Next up, we have one of my first volunteers, Beth. She couldn’t blog in July, but promised way back when that she’d do the first one in August. Here’s a little about Beth, and then her thoughts on “Winter’s End.”

Name: Beth
Age: 34
Where I live: Ohio
When I first started watching Jericho: I first started watching the week before the show premiered on television: Yahoo was showing an online sneak peek of the series premiere, and I was intrigued enough to check it out. I’m so glad that I did!
My favorite character of the show: Heather. There’s just something about a plucky, brave, smart woman that speaks to me.
What about Jericho makes it special to me: I like the sense of “realness” about it. The show depicts an average community, with townspeople struggling the best they can to survive a life-changing (and life-threatening) event. This could be your town, your neighbors, your family, you. And while it’s chilling to think of yourself in that scenario, it’s life-affirming to watch the best of these TV characters come out in time of crisis. One hopes that the same would happen in real life.
Jericho web links: I’m an active member/moderator for Radio Free Jericho.

Watching “Winter’s End” last night, it occurred to me that this particular episode was a perfect snowglobe’s capture of everything that makes “Jericho” so watchable. The episode blended humor, sadness, suspense and redemption. Plus, it was a great opportunity to follow some non-Jake storylines. (Don’t get me wrong, I love Jake, but I like to see what the other citizens of Jericho are up to every once in a while.) And I was again reminded of why I keep watching this show: truly great writing and acting.

We re-visit Hawkins, just as he’s cleaning up the mess (literally) made from Sarah’s death. Enter Jimmy, who clearly doesn’t pick up on any of the weird vibes Hawkins is putting out. He’s looking for Sarah, and we find out later that he wants to question her in connection to the dead body they found in the woods. (Of course, they were right to suspect her.) But before we find out why Jimmy really wants to talk to Sarah, we’re provided with a few suspenseful moments: does Jimmy actually suspect Hawkins of something? Is the confrontation at the end of the show really a take-down? Nope, he’s just trying to keep the streets of Jericho as safe as possible. Jimmy, that big-hearted lug, also offers Hawkins some relationship advice, and he lets Darcy and the kids come stay at his house for a while. Aww, I love this guy! But I do question his effectiveness as a law enforcement officer — the man does not seem to have a suspicious bone in his body. (He’s clearly missed his calling. I would not be at all surprised to see a “Jericho” spin-off sometime soon: “Jimmy, Post-Apocalyptic Marriage Counselor.” [Amy note: Ha!])

Poor April, what a time to have pregnancy complications—she’s overworked and overtired, the medical center is running out of supplies, and the only surgeon who can help her has been slowly drinking his way into oblivion. Although Kenchy kicks into gear and tries to help her and her unborn baby survive, he realizes the futility of it all and tries to give up. Jake gives him a moving pep talk, and we get a glimpse into what Jake must have been telling himself all along: “If you stop trying, and I stop, then they see that, and this whole thing falls apart.” That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself, and although Jake is well on his way to becoming the savior of the town, he clearly needs some help. Kenchy pulls it together and goes back inside, if only for the sake of the family. In the meantime, Eric sits with April in her last moments, but he ultimately has trouble handling the final end to his little family. And maybe he blames himself, just a little, for the outcome.

The wind turbine arrives from New Bern, fully built and operational. The town rejoices, and negotiates for more of the turbines, but at a critical cost: 10 Jericho men must go to New Bern to help build them. During the turbine negotiations, we also get some foreshadowing of Constantino and his upcoming power trip: the town must also fork over 700 pounds of salt and 10 percent of the spring crop. Yikes! Eric and Stanley are among those going to New Bern to help build the turbines, and Jake is clearly concerned about their fate, as are we at this point. Will they come back safely? And where’s Heather — why didn’t she come back with the turbine, as she promised? Keep tuning in to find out.

High Points:
• Mimi and Bonnie bonding over volunteerism. Good thing they’ve got each other, as Stanley’s off to New Bern for a while. (And how cute was Stanley saying “I love you” to Mimi first?)
• Gail’s promise to Eric to take care of Mary while he’s gone — this is a major concession she’s making for her boy, and it took a lot of strength on her part. Good for you, Gail.
• Jake noticing that Heather didn’t come back from New Bern like she said she would — he’s protective of his friends and loved ones, which just makes me like him more and more.
• Emily didn’t make an appearance in this episode, which was really just a personal high point.

Low Points:
• First and foremost, April’s and the baby’s deaths. I’m conflicted about making this a low point, as I know it’s pretty realistic. The outcome of a major health crisis in a situation like that is tenuous, at best. (And the loss of a young mother and her unborn child was just heart-wrenching.) However, it felt too … convenient to me, getting April out of the way, so Eric is free to be with Mary now. Once he gets over feeling guilty, of course. On the other hand, Eric was in need of some character development by this point in the series, so maybe it’s not such a low point after all.
• Dale and Skylar putting on a show of force and strong-arming the citizenry into honoring their deals with now-dead Gracie. Bravo for trying to get the town to take you seriously, but this is not the way to do it, kids. Might does not equal right.

The overarching theme of the episode seems to be that the people of Jericho are stronger than they think they are. They are living in difficult and life-threatening times, and sometimes you can’t win over impossible odds … but you still have to try. And what could be a better message than that?

Excellent recap, Beth! Thanks for taking part in the great Jericho blogging experiment.

Stay tuned for next week’s the Aug. 17 episode (“A.K.A.”) guest blogs. (Thanks to Rachel and Jane for pointing out to me that there is no episode next week! Pre-season football, Buffalo Bills at the New Orleans Saints. But Jericho will be back Aug. 17.)