"NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS" (2007) Review
Released in movie theaters nearly eleven years ago, "NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS" was the 2007 sequel to the 2004 Disney hit film, "NATIONAL TREASURE". Directed by Jon Turteltaub, the movie starred Nicholas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha and Jon Voight.
"NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS" opens with a black market dealer named Mitch Wilkinson revealing to Benjamin and Patrick Gates that their 19th century ancestory, Thomas Gates, may have been the mastermind behind Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Wilkinson's alleged proof came from assassin John Wilkes Booth's diary. To prove their ancestor's innocence and family honor, Ben and Patrick recruit the aid of family friend Riley Poole and Ben's estranged girlfriend Abigail Chase to help them find that proof. Their investigation leads to the discovery that one of Riley's conspiracy theories - the existence of a secret presidential publication called "the Book of Secrets" might lead to a treasure of gold and vindication of Thomas Gates and the family's name.
Like its 2004 predecessor, "NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS" was not perfect. One . . . why end the movie at Mount Rushmore? Why end it with the discovery of the City of Gold? I understand that in the movie, Confederates had learned about the City of Gold and wished to use it for their goals. But a part of me wishes that the story had remained on the East Coast and used or created another treasure for the protagonists to find. Perhaps I would have been spared the boredom of the protagonists and the villain struggling inside some cavern longer than I thought necessary. And if I must be honest, the revelation of the City of Gold proved to be less dramatic that the Templar treasure's revelation in "NATIONAL TREASURE". This movie's finale struck me as more anti-climatic than climatic.
Despite my disappointment with the film's finale, I must admit that overall, it turned out to be just as fun and exciting as the first movie. In their goal to exonerate Thomas Gates and the family name; Ben Gates, and company followed clues that led them from Paris, to London, back to Washington D.C. and finally to Mount Rushmore in the Dakota Black Hills. The movie featured some exciting and funny sequences that I found utterly entertaining. Among my favorites were Ben's successful soothing of a Parisian traffic cop's ego; Ben, Abigail and Riley's successful attempt to gain access to one of the Buckingham Palace rooms; Ben and Abigail's minor adventure inside the White House with the latter's current boyfriend; and their adventure at the Library of Congress.
If I had to select two sequences that I found truly outstanding, they had to be the London car chase. In this funny and very exciting sequence; Ben, Riley and Abigail raced to evade the film's main antagonist, Mitch Wilkinson and his minions through the crowded streets of London. Very well executed by director Jon Turtletaub. Another sequence that I truly enjoyed proved to be the one in which the others help Ben crash the U.S. President's birthday bash held at Mount Vernon. From the moment in which the quartet manipulated the White House staff into holding the party at George Washington's former home to which Ben "kidnapped" the President in order to learn information about the so-called "Book of Secrets". The whole thing was a joy to watch, especially Nicholas Cage and Bruce Greenwood's performances.
Commenting on Cage and Greenwood's performances in the Mount Vernon sequence made me realize that the film's most valuable asset was its cast. Cage gave a very energetic and entertaining performance as Dr. Benjamin "Ben" Gates, who is determined to clear his family's name. Watching Justin Bartha's subtle, yet hilarious performance as Ben's close friend and tech specialist, Riley Poole, made me realized that he had been vastly underused in "THE HANGOVER" movie franchise. Diane Kruger gave a very charming and this time, a funnier performance as Ben's love of his life and ex-girlfriend, Dr. Abigail Chase.
For the first time, Jon Voight played a major role in the adventure as Ben's father and fellow historian, Dr. Patrick Gates. He was especially effective in his scenes with Helen Mirren, who portrayed his estranged ex-wife and Ben's mother. The latter was a blast as the no-nonsense Dr. Emily Appleton-Gates, who seemed to focus all of her affection upon her son. Ed Harris gave a first-rate performance as the ruthless and manipulative black market dealer, Mitch Wilkinson. Ironically, his reason for manipulating the Gates family into finding the treasure proved to be surprisingly poignant. I had earlier commented on Bruce Greenwood's performance as the President. Let me add that I found his performance very humorous and very sly. The movie also featured solid performances from the likes of Peter Woodward; Alicia Coppola; Albert Hall; Armando Riesco; a rather funny Ty Burrell; Joel Gretch, who portrayed the family's 19th century descendant Thomas Gates; and the always dependable Harvey Keitel, who returned as FBI Special Agent Sadusky.
Aside from my gripe about the film's finale sequence and the treasure itself, I must admit that I enjoyed "NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS". Thanks to Jon Turtletaub's lively direction, Cormac and Marianne Wibberley's screenplay and an outstanding cast led by Nicholas Cage, this 2007 sequel proved to be just as entertaining as the first film.
"JERICHO" RETROSPECT: (1.14) "Heart of Winter"
The previous episode, (1.13) "Black Jack" focused on the town's need to find a way to stay warm during the winter. This need led Jake Green and three other people on a road trip to the Black Jack fairgrounds, which served as newly formed trading post for those living around Kansas and Nebraska. In this next episode, (1.14) "Heart of Winter", found Jericho's citizens searching for more food via various hunting trips.
I must admit that I was a little surprised by this sudden need for more food, considering that the town had received extra food not only from an abandoned freight train discovered by Dale Turner in (1.03) "Four Horsemen" and the supply sent by the Chinese government in (1.10) "Red Flag". So . . . what happened to the food? It is possible that Jericho's citizens had unwisely consumed the food discovered by Dale. Following Gray Anderson's election as mayor in (1.11) "Vox Populi", he had quickly distributed the food from the Chinese without any regard to saving a supply of it for future use. There is a third factor to consider - namely Jericho's recent population growth, due to the arrival of refugees in "Vox Populi". All of these factors led to Jericho in the middle of a food crisis in this episode.
Various hunting teams have been scouring the countryside for game to kill, including Johnston and Eric Green. Upon their return to Jericho, the former expressed both surprise and dismay at the lack of game in the area. Jake and his best friend, Stanley Richmond decided to conduct their own hunting trip further outside of town. The latter also insisted that his new love, former I.R.S. Agent Mimi Clark, accompany them so that she would learn a few survival tips in case something happens to him. However, the trip proved to be more than any of them had anticipated.
The trio first came upon a trail of refugees who had died from hypothermia on the trail. Both Jake and Stanley surmised from the items they were carrying that the refugees probably came from both North and South Dakota. While continuing their hunting trip, the trio encountered a bigger problem when a black Silverado truck ran them off the road and caused Stanley's truck to flip over. Although Mimi recovered from the crash without a scratch, Jake woke up with his legs pinned underneath the truck and Stanley found himself with a broken ankle. The men from the Silvarado truck managed to steal their coats, guns and supplies before Jake is able to get hold of his own pistol. After the marauders left, Jake and Stanley instructed Mimi to walk back to Jericho for help - despite the threat of an approaching snowstorm.
Meanwhile, Robert Hawkins and his former lover/C.I.A. colleague, Sarah Mason decided to search for the leader of their conspiracy - the "old man" - and kill him before he can kill the remaining members of their group. Unbeknownst to Robert, Sarah had been recruited by "the old man" to find Robert's package - the bomb he had taken instead of detonating it - and kill him. Although Robert trusted Sarah, his wife Darcy did not and advised her husband to keep an eye on their guest. Although Robert and Sarah failed to find the conspiracy's leader, the latter managed to kill the assassin who had been murdering the conspiracy's members on behalf of "the old man". Apparently, Sarah had her own agenda.
After my latest viewing of "Heart of Winter", I realized that it was one of those episodes that I had underestimated during my first viewing. It will never be one of my favorite episodes of the series, but it turned out to be a lot better than I remembered. Perhaps when I first saw this episode, I had focused most of my attention on the subplot featuring Robert Hawkins and Sarah Mason. Although this subplot ended up having major consequences on the series' narrative, what occurred in this particular episode only seemed mildly interesting to me, due to their inability to achieve their goal. Or should I say . . . Robert's goal? The episode eventually reveal that Sarah was actually working with "the old man" in setting up Robert to be killed. Only that last scene featuring Sarah's murder of her leader's personal assassin made me realize that she has her own plans regarding both Robert and his "package".
I did come away with a few thoughts regarding this particular subplot after viewing this episode. It finally occurred to me that Sarah may have deliberately made her way to Jericho in order to get close to Robert on the orders of "the old man". Neither he or his assassin could reach Robert alone, while the latter resided within Jericho - especially since the latter spent a good deal of time interacting with the town's other citizens during a series of crisis. Perhaps I am wrong after all. Who knows?
But I must admit that I found the episode's major subplot a bit more interesting. And I did so for a few reasons. Jake, Stanley and Mimi's discovery of the dead refugees and their encounter with the road scavengers really drove home the point on how dangerous the country had become in the months following the September attacks. It made me realize how lucky those refugees who had arrived at Jericho with Roger Hammond two episodes ago had been. As for poor Mimi - I could understood the terror she must have felt, while being forced to return to Jericho for help . . . by herself.
Due to the scavengers' attack, Jake found his legs pinned underneath Stanley's truck and suffering from a nearly severe case of hypothermia. Fortunately for both, Mimi managed to encounter Johnston and Gail Green, who had grown worried about the hunting party. While Gail drove Mimi and Stanley back to Jericho, Johnston remained with a barely coherent Jake. While the latter eased in and out of consciousness, he made a startling confession. During his time as a military contractor in Iraq for Jennings & Rall, Jake had killed an innocent Iraqi girl in the heat of battle. Following his return to Jericho, Jake asked Johnston to forget what he had confessed, but the latter refused to do so. While Jake sobbed with grief and regret, Johnston made it clear that as a Vietnam War veteran, he realized what war can do to anyone caught up in combat.
Did Jake's confession led me to lower my opinion of him? Not really. His efforts to protect Jericho and his reaction to the wrecked car that he and his brother Eric Green had spotted in (1.08) "Rogue River" reflected a ruthless pragmatism that I have always suspected he possessed. And that same ruthlessness had also been expressed in a negative way during those brief years as a criminal with Emily's father, Jonah Prowse; reared its ugly head when he killed that girl in Iraq. And yet . . . my opinion of Jake did not sink when he finally confessed to his father. Why? Based upon his reaction, it seemed pretty obvious that he felt a great deal of guilt . . . shame, actually, over that girl's death. Not even Johnston's words that combat can drive just about anyone to terrible acts could alleviate his guilt. And I am glad for it told me that Jake had matured a great deal during those five years he had been away. He knew how to take responsibility for his actions. I could not say the same for a good number of other fictional protagonists - including those from shows like "CHARMED", "24"and "POLDARK".
As for the performances featured in "Heart of Winter", I must admit that I was very impressed. Well . . . with the exception of Kenneth Mitchell. Although the actor, who portrayed Eric Green, made a brief appearance, he barely said a word in the episode. However, I did enjoy some very competent performances from Lennie James as Robert Hawkins, Pamela Reed as Gail Green, Ashley Scott as Emily Sullivan, Brad Beyer as Stanley Richmond, and Christopher Wiehl as Roger Hammond. But there were performances that really impressed me. One came from April D. Parker, whom I believe did a great job in conveying Darcy Hawkins' suspicion and dislike of Sarah Mason. Speaking of the latter, Siena Goins gave an enigmatic and slightly sinister portryal of the character. I really enjoyed Alicia Coppola's performance as the usually sardonic Mimi Clark, who really found herself outside her comfort box in this particular episode. Gerald McRaney was outstanding as a compassionate Johnston Green, who must have been both shocked and saddened by Jake's confession. But for me, the best performance came from leading man Skeet Ulrich. The latter did a superb job in conveying Jake's emotional journey in this episode. Thanks to his skillful performance, audiences not only saw another look at his hardcore survivor skills, but also saw how his physical situation led him to finally face the ugliness of his past as a military contractor.
What else can I say about "Heart of Winter"? It has never been one of my top favorite "JERICHO" episodes. But this latest viewing of the episode finally led me to appreciate it a lot more than I did when I first saw it, thanks to an intelligent screenplay and direction from both Nancy Won and Steve Gomer, respectively. But it was Skeet Ulrich's harrowing performance as a very haunted Jake Green that made this episode memorable for me.
"JERICHO" RETROSPECT: (1.12) "The Day Before"
In compare to a television series like ABC's "LOST", "JERICHO" rarely featured any flashbacks, let alone a flashback episode. I said . . . rarely. For to my knowledge, there were at least two flashback episodes. One of them was called (1.12) "The Day Before".
The episode basically covered the last 36 hours in the lives of Jake Green, Robert Hawkins, members of their families, and other Jericho citizens like Emily Sullivan and Stanley Richmond before the bombing attacks. Thirty-six hours before the attacks saw Jake Green in San Diego trying to get a legitimate job as a pilot. But due to Jake's unwillingness to help the U.S. government investigate Ravenwood, his passport is flagged, making it impossible for him to be hired as a pilot. An old friend and fellow ex-mercenary named Freddie Ruiz tries to recruit him to participate in a cargo run operation. But since the job is sponsored by Ravenwood and involves Afghanistan, Jake rejects the job offer. Jake tries and fails to prevent Freddie from taking the job, but the latter ends up being shot and killed by the military company. Jake helps Freddie's pregnant wife Anna get out of San Diego, before traveling back east to Kansas . . . hours before the bombs detonate across the country.
Robert Hawkins' tale begins with a mysterious meeting that involves him and a group of people who are each assigned to a truck carrying a bomb. Robert is ordered to detonate his bomb in Columbus, Ohio. However, Robert and a fellow agent named Sarah Mason make plans to betray the group. He also kidnaps his estranged wife Darcy Hawkins and their two children - Allison and Samuel - in order to get them out of Washington D.C. Sarah mysteriously disappears, but the Hawkins family makes it to Kansas in time. After their arrival in Jericho, Darcy finds a weapon and tries to force Robert to let her and the kids go. But the Denver bombing diffuses the family feud and the Hawkins find themselves citizens of Jericho.
"The Day Before" also featured on other stories. A physical checkup by April Green reveals that Johnston's health might be in question. He considers having younger son Eric Green run for mayor in his place. Meanwhile, Eric has already begun his affair with Mary Bailey, unaware that wife April has secretly filed for divorce and had just received the divorce papers. Emily Sullivan discovers that her fiance, banker Roger Hammond, is considering a new job in Chicago. The couple quarrel, due to her desire to remain in Jericho. And Mimi Clark arrives in Jericho to audit Stanley Richmond's farm.
"The Day Before" never made my top ten list of favorite episodes of "JERICHO". I have nothing against the episode. To be honest, I found it very interesting. But I would never regard it as one of my ten favorite episodes from the series. I would probably rank it somewhere between eleven and thirteen. And that is pretty close. When I said that it was very interesting, I was not kidding. As far as I know, "The Day Before" might be one of three"JERICHO" episodes that heavily featured flashbacks. "The Day Before" is the only one that is basically a flashback episode.
Of the minor story arcs featured in this episode, the one featuring Mimi and Stanley's first meeting inside Bailey's Tavern struck me as amusing . . . especially Stanley's initial attempt to make a pass at her. I barely paid any attention to the one featuring Eric's affair with Mary and April's receipt of her divorce papers, due to the small attention paid to Eric and April's marriage in this episode. On the other hand, discovering that Emily nearly ended her engagement to Roger in order to remain in Jericho made me realize how fully attached she was to the town. Of course, Roger going behind her back to apply for a job in Chicago did not help matters. I suspect that this lack of mutual interest between the two made me realize that Emily and Roger were unsuited for each other . . . something they might be forced to learn for himself, now that he was back in Jericho. I found the story arc featuring the Greens and the town's mayor race very interesting. One, I had no idea that Gail Green wanted Johnston to give up the idea of continuing as Jericho's mayor. I got the feeling that she used his health scare as an excuse for him to consider it. But what I really found interesting was Johnston's inability to give up political power . . . on his own initiative. He was willing to drop out of the race for Gail's sake. But he was willing to use Eric to maintain that power. I never realized this before . . . or perhaps I had never paid attention in the past. But for the first time, I found myself wondering if Johnston was a controlling man who found it difficult to give up power of any kind.
But the episode also featured two main story arcs featuring both Jake Green and Robert Hawkins. In the episode, (1.08) "Rogue River", Jake had seemed familiar with the private military contractor Ravenwood. I had assumed that he had simply heard about the company, while in Iraq. But "The Day Before" revealed that Jake had his own personal brush with Ravenwood, when his friend Freddie Ruiz tried to get him a job with the company. The situation takes a tragic turn when a Federal agent warns Jake that that U.S. government was investigating Ravenwood, resulting in Freddie's death. Watching this sequence made me really appreciate how much Jake was at the end of his rope when he had returned to Jericho to unsuccessfully collect his inheritance from his late grandfather in the (1.01) "Pilot" episode.
If you want my opinion, the real star of this episode was the story arc involving the Hawkins family. To a certain extent, audiences finally learned that Hawkins was part of a terrorist cell responsible for the bombs that were detonated in the series' first episode. Audiences also learned that Robert did not detonate the bomb given to him and instead, forced his estranged family to accompany him to Jericho. And apparently, Darcy was not the only one having an affair. This episode also revealed Robert's mistress at the time, a fellow "terrorist" named Sarah Mason. Only she disappeared before he could head for Kansas with his family. What made this particular story arc rather fascinating to me was the revelation on how low Robert's relationship with his family had sunk. When he had arrived in Washington D.C. to collect them, they wanted nothing to do with him. Worse, they seemed so fearful of them that they ended up summoning two Washington D.C. police officers to help them escape . . . from him.
I had one major problem with "The Day Before". Most of the episode covered the 36 hours before the bombs dropped. And this time period had me questioning both Jake and the Hawkins family's journey to Jericho. I barely found it hard to believe that it took the Hawkins family less than 36 hours to travel from Washington D.C. to Jericho, Kansas. Barely. Perhaps Robert drove all day and night. But I absolutely found it impossible to believe that it took Jake less than 24 hours to travel from San Diego, California to Jericho. The "Pilot" made it clear that Jake had arrived in Denver, Colorado via the train, before he drove the rest of the way to Jericho on the day the bombs dropped. Both he and Anna Ruiz had traveled from San Diego to Albuquerque via a bus. Whereas Anna traveled on to Houston, Texas; Jake allegedly headed for Denver via rail. However, if Jake really did arrive in Denver by train, he would have been forced to make connections in both Los Angeles and Oakland, and skip Albuquerque altogether. And it still would have taken him at least 24 hours or more to reach Denver alone. Someone should have consulted the Amtrak route map before writing this episode. Also the show's producers and the episode's writer should have extended the time period for this episode by at least another 12 hours or so.
"The Day Before" featured some solid performances from the likes of Kenneth Mitchell, Pamela Reed, Brad Beyer, Alicia Coppola, Clare Carey, Jazz Raycole, Darby Stanchfield, Erica Muñoz, Siena Goines, Christopher Wiehl and James Parks. However, I feel that the more outstanding performances came from the following - April D. Parker, who did an excellent job in conveying Darcy Hawkins' fear and anger toward her estranged husband; Mark Adair-Rios, who portrayed Jake's friendly yet more morally flexible friend Freddie Ruiz; Gerald McRaney, who gave a skillful performance as Mayor Johnston Green, reluctant to give up power; and Ashley Scott, who did a great job in conveying Emily Sullivan's emotional attachment to her hometown. But the two stars of this episode were the show's leads - Skeet Ulrich and Lennie James. For the first time, since the series' beginning, audiences get a hint of Jake Green's past in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Ulrich did a superb job in not only conveying Jake's emotional state at what seemed to be the nadir of his life, but also how a personal experience in Afghanistan continued to traumatize him after such a long period of time. Lennie James gave an equally superb performance as the enigmatic Robert Hawkins, who seemed hellbent in not only upsetting his "terrorist" cell's plans, but also getting his family out of danger. At the same time, James was very skillful in conveying how frightening Robert was to his family on the eve of the bombings.
The previous episode, (1.11) "Vox Popoli", ended with a group of wandering refugees arriving in Jericho. One of those refugees turned out to be Emily Sullivan's fiance, Roger Hammond. "The Day Before" not only repeated that scene, but also revealed another surprising figure . . . namely Robert's former mistress and colleague, Sarah Mason. This episode not only revealed how far Jake, Robert and many other characters had come since the series' first episode, it also hinted some future conflicts to come - especially for Jake, Robert, Emily and the other members of the Hawkins family.
"JERICHO" RETROSPECT: (1.11) "Vox Popoli"
When I first read the title for this eleventh episode of "JERICHO", I found myself confused. I suspected that there was a strong reason why the series' show runners had given the episode this particular title. The problem was that I never learned any Latin.
Following my latest viewing of (1.11) "Vox Populi", I decided to make the effort to translate the phrase. It means "voice of the people". Considering what happened, I believe this particular episode was well titled. The "voice of the people"truly made an impact on this episode . . . not just for Mayor Johnston Greene, but also local criminal Jonah Prowse.
"Vox Populi" proved to be a strange episode upon first viewing. The episode merely picked up where the previous episode, (1.10) "Red Flag" left off - with the murder of local merchant Gracie Leigh at the hands of Prowse's second-in-command, Mitchell Cafferty. The incident not only proved to have far-reaching consequences, it also had a major impact upon this episode. While Jake Greene and Emily Sullivan continue to enjoy their renewed interest in each other, their budding romance is interrupted by Prowse's ragged appearance at Emily's home. He reveals that Mitchell had not only killed Gracie, but also framed Prowse for the crime. Another scene confirms this, by revealing Mitchell telling Johnston, Gray Anderson and the law that Prowse had killed Gracie. From that moment on, Gray switches to lynch mode and organizes a mob to find Prowse. Jake recruits Robert Hawkins' help to find Prowse before Gray's lynch mob can. Unfortunately, both Jake and Robert are too late. Gray and his gang finds Prowse and quickly place him in jail. A short period of time reveals Gray being sworn in as Jericho's new mayor. The "voice of the people" - at least those belonging to the town's residents - had spoken. Due to their resentment over Johnston holding back the food from China and especially Gray's capture of Prowse, they decided to vote for a new mayor. Unfortunately, Gray's victory and his continuing paranoia went to his head and he decided it was time to lynch Prowse.
Among all of this doom and gloom, some good happened in "Vox Populi". Dale Turner learned that he had inherited Gracie's store. And although Mitchell tried to extort goods from Dale, the latter dealt with the former on his own. Despite a few setbacks, Robert managed to find a way to click with his son, Samuel, and continue repairing his fractured marriage to Darcy. And as I had earlier pointed out, Jake and Emily seemed to be mending their relationship. However, the arrival of a group of newcomers that include Emily's missing fiancé Roger Hammond, seems destined to fracture that relationship again.
I must admit that this was a pretty good episode . . . much better than I had originally assumed. My original opinion of"Vox Populi" was that it was a bit too fractured, due to including Gray's election as Jericho's new mayor into the mix. It just seemed too out of place. But after my recent viewing, I finally understood that the situation regarding Jonah Prowse, Gracie Fields and Mitchell Cafferty played a major role in Gray's election. Jonah's arrest was the incident that got Johnston Greene thrown out of office. It was also the incident that encouraged Gray to consider lynching Jonah with the help of others. Jericho also found itself with a new mayor who was more willing to make the easy choices to placate the "voice of the people" and quell his own inner paranoia . . . instead of the hard choices that are morally right or would benefit others in the long run. However . . . Gray made his first correct choice as mayor in "Vox Populi". With Jake's urging, he ignored "the voice of the people" and his own inner emotions and made the choice not to lynch Jonah and allow the latter to leave Jericho.
If there is one thing about "Vox Populi" that I found disappointing was that Gray's election as Jericho's new mayor was never dramatized on screen. I realize that the episode's running time gave the writers little opportunity to show the actual election. Yet, I still wish it had been shown. Following Gray's capture of Jonah, the episode went into a commerical break. Then it returned showing Gray being sworn in as the the town's new mayor. I realize that Gray's election played a major role in the episode. Unfortunately, this method of showing it seemed disjointed to me.
"Vox Populi" featured some solid performances from the likes of Brad Beyer, Alicia Coppola, Clayne Crawford, April D. Parker, Sterling Ardrey, Aasif Mandvi, Richard Speight Jr., and Bob Stephenson. I was surprised to find Sprague Grayden as Heather Lisinski missing from this episode. It would have been nice for the episode's screenwriter to explain her absence, but I guess I cannot have everything. But for me, the best performances came from Skeet Ulrich, Ashley Scott, Michael Gaston, James Remar, Erik Knudsen, Gerald McRaney, Pamela Reed and Lennie James. As far as I am concerned, all of them knocked it out of the ballpark.
I must confess, "Vox Populi" is not a personal favorite of mine. But after my recent viewing, I must admit that it was better than I had originally assumed. Also, it did a good job in moving the series' major narrative forward, despite focusing on the situation regarding Jonah Prowse. More importantly, the episode ended with the arrival of new survivors to Jericho. One of those survivors turned out to be Emily Sullivan's missing fiancé, much to hers and Jake's consternation. Another survivor has yet to be seen. But that person's impact will be felt in the upcoming episodes to come.
"JERICHO" RETROSPECT: (1.06) "9:02"
This sixth episode of "JERICHO" picks up at the same moment where the previous episode, (1.05) "Federal Response"left off. In other words, (1.06) "9:02" started with the citizens of Jericho, Kansas witness the presence of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) soaring eastward over the town's skies, before the time period jumped another two weeks.
Despite this exciting opening, I found myself wondering why the series' producers and screenwriter Nancy Won used"9:02" as the episode's title. I realized that it referred to the time in which the ICBMs sent an electromagnetic pulse that disrupted the electronic devices – cellphones, the Internet, television, radios, etc. - throughout the town. But what did it have to do with the episode's plot overall?
Come to think of it . . . aside from all electronic devices in Jericho not working (save one), what was "9:02" about? There seemed to be at least three subplots at work in this episode. One of them involved the town's citizens failed attempts to assume some form of normalcy, following the ICBMs' disruption of Jericho's electronic devices. Kids have been stealing from Gracie's Market. And so has a new character named Mitchell Cafferty, who happened to be an old friend from Jake Green's delinquent past. Cafferty’s thefts have put him in the path of Dale Turner, the young shop assistant who managed to stumble across a supply of food for the store. Cafferty has also been stealing horses from various farms and ranches outside of town. When Jake and his mother Gail visit the Green family ranch to feed their horses, the latter is nearly trampled, when Mitch and a fellow thief are in the middle of a heist. This sends Jake on the warpath to take down his former friend. Robert Hawkins becomes aware of the enmity between Jake and Mitch and decides to investigate the pair’s past relationship.
Meanwhile, Stanley Richmond is approached by I.R.S. auditor Mimi Clark for room and board in exchange for her labor on his ranch. During their conversation, Stanley discovers worms that have infested his corn crop. He tries to acquire pesticide from merchant Gracie Leigh. But she is only willing to give Stanley insecticide in exchange for profit from half of his corn crop. Even worse for Stanley, Mayor Green is willing to help him get the insecticide if he is willing to share his corn with the town’s citizens. In the final subplot, Allison Hawkins discovers that her father Robert possesses the only electronic device that is still working. She also discovers that he has a map of the U.S. locations that were bombed . . . and a gun. When Allison confronts her father, he decides to tell her that he is a government agent who knew about the September attacks. He also decides to teach her how to shoot. Father and daughter eventually begin to grow close.
Many of these subplots proved to be interesting. And all of them proved to have an impact on the characters’ relationships, developments and the series’ main narrative. At first I had a hard time believing that the situation with Stanley Richmond’s corn crop had any future impact. But it did. One, Stanley’s desperation for the insecticide led Mimi to hire a few kids to steal it from Gracie’s Market. This act led to a visit to the Richmond farm by Deputy Bill Koehler, who reveals his aggressive nature for the first time in the series. This storyline also marked the first time both Stanley and Mimi display something other than hostility toward each other. And it exposed Gracie Leigh’s penchant for avarice, which proved to have an impact upon her character’s future development. Gracie and Dale’s encounters with Mitch Cafferty not only played a major role in their characters’ arc, it also revealed Jake’s past with the criminal. And this, in turned revealed how dangerous Jake could be – something that Robert Hawkins found very interesting.
All of these subplots – Jake/Mitch Cafferty conflict, Dale/Mitch Cafferty conflict, Robert and Allison Hawkins’ relationship, and Stanley’s corn crop – end up having some kind of impact upon future story and character developments. The question remains . . . what did the episode’s title, which was an indication of when the ICBMs disrupted the town’s electronic devices, had to do with the plot? The lack of electronic devices seemed to have robbed Jericho’s citizens of a sense of normalcy, leading many of them to behave more irrationally or aggressive. But overall, the impact of no electricity seemed more like a metaphor of the disruption in the lives of the town’s citizens, instead of any real impact on the series’ overall narrative. And this is probably why I found the use of "9:02" as the episode’s title a bit weak.
However, "9:02" did provide some interesting moments in the series. The episode featured two interesting conversations – one between Robert and Allison and another between Stanley and Mimi. Both conversations changed the relationships of all involved. "9:02" also featured an exciting action scene in which Jake and his brother Eric had a violent encounter with Mitch that I found rather suspenseful. Not only did I find myself wondering if Jake and Eric would be able to arrest Mitch. I wondered how Jake would react once they made the arrest. Needless to say, I was not disappointed by how that encounter turned out. But my favorite sequence proved to be the montage in which Jericho’s citizens arrived at the Richmond farm to help Stanley save his corn crop. After Jake greeted Robert in the middle of the cornfield, the following exchange occurred between the Hawkins father/daughter duo:
Allison: [in reference to Jake] Is he a good man or a bad man?
Robert: Baby, there is no such thing.
In that one line, Robert Hawkins said more about humanity’s moral ambiguity than any other person – fictional or real – ever has.
Do not get me wrong. I enjoyed "9:02" a good deal. It was interesting to see how the ICBMs’ impact upon the town’s electronic devices affected the citizens. And the episode featured some very good performances, especially from Skeet Ulrich, Pamela Reed, Lennie James, Erik Knudsen, Jazz Raycole, Brad Beyer and Alicia Coppola. But if I must be honest, I wish that someone on the production staff for "JERICHO" had given this episode a better title. This sounds like a shallow criticism. But if one looked at the episode, the ICBMs’ impact upon the town seemed to have a minor impact upon the episode’s narrative, aside from the Robert and Allison Hawkins’ familial relationship.
