"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: (1.13) "Black Jack"This next episode of "JERICHO" began with a topic, which had been the hallmark of the series' earlier episodes - namely another town crisis. In (1.13) "Black Jack", newly elected Mayor Gray Anderson and other town officials become aware that numerous citizens are either suffering or dying from hypothermia, due to low power and gas supply. The town engineer suggests that Jericho should convert to wind power and create new windmills. However, the lacks the parts like a regulating governor for even one mill. One of the newly arrived refugees - Emily Sullivan's fiance, Roger Hammond - reveals that a fairgrounds in southern Nebraska called Black Jack has been the site of a trading post and a place to gather information from around the country. Gray asks for volunteers to go to Black Jack and use the town's salt supply to trade for parts needed for new windmills. In the end, four people go - Jake Green, his father Johnston Green, science teacher Heather Lisinski and young Dale Turner. Johnston volunteers due to curiosity about the world outside Jericho. Heather volunteers because she feels she is the only one who can recognize a regulating governor and Dale volunteers in order to barter new items for the store he had inherited from Gracie Lee.Upon their arrival at Black Jack, the four travelers discover that the camp is guarded by heavily armed men, who are willing to retaliate violently against anyone who causes trouble. They also discover that other countries throughout the world have been sending supplies to the United States. And thanks to the fairground's bulletin boards, they learn a good deal of information about the outside world, including the fact that the country has been divided into six Federal regions, with many people are trying to stake claims to the presidency. Jake, Heather, Johnston and Dale also meet citizens from the neighboring town of New Bern; Heather's original hometown. The quartet learn that New Bern had an ugly encounter with John Goetz and his band of Ravenwood mercenaries after Jericho had driven off the latter in a previous episode, (1.09) "Crossroads". Heather's New Bern acquaintances prove to be a godsend when Dale endangers them all with an act of theft."Black Jack" featured other story arcs. Tension rises in the Hawkins household when Robert Hawkins allows one of the new refugees, his former C.I.A. colleague Sarah Mason, to stay at his home. Darcy Hawkins immediately senses that Robert and Sarah were former lovers. She not only develops an instant dislike toward the other woman, but also begins to suspect that the latter might be a threat to the Hawkins family. Darcy's instinct proves to be accurate. While Robert plots with Sarah to permanently deal with the leader of the conspiracy behind the September bombs - their employer, Sarah schemes with "the old man" to use the Hawkins family to coerce Robert in giving up the bomb in his possession. And finally, Gail Green has a confrontation with Mary Bailey over the latter's affair with Eric Green. Their confrontation leads to Mary's revelation that her own mother cuckolded her father with another man before abandoning the Bailey family. I would not regard "Black Jack" as one of my favorite episodes. There is nothing really wrong about it, if I must be brutally honest. For the first time since the series' seventh episode, (1.07) "Long Live the Mayor", Jericho citizens and the series' viewers get an idea of what is going on outside of the town. And judging from Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Stolz's screenplay, matters have grown exceedingly grim - not only for Jericho, but also the country. This sense of a growing post-apocalyptic world had been featured in episodes like "Long Live the Mayor" and (1.08) "Rogue River". But the Black Jack Fairgrounds setting and the bulletin boards in this episode, along with Sarah Mason's plot against the Hawkins family and Roger Drummond's recollection of how a light led him to the safety of a refugee camp in Nebraska really drove home how grim the country had become. More importantly, the narrative for "Black Jack" served as a starting point for the grimmer plot arcs that played out for the rest of Season One and Season Two. The four Jericho travelers' encounter with citizens from New Bern and the deal created between the two groups served as a major continuation of a story line that began in episodes like "Rogue River" and "Crossroads". This deal consisted of New Bern providing windmills for Jericho in exchange for much needed salt. Also included in the bargain is for Heather to return to her hometown and construct governors for the windmills. Sarah Mason's dealings with Robert and the Hawkins family is another story line that will continue in a major way - probably a lot bigger than the one between Jericho and New Bern. More importantly, an important piece of information on one of Black Jack's bulletin boards - a name, actually - will play a major, major role in the series' future narrative in Season Two and beyond.Considering how "Black Jack" played a major role in the series' narrative, why is it not a big favorite of mine? I honestly do not know. Perhaps it felt more like a source of information and a narrative device than a story with any real emotional connection to me. One is bound to point out the confrontation between Gail Green and Mary Bailey, Darcy Hawkins' hostility toward her family's new house guest or Roger Hammond's recollection of finding a refugee camp as story arcs with real emotional connection. Perhaps. These story arcs, although rather interesting, simply fail to personally click for me. The screenwriters even added a moment between Jake Green and Heather Lisinski, in which the latter brought up the brief kiss they had shared near the end of "Long Live the Mayor". But considering that I have never really sensed any romantic chemistry between Jake and Heather, I only felt relief when they finally dropped the topic of the kiss.The performances in "Black Jack" were top notch, as usual. The episode benefited from some excellent performances from Skeet Ulrich, Lennie James, Sprague Grayden, Siena Goines, Ashley Scott, Candace Bailey, Michael Gaston and Dustin Seavey. But for me, the best performances came from Gerald McRaney and Erik Knudsen, who created an interesting mentor/protege chemistry between Johnston Green and Dale Turner; Pamela Reed and Clare Carey, who were fantastic as the two women in Eric Green's life at odds with each other; and April Parker, who was superb conveying Darcy Hawkins' anger at the intrusion of Sarah Mason in the lives of the Hawkins' family.In the end, "Black Jack" proved to be a very interesting episode. I did not exactly find it emotionally compelling, but I must admit that it conveyed a strong image of the grim world beyond Jericho, following the September attacks. More importantly, it set the stage for uglier turn of events for the rest of Season One and Season Two for "JERICHO".
"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: (1.10) "Red Flag"
At the end of the previous "JERICHO" episode, (1.09) "Crossroads", Jake Green had approached his father, Mayor Johnston Green, about raising a militia unit for the defense of their town, Jericho. I could say that this next episode, (1.10) "Red Flag", is the result of Jake's idea. Instead, show runners Stephen Chbosky, Josh Schaer and Jonathan E. Steinberg decided it had another story to tell.
The episode began with Jericho's militia trainees hunting turkeys for Thanksgiving. The story immediately shifted when Jake, along with best friend Stanley Richmond, find a crate of food - from China - in the middle of a field. The episode soon shifted to the skies above Jericho when bomber planes drop crates filled with food, medicine and a generator upon the town's streets. Wary of receiving food from China, Mayor Green, Jake and Eric decide to hesitate in distributing the food and other supplies; until they can ascertain whether the material is safe or not. Unfortunately, standing in the Greens' way are three impediments:
1) the politically ambitious Gray Anderson's insistence that the food be immediately distributed
2) the group of criminals/survivalists led by Jonah Prowse, who wants to use the food and supplies for profit
3) Jericho's citizens who desperately want the food
In a way, "Red Flag" reminded me of the series' earlier episodes in which the plots focused on the basic survival of Jericho's citizens. Food supplies have been diminishing for weeks, despite Dale Turner's discovery of an abandoned freight train filled with supplies in (1.03) "Four Horsemen". I have mixed feelings regarding the Greens' reluctance to distribute the food to Jericho's citizens. On one hand, I understood their wariness to do so, considering that the food came from China, which had been a political enemy of the United States since 1949-50. On the other hand, this episode was set during the Thanksgiving holiday, which meant over two months had passed since the bombs were dropped. If China had been behind the attacks, the United States would have been under the control of an invasion force by this episode. I found it improbable that the Greens or Robert Hawkins never considered this.
I will give credit to the episode's screenwriter, Mike Ostrowski, for using the China supply drop for extending the series' main narrative forward. Johnston Green's reluctance to distribute the food led to conflicts between him and many of the town's citizens - especially Gray Anderson, who harbored ambitions to become the new mayor. While Johnston is too busy dealing with the town's survival, his wife Gail sees the writing on the wall and fears that he will soon be out of a job. Both the supplies and the generator leads to another conflict between the town and Jonah Prowse, who makes a grab for the generator. This, in turn, leads to Emily Sullivan surprising everyone with a quick recovery of the generator . . . and trouble for Jonah. His second-in-command, Mitchell Cafferty, murders storekeeper Gracie Leigh in an attempt to frame him - an act that ends up having far reaching consequences in the near future.
The most interesting story arc of "Red Flag" turned out to be the consequences of Eric Green's failing marriage to Dr. April Green. I must admit that Ostrowski and director Martha Mitchell in continuing the fallout of Eric's affair with tavern owner Mary Bailey and the end of his marriage with surprising maturity. The situation becomes increasingly heated after Eric learns of April's pregnancy. Those scenes that featured Johnston and Gail Green's failed efforts to convince Eric to continue his marriage to April were probably the best in this entire episode. I found them emotional, real and surprisingly mature, thanks to the performances of Kenneth Mitchell, Gerald McRaney, Pamela Reed and Darcy Stanchfield.
There were also pleasant aspects to "Red Flag". It featured another step in Robert Hawkins' efforts to re-bond with his family - especially his children. This story arc ended on a pleasant note when he founded a way to make Thanksgiving a positive experience for his kids and Jericho's other citizens, using the recaptured generator. And when Stanley is beaten by Jonah's men, while stealing the crate on his property; he is nursed by his current tenant, former IRS agent Mimi Clark. Not surprisingly, the pair finally acknowledge their attraction to each other and begin a romance.
As much as I admire how the episode's story arc propelled the series' main narrative forward, "Red Flag" is not a major favorite of mine. It is a pretty decent episode that featured one particular story arc - the Eric and April Green marital breakup - that really impressed me. Unfortunately, the food supply story arc left me feeling as if the episode had regressed the series on an emotional level.
"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.
"JERICHO" RETROSPECT: (1.05) "Federal Response"
After my surprised delight over the narrative for the previous episode, (1.04) "Walls of Jericho", I wondered if my delight would continued into the next episode. I would not judge (1.05) "Federal Response" to be better than its predecessor. But it proved to be quite surprising . . . from a certain point of view.
I am not stating that I found "Federal Response" disappointing, as I did (1.03) "Four Horsemen", but I would not view it as one of the better episodes of Season One, let alone its first half. In this episode, the citizens of Jericho deal with mysterious messages from the Department of Homeland Security and several fires caused by a series of power spikes. The episode begins with a handful of Jericho's citizens playing cards inside Mary Bailey's Tavern at the break of dawn. The electricity, which had shut down in the previous episode, returns and telephones all over town start ringing. Jericho's citizens receive a recorded message telling everyone to remain calm and that help is on the way. The Emergency Alert System is put into place as televisions display a message ordering citizens to stand by for further instructions. Also, it seems that someone within the government has ordered the blockage of all computer IP addresses. Even worse, the town becomes plagued by a few power spikes. One of them blows up a transformer on the public library's roof, setting it ablaze and severing several power lines.
For nearly a decade, I had firmly believed that "Federal Response" was mainly about the series of fires that popped up around Jericho. And for the likes of me, I never understood what the fires had to do with the series' main narrative. Now, the fires did have something of an impact upon one subplot . . . namely the marriage between Eric and April Green. The series had already established that their marriage was strained and Eric's affair with tavern owner, Mary Bailey. When Eric and April's home is destroyed by one of the fires, the former discovers that his wife had filed for divorce before the September bombs in the series' pilot episode. This discovery led April to reveal that she had changed her mind about a divorce and wanted to give their marriage a second chance. So far, Eric has not made up his mind about that situation.
But what did the fires have to do with the series' main narrative? Not much. But it did drive forward another subplot that proved to be more important. After the Emergency Alert System has been put in place and the IP addresses are blocked, the mysterious Robert Hawkins uses a portable satellite transceiver in his backyard to access his laptop. While Robert works on the latter to send a message, Jake and best friend Stanley Richmond go to the local pumping station to give access to water for the firemen trying to put out the library fire. Once their mission is a success, Jake goes to the roof with Stanley's rifle scope to search for any other fires. Not only does he spot the fire that will consume Eric and April's house, he also spots Robert working on the laptop. More importantly, Robert sees Jake watching him. Later, Robert forces Jake to accept his help in trying to save Eric and April's house in order to ascertain what the latter knows. Later, Robert checks Jake's background and discovers that the latter has visited a series of countries and now has a flagged passport. In the end, both the Federal "response" and the fires allowed Jake and Robert to realize that neither is what the other seemed to be. And their realizations will eventually drive the pair to develop a future relationship that will have a major impact upon the series' main narrative.
Aside from the matter regarding Eric and April's strained marriage, other personal dramas featured in this episode drove the series forward. For the first time, Jake hinted the trauma of his past five years to his father. And for the first time, Johnston Green seemed more than ready to welcome back his recalcitrant son. Robert's family life remains strained, as he tries to discipline his older offspring Allison about her use of water. The teenager refuses to listen to her father, still resentful of the past. And Robert refuses to listen to his wife Darcy's warning about how to treat their children, hinting that he might be forced to leave again. Stranded IRS agent Mimi Clark tries to warn Mary Bailey that Eric might not be serious about her. Dale Turner and Skylar Stevens grow even closer, after one of the fires destroy the trailer where Dale lives. And Jake's reaction to Emily Sullivan getting injured by a fallen power line hints that he still harbors strong feelings for her. Rather surprisingly, all of these small, personal dramas will eventually have some impact upon the series' future narrative and subplots.
"Federal Response" also featured the usual first-rate performances. The episode featured solid performances from most of the cast. But the performances that really caught my attention came from eight cast members. The messy love triangle between Eric, April and Mary proved to be realistic and complex, thanks to the first-rate performances by Kenneth Mitchell, Darby Stanchfield and Clare Carey. Alicia Coppola gave an interesting and wry performance as the observant and sardonic IRS agent Mimi Clark, who believes she knows how the Eric/Mary affair will end. Both Gerald McRaney and Pamela Reed were excellent as Jake and Eric's parents, Johnston and Gail Green, in scenes that featured the pair's separate reactions to Jake's current presence in Jericho. But my favorite performances came from leads Skeet Ulrich and Lennie James, who did excellent jobs in conveying their characters' reactions to the current crisis and personal demons. More importantly, for the first time they truly hinted the strong chemistry that will make them one of the better action teams in science-fiction/fantasy television.
As I had stated earlier, "Federal Response" proved to be an interesting episode that managed to contribute to the series' narrative . . . by a hair's length. It also featured some solid performances, along with first-rate ones that include both Skeet Ulrich and Lennie James. But there is one thing I forgot to add . . . the episode also ended on an ominous note. The town's citizens felt a distinct rumble - as if the ground was shaking . . . before they rushed outside and spotted what appeared to be two ballistic missiles soaring through the night sky above Jericho.
"JERICHO" RETROSPECT: (1.04) "Walls of Jericho"
The previous episode of CBS's "JERICHO" - (1.03) "Four Horsemen" - proved to be something of a disappointment for me. I felt certain that I would feel the same about the next episode, (1.04) "Walls of Jericho". Thankfully, my assumptions proved to be wrong.
I would never regard "Walls of Jericho" as one of my favorite episodes of the series, let alone the first season. But I have to give credit to screenwriter Ellie Herman for creating one of the stronger narratives among the series' first batch of episodes. "Walls of Jericho" not only proved to be a very solid episode with a strong and centered narrative, it also contributed a good deal to the series' overall narrative.
Jake Green and several other citizens of Jericho are at Bailey's Tavern, watching three scenes of a news report regarding the bombings over and over again, when the power dies. With no television to watch and no booze left, Mary Bailey orders everyone to leave. After Jake encounters schoolteacher Heather Lisinski on the street, they discover a man inside the local pharmacy, dying from radiation poisoning. With the help of Eric Green, Stanley Richardson and a few others; carry the man to the town's medical center. With no power for the hospital, Jake's sister-in-law, Dr. April Green reveals that gas is needed for the generator.
While Jake and his friends scour the community for gasoline, newcomer Robert Hawkins forces his family to rehearse the cover stories he had created for the new identities they have adopted. He is recruited by Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Taylor to help maintain the peace in town. They interrupt a party held by wealthy teenager Skylar Stevens and Robert is unpleasantly surprised to find his daughter Allison there. Jake and the others successfully find enough gas for the hospital. They also discover that the stranger's name is Victor Miller, who had been driving Shep Cale's truck when he arrived in Jericho. Shep had been one of the four men who had left town to discover information from the outside. It is believed he had committed suicide. And unbeknownst to Jake and the other Jericho citizens, Robert knows Victor Miller.
My main beef regarding the previous episode, "Four Horsemen" was its narrative. Although it continued the series' main narrative, it lacked a central plot of its own and the story seemed to be all over the map. I certainly cannot say the same about "Walls of Jericho". Two incidents contributed a great deal to the episode's narrative - the power outage and the discovery of Victor Miller. Both incidents led Jake Green and some of Jericho's other citizens to search for gasoline that could provide power to the local clinic. More importantly, Miller's presence in Jericho both centered the episode's plot, but also provided a major contribution to the series' main narrative - one that will resonate into Season Two. His presence also added another notch to the mystery that surrounded Robert Hawkins. Speaking of the latter, the search for gasoline and Miller's presence led Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Taylor to recruit Robert to temporarily help him maintain law and order in Jericho. And this act not only led Robert to reconnect with his daughter Allison in a very unexpected way, it will resonate later in the first season. See how everything seem to connect with the Victor Miller character and search for gasoline? This is why I feel that screenwriter Martha Mitchell made "Walls of Jericho" is one of the stronger episodes of Season One's first half.
The episode also featured some very memorable scenes that featured strong acting. If I must be frank, I was not that impressed by the Green brothers, Stanley Richmond and Heather Lipsinski's search for gasoline. It seemed like the typical scramble for resources and survival that marked Season One's early episodes. However, I do admire how the screenwriters allowed this search added to one more notch in the decline of Eric and April Green's marriage. I thought it was a very subtle move on their part. "Walls of Jericho" did feature some very powerful scenes. One of them proved to be a minor scene between Robert and his young son, Samuel. It was such a minor moment near the end of the episode, yet it revealed just how damaged Robert's relationship with his family really was. Even more interesting proved to be Robert's interrogation of Victor Miller, once he found himself alone with the latter. I found it interesting due to Robert's discovery that a traitor existed within the mysterious group to whom he belonged. Yet, he later discovers that his son harbors very little trust in him.
Another powerful moment featured a debate over whether or not to feed the dying Miller a drug to gather more information from him. Jake, Robert and Eric wanted to use the drug to revive Miller's consciousness in order to learn more information - even if this act will cause him pain. As a doctor, April opposed this action on the grounds of compassion. The conflict between pragmatism and compassion resonated strongly in this scene. This same conflict also played a part in a scene in which Jake had to shame Jericho's citizens into helping him search for a group of survivors that also might be dying from radiation poisoning, and in Gracie Leigh's refusal to contribute gasoline for the town's power generators. It is interesting how these three scenes featuring pragmatism vs. compassion ended differently. This conflict will prove to have a major impact on Gracie's story line, later in the season.
I have very few problems with "Walls of Jericho". Actually, I only have two. If it were not for how it affected Eric and April's marriage, I found the gasoline search rather unoriginal and a little sophomoric at times. This episode also marked the showrunners' continuing attempt to create a romance between Jake and Heather - especially in a scene in which she unexpectedly encounters him leaving one of the clinic's showers. And despite the presence of a half-nude Skeet Ulrich, I still failed to sense any romantic spark between the pair. What can I say? Jake and Heather tend to generate a sibling-like vibe.
Thanks to a strong narrative and interesting subplots, "Walls of Jericho" featured some first-rate performances from members of the cast. I was especially impressed by Kenneth Mitchell and Darby Stanchfield as Eric and April Green, Jazz Raycole as Allison Hawkins, Beth Grant as Gracie Leigh, and Candace Bailey as Skylar Stevens. But I believe the best performances came from Skeet Ulrich - especially in the scene in which Jake shamed the town's citizens for their lack of compassion; Adam Donshik, who had to portray the dying Victor Miller; and Lennie James, who added more depth to the mysterious aura of Robert Hawkins.
Although "Walls of Jericho" featured an uninspiring potential romance and a search for gasoline that failed to grab me, I must say that it proved to be one of the stronger early episodes of "JERICHO". I have to credit fine performances from a cast led by Skeet Ulrich and Lennie James and a very strong narrative written by screenwriter Martha Mitchell for making this episode very fascinating . . . at least for me.
