Her Mouth Slipped

Some *obligatory sigh* Hitler observations

Was Tom Cruise an Inside Job?

Sorry for the late reply! (I have been out of town) - but thank you (again!) for the excellent question! That said, here are the three main things we presumably know about how souls work in Preacher’s universe:

1) A person can’t live without their soul. This is something repeated over and over in Sokosha especially - because the Saint is said to be the one exception: he is the only living man without a soul.

2) Genesis works on any creature with a soul - and cannot work without a soul. From this we know that angels (Fiore), demons (DeBlanc), vampires (Cassidy), evil people (Hitler) and animals (dogs, specifically) all have souls - as Jesse has successfully used Genesis on them in the past (or in the case of Hitler, Satan referred to him as an escaped soul.)

3) Souls are valuable. Beyond souls being important to being an individual - souls are also shown to have use as medicines (curing dementia, for example) or as a power source (Gran'ma eats souls to remain alive - and Hell, presumably, needs soul energy to keep running.)

In Sokosha, Jesse seemed surprised when he hears of “fractional soul splitting.” This implies that he’d only ever seen Gran'ma extract “whole souls” from her victims.

However, the soulless people in the tombs…they are still technically alive. They can speak and fight, and want desperately to have their soul again. But they can’t do much else. (It doesn’t even seem like they age or eat…and they need a shot of TC’s adrenaline mix to get fighting.)

Because of this, I think that the people Gran'ma puts into the tombs - I think that they have just enough soul left over to keep fighting. They live a miserable, nearly-zombified experience. Gran'ma doesn’t have the fancy equipment of Soul Happy Go Go. So maybe she never manages a complete extraction. 

The soul that is leftover in individuals like Sabina and the science teacher are like the leftovers in a peanut butter jar.

If this is NOT the case….then that means Gran'ma’s victims are zombies…basically dead, but not quite. Which means that maybe Genesis can’t work on them…we don’t know yet, but I could definitely see Preacher having Jesse fight zombies at some point - and this would be a good way to make that happen.

On how souls change you…When Jesse lost a percentage of his soul, his decisions became notably darker. When Sabina lost all her soul, she became an empty shell.

And when the Saint received 1% of Jesse’s soul - he changed. Even after it was removed again. He became more human. Perhaps there is still soul residue is leftover in the Saint…we cannot know for sure, because Genesis wasn’t working when Jesse spoke to the newly soulless Saint again.

In general, I am fascinated by the soul aspect of the show…especially in how it relates to Genesis. I believe in the comics, Genesis was specifically said to be looking for a soul when it escaped - I think they have done a great job expanding on that idea. 

Cassidy’s Whiskey: Symbolism & Foreshadowing

Very valid question! And important. Here are the essentials to Tulip’s & Cassidy’s one night stand (in S1E5 - South Will Rise Again): 

---Tulip did not know Cassidy knew Jesse, and Cassidy did not know Tulip knew Jesse. 

---Tulip & Cassidy met and slept together because of Jesse’s actions. 

Jesse’s dismissal led Cassidy to the Toadvine, where he would meet Tulip. Cassidy spent Fiore & DeBlanc’s money on drugs & sex at the whorehouse because Jesse didn’t take Cassidy seriously when he tried to explain that there were people after Jesse. Cassidy defaulted to “bad behavior”...and acted like the kind of person Jesse treated him...like an irresponsible, drug-addicted joke. 

It was also Jesse who prompted Tulip’s pharmacy robbery. When Tulip confronts Jesse at the diner, with a story about him and how ‘bad’ he could really be - he (unintentionally) humiliates and dismisses her by saying that Tulip “can be good.” 

This is a big deal for Tulip, as she had always thought, on some level, Jesse understood that she was good - even if she was different, even if she was an O’Hare - Jesse was supposed to understand that Tulip wasn’t what everybody said she was. But in this moment, Jesse is telling Tulip that she isn’t good - and that she needs to change herself like he changed himself. 

So Tulip “acts out.” She robs a pharmacy for opioids, gets high with a vampire, and then sleeps with a vampire. Because she’s “bad.” Like Cassidy, Tulip was acting like the type of person Jesse treated her as being. 

To summarize...Cassidy slept with Tulip because he was already in love with her, and because he didn’t know about Jesse. Tulip slept with Cassidy because she had just been dismissed by the most important person in her life - so she thought “Fuck it. I’m bad, might as well rob a pharmacy & sleep with that vampire I almost killed.” 

Thought Tulip dressed in Grail gear was shocking...until I saw Jody. Note the Japanese...Jody goes to Osaka? After joining Jesse, Tulip, & the Grail against Gran’ma? 

Eccarius can fly...and he takes Cassidy with him. Cassidy: “Being a vampire sucks.” Eccarius: “Perhaps you’ve been doing it wrong.” Ahhhh oh no.

Eugene goes home. At least he’ll have the eloquent & sensitive cowboy to comfort him. (sidenote: props for keeping the Season 1 mini-apocalypse relevant) Also, *obligatory sigh* Hitler works at a sandwich shop now. 

Jesse’s view from the Coffin...’Til the End of the World