Preacher: El Valero

"El Valero" is the eighth episode of season one of the supernatural drama series Preacher. It was directed by Kate Dennis with a script written by Olivia Dufault. It first aired on AMC on Sunday, July 17th, 2016 at 9:00 pm. In this episode, we learn about the horrible accident that took the lives of Odin Quincannon's family. Odin leads a military coup on All Saints Congregational, and Jesse Custer defends it by himself. He decides to give up Genesis to Fiore and DeBlanc, but Genesis seems determined to stay with him. And Tulip O'Hare buys a dog. This is not because she's a pet lover.

Notes & Trivia

 * Preacher is based on a comic book series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. They were originally published by DC Comics under their Vertigo imprint.


 * Actor Jackie Earle Haley is given a "Special appearance by" credit in this episode.


 * This is the first episode of Preacher directed by Kate Dennis.


 * This is the first episode of Preacher written by Olivia Dufault.


 * Actress Madelyn Henderson is credited as Madelyn Joan Henderson in this episode.


 * Fiore appeared last in "Sundowner".


 * DeBlanc appeared last in "Sundowner".


 * Miles Person appeared last in "Sundowner".


 * Donnie Schenck dresses up in his Civil War reenactment uniform in this episode. This is the second time in the series he has done so. The first time was in the series' pilot episode.


 * Cassidy makes a behind-the-scenes appearance behind a locked door at the end of this episode only. This is the first episode of the series that Joseph Gilgun does not make an appearance in.


 * Eugene Root appears as an hallucination only in this episode.


 * Tommy Woodrow is identified only as Tommy in the end-title credits.


 * Elliot Woodrow is identified only as Elliot in the end-title credits.


 * Alice Woodrow is identified only as Alice in the end-title credits.

Allusions

 * Hugo Root calls Fiore and DeBlanc Jim and Joe Friday. This is a reference to the TV series Dragnet.

Jesse's commands

 * Jesse Custer only issues one voice command in this episode. The episode also clarifies why Odin Quincannon seemingly defied Jesse's power when ordered to "Serve God" back in "Monster Swamp". Odin defines God as the "God of Meat", which he has continued to serve, though this was not Jesse's intention when he issued the command.
 * Tells Fiore and DeBlanc to "Come in", thus reversing his earlier command to stay away from him from "Sundowner".

Quotes

 * Eugene Root: Is it... is it really you? Or is this some kind of trick? I mean, they do this... they try to trick you.

....
 * Jesse Custer: You dug out of Hell with your hands?
 * Eugene Root: It's not that far.
 * Jesse Custer: What's it like?
 * Eugene Root: Crowded.

....
 * Jesse Custer: And what happened to them?
 * Fiore: They exploded.
 * Jesse Custer: Why haven't I?
 * DeBlanc: We don't know.
 * Jesse Custer: You see, this is my point. What else don't we know?
 * Fiore: We don't know.

....
 * Odin Quincannon: The more active targets we can offer the preacher, the more likely we are to overwhelm him with our faceless wave of humanity. Again, to clarify, I don't say "faceless" in the pejorative sense, so much as a practical sense, as it will be night and your faces will be indistinct and immaterial.

....
 * Hugo Root: Regardless of the state of Custer's mental faculties, taking church land? With all due respect, that church is holy ground.
 * Odin Quincannon: No, Sheriff. That church is nothing more than wood and paint of bits of colored glass. It's a lie, and I'm going to tear it down peg by peg. Grind it into dust. "Holy ground," my ass.

....
 * Odin Quincannon: Now, I don't want you to feel like you're human shields, but... let's not mince words. You are human, and you're gonna be acting as shields of a sort.

....
 * Odin Quincannon: When you hear the battle cry, I want y'all to race forward and try real hard not to get your penises shot off.

Crew

 * Jeanie Bacharach - Casting
 * Matt Tauber - Producer
 * Craig Rosenberg - Consulting producer
 * Garth Ennis - Co-executive producer
 * Steve Dillon - Co-executive producer
 * Sara Goodman - Co-executive producer
 * Michael Slovis - Co-executive producer
 * Mark McNair - Co-executive producer
 * Ken F. Levin - Executive producer
 * Jason Netter - Executive producer
 * Vivian Cannon - Executive producer
 * Ori Marmur - Executive producer
 * Neal H. Moritz - Executive producer
 * Seth Rogen - Executive producer


 * Evan Goldberg - Executive producer
 * James Weaver - Executive producer
 * Sam Catlin - Executive producer
 * Rebecca Moline - Co-producer
 * John Grillo - Director of photography
 * Dave Blass - Production designer
 * Daniel Gabbe - Editor
 * Anne Johns - Unit production manager
 * W.M. McNair - Unit production manager
 * Brett Dos Santos - First assistant director
 * Louis Lanni - Second assistant director
 * Dave Porter - Composer
 * Karyn Wagner - Costume designer
 * Kiira Arai, CSA - New Mexico casting