Preacher’s heading to the afterlife, but its influence on TV certainly won’t

Preacher’s series finale is just days away, and the AMC series will go down in TV history as the craziest, most unpredictable and spiritual show ever.

When Preacher ends on Sunday, there’s going to be a void in television. A large, slightly sideways void that no other show will be able to fill, and we’ll explain why in this week’s Deeper Cut.

The AMC series is known for its outrageousness. This is a show that has a vampire, dinosaurs, God in a dog costume, a shark and Adolf Hitler — and that’s just in recent memory. It’s often insane, like the Garth Ennis comic on which it’s based, and gleefully leans into that insanity with absolutely no fear.

There’s a fun charm in that. (Who can’t appreciate The All-American Rejects’ Tyson Ritter playing a breakdancing Jesus Christ?) But people don’t always look underneath the chaos. Under there is a series that’s well written, even better acted, and asking interesting questions about some of the most personal and controversial subjects.

Preacher follows Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper), the spiritual leader of a small Texas town who’s inhabited by a godly force known as Genesis. His possession of the massive power immediately makes him a target while he sets off on a search for God (Mark Harelik) to get answers not only about Genesis but His entire divine plan.

Four seasons and just over 40 episodes later, it’s now literally the end of the world.

Religion is an incredibly hot-button topic, particularly when you’re mixing it with sex and an awful lot of violence, but Preacher has taken viewers on a spiritual adventure along with its characters.

Jesse Custer is asking the fundamental question: Why is God doing what he does? It’s something that almost everyone has wondered more than once in their lives that’s simply manifested as an actual search for the man upstairs. But he’s driven by the need for truth, about what’s happened to him and what’s happening around him. It’s a very human want to understand this higher power.

In this way, Preacher is a mini-masterclass in theology, particularly in Preacher season 4 as Jesse approaches the end of his journey. Jesse is looking for God, but he’s carrying a God-like power. So he already possesses some part of what he’s searching for inside of him. He is empowered, both literally and spiritually, and the series includes his journey to realizing that.

That’s also played out in the show’s depiction of God, which is taken from the original comics. He has made man in his own image, which means that he must be human. Harelik’s God is more of a dysfunctional deity who blasts out of Heaven to freewheel on Earth, picking up random women, wearing a dog suit, and showing up periodically to push people’s buttons — particularly those of Jesse’s ex-girlfriend and ally Tulip O’Hare (Ruth Negga).

God is like that one ridiculous friend we all have who makes you crazy but you keep them around because they’re your friend and you’ve known them forever.

He also emphasizes, particularly with Tulip, the idea of free will. Preacher continually asks what is God’s design and what is mankind’s choice. Jesse, Tulip and Proinsias Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) are on their own self-appointed mission, raising hell as they tear across the country — and this season, the world — to find God. But at the same time, Jesse has devoted his life to the service of God and believes in him, albeit cynically. So who’s really in control?

Are we responsible for our own decisions or are we acting according to some higher strategy? Are we meant to worship a higher power or is the power inside of us all along? Or is the truth actually somewhere in between? The season finale may answer those questions, but the beauty is in the show encouraging us to ask them in the first place; to look inside ourselves the way Jesse, Cassidy and Tulip all have to do.

Preacher also showcases some excellent performances that are worth analyzing and appreciating from an entertainment standpoint. This was Dominic Cooper’s first leading role in an American TV series, and it’s been fantastic to see how his already strong talent was enhanced by the medium. Cooper’s biggest strength is adding more layers to characters, and he got to spend four seasons in Jesse Custer’s head, unraveling possibly the most complicated character on television.

Jesse is essentially a character of balance, or the lack thereof. Almost everything he is, and does, has both sides to it. He comes from violence and tragedy, yet his father was also another devout preacher. He has a violent streak and a dark side, but that darkness often manifests itself from his trying to do right. He maintains his faith in God, but he does it without short-changing himself.

He is constantly light and dark, strong and vulnerable, and Cooper has played every aspect all of the time, allowing audiences to see just how precarious his character’s inner workings are.

But he’s not the only breakout player in Preacher. Ruth Negga and Joseph Gilgun also were more known for British TV than American shows, and both have left their own marks on how TV thinks of heroes. Tulip, a headstrong woman with a criminal past who is nonetheless the love of Jesse’s life, is usually either finding trouble or causing it. Whereas Jesse’s turmoil is internal, her struggle is manifested in anger and her inability — or unwillingness — to control her temper.

Then there’s Cassidy, the Irish vampire who’s seen countless lifetimes and ended up as the third wheel, mostly because he developed feelings for Tulip and she for him (a point of contention in this denouement). Vampires are depicted as these dark, scary creatures who are either villains or they sparkle, and Gilgun does neither. Instead, he plays Cassidy as a lost soul who has all the time in the world, and it’s not enough to find him peace.

Plus, don’t forget Lara Featherstone, the relentless agent of The Grail. She’s the employee of the month with a couple of screws loose and is essentially Tulip’s mirror image, which is disturbing and interesting at the same time.

And Jesus, Hitler, God, and poor Eugene — this show is a cross-section of human nature wrapped in a history lesson.

Preacher is wildly entertaining, but it’s much more rewarding for the questions it asks about faith, humanity, morality, and truth. It puts a lens on meaningful topics and delivers performances that bring those ideas to life so that the viewer’s horizon is broadened… and not just because there’s a breakdancing Jesus.

Last and certainly not least, though, it’s empowering in how Jesse has his own power — both in Genesis and the strength of his character — and is allowed to question and respect his relationship with God. The two are not mutually exclusive.

I’ll speak to that first-hand: a few years ago, I lost my best friend in a car accident. His death was completely avoidable, caused by someone else’s negligence. After that, I lost my faith in anger, but through Preacher and Jesse’s challenges as he searches for God, I found peace with my own spiritual turmoil. The show taught me that I wasn’t wrong to be angry and to not understand and that you can trust yourself. It took that burden off my shoulders.

Preacher celebrates faith and also examines it. It questions humanity while embracing our flaws. When we look back, we’ll see an inclusive, thought-provoking show that also was great TV.

The Preacher series finale airs Sunday at 10:00 p.m. EST on AMC. Find the latest Deeper Cut every Wednesday in the Entertainment category at FanSided.