Preacher S02E08 "Holes" Recap

Eugene has spent a few weeks in hell and assumed a tougher persona as a means of surviving. He's bulked up and has a back tattoo that reads "Tracy" in big gothic letters. One prisoner is sent to the Hole for being caught doing something nice so Eugene must avoid getting caught doing the same or he risks suffering the same fate.

Tulip is still suffering from PTSD following her violent encounter with the Saint of Killers but she doesn't want to talk about her nightmares with Cassidy, who reflects on the birth and life of Denis. Denis is still rapidly declining in health and Cassidy refuses to turn him into a vampire as a means of saving him. Cassidy asks Jesse if there's anything he can do to help him but Jesse is uncertain if Genesis would be able to help the situation in any way. Jesse and Tulip's relationship is strained. Jesse seems to harbour some resentment towards Tulip, while Tulip chooses to cope with her trauma by shopping for a replacement refrigerator instead of opening up.

The Hell system is broken because there's an extra person there that shouldn't be. Hitler rightly suspects that Eugene is the extra person and warns him that there are more facets to the horrors of Hell. To prove this, he trips a woman to trick Eugene into doing something kind, helping her up. This means that Eugene will be sent to the Hole.

Jesse continues his search for God by getting help trying to extrapolate information from the audition tape. Tulip further copes by spackling over the holes in the apartment and performing other repairs. The Hole doesn't only make a person relive their worst memory on a loop. That memory is twisted to match your worst fears too. In this memory, Tracy doesn't kill herself. She responds well to Eugene admitting his feelings but then she says she's already promised herself to God and Jesse emerges from the bathroom. Tracy and Jesse begin to hook up and a distraught Eugene prepares to kill himself once again. Hitler tells Eugene that if he's caught as the mistake that he will be thrown into the Hole forever as opposed to simply being let go. Hitler says he wants to help Eugene escape...

Cassidy struggles with watching Denis die but his own memories of the difficulties his life has had as an immortal being make him stay determined not to turn Denis. Life isn't less painful just because you're immortal and you can't numb the pain away with drugs or enjoy some time off at the beach... essentially, Cassidy doesn't think that the perks of being a vampire are worth the costs and he doesn't want to subject his son to such an existence.

Tulip meets a new neighbour, Lara Featherstone, who claims to be a battered woman on the run. In actuality, she has been sent to be a monitor of Jesse on behalf of the Grail. The two appear to strike up a casual friendship when Tulip patched up the hole in Lara's apartment. Jesse has given up his attempts to use the DVD in his search for God and leaves it at the store where it is put into a shredder. But Jesse somehow was too obtuse to notice that the words "Grail Industries" were stamped onto the DVD.

Preacher airs on Mondays on AMC at 9/8c.