AMC’s adaption of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s seminal 90’s comic Preacher has pulled few punches in including some of the more, shall we say, challenging parts of the source material (one word – Humperdoo). As the group heads to Jesse’s childhood home of Angelville with a dead Tulip in the back seat, readers familiar with the books know that we could meet some of the series most memorable characters this side of Herr Starr. But readers also know that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have veered in different directions from the books as well. Cinemablend recently sat down with Julie Ann Emery who plays Grail agent Featherstone on the show. She had this to say:
“I’m really curious how the Grail fits into some kind of Angelville narrative. Which, I don’t know what the answer to that is, but it seems like Jesse is headed in that direction. And there are some characters in Angelville that I’d love to see Featherstone go head-to-head with for sure.”
In the books, The Grail has nothing to do with Jesse’s experiences in finally getting closure on his childhood trauma (including being locked in a submerged coffin), but in the show, Feathstone pulled the trigger on the gun that killed Tulip. So it’s a given that The Grail knows where the gang is headed. Also it was hinted in the finale that Marie “Gran’Ma” L’Angell (Jesse’s Grandmother of course) can resurrect the dead. It’s a given that that is why our heroes are headed to see her. They want to bring back Tulip. One could speculate that that is something The Grail would be interested in.
Then there is the Hitler storyline. Since it was never in the comics and some fans criticized making him a sympathetic character, anything can happen. When asked about this, Julie said:
“I think there’s a little pushback on the Hitler storyline, with Hitler seeming sympathetic. I think we do away of the idea of the sympathetic Hitler by the end of this season. I think Hitler’s purpose was to sort of plant little seeds in Eugene’s head, so we’re gonna see that play out through Eugene. Kind of a ‘Did Hitler corrupt Eugene or not?’ You know, in a really brilliant way”
So then maybe we will find out exactly what effect being played by Hitler had on Eugene. Will Eugene try to hunt Hitler down, or will he go have his revenge on Jesse?
And what about her boss, Herr Starr? It seems obvious that Featherstone has a sense of loyalty to the bald baddie and The Grail. Is it anything more than a sense of duty? Does she harbor a deep affection for Starr? To hear Julie say it:
“That was definitely laid in with intention this season. I think that’s part of the reason that Featherstone is a mess whenever Herr Starr is in the room. The first glimpse we see of that is when he asks for a rape fantasy, and Featherstone is a little too ready to comply. So I think that the writers are on that track for sure. I don’t know that Featherstone ever admits that to him. I think her feelings toward him are more of a cult leader-type love. I think she really idolizes him and would do anything for him, and I do think she’s in love with him, but I think it’s more like the love someone has for a cult leader. She’s so desperate for his approval, she’s so desperate to be seen as an asset to him, I don’t know that she would ever admit those feelings to him freely. Although I don’t know, hopefully AMC will pick us up for many more seasons and we’ll see where that storyline plays out. But it’s definitely a fascinating sort of unspoken thing between them, for sure.”
AMC has yet to confirm a third season of Preacher but with so many unanswered questions it would be a shame if we miss out on what could be.
