Preacher: Finish the Song

"Finish the Song" is the ninth episode of season one of the supernatural drama series Preacher. It was directed by Michael Slovis with a script written by Craig Rosenberg. It first aired on AMC on Sunday, July 24th, 2016 at 9:00 pm. In this episode, the Cowboy relives the worst moments of his life over and over as he massacres a saloon full of people in Ratwater. Jesse Custer escapes from Hugo Root and steals the God-phone from the Sundowner Motel. Angels Fiore and DeBlanc take a bus trip to Hell. Tulip O'Hare enlists Emily Woodrow's help in feeding Cassidy. Mayor Miles Person has a very bad day.

Synopsis
In the town of Ratwater in the year 1881, a Chinese man at Cooley's saloon begins singing a song. Everyone silently listens as the piano plays until the doors swing open and the Cowboy enters the room. A local preacher asks him about accepting Jesus, and the Cowboy throws down a sack of severed heads and tells him that Jesus can join them in Hell. He tells the Chinese man to "finish the song" then proceeds to kill every single person in the saloon. After everyone else is dead, he uses a saber to decapitate the Chinese man after the song is complete.

In the present, Sheriff Hugo Root has Jesse Custer in his squad car and is taking him down to the sheriff's station. He asks him again about his son, Eugene, and Jesse truthfully tells him that Eugene is in Hell. Root takes this to mean that his son is dead. Jesse uses a pen to escape from his handcuffs and unlock the door. He rolls out of the vehicle and escapes while it is still moving.

Meanwhile, renegade angels DeBlanc and Fiore have to book passage to Hell. They go to a travel agency and inquire aobut their destination. The travel agent, aware of who these two men truly are, makes the necessary arrangements. Emily Woodrow goes to the house where Tulip O'Hare is living with her drunken uncle, Walter. There are animal cages all over the house. Tulip needs a favor. She comes clean about the fact that Cassidy is a vampire and that he is hurt and needs lots of blood in order to heal. She needs Emily to feed Cassidy and asks her if she can handle it. Surprisingly, Emily takes the news in stride and agrees to help. When she ask Tulip where she is going, she replies with "I'm going to Albuquerque to kill a man".

Fiore and DeBlanc return to the Sundowner Motel to collect their belongings. The place is still in shambles and there is blood all over the walls from their recent fight with Susan the Seraphim (whose disarticulated body is still sitting in the bathtub in the other room). They weigh their decisions about following through with their visit to Hell, or whether they should just return to Heaven and face the consequences. They leave it to a coin flip. They continue the coin toss until it gives them the option that they truly desire, which is to go to Heaven. However, the God-phone is missing, and they have no means of contacting their fellow angels. They are sullen as they now realize their only other option is to continue onward to Hell. Back at Tulip's, Emily feeds animals to Cassidy through a door into the other room, but none of this seems to be helping him. She telephones Miles Person, who is in the midst of watching a wrestling match between employees of Odin Quincannon's in Odin's office. She feigns being in trouble and begs Miles to come to her aid. Miles does so, but when he arrives, she baits him into the room where Cassidy is and locks the door behind him. Cassidy attacks Miles, drinking his blood, ultimately killing him. Emily stands on the other side of the door listening to his death shrieks.

Sometime later, Hugo Root goes to the Sundowner motel in response to a call from the manager. The manager shows him the blood-soaked Room 114. Root goes into the bathroom where he finds Susan in the tub. Her arms and legs have been cut off. She asks him to kill her and Root tries to offer her comfort. She repeats the phrase several times until Root decides to oblige. Believing that this is a mercy killing, he strangles Susan to death. Upon the Seraphim's death, she re-spawns, completely healed, in the room behind him. Jesse Custer goes to Tulip's place and finds Emily in the back yard released all of the caged animals. She asks her about Tulip and Emily tells her that she had to leave to see a man. She then tells him that Cassidy is in the back room. Jesse goes to see the vampire and finds Miles' body on the floor. Cassidy is still in bad shape, but his body continues to heal. Jesse apologizes for letting him burn, but Cassidy holds no ill will towards him. He thanks him for putting him out. That's the important thing.

The Cowboy meanwhile is actually in Hell. Hell for him is reliving the worst moments of his life, leading up to the massacre at Cooley's. Images of his sick daughter flash before him, as well as memories of the pioneer family, the preacher, and the apothecary. The memories replay themselves over and over. The Cowboy is approached by Fiore and DeBlanc, who have just arrived in Hell via a charter bus. They have a mission for him. They need him to kill a preacher.

In the real world, Jesse reveals to Cassidy that he stole the phone-to-Heaven from the angels at the Sundowner. He intends on using this bring God to All Saints Congregational for next Sunday's sermon. He tries to use it, but then recalls that it requires angel hands to make it work. Cassidy and Jesse dig up the remains of one of the Angels' severed limbs and acquire a hand. They then bury the body of Miles Person as well as the animal carcasses that Cassidy has been feeding off of. Cassidy expresses amusement over the notion of God coming to Jesse's church.

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.


 * This episode is rated TV-MA. It is suggested for mature audiences.


 * This is the second episode of Preacher directed by Michael Slovis. He previously directed episode 1x05, "South Will Rise Again".


 * This is the second episode of Preacher written by Craig Rosenberg. He previously wrote episode 1x05, "South Will Rise Again".


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


 * Actor Ian Colletti is credited in this episode, but does not make an appearance.


 * The title of this episode is used as a line of dialogue spoken by The Cowboy in the first act of this episode. He tells the Chinese man to "finish the song" as he proceeds to kill every single person in the saloon.


 * This is the seventh and final appearance of Miles Person as a living being. He is killed by Cassidy in this episode.

Story notes

 * This episode reveals that the 1881 flashbacks in Ratwater, Texas are not actually flashbacks at all. They are the interpretation of Hell that the Cowboy now resides in. The scenes of the Cowboy shooting up the saloon and decapitating the Chinese man who is singing are from this episode. The other scenes leading up to that moment is recycled footage from "See" and "South Will Rise Again".


 * Reference is made to Eugene Root in this episode. He is the disfigured son of Sheriff Hugo Root. He has not been seen since Jesse Custer sent him to Hell in "Sundowner". He is presumed dead.


 * The woman in the bathtub in the Sundowner Motel is Susan. She is a member of the Seraphim and came to Earth to sanction the renegade angels DeBlanc and Fiore. The reason she is asking Sheriff Root to kill her is because she knows that she will regenerate into a new body.


 * Susan had her arms and legs cut off by Fiore in "Sundowner". The scene was not shown, but the audience is aware of Fiore's actions as he emerged from the bathroom with a chainsaw.


 * Tulip O'Hare finally catches up with Carlos in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She first got a lead on Carlos; location back in episode 1x03, "The Possibilities".


 * Odin Quincannon has to repeat himself to Donnie Schenck because Donnie blew out his eardrums in order to defend himself against Jesse's power. He did this in "El Valero".


 * The man sleeping on Tulip O'Hare's couch is her uncle, Walter O'Hare. This is his third appearance. In all three of his appearances, he has been unconscious or on the verge of drunken unconsciousness.


 * Jesse Custer does not use the Genesis power at all in this episode.


 * The movie that Emily Woodrow is watching in Walter O'Hare's home is the 1960 thriller Psycho by director Alfred Hitchcock.

Quotes

 * The Cowboy: I love my horse. I love my wife. Ad I love my little girl. And as for Jesus... he can join us all in Hell.

....
 * Tulip O'Hare: You freak out a lot, Emily? 'Cause you look like you freak out a lot. This time, don't. Cassidy's a vampire, okay? Are you okay with that? You good? Can you deal?
 * Emily Woodrow: [Emily nods]
 * Tulip O'Hare: Good. He was in the sunlight. He got burned pretty bad. He's asleep now, but when he wakes up, he's gonna be hungry. And I gave him hospital blood, but that didn't work. So I guess he needs, like, alive blood for something like this.

....
 * Tulip O'Hare: Here's some cash for more critters. Don't go to Pet Express 'cause they're onto me.

....
 * Tulip O'Hare: I'm going to kill a man in Albuquerque.

....
 * DeBlanc: You left a telephone with a direct line to heaven's throne under the bed?
 * Fiore: I thought it was clever. Who checks under a bed anymore?

....
 * Jesse Custer: I just wanted to say, for me, it's just you. Till the end of the world.

....
 * Cassidy: God, eh?
 * Jesse Custer: Yup.
 * Cassidy: Coming to Texas?
 * Jesse Custer: Sunday morning.
 * Cassidy: That'll be something.
 * Jesse Custer: Yup.

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
 * Tyler L. Cook - Editor
 * Anne Johns - Unit production manager
 * W.M. McNair - Unit production manager
 * Philip Hardage - First assistant director
 * Jai James - Second assistant director
 * Dave Porter - Composer
 * Karyn Wagner - Costume designer
 * Kiira Arai, CSA - New Mexico casting

Keywords
1881; 19th century; Albuquerque; Angels; Annville; Burn victim; Dead animals; Decapitation; Gunshot victim; Hell; Horses; Motel; New Mexico; Rabbits; Ratwater; Resurrection; Severed head; Severed limbs; Shot in the head; Strangulation; Sundowner Motel; Texas; Vampires