AMC’s Preacher
Season 4, Episode 8: “Fear of the Lord”
Directed by Iain B. MacDonald
Written by Wes Brown

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “Messiahs” – click here
* For a recap & review of the next episode, “Overture” – click here
Herr Starr is somewhere in a cave, being taken care of after his dick was bitten off. He’s got a faucet in his crotch now to help drain off his wound. He flashes back to 1979, at a Little Mr. Düsseldorf pageant. A boy sings a German rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” to applause. Klaus Starr wins, despite looking much older than the others— fourth year in a row, too! He was later attacked by the other contestants, angry at his stranglehold on the competition. They decided to disfigure him permanently.

In the cave, Starr is looked after by the Chunt family— Ernie, Karl, and Cyrus. That’s when he realises they’ve cut off his wounded leg. And they’re all eating it in the stew he’s being fed. So he tells them he’s the Allfather, that the Grail is searching for him. They don’t especially care. Before they can chop him up further, Lara Featherstone and Grail operatives save him.
While Jesse’s in Hell, being offered the temptations of Heaven and God’s seat, his friends are about to kill Humperdoo. Cassidy wants to go ahead and just do it. Tulip would rather do it in front of God’s face, like they were forced to watch Jesse fall to his death. She’s not satisfied with the all-seeing eye of God, she wants him to come down.
So they wait.
Three months later, they’re holed up in a shitty house with Humperdoo. They’ve got him strapped with explosives. They put him in an old fridge, threatening to blow him up to get God to come. Cass has gotten attached to the Messiah, whereas Ms. O’Hare is only concerned with revenge.

Back at Masada, Jesus Christ and Adolf Hitler attempt to work out the Apocalypse. They’re on slightly different pages. The son of God worries this is “the wrong thing” to do. The Fuhrer wants to convince him they’re doing what’s necessary. This is when Starr makes his return to the Grail’s HQ. Everyone is still trying to figure out where Humperdoo has gone. The Allfather sees only failure. Hitler urges they’ve got the real Messiah anyway. He has JC break dance to “It’s Tricky” by Run DMC.
It isn’t enough. God’s done with his first son, who was busy “whoring” 2,000 years ago. Humperdoo is now the chosen one. It sends Starr on a downward spiral. He uses his old Little Mr. Düsseldorf sash to hang himself, but ends up tearing his nipples off. God appears to him after the failed attempt, offering hope.

In Hell, Jesse hears an alarm go off. The Saint of Killers has bust him out of Hell’s prison. They ride off on horseback along the river, camping out by a fire. They talk about God. The Saint recounts a horrifying story of war about a general with a “sideways map“— a parallel between his own fate and that of God’s power. Sometimes, following orders is what gets people in trouble, or, worse, killed.
All another hallucinatory torture method. Fiore and the other angels force Custer onto the throne of God. Afterwards, the preacher hears God’s voice telling him to “live” and he burrows his way out of the hole where Tulip and Cass buried him.

“There’s got to be more”

The Allfather and the Grail are preparing to come down on the little hideout where Ms. O’Hare and the vamp are keeping Humperdoo. The three sit down to a meal, when a sonic device causes them all to vomit uncontrollably. This makes things quite difficult for a would-be escape. Humperdoo rushes to “go to the Moon” but Cass doesn’t want to blow him up, prompting Tulip to axe him in the chest so she can get the detonator. She tries bringing herself to push the button.
A look at innocent Humperdoo makes her think twice.

In the desert, Jesse finds a familiar face: God. The Heavenly Father stops his RV to greet the preacher, who’s sure he passed his test. The Lord tells him he hasn’t passed, believing Custer wanted the throne. “You sinned in your heart,” he says. It’s as if there’s no way out, like God rigged the game. The preacher can’t win, only lose. He’s angry about “kids with cancer” and “the Kardashians” when God believes he’s done so much good for those he created.
Jesse’s punishment? God chews an eyeball out of his head.

Allfather Starr’s beauty has been restored after finding Humperdoo, just like the Lord promised him. He greets the Grail at Masada to tell them the Apocalypse has “an air date,” as if it’s a live television event for all to enjoy, a reality TV spectacle. Any coincidence Starr has a head of blonde hair and wears a long red tie? Good stuff.
Although Jesus and Hitler seem to have ideas of their own.

We see the scene from the first episode of Season 4, where Cass and Tulip fall into each other’s arms in bed. The guilt isn’t so strong without the preacher around. An ironic moment for Jesse to turn up, missing an eye. Awkward stuff, even if the reunion is a happy one. Things are so much more complicated for all of them.
Awesome stuff, as always. Preacher is swinging for the fences right until the last episode. Can’t wait to see how the final two episodes unfold for us.

“Overture” is next.