Preacher Recap: South Will Rise Again – Season 1 Episode 5

Violet recaps Season 1 Episode 5 of Preacher, titled South Will Rise Again, where Jesse uses his power to help churchgoers, and Cassidy and Tulip get a little closer! We also get a little more of the cowboy’s backstory. Following the recap, both Violet and Josh share their thoughts about the episode.

• His thoughts on South Will Rise Again, Episode 105 of Preacher
• Her thoughts on Preacher, Season 1 Episode 5: South Will Rise Again

Ratwater

Back in the 1800s, the mysterious cowboy rides into the small town of Ratwater. When he walks into the apothecary, the man working behind the counter gives a father, mother, and young son directions to somewhere. The cowboy hands the man a slip of paper, and he says the best he can do is to have it ready first thing in the morning.

The cowboy makes his way over to the saloon/whorehouse. He sees a man exchanging scalps for money. The cowboy asks the bartender for a room. While sitting at a table, he overhears a preacher telling a dirty joke. Meanwhile, in the back, we see the family that was at the apothecary earlier. The father is dead on the floor, while the child is being forced to watch his mother being raped. The preacher comes over to the cowboy and says he knows him, but he is soon coaxed away by one of the ladies before he can figure out where he knows him from.

First thing in the morning, the cowboy collects the medicine from the apothecary and rides out of town. On the way out, he passes the tree from which the Indians are hanging. He also passes a wagon with a young child who waves to him and tells him they’re heading to Ratwater. He gets a little further down the road, but remembers what he saw happen to the other family, and decides to turn around and head back to Ratwater.

When he gets there, the preacher tells him he remembers him, but the cowboy punches him, and heads to the back room, where he sees the father from the wagon exchanging Indian scalps for money. The kid he saw in the wagon cheerily greets him. The preacher comes in and hits the cowboy in the face with a glass bottle, knocking him to the floor. The preacher and a couple of his friends kick the cowboy repeatedly.

Eventually, the cowboy heads back to his horse. But before he leaves, the preacher confronts him, saying he remembers him from Gettysburg, and never saw a man more in love with killing than him.  The preacher says they lost a lot of good men and horses that day. He then shoots the cowboy’s horse in the head.

The cowboy then is forced to walk home. But when he gets there, his wife and daughter are dead.

Annville, Texas

The sheriff hears some noises outside his house and goes to investigate, but finds nothing. When he and Eugene go back inside, Eugene shows him what someone did to his bedroom – spray painted “Finish the job” with an arrow pointing to a shotgun. Eugene’s father guesses that Eugene went to Tracy’s, and Eugene apologizes.

Emily and Jesse meet at the diner to discuss church issues. She questions him about Odin Quincannon, and he tells her about the bet. Some teenagers nearby ask Preacher to join them to talk about the gospels.

Meanwhile, Cassidy wakes up in a bed at Tulip’s uncle’s house. She questions him about being a vampire, then tells him he can leave. He asks where he can get some drugs, which she doesn’t provide any assistance, then he asks where a hardware store is, to which she gives him directions. Cassidy tells Tulip that he’s fallen for her, but she says she has a boyfriend. She tells Cassidy she’s waiting on her boyfriend to leave his job so they can get out of here and get a guy who screwed them, Carlos. Cassidy says maybe this boyfriend isn’t the man she thought he was.

Donnie wallows in bed, but his wife encourages him to get up and go to work by threatening to screw Russell from Accounting’s brains out.

Over at Fiore and DeBlanc’s motel room, the phone from their little box has been ringing nonstop, and DeBlanc has Fiore rehearse what he’s going to say when he answers the phone.

At Emily’s house, Tulip walks in on her in the bathroom. Tulip asks where he is, and Emily tells her he’s at Flavor Station.

Eugene makes breakfast for his father, who gets angry when Eugene offers to cut it for him, flinging the plate at the wall. He yells at Eugene, telling him that if he really wants to help, maybe he should do what they said and finish the job. Eugene simply gets up and cleans up the mess from the broken plate.

At QM&P, Donnie sits off to the side as Quincannon meets with the mayor, apologizing to him. Donnie is surprised to hear that Quincannon went to church. Quincannon asks the mayor if the Green Acre people will meet with him. Donnie freaks out, demanding to know what Preacher said to him. Quincannon tells him that Preacher told him to serve God, which he will. The mayor says he’ll set up a meeting with Green Acres.

Over at Flavor Station, Tulip interrupts Jesse, who is listening to his church attendees and giving them advice – with his power. Tulip tells a story about Jesse shooting a komodo dragon in the head. Jesse tells Tulip that he has changed, which means she can change too, that she can be good. The waitress tells Jesse that “something” is waiting for him outside and that “it” isn’t allowed to come in. Jesse goes outside and talks to Eugene, who asks him to help out his dad.

Preacher stops by Tracy Loach’s house. Her mother asks him to come inside, but then notices Eugene waiting outside in Preacher’s truck. She grabs a bat and beats on the truck, calling Eugene a murderer. Jesse commands her to  “drop it.” She does, then she grabs something else and breaks another window. Jesse tells her to “step away from the car.” She does, but continues to yell at Eugene. Jesse commands her to “forgive him.” She opens her arms to Eugene, and he steps into them for a hug.

Donnie and his wife have lunch outside at QM&P. He tells her about Preacher’s power, and what he made him do. He cries on his wife’s shoulder.

As they drive away, Eugene asks Jesse what happened back there. Jesse says Eugene can tell his dad he doesn’t have to worry anymore.

That night, Tulip goes to Arrow Drug Store – with a ski mask on and gun in her waistband.

Fiore finally gets up the nerve to answer the phone, but suddenly, it stops ringing.

Tulip finds Cassidy at the strip club, where she gives him some drugs she got from the drug store. He asks if they’re going steady now, and she says even better, they’re in love. They then get busy in the back seat of her car, but Tulip doesn’t seem to be enjoying it very much.

Jesse is still giving advice at Flavor Station, when Sheriff brings in some “men from the government” who want to speak with him. It’s Fiore and DeBlanc. He figures out that Cassidy has been the mediator between him and them. Fiore and DeBlanc tell Preacher that they’re from Heaven, and they need his power back. They bring out the can and tell him that it lives in there. Jesse seems to think that it’s God that’s inside of him, but they correct him, and tell him that it’s not.

Over at QM&P, the mayor brings in the Green Acres people and introduces them to Odin Quincannon. They exchange a few small talk pleasantries, then Quincannon pulls out a gun and kills all the Green Acres people. The mayor looks on in shock.

Scenes from Peacher, Season 1 Episode 6: Sundowner

Preview of Season 1 Episode 6 of Preacher

What did you think of Season 1 Episode 5 of Preacher, titled South Will Rise Again? Let us know in the comments below!