Procedurally, this episode deals with Eugene’s disappearance and Quincannon’s ruthless jurisprudence and more specifically, the unintended consequences of how Jesse approaches “the Word.” As he silently grapples with the idea that he’s just sent a kid to Hell, a place he wasn’t sure existed until the night before, he backs off on his plan to save the rest of his congregation. As the day wears on he becomes more sullen and withdrawn, as it seems that he isn’t quite the savior he thought he was. Having Quincannon back out on their earlier bet was salt in the wound. Saying one will serve god and actually serving god are two different things, and it looks like Genesis’ power of persuasion only lasts so long.
This is also the most we’ve seen of his childhood with his father and Tulip and it really sends the point home that he’s conflicted. On one side he has a near unbreakable bond with Tulip but his strict Christian upbringing and love/hate relationship with his father, and a promise he made to him pulls him in another direction. Add Emily and Cassidy to the list of people in Jesse’s life and they might make the oddest compass by which Jesse navigates his life.
Sheriff Root’s visit to ask about Eugene brings things to a head when he lies in front of two of his friends that know the truth. Jesse Custer the criminal and remorseless killer rears his head in this moment, and the apathy toward what he’s done is striking. Not even Cassidy can call him out on what happened, and we find out exactly what happened to Tracy Loach and Eugene. Jesse the judge appears, assigning everything to god’s will with no small amount of hubris. Ever the loyal friend, Cassidy forces Jesse to rethink his beliefs by stepping out into the sun. It’s a sad moment between two friends, and one may or may not be willing to meet the other halfway.
Of all the weird and gory shit this show has shown us in barely seven episodes, seeing Jesse alienate the people that care about him has been the hardest thing to watch. Tulip, Emily, Cassidy and his father all want something from Jesse even if that is for him to just be a better man than he thinks he is. But some dark thing, whether it be Genesis or his own past, has spilled over and he wants nothing more than to be left alone with it. Twice he has damned someone and twice they’ve met a cruel end. The ties that bind him to Annville were JUST about to be loosened, the promise to his father fulfilled, and there might have been absolution for Jesse on the horizon. Just as he was about to escape Sodom, his own works have left him with destruction raining down on him.
As the episode draws to a close, he frantically digs beneath the floorboards of the church and invokes Genesis to bring Eugene back. We see yet another flashback of his father’s execution, just as Quincannon’s demolition team approaches the church.
The tattoo on the forearm of the man who shot Jesse’s father looked rather familiar, didn’t it?
Written by A Play On Nerds contributor, Jerry Herrera - Lover of horror, sci fi, and fantasy in that order. Semi-permanent Disneyland resident. I'm at least one of the droids you're looking for. Twitter: @FrankenJerry - Instagram: @GeraldoPedro