Coming home is hard. Sometimes it’s pure hell. “Angelville” sees Jesse rushing home to save Tulip and promising his grandma more than he’s willing to give. Here’s our recap of the season three premiere!
We knew going into the third season that we were going to meet Jesse’s family on his mother’s side, and that they were people that you didn’t really want to mess with, so it’s not surprise that we open with a bit of background into Angelville and the L’Angelle family.
YEARS AGO
A young woman in an southern belle ball gown is showing tourists around the L’Angelle Plantation. She even name drops Thomas Jefferson, and how he loved it here. She says that it held a special piece of his heart, which, I’m thinking is literal because Madame L’Angelle is no joke scary as hell and probably took it as payment for something.
Cut to the inside of the home, and a man is seizing up and flailing around Madame L’Angelle’s office/study. She tells him to stop, and he asks her if he’s cured. To prove that he is, she pours him a drink.
The councilman drinks the liquor and immediately vomits all over the floor. He tells her thank you, and he’s so thrilled to be cured of his alcoholism. At that moment, Christina comes into the room and tells Madame L’Angelle that her next appointment is ready for her, and she helps the councilman outside.
When Christina goes to get Madame L’Angelle some lunch, a man comes in through the back door, confronting the young woman.
“I want it back! Help me!”
T.C. steps up behind the man and knocks him, then takes him back from wherever he was placed.
Instead of bringing Madame L’Angelle her food, Christina goes up to her room and takes a hidden photo out to look at it. Jody comes into her room and tells her that Madame L’Angelle wants to see her, and she tells him that she’ll be down in a minute.
That night, Christina tries to run away, but the bus is stopped by Jody and T.C. Jody gets on the bus and hit her several times. Once smashing her face into one of the windows. When Christina is back in Angelville, she tells Madame L’Angelle that she was just going to see a movie.
Jody tells Madame L’Angelle that he believes Christina is hiding something. When Madame L’Angelle tells the men to search Christina, she quickly eats the small piece of paper. That doesn’t stop this evil old woman, though. She has T.C. and Jody hold down Christina and she cuts it out of her. This is when we find out that Christina is Madame L’Angelle’s daughter.
Madame L’Angelle takes the photo out of her daughter’s body and unfolds it to see a baby.
“Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare touch my Jesse.”
To further prove how vicious Madame L’Angelle is, she doesn’t heal her daughter. She tells T.C. and Jody to strap her to the chair…
—-
In the present, Tulip is still dead and Cassidy and Jesse are driving to Angelville. They get there and Jesse carries Tulip inside, yelling for his Gran’ma.
It’s there that we see his desperation, but we also see Cassidy’s anger and hurt.
“They’re gone, and you let her die instead of be like me.”
This is the crux of Jesse and Cassidy’s problem…along with the fact that Cassidy is in love with Tulip, and he was seriously looking forward to running away with her before “Jenny” shot Tulip.
Cassidy goes further and says:
“You killed her.”
“I loved her.”
“I loved her, too.”
Jesse, either ignores the sincerity or remains oblivious of it, discount Cassidy’s feelings. That’s when Cassidy finally lets Jesse know the about him and Tulip.
I’ve been waiting for this secret to come out since S1, and to have it be Cassidy who tells Jesse made me gasp out loud. Cassidy knows that he can’t really hurt Jesse because Jesse is so self-serving most of the time, so he hits him where it will really hurt– Tulip.
They start fighting and as they’re kicking the shit out of each other, Gran’ma shows up and starts watching. Before it can get too bad, T.C. stops them.
Jesse finally notices his Gran’ma and explains that he needs her help with Tulip. Gran’ma says she’s hungry, and she goes to the kitchen. Jesse follows her and proceeds to beg for Tulip’s life. He tells her he’ll give her money and guns. He’ll bring her clientele back.
“You need to help me. Right now.”
“I don’t need to help shit.”
“I’ll do anything. Please.”
“Anything. That’s a big word.”
Gran’ma places a cloth napkin on the table between them and holds a knife in her hands. It’s quite clear what she wants.
Jesse takes the knife and cuts his hand, dripping his blood on the napkin.
With their transaction complete, Gran’ma tells Jesse that Tulip is in Purgatory and she’s hanging on by a thread. They’ll need some of Tulip’s favorite things and transpoil to help bring her back.
Jesse and Cassidy split up their tasks. Cassidy will get her favorite things on the list, and Jesse is going to get the transpoil with Jody.
Who is Jody? Well, besides working for Madame L’Angelle, he’s also the guy who helped kill Jesse’s mom and he’s the one who killed Jesse’s dad in front of him.
Jody seems like a real peach, too. One of the first things he says to Jesse when he sees him again is:
“You can dress up like your daddy all you want, kid, but you’ve never looked more like your momma.”
This tension between Jody and Jesse is intense, but they go and get what Gran’ma needs for Tulip. In the process, they manage to piss off the Boyds, a rival family. While Jody is fighting them inside this motel, Jesse is waiting in the truck around the back.
The leader of the group comes up to Jesse’s truck and says that he looks familiar. Jesse dances around the guys question, and he pulls a gun on Jesse. Cue Jody showing up and knocking the guy out and they get away with the transfoil.
Back at the house, Gran’ma is working on Tulip, and she takes a bit of a scorpion pepper. When Cassidy arrives back, he asks her why she’s doing it, and Madame L’Angelle tells him that sometimes the dead stick around if they feel the pain of the living. She invites Cassidy to take a bite of pepper, telling him that this process might actually work better if someone she cares about is in pain.
Cass bites into the pepper, and this scene is both funny and threatening, as Madame L’Angelle tells him to keep it in his mouth while she talks about Jesse.
“I’m so grateful, Irish, for you bringing Jesse back to us. If you ever want anything, all you have to do is ask.”
This is a very interesting thing for Gran’ma to say considering she saw and probably heard the reason for the fight earlier. We know that Gran’ma wants Jesse, but would she be willing to help Cassidy with his feelings for Tulip or maybe them leaving Jesse behind?
I’m telling you, this is going to be a big deal at some point. I can feel it.
Around this time, Jody and Jesse return. Jody won’t hand over the transpoil and they begin to fight. It’s pretty clear that Jody will win, and Jesse can’t use Genesis, but right before Jody drops a truck tire on Jesse’s head, Gran’ma intervenes.
In true magic making style, Gran’ma mixes up all the things she’ll need to help Tulip in a NutriBullet. This concocition includes mercury, and Cassidy asks if that’s safe.
“She’s already dead.”
This is a valid point, Gran’ma.
When she pours the liquid down her throat, Tulip feels it where she’s at. When there’s no immediate signal on their side that Tulip is changing, Gran’ma explains that she needs “enough reason to come back.”
Jesse tells her:
“I need you for everything, Tulip.”
—-
So, let’s back up a little bit. While all the drama has been going on with Jesse, Cassidy, Gran’ma, and Jody, Tulip has been in Purgatory. What did that look like for her? Well, it’s pretty damn bleak.
Tulip is in the living room of a house with the T.V. on, and she spends the entire time interacting with the child version of herself.
Her mother is a prostitute who is working in the bedroom, and we can hear it from where Tulip and young!Tulip are in the living room.
Finally, Tulip’s dad comes home. He was in jail, but he’s out now, and he’s going to make an effort to obey the law and stick around for his little girl.
We see her dad go through a job interview and get the job. He’s obviously working and time passes, but he doesn’t like his job. He breaks a promise to Tulip when he tells her he’ll bring her candy.
Things take a bad turn when Tulip’s dad comes home from work, complaining about his boss and he gets a gun and leaves. When he comes back, it’s not long before sirens follow him. Young!Tulip asks if he’s remembered her candy, and he looks devastated then says:
“Why can’t I do one right thing?”
Tulip is standing behind them, and she looks so broken when her father says that to her younger self. It’s not much longer before a shootout takes place, and Tulip even joins her dad in shooting at the cops.
Tulip’s father is killed, and you can hear the cops trying to get in the door. This part coincides with Gran’ma trying to bring Tulip back. If Tulip opens the door, she’s accepting death.
The whole time, young!Tulip is telling her:
“It’s time to go.”
When Tulip feels the stuff Gran’ma pours down her throat, she takes a battery out of her mouth. She doesn’t know what it’s for, but all of this feels really wrong.
As the police start banging on the door harder, trying to get to Tulip, young!Tulip offers some advice.
“You need to go.”
“What about you?”
“I’m a re-enactor. I work here.”
Tulip looks around her Purgatory and sees the Felix the Cat clock is stuck on a certain time. She pulls it down and puts the battery that popped out of her mouth into it. Once it starts back, Tulip is running down a road toward the house in Angelville.
She stops suddenly and turns around to find God looking at her. He makes a request of her…
“You have been chosen.”
“No shit.”
“Listen to me closely, Tulip O’Hare. I want you to get—”
God is cut off and Tulip wakes up and looks at Gran’ma.
“Who the hell are you?”
Later that night, Jesse walks into to Tulip’s room and sees her sleeping with Cassidy. He leaves them there and goes to the kitchen. As he’s having a drink, Gran’ma comes into the room.
“You’re welcome.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, we have a deal, right?”
“Yeah, or I could cheat and change my mind. Kill you like I should have done all those years ago.”
Gran’ma calls his bluff and tells him that he owes her for all the years he left and she didn’t have anyone bringing in business. He has a lot to make up for before he can leave, if he can ever leave Angelville again.
“Gran’ma loves you more than anything. Welcome home, Jesse.”
—-
I’m excited for the rest of this season! Jesse is going to have to come up with some kind of plan, though. He can’t stay in Angelville forever. He’s going to have to deal with Herr Starr since he’s the Messiah now, and no one wants Humperdoo.
Besides that part, we’re also going to have to figure out what to do with Hitler and Eugene at some point.
I can fix this quick. Have the Saint of Killers take out Hitler. We don’t need any humanization of someone like Hitler. That’s a no go for me.
What are you looking forward to this season?
Episode two, “Sonsabitches” airs next Sunday at 10/9c on AMC! Be sure to live tweet with us @WeSoNerdy!
