Preacher Season 3 Premiere: 8 Ups & 2 Downs From 'Angelville'

Downs...

2. The Opening Flashback

Angelville began with a pretty bleak flashback. Preacher is no stranger to disturbing flashbacks, and there have been quite a few over the years but, in all honesty, this one went on a little too long. While it was absolutely important for viewers to learn the information contained in the flashback, the writers could've delivered it to us in a much more dynamic way.

For example, the show could've leaked the information throughout the episode - or the season - either via shorter flashbacks or conversations between L'Angelle and Jesse. We're not sure how much Jesse knows about his mother, so a revelatory conversation/argument could've made for some pretty great television. It's true that, on TV, it is better to show than tell, but this flashback is an example of how showing can sometimes hinder the show.

The episode was only 41-minutes long, and the opening segment lasted eight of those minutes, which meant that we had very little time with our core characters. Moreover, introducing Marie L'Angelle via the flashback diminished the character's present-day introduction later in the episode.