History Characters / Preacher2016

!!The Cowboy

[[folder:The Cowboy]]

* AdaptationNameChange: Of a sort. He's known only as the Saint of Killers in the comics, while on the show he's known only as The Cowboy.

* CompositeCharacter: In the comic, [=MacReady=] was the leader of a gang of thugs, one of whom was an ex-preacher. In the show, [=MacReady=] is the (decidedly thuggish) preacher of a frontier town.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/custer_jesse.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"The bottom line is, I've been a bad preacher."'']]

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: While Emily had no knowledge of this and seemingly did it without any reason, the audience knows that Miles is covering four murders by Odin Quincannon and supports his shady practices in general]].

* EvenEvilHasStandards:

* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped A Bridge On Her]]: [[spoiler:Is presumably killed along with everyone else in Annville after the methane explosion.]]

** He refuses to act on Jesse's fears that Donnie is a DomesticAbuser, but later Donnie's wife states that she likes the abuse. So obviously whether or not [[BondageIsBad it's messed up]] or SafeSaneAndConsensual there's really not a lot he could be doing about that.

Cassidy is an Irish vagabond, a glutton for every possible vice, and when he stumbles across the weird town of Annville, he quickly becomes Jesse’s most wild-ass, bestest friend. Up for any kind of adventure, his hedonistic lifestyle and humanist views are constantly at odds with Jesse’s faith.

Strangely mysterious government agents [=DeBlanc=] and Fiore are heading up a top-secret investigation that has led them right to the doorstep of Jesse Custer.

[[folder:Emily]]
!!Emily Woodrow
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/woodrow_emily.jpg]]
->'''Played By:''' Lucy Griffiths

A young widow and single mother of three, Emily excels in the practicalities of life, juggling several jobs and upholding her church duties for Preacher Jesse Custer, but simmering beneath the surface are a whole lot of dark and debased desires.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Implied to have feelings for Jesse.
* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped A Bridge On Her]]: [[spoiler:Is presumably killed along with everyone else in Annville after the methane explosion.]]
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: She goes from a nice, if somewhat emotionally troubled woman to [[spoiler: ''feeding Miles to Cassidy!'']]
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Only knows Jesse as the other person in town besides her who cares enough to keep the church running; Cassidy is just a free-loader who holes up with Jesse; and Jesse does everything he can to keep any knowledge about Tulip away from her. No idea about any of the strange powers, vampires, or criminals in town. [[spoiler:She eventually learns about Cassidy's true nature in "Finish the Song".]]
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:Due to everything in Annville being blown to smithereens. There's a ''chance'' she'll have survived somehow, of course, but WordOfGod says not to hold your breath on this one.]]
* RageBreakingPoint: Mild example but the stress of working multiple jobs and dealing with annoying church-goes like Ted puts a strain on her and when Jesse, who seems to be her only colleague, says he intends to quit, she responds to her loud kids by snapping their iPad.

[[folder:Sheriff Root]]
!!Sheriff Hugo Root
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/root_hugo.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"It's a wild world out there."'']]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/WEarlBrown

-->''"Prancing around like everything's polka dots and moonbeams. It is a monster swamp. Murders, mayhem, escaped lunatics. Gol-darned monster swamp."''

Sheriff Root is Annville’s local lawman, a tough, conservative redneck who loves his deformed son but is dubious of Eugene’s faith in Preacher Custer.

* AdaptationalBadass: The show version of Root is a lot more perceptive and intelligent than he was in the comics, not only able to deduce Cassidy being a vampire from few bits of circumstantial evidence but also devise an effective interrogation method. In addition, while his most impressive feat in the comics was to get the drop on Tulip and Jesse, in the series he is able to draw and shoot a charging Cassidy without breaking a sweat.
* AdaptationalHeroism: He's hardly a nice guy, but he's far more sympathetic and human than the racist, homophobic, frothing-at-the-mouth, abusive one-note jerk from the comics.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Was in Annville when the methane explosion took out the entire town, presumably killing everyone but the Seraphim.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: Like Tulip, he's disgusted by Odin's utter LackOfEmpathy for a dead woman. He also derisively refers to the townsfolk as 'jackals' for their bloodthirsty voyeurism.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sheriff Root shows a disgusting lack of concern for Betsy when her husband beats her and doesn't let his son attend church, but as certain facts come to light his actions become much more understandable. He also makes it clear that he loves his son, despite their differences, and has been jaded by the horrible things he's witnessed as a lawman.
* JerkassHasAPoint:
** He refuses to act on Jesse's fears that Donnie is a DomesticAbuser, but later Donnie's wife states that she likes the abuse. So obviously whether or not [[BondageIsBad it's messed up]] or SafeSaneAndConsensual there's really not a lot he could be doing about that.
** [[spoiler:He seems overly harsh towards his son, who only seems to want to [[WellDoneSonGuy be nice and make Dad happy]] but when you learn that Eugene tried to commit a murder-suicide because the girl he had a crush on wasn't interested and she's still a vegetable because of it you can understand why he's a little conflicted about the issue.]]
* OverprotectiveDad: His behavior in Episodes 2 and 3 indicate that he keeps Eugene out of church and the public out of paranoia rather than embarrassment, and some of his dialogue indicates that he ''memorizes'' cases where parents lost their children [[AdultFear in especially horrible ways.]] [[JustifiedTrope This is somewhat justified]] by the fact that he already nearly lost his son, and it puts him in marked contrast with his comic book counterpart. "The South Will Rise Again" shows that almost all of Annville has it out for Eugene, going anywhere from denying him entry to a cafe [[ItIsDehumanizing and calling him "It"]], to death threats and ''attempted murder'' (as demonstrated by a [[AxCrazy crazed]] Terri Loach), showing just how necessary this approach is.
* RageBreakingPoint: After a particularly restless night caused by someone leaving a ''loaded shotgun'' in his son's room with [[KickTheDog graffiti painted saying "finish the job"]], his son tries to comfort him. Unfortunately, this involves trying to awkwardly trying to cut his omelette for him despite his protests. Being on edge already, he snaps, screaming "Why don't you just do like they say and FINISH THE JOB!?" He immediately recoils, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone looking like he just shot him]], and is clearly shocked by his own words. As Eugene walks out, he looks like he's about to cry.
* TheSheriff: Of Annville.

[[folder:Eugene Root / "Arseface"]]
!!Eugene Root / "Arseface"
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/root_eugene.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Do you ever think there are some things so bad even God won't forgive?"'']]
->'''Played By:''' Ian Colletti

Teenager Eugene Root has the heart of a saint and the face of a monster. Despised by most, he finds solace in Jesse’s sermons and is the new preacher’s biggest fan.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Doesn't look anywhere ''close'' to as bad as he did in the comics in the AMC series.
* AdaptationalVillainy: [[spoiler: In the comics, Arseface didn't shoot a girl (and then himself) because she rejected him. He and a friend made a suicide pact to emulate their idol Kurt Cobain.]]
* TheAtoner: Although a good kid, he's still tormented by his attempted [[spoiler: murder/]]suicide and feels he needs to atone in the eyes of God.
* DraggedOffToHell: [[spoiler:At the conclusion of "Sundowner", his requests for Jesse to undo the Word of God forcing a woman to forgive Eugene causes Jesse to become angry and accidentally use the Word of Eugene, seemingly sending him to hell.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: His disfigurement was brought about by attempting to kill himself with a shotgun to the face.
* IfICantHaveYou: He shot the local prom queen because she rejected him.
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Socially anyway. He accepts his disfigurement as punishment for his suicide attempt but wants to go to church and interact with the community. His father won't let him.
* ImaginaryFriend: [[spoiler:Jesse's guilt over sending Eugene to hell has manifested into the form of a hallucination of him.]]
* NamedByTheAdaptation: Only ever referred to as "Arseface" in the original comic but given the first name "Eugene" in the show. Although after their first interaction, Cassidy describes him as "arseface."
* NiceGuy: Eugene has a good heart; he's supportive of Jesse, he's respectful of his own father's wishes for him to stay out of church and is a devout Christian. He also has a great deal of personal integrity, refusing to accept what he wants if it comes at the cost of someone else's safety or free will.
* TheUnintelligible: His disfigurement muffles his voice to the point of requiring subtitles. Jesse has no trouble understanding him, however. Fitting, as his comic counterpart is shown in the featured picture for this trope's page.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: No doubt one of the few genuinely nice people in the series. [[spoiler:Who literally got sent to hell as consequence for calling Jesse out on his abuse of "The Word."]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Of a sort. After being baptized he goes to see Jesse, and tells him that he doesn't feel any different than before, wondering if his place in God's plan is where he already is. [[spoiler: This causes Jesse to re-embrace his rage, and he goes to the house of a school bus driver who had been having sexual thoughts about a young girl. He proceeds to break into his house, fill his bathtub with boiling water and baptise him in it, while telling him to "forget her." On the other hand, this causes Jesse to realise his power, and he later attempts to use it to make a comatose girl with severe brain damage "see."]]
* WellDoneSonGuy: The poor guy tries to do anything to win his father's approval.
* WhatTheHellHero: Gives Jesse a serious rebuke for forcing people to see the light. [[spoiler: And gets literally send to hell for it.]]

[[folder:Donnie]]
!!Donnie Schenck
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/schenk_donnie_6.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"The South will rise again"]]
->'''Played By:''' Derek Wilson

Quincannon’s right-hand man, Donnie is all brawny ambition. When Preacher Jesse Custer resurfaces and publicly undermines Donnie’s role as the town bully, Donnie becomes hell-bent on evening the score.

* TheBully: Donnie's the bully of the town, picking on anyone and everyone.
* BullyingADragon:
** He attacks Jesse for interfering with his marriage. His bullying tactics and threats are ineffective and he roundly gets his ass kicked.
** The second time he pulls a gun on Jesse in the bathroom stall, who unfortunately for Donnie has just realized the [[CompellingVoice power of his voice]] and ends up with his gun in his own mouth, almost made to blow his own brains out before Jesse lays off.
* ButtMonkey: He's made to squeak like a rabbit after threatening to hurt his son in front of Jesse, mocked by his kid's peers for said noise when letting his kid onto the school bus and finally, when trying to shoot Jesse, finds himself at the receiving end of {{The Hero}}'s CompellingVoice, seated on a toilet with his own gun in his mouth.
* DespairEventHorizon: Upon finding out the truth about God the reveal left Donnie in a near catatonic depression.
* DomesticAbuse: His son believes that he's beating his wife but in reality the two participate in consensual sadomasochistic sexual activities.
%%* TheDragon: Donnie was not the penultimate threat to Jesse leading up to facing Quincannon. So far, he is not TheDragon.
* DressedToKill: He dresses in his Confederate uniform for the assault on Jesse's church.
* DrivenToSuicide: Subverted. [[spoiler:Partway through "El Valero", after seeing just how futile the fight against [[OneManArmy Jesse]] is, he goes to his car, places his head in the trunk, pulls out his gun and pulls the trigger. We don't see him again until he shows up in the church, sporting a pair of [[SteelEardrums bleeding ears]] and feeling very proud of himself.]]
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:He's in Annville when it blows up, and presumably dies along with everyone else who hadn't left and wasn't immortal.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first time the viewer sees him, he's [[GunsInChurch firing a rifle at a squirrel right outside of the church]] and proudly stating that he "Abe Lincolned" it by shooting it in the back of the head. All you need to know about how much of a PoliticallyIncorrectVillain {{Jerkass}} he is.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: The one redeeming trait Donnie has is his genuine love for his wife and son.
* HeelFaceTurn: In the season finale, Donnie becomes Jesse's ally after undergoing an off-screen HeelRealization and out of gratitude for preventing him from becoming an actual murderer.
* HenpeckedHusband: At first, it seems that he's an overbearing abuser. The reality is that he's just the dominant in a consensual sadomasochistic relationship, and his wife has all the power.
* HiddenDepths: In the season finale he's shown reading ''GorillasInTheMist''.
* {{Jerkass}}: He's a sadistic, violent bully.
* LifeOrLimbDecision: [[spoiler: He goes as far as wrecking his own sense of hearing to be immune against Jesse's ability.]]
* NoNonsenseNemesis: Despite coming off as a dumbass bully and ButtMonkey for seven episodes, he is the first person in the series to come up with a counter to The Word: [[spoiler: inducing deafness. [[SteelEardrums With a gunshot]].]]
* NumberTwo: To Odin Quincannon, whom the CorruptCorporateExecutive even refers to as his right-hand man.
* PetTheDog: He does take the time to explain to his son, a little awkwardly, that the pain he inflicts on Betsy is consensual, and he seems to find it important not to have his son thinking the worst of him.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: He's a Confederate sympathizer and his wife even repeats the words, "The South will rise again," to him to cheer him up.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: After antagonizing Jesse throughout the series entirety he received an off-screen HeelRealization and became Jesse's ally. [[spoiler: Too bad it was all for nothing when he and the rest of the civilians of Annville got blown up.]]
* {{Sadist}}: Donnie is a sadist of the highest order; he loves hurting people, regardless of who it is. He even breaks the nose of an underling just to make himself feel better and get through the day.
* SteelEardrums: Averted and invoked. [[spoiler:Just before the final raid on Jesse's church, Donnie goes to his car, sticks his head in the trunk, and fires his revolver inside it, looking to have killed himself...until he sneaks up to Jesse, gun in hand and with a pair of burst eardrums, rendering The Word useless against him.]]
--> "What was that? ''I can't hear you.''"
* WouldHurtAChild: After attacking Jesse, he states his intentions to go beat his son for telling Jesse about him beating his wife. This level of depravity is what sets Jesse off enough to kick Donnie's ass.

[[folder:[=DeBlanc=] & Fiore]]
!![=DeBlanc=] & Fiore
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fiore_deblanc.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"We're custodians."'']]
->'''Played By:''' Anatol Yusef & Tom Brooke

Strangely mysterious government agents [=DeBlanc=] and Fiore are heading up a top-secret investigation that has led them right to the doorstep of Jesse Custer.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Fiore and [=DeBlanc=] are teased as a romantic couple, though the concept of angel sexuality makes this a bit nebulous. [=DeBlanc=] calls Fiore "my dear" and strokes him on the cheek. He also risks threatening the travel agent to hell rather than let Fiore pay for their fare with sex. They both consider being separated from each other to be almost as bad as visiting Hell. In the season finale, [[spoiler:after the bus drops Fiore off at the pick-up spot]], he looks to be on the verge of tears, as [[spoiler:[=DeBlanc=] is truly dead]].
* AnArmAndALeg: Cassidy turns Fiore's own chainsaw on him to saw through his shoulder and chop off the arm, still carrying the bladed weapon.
* BaldOfAwesome: [=DeBlanc=].
* ButtMonkey: Fiore's turning into a little bit of one—he's been on the receiving end of not one, not two, but THREE [[GroinAttack Groin Attacks]] in the two major fights he and [=DeBlanc=] have been in, and he's had at least one more onscreen death than [=DeBlanc=], more than a few of which were played for laughs.
* DeadpanSnarker: [=DeBlanc=] is the more cynical and humorous of the two.
* DeathIsCheap: These two are pretty much butchered and have the crap fatally beaten out of them every single day, but the fact that they can resurrect after death simply means that for them, it's just another day. Their fight with the Seraphim takes this to [[UpToEleven truly]] absurd levels, being killed dozens of times over only to come back for round two with her within mere moments.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:[=DeBlanc=] gets shot by the Cowboy in "Finish the Song". He doesn't rejuvenate.]]
* NoSocialSkills: [=DeBlanc=] is the talker of the two for good reason; Fiore is blunt, impatient and blank-faced.
* ManChild: Fiore, who lacks social skills and needs looking after by [=DeBlanc=].
* TheMenInBlack: They appears during the aftermaths of the power targeting preachers and being able to enter the crime scene displays their level of government authority. They are later revealed to be government representatives for Heaven.
* NotQuiteDead: A running theme:
** Despite being killed and thoroughly dismembered via chainsaw by Cassidy, [=DeBlanc=] and Fiore both inexplicably return for the end of episode 2, talking with Sheriff Root.
** After being killed again by Cassidy, this time via being run over by a van, they're back within moments, and even have a conversation with Cassidy next to their former corpses.
** "Sundowner" opens with a brawl that results in them, and the Seraph sent to take them down, dying over and over, leading to their motel room being covered in a pile of corpses a few feet deep by the time the fight's over.
** [[spoiler: Possibly averted as of "Finish the Song" - the Cowboy executes [=DeBlanc=] at point-blank range in the bowels of Hell. Given Fiore's trembling reaction, the fact that they are already in Hell, and the mythic nature of the Cowboy's revolvers from the source material, it is likely that the angels' DeathIsCheap trump card will not work this time.]]
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The duo lack wings and seem to be of human-level strength and endurance. They also "respawn", which brings them back to life whenever they die, though there is variation in the time and place of their resurrection.
* UnreliableExpositor: [=DeBlanc=] informs Root that he and Fiore are "with the government" ... after we've seen them try to coax Genesis out of Jesse using an old can and a folk song, attempt to kill him with a chainsaw, and ''die''. They do clarify this a bit when dealing with Cassidy; namely, it's not ''our'' government they work for. [[OurAngelsAreDifferent It's Heaven's]].
* RunningGag: Whenever asked for payment, they hand over their wallets.
* ThoseTwoGuys: They're always seen together, and they clearly have a very close relationship.

[[folder:The Cowboy]]
!!The Cowboy
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cowboy_6.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I love my horse. I love my wife. I love my little girl. And, as for Jesus, he can join us all in Hell."'']]
->'''Played By:''' Graham [=McTavish=]

Not an angel but a supernatural being recruited to hunt Jesse. An ex-soldier who fought in the American Civil war. In 1881, he heads on a journey through the unforgiving desert to find medicine for his ailing daughter.

* AdaptationNameChange: Of a sort. He's known only as the Saint of Killers in the comics, while on the show he's known only as The Cowboy.
* TheCynic: He comes from a hard life and when asked by an optimistic traveler if he believes America to be a paradise, he immediately shoots the notion down.
* TheDreaded: Considering his ability to [[spoiler:seemingly permanently kill anything he shoots, even [[DeathIsCheap angels]]]], he is feared by those he encounters who know who he is.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: The Cowboy is certainly not a good or nice man, [[spoiler: but seeing the tragic fate of a family in a dangerous western town, the mother gang-raped while her son is forced to watch and her husband is killed, motivates him to try and prevent another family from falling victim to the same fate. It doesn't end well...]]
* AHellOfATime: [[spoiler: It is revealed that the Cowboy has been trapped in Hell since his death, which - for him - means that he is forced to endlessly relive the sequence of events leading to his family's death. Of course, he is also permitted to relive his RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the entire township of Ratwater, whom he holds culpable for the tragedy. As far as classical and contemporary depictions of damnation go, this is damn near cathartic.]]
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: [[spoiler: As he leaves the town the Saint has an attack of conscience, remembering the sad fate of the family he witnessed earlier, and goes back to warn the family of travelers who helped him earlier. Only when he gets there he finds they are selling Native American scalps for coin, then he is beaten and attacked by the people who he thought would have hurt the family, and gets his horse killed by a preacher who claims to remember him from the Battle of Gettysburg. This means he doesn't get back in time to give his daughter medicine, and finds both her and his wife dead with crows eating what remains.]]
* PerpetualFrowner: Even after being warmly invited for dinner by a group of travelers, the Saint continues to give a glum expression and almost never speaks to anyone throughout, showing his grim outlook on life.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: [[spoiler: After his wife and daughter die because of the thugs that prevented the Saint from getting to them in time, the Saint is shown arming up with an incredible number of guns, implying that a truly epic one of these is about to happen. This is confirmed in "Finish the Song", wherein the murderous ex-soldier returns to Ratwater and slaughters men, women and children alike.]]
* TheStoic: Never shows any emotion and seeing a warning sign accompanied by many scalped bodies on a tree doesn't even get a change of expression from him. [[spoiler: Seeing a woman being raped with her husband's corpse next to her, while her son is forced to watch, doesn't get a reaction from him either, at the time...]]
* TheQuietOne: He rarely speaks, even before his embittered rampage. He doesn't say anything to his wife when he leaves to get medicine for his daughter. While dining with a group of travelers, he only gives one sentence: "It ain't," when asked if he believes America to be paradise. When he visits the doctor, he wordlessly hands over the scrap of paper with the requested medicine.

!Quincannon Meat & Power

!Parishioners

[[folder:Deblanc & Fiore]]

** Despite being killed and thoroughly dismembered via chainsaw by Cassidy, Deblanc and Fiore both inexplicably return for the end of episode 2, talking with Sheriff Root.

** [[spoiler: Possibly averted as of "Finish the Song" - the Cowboy executes Deblanc at point-blank range in the bowels of Hell. Given Fiore's trembling reaction, the fact that they are already in Hell, and the mythic nature of the Cowboy's revolvers from the source material, it is likely that the angels' DeathIsCheap trump card will not work this time.]]

* BerserkButton: It seems that any harm to children -- direct, implied, threatened, physical or sexual -- sets Jesse off.

* BerserkButton: He tends to be an affable if slightly bizarre guy, but attempt to hurt his best friend and he'll beat you to death, [[ChainsawGood carve up your body]], and then bury it in the dirt without a backwards glance.
** Also, TheBigLebowski, for some apparent reason.

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: After antagonizing Jesse throughout the series entirety he received an off-screen HeelRealization and became Jesse's ally. Too bad it was all for nothing when he and the rest of the civilians of Annville got blown up.

* AssholeVictim: He suffers under Jesse's hand, and he hasn't technically done anything wrong. It's very clear, however, from his lack of remorse during confession that he's very much a ticking time bomb, justifying what Jesse did to him.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Breaking Donnie's wrist and kicking his friends' asses really upset Jesse to the point of regretting returning to Annville and considering quitting his position.

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: After antagonizing Jesse throughout the series entirety he received an off-screen HeelRealization and became Jesse's ally. Too bad it was all for nothing when he and the rest of the civiliansof Annville got blown up.

* DispairEventHorizon: Upon finding out the truth about God the reveal left Donnie in a near catatonic depression.

[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]