Preacher 109 – Call and Response
God is coming to Annville and the countdown has begun. His arrival is entirely appropriate since all hell is poised to break loose. Call and Response, Preacher’s season finale begins with everyone in town searching for something. Sheriff Root has Cassidy behind bars in an attempt to get more information on Eugene’s whereabouts, the people of Annville are searching for salvation with God’s expected arrival and Tulip is on a mission to find Jesse. As with most things in life, what we’re searching for isn’t always pleasing once we’ve found it.
Call and Response brings to a close the rookie season for AMC’s Preacher. In an uneven season full of dangling plot threads the season finale tied up some of them in a satisfying manner while leaving others twisting in the wind. Ironically the episode mirrored the season with some great scenes, nice visuals and dark humor only to be brought down to earth by more than a few pedestrian moments.
The first half hour of Call and Response is tense and darkly humorous but goes off the rails once everyone gathers for church. While the scene may be some form of writer’s room wish fulfillment, it doesn’t work and boarders on the bizarre. Before that scene though, the episode is excellent. Call and Response offers some unexpected twists and turns, a great soundtrack and perhaps the strangest congregation in the history of television. It also provides the main and supporting players with some great scenes to showcase their acting chops.
Sheriff Root faces his own test of faith in his quest to find Eugene. Root goes through the most startling transformation during the episode and nicely caps off what has been building for his arc over the past few weeks. Donnie and Betsy’s relationship comes into greater focus and through flashbacks we gain some insight into the genesis behind Tulip’s long simmering anger. Still with everything that was good about it, Call and Response left a bit of a void. Emily didn’t get nearly enough screen time and several prominent characters were nowhere to be seen.
The unfortunate dip towards the end of Call and Response marred all of the promise generated after the opening credits. While the end does leave a little to be desired the lunacy does set things in motion for a second season. Sometimes it seems, the search for answers only leaves you looking for more.
