Jericho: “Sedition” aftermath
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- March
- 19
I’m trying to confirm the “Season” vs “Series” finale issue. We all know they printed “Season” on the screen. I’m just hoping (frankly, for CBS’ sake as much as my own) that it wasn’t a mistake, because CBS is gonna be in a whole heap of trouble with the fans if they come out with, “Ooops! Sorry! We meant to put the teaser that said ‘Series finale,’ but Oscar in the mailroom misplaced the memo.”
The radio silence is deafening, though. It would be cool if that’s how they decided to announce the decision, but then follow it up with an “official” announcement on the boards or the site or something.
That’s all I’m going to say on that issue, though, because we can all drive ourselves crazy over Jericho’s future, or we can discuss the present. Right here, right now, I choose the latter.
Seeing as I covered a lot of bases during last night’s live thoughts, I’m going to focus on something that might not be the most popular topic right now: Maj. Beck.
I still have faith in the major. That doesn’t mean that I’m not ticked off at him, but he is in a tough spot.
Let’s look at things from his perspective for a moment. Bear with me.
From the very start, Beck declared there would be no revenge killings on his watch. No revenge killings. At all. Remember way back when he went to stop the Rangers from going to New Bern to kill Constantino? When he killed the New Bernians coming to Jericho to kill whoever they were looking for?
As much as Goetz deserved to die, Beck had a point. How are you a nation of laws (even if your government is lawless, which he is only just starting to recognize) when you allow someone to be executed for murder without any sort of public hearing?
Among the things that made the United States so remarkable at its start was the right to a trial by jury and the idea that you were innocent until proven guilty. They are the cornerstones of the American justice system. Sometimes they get in the way of punishing the truly guilty, but more often they ensure the innocent are not wrongly penalized.
The problem here, of course, is that we, the viewer, has more information to go on than Beck. We know J&R is running the government. We know that J&R was behind the attacks. We know that J&R is a lawless corporation that basically has performed a coup d’etat.
Beck is a soldier’s soldier. He helps those he can; bends the rules a teensy bit when appropriate, uses his own judgment in cases where he can be expected to. But he’s a soldier. He has his orders. And he’s an officer. He gives orders and expects that they’ll be followed.
Where I stopped understanding Beck was when he started torturing Jake.
Sure, he didn’t beat Jake up. No, he didn’t waterboard him. Or (24, Erika?) drill through his shoulder or shoot him in the knee. But he did keep him awake for days on end with a super-bright light shining in his face the entire time. He did hold the entire town hostage to try to force Jake to give up his friends.
Though, again, you have to give Beck credit for only wanting the person who actually committed the crime.
I KNOW! It was Stanley. I’m not saying anything bad about Stanley! I’m just saying, I have to have a grudging respect for a man who (initially, at least) only wants to punish the person truly responsible for the crime he has vowed to prosecute.
The whole problem with this, of course, is that J&R/Ravenwood has, of course, shown itself to be unwilling and uninterested in giving those it has arrested a fair trial. So the idea that Beck won’t allow Goetz to be killed without a fair hearing is sort of a red herring.
But, again, I don’t blame Beck for that. And between Hawkins and Jake, I think he’s beginning to realize there’s far more going on than he ever thought possible. When he first donned a uniform for his country, it said “U.S. Army.” Now, it says “A.S. Army.” He has to decide who his allegiance is to — the true United States, which, for the moment, does not even exist any longer, or the new Allied States of Jennings & Rall.
Will Beck choose the right side?
Somehow, I think he will.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 11:58 am by Amy Vernon.
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Good points Amy. Especially about how much more we know. The writers have done a great job keeping Beck in the moment.
I support ya, Amy! But I have to agree that Beck went way too far… I was freaked out over the bag over Jake’s head when they cuffed him. They don’t do that in Kansas, maybe in Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib. But at least by the end I think he was beginning to see the light… I HOPE!
I believe that Beck will end up on the side of the angels too. He’s going to have a real delima when he has to chose between his army training and background, and what he’s going to find out is right and true.
I agree with you about Beck… in the end he is a soldier’s soldier. I have friends like Beck—Navy and Marine men who follow the rules. I love them dearly, but there is a black side and there is white side, and there is no gray area in an issue for them. Beck is realizing there IS a gray area in the current Jericho/New Bern/Jennings and Rall situation, and he’s most probably not had to deal with that before.
The writers are doing a wonderful job of writing this conflict into the storyline, and Esai Morales is doing a superb job of portraying Beck’s own internal conflict with the strictures of his position. That one glance of his at the photo in his helmet said volumes without a word being spoken—is he a soldier or a husband/father? Can the two even co-exist in his world? Which side is right? I think we’ll see this even more next week, and he’ll side with Jake et al.
I’m with you guys on this one. I think Beck is a decent guy but horribly conflicted right now. I live in a military community (and work at the Army Corps of Engineers) and Spygirl is right about a lot of the military mindset being black or white…there are rules and military personnel tend to follow them to the letter, for the most part (black or white). Boy, do they ever get frustrated with those of us in the civilian workforce sometimes, LOL! I think what happens in the real world (or in a real conflict situation) is that those lines do indeed become blurry and it’s quite an adjustment to make, especially when your training drills specific things into your head over and over. I think Beck will end up being on the right side of things because I think the truth will come out and his conscience won’t let him do otherwise. Esai Morales has really been an excellent addition to the cast and I’ve really enjoyed watching his storyline unfold.
Beck’s interest in capturing the “Doer of the Deed” is not about the law nor is it about Justice. It is about showing the town that HE is to be obeyed.
His job is to get the two towns under control and contolled and both towns now have a new and mutual target – J&R / Ravenwood / ASA rather than each other. Beck is not finding it easy to convince citizens of the USA that they are now citizens of the ASA.
I’m thinking that when Mayor Gray comes back next week, he brings back the “new Constitution” and Beck and others will see the light cause I’m gonna bet that “We the People” aren’t going to have the “Right” to do much of anything under the new guvmint!
OH I have to agree with N2N2! I guess when I look at Becks situation, all I can see is that he seems more interested in making sure the townspeople know that “He is in charge and will be obeyed at all times” kind of a guy. Without question….without thought. I don’t like that kind of thinking…..he himself would’t just go thru life not thinking about what someone tells him to do. He would think about it from all sides…doesn’t mean he wouldn’t do what he was told, I just mean he wouldn’t blindly obey and not question. I do feel he is conficted but he is also human and a father and husband. Would he expect the same from his own family? To go thru life at the whim of someone else who is in control and not question? Somehow I doubt that!
I think it would be awesome if next weeks morse code revealed that season 3 is forthcoming. That would be amazing.
Oh, Andrew, you’re so right. That would be incredible. You know that the message boards would light up IMMEDIATELY!
If that were to happen this message board would crash from everyone trying to get on it . THAT WOULD MAKE EVERY FAN BEYOND HAPPY!