MovieChat Forums > Preacher (2016) Discussion > Okay, can we all just agree that was bad...

Okay, can we all just agree that was bad writing?

posted 8 years ago by mika-00369
78 replies | jump to latest

So Emily is told that Cassidy is a vampire- can you deal with that? \
Um okay.
Now feed him these animals...
Um okay.

Then calling up the mayor for help (and I saw it coming btw, very cheap shock) and then serving him up to Cassidy?
That was some serious pathetic writing. First off, it was predictable. Secondly; it was completely out of character. There was no indication that she had any homicidal tendencies , let alone to the mayor character. Yeah she had no interest in him romantically, yes she pitied him, but there was zero, and I mean ZERO build-up for her to do this.
There was zero build-up for her to murder a person so brutally. She didn't like Cassidy to begin with, and even if you like Cassidy, that doesn't mean you wouldn't just serve up someone to him just like that. Especially a VAMPIRE- a creature which shouldn't exist BTW but it didn't took long for her to just up and believe that...
Some people online compared her actions to Breaking bad... What? Breaking bad is solid writing, a shock is something that should come organically. It was right in your face, hints were there, and then suddenly the truth is out. Walter White had been losing his humanity slowly, before he completely lost it. It wasn't out of character, we understood it.

It was horrendous writing, a cheap shock. Fan of the comic or not, can we at least agree to that?

It really annoys me that people just accept this. I understand liking this show but come on people.

[–] Gaz911 8 years ago

[–] mika-00369 8 years ago

So you are one of those types that loves a tv-show despite the obvious piss-poor writing involved. I guess you thought it was a brilliant twist too.

[–] Gaz911 8 years ago

So you are one of those types that loves a tv-show despite the obvious piss-poor writing involved. I guess you thought it was a brilliant twist too.

No the writings ok but not great.

[–] Senor_Frickin_Braggis 8 years ago

Come on dude.

Emily just casually accepting and taking over the welfare of a vampire (who she just found out actually exist) and feeding him animals and then randomly committing murder for the first time in her life by luring her fùck buddy into a trap so he could be demon chow and then covering it up with no emotion so she can go pick up her kids? That is out of beyond left field. That is stupidly poor writing for the sake of getting Jesse and Cassidy bromance back alive.

And the craziest part of a retarded sub plot is Emily was never shown to even have a relationship with Cassidy to commit mortal sins over. With Jesse and Tulip there is a little something there where you might buy it.

But at best she has only spoken of Cassidy as a nuisance and a thief and a junkie. All of which he is.

[–] barrelofmonkey 8 years ago

She loved Jesse and the church, and the mayor had just taken credit for destroying the church.

<*>

[–] Fire_and_Bloodwine 8 years ago

Damn you really don't pay attention to the show at all, it's just flashy images for you huh? She has had quick random outbursts of built up rage since the pilot episode. There's layers as we see Emily doubling down on her love for Jesse. She saves his "mate" by crossing the dark line to Tulip-ville and ridding herself of the day in day out routine of being trapped by the mayor as he gets even more powerful alongside Odin.

[–] mika-00369 8 years ago

Oh that first episode where she got pissed for a bit? That's not foreshadowing anything, and that's reaching to say the least.
Here is a good example of foreshadowing homicidal behavior; APT PUPIL, where Brad Renfro character's kills a dove. With that act, we could understand why he would blackmail an ex-nazi-concentration camp for his own personal morbid interest.
Emily had literally NO foreshadowing, and if that was foreshadowing, it was terrible. If they had established a caring relationship with Cassidy, then yes, maybe it would have worked better. But even so, her reaction with him being a vampire, was laughable. With a show that really stretches things just to fill up time- the episode where the Angels do nothing but wonder if they should call up Heaven- they really skimmed on this.
And no she was not trapped by the Mayor, that's again stretching it. She was dominating that whole relationship, and she knew nothing about the Mayor's cover-ups of Odin's murders.
And thank god Collidor and Empire agrees with the huge misstep they made with her character and the plot in general.

[–] scarface_juggalo 8 years ago

She knew that the mayor was fully backing Odin's violent acquisition and eventual destruction of the church. Not only is the church one of the few things in life important to her, but it's not hard to figure out that Odin is a massively evil scumfück even without knowledge of the green energy reps getting blown away. Then there's the mayor declaring Jesse insane and a lost cause when all she sees is a dear friend protecting his home, as well as his huge creeper tendencies despite her clear messages.

It also seemed she was starting to take pity on Cassidy and grew weary of sacrificing innocent animals for his healing in futility.

[–] pax-25 8 years ago

I just want to say from having read the comics is that outside of Cassidy, and only relatively so, all the characters in Preacher are despicable. Its pretty intentional and you'll get a good sense of that when they really start their rants on religion. Saying that the dark black humor in the series can sometimes be hilarious. Its what made me tolerate the excess of nihilism.

Its not the best comics series ever but it has iconic, for its time, moments.

[–] Evangelion217 8 years ago

The writing has mostly been terrible since the pilot episode. The writers are not only inconsistent, they've butchered the comic book. This show is worse than The Walking Dead. The acting is worse, and the writing is worse.

Last Films seen:
Jason Bourne(2016)- 7/10
Tallulah(2016)- 9/10

[–] Tastentier 8 years ago

Miles is not Emily's "fùck buddy". He's a disgusting creep who keeps trying to weasel himself into her life, even though she has made it abundantly clear there is no chance in hell that she will ever be with him. I mean, just look at the guy. Listen to his grating voice and his maniacal high-pitched laughter. I'm surprised he's not wearing a fedora. What gave you the idea that Emily, or any self-respecting woman, would ever touch a pushy, tone-deaf slimebag like Miles with a ten-foot pole?

Miles probably thinks that if he's persistent enough, Emily will eventually fall for him, as if life were some cheap romantic comedy. She finds him simply exhausting and has no idea how to end his unwanted advances. But when she found herself faced with the prospect of feeding another innocent fluffy animal to Cassidy, she realized that she could solve two problems in one fell swoop. Bunny lives, creep goes bye-bye. A perfectly understandable choice, if you ask me.

[–] sammyxander 8 years ago

its the kind of thing Emily (at least the character the show has built up so far) would 'fantasize' of. Just like when someone says, 'Oh I wanted to kill him so badly..' without really intending to carry this out. All the reasons you have given are not sufficient to make it believable that Emily's character would do this. If it is

A perfectly understandable choice

..as you say, then its your character/psyche that should be in question here. What kind of person will see this as perfectly understandable?

[–] Tastentier 8 years ago

The kind of character who just had to come to terms with the fact that vampires are real, and watched a naked man covered in third degree burns drink a fluffy little animal as if it were a juice box. And all that after having to endure the equally creepy and horrifying experience of being hit and crept on by Miles for far too long.

Something inside Emily's mind snapped long ago, because it was either that or attempting to disembowel Miles with a kitchen mixer, and something else snapped inside her mind when a real life vampire in Freddy Krueger cosplay turned around from his gruesome meal and hissed at her. In that moment, she realized that the world had gone completely cuckoo crazy and the rules she had tried to live by all her life simply didn't apply anymore. Everything was possible in a world where something like Cassidy could exist, including the possibility for Miles *not* to exist.

[–] Prince_Ingus 8 years ago

You said they are not *beep* buddies but they are. In one episode where they spent the whole night up drinking she was basically like be quick about it, and they did it and it definitely wasnt their first time.

[–] laz-wnage 8 years ago

Clearly you missed the early episode where Emily says "Miles I will never be with you". He essentially uses his position as mayor to continually harass her throughout the show.

[–] sfmar 8 years ago

Just as she continually uses him to babysit and bus around her kids. Granted, Miles is a creep and no angel, but in my view she's not all that much better than he is. He helped cover up Odin's murder, Emily committed a murder. I can comprehend why she did it, but that doesn't justify it or absolve her.

[–] laz-wnage 8 years ago

Justified or not, I don't think it's bad writing. Also it is pretty much in line with the town going essentially to hell in the end. (Not necessarily literally)

[–] I_Created_U 8 years ago

THANK. YOU.

So happy to see others who see the writing of this show for what it is, excruciating. And that's just one example among many.

I also didn't like how Jesse and Cassidy suddenly became friends out of nowhere within 1 or 2 episodes for instance, it seemed rushed and forced.

People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs

[–] Rat_Fink 8 years ago

I'm as puzzled by the behavior of many characters in this episode as you Mika, but I'm not so sure I'd say that its bad writing until we see the next episode. As its entirely possible the writers have an explanation for these odd behavioral swings. Its funny how quickly people around Jessie started to go a bit batbeep crazy after he started using his Genesis power. I'm thinking that Genesis is having a very negative effect on the people of the town and as its power grows that effect gets stronger. Remember it had grown powerful enough to rip itself back out of the "coffee can metaphor" prison.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] everythingangels 8 years ago

If that was the route they chose to take (though I doubt it will be) then I don't think it could be called a "cop-out" as much as something the show would be about.

But what you call "vaguely drawn characters" I call characters that we're still trying to figure out in a new show that has presented its characters as obviously this-or-that. Do you think all characters should just wear black or white hats and we should just know exactly what they represent as soon as they're presented to us?

Also, if you don't want to see "bizarre occurrences" then this show probably isn't for you... because, yes, the show is certainly going to have plenty more of those.

[–] tereseatbiocybernaut 8 years ago

I agree with you. I'm not a comic book fan, but Preacher the graphic novel transcends the genre. I think the tv show is amazing too and I completely agree that what is happening is that the more time Genesis is on earth in Jesse, the more things get surreal. The entire story is surreal and in Jesse's world things are not bound by the usual rules. I think that's part of what makes Jesse's struggle so interesting. Jesse lived a lawless life, then he turned his life over to God, trying to live by God's rules, but he has found that God is not what he was told it is. Starting with the twist about Genesis existing and the Angels, Jessie's world quickly breaks apart. And, like everything else in his life, Jesse's demons consume everyone and everything around him.

[–] BrunoAntony 8 years ago

People on this board seem to think any inexplicable plot contrivance on this show as good writing.

Cassidy getting a job at the church? Good writing.

The sheriff strangling a woman to death? Good writing.

Etc...

[–] ladive 8 years ago

The sheriff strangling a woman to death?

You went out of your way to misrepresent that scene.

The sheriff = frustrated psychopath who just lost his son.
a woman = ...who had been mutilated beyond repair begging to be mercy-killed.

Paints a different picture doesn't it?

[–] BrunoAntony 8 years ago

No.

[–] ladive 8 years ago

Yep

[–] cabellones 8 years ago

Is more like the compassionate thing to do (to kill her) or the moral thing to do (to save her and leave by her live a life of misery, like his son, his wife, or the girls his son shoot)....

[–] edm18 8 years ago

I agree it was odd she just accepted Cassidy being a vampire without questioning it, but this entire universe seems odd. As long as the show continues to entertain me I try to to get hung up on all that.

Also. Are we sure people aren't aware vampires exist in this universe? Because it wasn't only Em, all of them seemed to accept Cassidy being a vampire pretty quick.

Regarding Emily and the mayor. She asked him to stop Odin and he told her no. He was backing Odin until Jesse was gone. He was now a threat to the church and Jesse.

She then took this opportunity to eliminate one of the threats. I don't see her reaction as completely implausible. I also wonder if we won't get more back story between the Mayor and Emily that sheds some light on it.

[–] Jovay-AU 8 years ago

Yeah it seemed a big jump, especially after she told Tulip that she had a boyfriend in the Mayor, however it seemed that as time went on she began to realise that she only did it because he pestered her so much.

Emily also seemed to be influenced by what Marion was saying to Norman when she was watching Psycho on TV.

ie:

Norman: You know what I think? I think we're all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever climb out. We scratch and claw... but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch.

Marion: Sometimes we deliberately step into those traps.

Norman: I was born in mine. I don't mind it anymore.

Marion: You should... mind it.

Norman: Oh I do... but I say I don't.

At that moment I think Emily realised she had got herself in a trap being in a relationship with the Mayor and decided to get out.

[–] sfmar 8 years ago

I saw that too, but I don't buy it.

Marion was in a "trap" because she was a thief on the run and had to stay under the radar, so to speak.

All Emily had to do was tell the mayor not to come around anymore and keep her door locked. There was no legitimate reason or need for her to kill him. Besides, virtually everything about their "relationship" indicates she was exploiting him far more than he was exploiting her.

I found her actions completely selfish and heartless - and totally out of character from what we've previously seen.

[–] toddmh1 8 years ago

comic book writers would not be comic book writers if they were "good" at writing books..

[–] SawyerVsSylar 8 years ago

Not only is this one of the dumbest things I've read, but Emily isn't even in the comics.

[–] vasilistats 8 years ago

I am left speechless by the stupidity of this comment. Speechless i tell you!

[–] kallamis 8 years ago

Whole concept is ignorant, same as any so called supernatural idiocy. Especially that based on some stupid deity nonsense.

[–] wartengu 8 years ago

What does Preacher and Outcast have in common?

They both suck donkey balls. They both are slower than molasses. They both end with nothing happening. I don't get it, it's like watching the same show. Who writes this crapfest?

[–] scarface_juggalo 8 years ago

The season hasn't ended.