassidy singing “Charlotte the Harlot” to Denis – the same song he sang to his son when he was a baby. The question is whether or not Cassidy will bite and turn Denis.

Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer – Preacher _ Season 2, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Michele K. Short/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Jesse misses some key evidence

Jesse is still single-minded when it comes to finding God. It is getting to the point where he is one of the worst friends on the show. As Cassidy is mourning his son’s sickness, Jesse just wants to talk about going to Circuit Works to see if they can focus on the gun used to kill the actor that portrayed God in the Season 1 video call Jesse made to Heaven. It is almost like he is oblivious to Cassidy’s pain, although he does refuse to use Genesis to save Denis.

Jesse also seems oblivious to the pain that Tulip is going through and just wants her to help him find God. She actually accompanies him to Circuit Works, but just so she can buy a refrigerator to replace the one in Denis’ apartment that no longer works. Jesse, on the other hand, was there to talk to the Dork Docs to help him.

What Jesse learns is that the gun had the serial numbers shaved off it. Just when they think they see a face reflected in the video, Jesse prays to God to help him. However, the image was not a face and Jesse leaves frustrated, telling the Dork Docs to keep the disc, which they destroy.

Jesse assumed that God ignored his prayers again but the entire time that Jesse was in the store, commercials by Grail Industries played on the giant TVs. Just as Jesse leaves and the Dork Docs destroy the DVD, we see that it was made by Grail Industries, which means it was The Grail who covered up God’s disappearance. Jesse misses all the clues.

Julie Ann Emery as Featherstone, Malcolm Barrett as F.J. Hoover  – Preacher _ Season 2, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Michele K. Short/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Tulip meets The Grail

Speaking of The Grail, they are in an apartment down the hall and have cameras set up in Denis’ apartment to watch Jesse, Tulip, and Cassidy. One reason that Tulip replaced the refrigerator is that she is trying to cover up all evidence of the attack by The Saints of Killers. She is still having nightmares and is trying to find a way to cope, and while Cassidy understands what she is going through, Jesse is oblivious.

Tulip than decides to cover up all the holes in every apartment and that leads her to the end of the hall where she meets Lara Featherstone, who claims that her name is Jenny and she is hiding from a dangerous ex-boyfriend. Tulip decides she likes her and even invites her to the Hurt Locker to take some bullets to the chest.

Noah Taylor as Adolf Hitler – Preacher _ Season 2, Episode 8 – Photo Credit: Michele K. Short/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

Eugene learns more about Hell

The most interesting part of the episode takes place in Hell. Eugene is in Hell and everyone in his cell block is still in the same rec room (snack machine never works, flat basketball, TV with fire to torture caveman) while Mannering tells everyone that the malfunction is because one of them doesn’t belong in Hell but they are not sure which one it is. Everyone is trying to be as bad as possible since they will be punished if they act good, and that is shown when an inmate picks up a pen she dropped and is taken to the Hole.

Hitler knows that Eugene is who does not belong there but Eugene refuses to acknowledge that, saying he belongs there. When Eugene almost lets Mannering know that he is the one who does not belong after she said they will remove that person from Hell, Hitler stops him. Hitler trips one of the inmates and Eugene helps her up. This brings Mannering back and they throw Eugene in the Hole.

It turns out that the Hole is worse than the regular rooms of Hell. In the regular rooms, a person relives their worst moment over and over again. The Hole has a new version of that using an Extrapolator to have Eugene relive his worst moment but in a different way. This time, instead of Tracy killing herself, she is happy that Eugene loves her. However, she has already given herself to God, which is Jesse. When Jesse comes out of the bathroom, he sits next to her on the bed and the two begin to kiss until Jesse tells Eugene to “end it.”

The last we see of Eugene is him lying on the top bunk, unable to sleep. That is when Hitler explains that is where they will send Eugene if they learn he does not belong there. Hitler then says he wants to help Eugene escape. Something tells me that Hitler can’t be trusted.