Jericho became the little town that could. It became a town that inspired, nurtured dreams, and fed spirits.

What will be Jericho’s fate?

Will Margie and Edna know?

++++

Margie: Edna, you know Mr. Hawkins gave us this phone when he went to Cheyenne because he was afraid something would happen to him. He wanted us to be the ones to tell Darcy.

Edna: Margie, don’t you talk like that. Let’s hope that we won’t have to give any bad news to Darcy. Besides, you know you love having that phone because you think you’ll get some inside information with it.

Margie: Well, Edna, I don’t want bad inside information. You know it was bad enough that Stanley had to wait four days to bury Bonnie.

Edna: Oh, I know, wasn’t that just horrible? With everything else going on in town, and all the hiding-out they had to do, I’m glad he finally got to take her out to the Richmond farm where she belongs.

Margie: Oh, mercy, Edna, it’s the phone! It’s Mr. Hawkins. What? Who shot you?
Edna: Margie, don’t you hog that phone! What’s he saying? Who shot who? Is he dead???

Margie: Oh, Lordy, Edna. He says John Smith shot him. Wait! Jake shot Smith. Oh, Edna, Hawkins is hurt bad!

Edna: Who’s John Smith?? My lands Margie, you’re not even making sense! You tell Jake to get Mr. Hawkins to a doctor, and fast!

Margie: Oh, Edna, get my salts! I’m about to faint. He’s not on the phone anymore. I lost him!

Edna: Margie, are they still in Cheyenne? I’ve been so worried ever since they left to go get that awful bomb back. I’ll be so glad when all of this is over, but I’m worried it won’t ever be! So many awful things have happened in town lately, my nerves are on edge.

Margie: One of the worst things, Edna, is that awful Beck locking Heather in the slammer.

Edna: Oh my lands, don’t even get me started, Margie. I don’t know what he was thinking, locking up a nice girl like Heather. Someone ought to horse-whip him. What has this town come to?

Margie: They’re all idiots, Edna. Phone! Oh my stars! Hello? Mr. Hawkins, are you alive? Edna, they’re in Texas. Hawkins saw a doctor.

Edna: Texas?? What are they doing in Texas, Margie?

Margie: Edna, they’re at the Texas Embassy.

Edna: In Cheyenne? Well mercy, that was a good idea, are they getting some help there, since Texas isn’t part of the new government yet?

Margie: Mercy sakes, Edna, you do rattle on. The Governor is helping them. They have the bomb.

Edna: Now you listen to me Margie, you’re the one with the phone and all the information, so you can excuse me a little rattling on. This is all very confusing! They have the bomb? What are they going to do now?

Margie: What, Mr. Hawkins? The Governor gave you a plane? Do you need me to come fly it?

Edna: Margie, has anyone ever told you that it’s rude to carry on two conversations at once? Mr. Hawkins, if you can hear me, don’t you let Margie fly that plane! She crashed our Model T, you know. Besides, Jake’s a pilot, he knows what he’s doing.

Margie: Edna, why did you grab the phone like that? What’s he saying?

Edna: Oh dear, we lost him again. I think I pressed a button or something Margie, these phones today are so small.

Margie: Edna, maybe it’s that your small mind can’t grasp new-fangled things like mine can.

Edna: Well grasp this Margie, our town is going to H-E-L-L in a handbasket, and right quick too. Little Heather is in jail, poor Stanley’s out burying his sister, and I heard Eric Green is going to strike a deal with that awful Constantino to fight back against the military. My lands, what next??

Margie: I heard they may take my house, Edna. They may even shoot you on sight.

Edna: Your house? You mean our house, you ninny. And they can try and shoot me, but I’ll run them through with my sword. I don’t care if they do call us insurgents, or some such nonsense, they can’t just run us out of our homes. We still have the Constitution, you know.

Margie: Edna, don’t you know they want to have their own Constitution? Where do you think Gray went?

Edna: I’m not an idiot, Margie, I know where Gray went. He’d better do the town right while he’s in Cheyenne. I want to be able to keep my right to bear arms.

Margie: I’ve got my sidearm right here and I’ll blow their heads off. Bring it on, Beck!

Edna: Margie, you always were a hot-head when it came to your pistol. You just calm yourself, we need to think clearly about what’s going on here. I heard that they’re going to send a group of soldiers out to the Richmond farm to arrest poor Stanley!

Margie: Edna, that’s one of the craziest things you ever said. That boy killed that old Goetz in self-defense.

Edna: It wasn’t self-defense, Margie, when he shot him, although I don’t really blame him for doing what he did. Poor Stanley must have been out of his mind with grief. But still, you know that Beck is taking orders from Cheyenne, and he means to keep order in Jericho no matter what. Besides, my information is reliable, even if I’m not getting “secret” phone calls from a spy.

Margie: Reliable? You don’t know what the word means. My source told me that Beck has Hawkins’ laptop.

Edna: Well, I heard the same thing, so I guess your source isn’t so choosy, are they? Did your source also tell you that he looked at it and was mighty surprised at what he saw?

Margie: I know that, Edna. I also know he may be changing his mind about all this.

Edna: Well, my source told me that he let Heather out of jail, how do you like them apples?

Margie: Edna, my source is… Who is yours?

Edna: Margie, I’m not telling you who my source is, you can’t fool me. Just know that they’re reliable. And out of jail…oops.

Margie: Well, did your source tell you that Beck is letting Stanley go?

Edna: My source did tell me that! My source also said that Beck told Cheyenne he’s not taking orders from them anymore. Margie, let’s cut the nonsense, you know we have the same source.

Margie: Maybe we do, Edna, but I can’t say. I’m sworn to secrecy.

Edna: Margie, did your source tell you what Eric decided to do about Constantino?

Margie: I wish he’d killed him.

Edna: Margie! Hush your mouth, you don’t mean that. Eric knows better than to stoop to Constantino’s level, he has more humanity than that.

Margie: I know. Eric is like his daddy. He realized he had to walk away from that evil man.

Edna: You’re so right. Speaking of walks, what do you say that you and I take one? Now that we’re not getting tossed out of our homes, I think we can take a little time to get some fresh air.

Margie: That would be lovely, Edna. I do enjoy a nice stroll. I’ll take this phone too.

Edna: Yes, don’t forget that, we don’t want to miss a call from Mr. Hawkins. Margie look, Gray Anderson is back in town. What’s he doing there with the flagpole?

Margie: Edna, what does that flag say?

Edna: Margie, that looks like Mayor Green’s old “Don’t Tread on Me” flag. My lands, it sure does look nice up there in the breeze, doesn’t it?

Margie: I love that flag, Edna. It means something and it makes me proud of Jericho.

Edna: Me too, Margie. And it’s so much better than that awful Cheyenne flag. This flag means that we won’t go down without a fight, which is what I’ve always loved about the good folks in Jericho.

Margie: Phone! Hello? Mr. Hawkins? What? Oh, say that again. Thank you, Mr. Hawkins.

Edna: Margie, what’s he saying??

Margie: Edna, I’m prouder than a goose. Mr. Hawkins says all is well and we have made history.

Edna: Oh, Margie, do you mean it? Did he really say that? They got themselves and the bomb to Texas safely?

Margie: They’re safe and the bomb is safe.

Edna: Oh thank heavens, that’s the best news I’ve heard in ages. But I still can’t help feeling like things are still up in the air. Do you have that feeling, too?

Margie: Edna, I only have one word for you: NUTS!

Afterword, by Amy:

When I first asked folks I’d never met to do guest blog recaps on Jericho for Remote Access, I was a bit nervous. What if not everyone followed through? What if they were a mess and really poorly written?

It soon became apparent that neither was a rational fear. Several folks did multiple recaps for us and the style, panache and sheer creativity shown has blown my mind on more than one occasion.

Want to thank all who’ve contributed recaps to us and hope there could, somehow, some way be a third season for which you all can continue recapping for us. But for now, I thank you all. I’m not going to name names, because you all know who you are and I don’t want to inadvertently leave anyone out. I think all (or most, at least) of the recaps can be accessed through this link; they definitely are available through this link, to lots more Jericho stuff is on the second one.

Edna & Margie image by Beth/LisiBee; all photos courtesy of CBS.

Our friend Terocious of Jericho Junction volunteered to be one of our Jericho Season 2 guest bloggers and I happily accepted.

What follows is his interpretation of Jake’s thoughts during his delirium under Beck’s torture in Episode 6, “Sedition.” The only other note I need to make is that Tero included lines Jake has uttered from all 28 episodes to date.

Enjoy.

Jericho Season 2, Episode 6: Sedition

Recapping that which was hinted at: Delirium

You think I’m your guy … When I was in Iraq … If I go you go … I was a pool guy … Is that Bonnie? ... Playing minor league baseball … You grew up … There was a girl … I’m about to do something that might cost me my badge … You’re choking me, mom … We’ll get through … What are the stars for? ... How you spell venereal disease … That bomb wasn’t from North Korea … Why do you think I left town?

You think you lost more than me … long winter … Smell that … You’re making a cake … Still has the invitation on the fridge … We need a security force … Things with Beck … sanctioned by you … Are you trying to keep an eye on me? ... He’s a big boy … getting dicey … It’s not gonna wait twelve hours … Used to be my favorite part of year.

It’s heading to your house … I’m not an expert at anything but I can improvise … What do you want to do? ... My Father’s dead … It’s heading to your house … We’re just holding on to these traditions … She couldn’t have been more than 10 or 12 … like nothing happened out there … It’s my fault and no one else’s … He’s FBI; just like he said.

What happened to clearing this with dad? ... Quit pretending you hit a triple … He hasn’t given us the bad news … Believe me, you don’t want to go down this road … He means the nuts story, Grandpa … Is that what I think it is? ... We can barely feed ourselves let alone hundreds more … You have clumsy hands … If that’s what you’re waiting for, you’re going to be here a very long time … When the power spiked, the solenoid shut down in the off position … Get off the truck, Stanley, get of the truck!

That cargo we’re transporting for Ravenwood … We’re just here for medicine, we don’t have a lot of time … Do you have any idea what it is? ... He’s not back all right … You want him dead … And after tomorrow he’s done, he’s gone … you take this gun and blow his brains out … You need to tell me everything … Give your straws to Julie … Don’t use me as excuse for not getting on with your life.

So where is she? Where is Heather? ... I’ll say anything if you’ll just go back in there and keep trying … We can’t give out this food… Zero is the number they found alive … Mercenaries … When was the last time someone was in here? ... we ran across them in Rogue River … I spent most of my teenage years driving these roads … You know how to strip wires … we’ll make up the time … Bonnie, I know Stanley, he’ll be fine … any sign of dad? ... still can’t get used to Bailey’s without the mechanical bull … Just keep breathing, breathe normally all right … No … a screw up … I’m happy for you … Emily …



Thank you so much Terocious. You’re welcome to guest blog here anytime.

And, everyone, please come back this afternoon for the weekly Jericho blog carnival.

Enjoy:

Thanks to Amy for letting me blog here this week. This is as much of an opinion piece as a recap, as I had a unique perspective: Last September, I spent several days on the set watching this episode being filmed. To see the pieces assembled into a final product is fascinating (and an incredible amount of work). So here’s my view of “Jericho” episode 2.5, the first of the “final three” for this second season.

“Termination for Cause” opens in the aftermath of the tragic events at the Richmond ranch at the hands of Ravenwood leader John Goetz (D.B. Sweeney). Bonnie (Shoshannah Stern) is dead, Stanley’s fiancée Mimi (Alicia Coppola) is wounded, and Stanley (Brad Beyer) has seen his life changed forever. Despite concern from Dr. Kenchy (Aasif Mandvi), it’s clear in fairly short order that Mimi will survive.

Jericho commandant Major Beck (Esai Morales) is conveniently moved out of the way early in the show, dealing with a crisis in nearby New Bern, and giving strict instructions to Jake: “Goetz is off-limits. No threats, no retribution, no exceptions. Do you understand?”

Does anyone doubt that Jake would have trouble following those instructions?

Mimi has the goods on Goetz (he’s been embezzling money from his employer, corporate behemoth Jennings and Rall), but Goetz burns the evidence—only to find that Mimi is alive at the Medical Center, a potential witness to his incriminating activities. It’s a matter of minutes before Goetz and his goons show up at the Med Center, and there’s an armed standoff outside the front doors. Jake: “It looks like it’s going to be a long night.”

Meanwhile, Hawkins (Lennie James) continues his Sprint cell phone conversations (fabulous product placement!) with mysterious informant “John Smith.” We learn that President Tomarchio — the unelected head of the new Allied States of America — is in the pocket of Jennings & Rall. “That government and this company,” Smith tells Hawkins, “are one and the same.”

Returning home, Hawkins encounters two men from Ravenwood who claim that his wife is in danger at the Med Center. Hawkins quickly determines that they’re up to no good, breaks the neck of one of the men, and takes the other hostage. Rule #1 in Jericho: DO NOT mess with Robert Hawkins!

Then comes a series of heartbreaking scenes. Mimi, after regaining consciousness, learns about the death of Bonnie. Stanley, in the morgue, signs to Bonnie’s lifeless body: “Mimi is alive because of you. ... Tell Mom and Dad I love them.” Later, Stanley comes to Mimi and speaks of Bonnie: “Wherever she is now, I swear … she’s glad she did it.”

Much like the scene between Johnston and Jake last season in “Heart of Winter,” this is an Emmy-worthy performance from Brad Beyer.

Hawkins approaches the Med Center in a Ravenwood uniform, arousing the curiosity of the clueless man at the door: “What are you doing here? Are we switching posts?” In “Star Trek” terms, this guy is clearly a redshirt. [Amy note: LOL! Absolutely!] Hawkins dispatches him, though we don’t see it onscreen. (This scene, a little over 15 seconds in screen time, took almost 90 minutes to film.)

From there, it’s a fight to the finish as Ravenwood tries to reach Mimi and the Rangers try to stave them off, no thanks to a traitor in their midst who has become a mole to save his farm and his family. When his identity is revealed, Jake sends him home.

With Hawkins’ help, Mimi is able to recreate the information that was in her ledger. Hawkins draws a favor from “John Smith,” while Mimi phones a sympathetic J&R employee, Trish Merrick (Emily Rose) and walks her through the computer system to find the evidence that will incriminate Goetz. Trish e-mails it to Ravenwood headquarters.

Goetz gets word that the Rangers are moving Mimi from the Med Center to the Richmond ranch for protection, but it’s a trick — Jake and his team are hiding in the Med Center until Mimi can be safely moved. Taking his posse to the ranch, Goetz is confronted by the regional director of Ravenwood (who confiscates his rifles and redeploys his troops) and then by Trish, who hands him a piece of paper from his supervisor. “You’re fired,” she tells him. “I hope you rot in hell.” Turning to the trucks behind her, Trish yells, “Leave ‘em here! They can walk back!”

I like Trish already.

But things aren’t over yet: it turns out Jake and the Rangers are hidden in the trees, ready to ambush Goetz and his men. Jake: “Remember, we need him alive!” Goetz: “No way.” There’s a shootout — Goetz and his allies still have handguns. Outmanned, outgunned, Goetz surrenders, just as a group of men from New Bern approaches from the other direction. They want him too.

As Jake and Russell argue over Goetz’ fate, we see a truck pull up in the background, and a familiar figure casually walks up and holds a gun to Goetz’ head.

It’s Stanley.

Will he? Won’t he?

Have you ever seen the end of “Se7en”?

Hawkins to Jake: “This (just) became a whole different deal.”

Cut to Major Beck returning from New Bern to Jericho with his convoy. As they reach the line between the two towns, the Humvee stops, and Beck looks up at a body hanging from a tree.

Next week, Jake clearly has some ‘splainin to do.

Fan favorite Heather (Sprague Grayden) wasn’t in the “A” story of this episode, but nevertheless had some intense scenes with old acquaintances Russell and Mike from New Bern, who inform her that Sheriff Constantino has placed a bounty on her head and that her efforts as Major Beck’s liaison have cost lives in her former hometown. Heather stands her ground, pledging to continue to help Beck. Russell: “It’s not going to be me who Constantino sends after you next.”

Whoa.

Some things you didn’t see in this episode:
• Skeet Ulrich getting stuck in the doors of Jericho Medical as he attempted to back through them after his faceoff with Goetz (I’m sure this made the blooper reel).
• Lennie James singing selections from the chorus of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” between takes, and Skeet asking him, “Do you know any Aretha Franklin?”
• Low-flying airplanes interrupting outdoor shots, and children yelling in Spanish across the street from the set (I thought “Kid Nation” was invading).
• Skeet ad-libbing, “What you talkin’ about, Mister Drummond?” during his scene with turncoat Fred Drummond (Patrick Rowe).
• Sprague Grayden doing take after take of her final scene with Russell (David Meunier) and ending the scene differently each time, including one take where she forlornly sat down at the table and burst into tears.
• Skeet pointing his gun at Deputy Bill’s head for no apparent reason.
• Me. I’m only a few feet off screen in several scenes, along with the director, the producers, the sound mixer, the script supervisor, and a small army of people making sure everything plays as it should.

The experience of a lifetime. Being there, watching this episode, sharing it with you.

Five down. Two to go.

OK, enough of my yapping, here’s Lisa’s recap:

Review of Oversight, Episode 4

This week’s episode was the best so far for many reasons, all of which are subjective to the person who is speaking about it. My reasons also are varied, and in watching the episode online again a few times for
this review, I found myself seeing new things about us, the Americans.

First of all, Bonnie. She stepped up to the plate and protected her home, her family. She was raised on a farm, guns are no stranger to her. But it is more than the simple fact that she took a gun in hand to protect her family, it was and is about how each of us, no matter how limited we may seem to ourselves, have that same quality and when push comes to shove, wee will — all of us — stand and deliver.

Bonnie was amazing not only because she protected with out fear, but because her dying gift to the viewers was the message that we all can and will do the same when the time comes. We just needed to have that point made clear in a way we won’t ever forget.

I have no wish to turn this entire post into a eulogy for Bonnie Richmond, because the boards have certainly become the place where she will live on forever. I wish to instead congratulate Shoshannah Stern for an amazing character who would never have been as memorable has she been played by anyone else, and for giving us the best show, period.

Whew, where to start? The LA Times reporter whose title, “Bet you did not see that coming” was so very right. The spoiler photos we all saw had us all guessing as to who would be the one to die, so we were expecting someone to be leaving our Jericho Family, but Bonnie?

Goetz has replaced Phil Constantino as the man to hate the most, that is for sure. Phil was reacting to stresses, Goetz is the stress to react to.

Hawkins gets a new call from our famous unknown, John Smith (more on him at the bottom of this review) who tells Hawkins that he knows all about Project Red Bell, Hawkins’ involvement with the bomb. He tells Hawkins they have “goals in common.” John Smith knows who all the players are, knows about Valente. At this point, Hawkins hangs up. John Smith calls back , and when Hawkins answers he tells John Smith that he does this only on his terms. JS agrees to this, and then tells Hawkins he is one day away from being caught! (keep this point in mind for later)

Dale’s store was shut down until he registered with J&R for a complete investigation of his contents by Goetz and company, err I mean Jennings and Rall.

The meeting at Bailey’s was interesting due to how many townspeople showed up, pretty gutsy if you think you know J&R is bad news. Emily tells the folks that Boston Tea Party, the Revolution, was started with
meetings just like this one they are in now. They are discussing loudly that they need a land route to funnel in supplies, and how Dale has the connections. Stanley is not convinced his farm needs to be involved, because J&R is a week away from giving him his farm back. He tells everyone that it’s not Red Dawn, that they did not need to throw in with ‘criminals,’ which Skylar took exception to. She reminded Stanley that the “criminals” he is referring to were responsible for getting everyone the shot against the Hudson River Virus. Stanley tells them all he is out and leaves Bailey’s.

Jake goes to see Hawkins at the cabin, where Hawkins tells him about the data to prove where the bomb is, the radiation data, has to be gotten out of Beck’s office within 24 hours. When Hawkins leaves, Jake asks where he is going, and Hawkins says he has a house to burn down.

Mimi meanwhile, goes to see Trish to tell her about the discrepancy she found in her accounting ledger. Trish seems to not know about this, and wonders how this could happen. Mimi tells her that she needs to find out who could have had access to the money besides those who are legit. Trish tells her not to worry, that she would take care of it and Mimi leaves, seemingly at ease.

Jake gets to the Sheriff’s office to find out that Beck’s office is being retrofitted for thumbprint access, which only 8 people will have. And the only one Jake can possibly get access to is Heather.

Heather, meanwhile is in Beck’s office talking to him as the briefcase of Aerial Radiation Survey Data arrives. She is discussing the New Bern upswing in curfew violations, which Beck says means they are testing the fence.

Jake has to go back to the cabin to tell Hawkins about the retrofit of Beck’s office, and Hawkins tells Jake he has to adapt to the fast changes in the field. Jake tells him there is only one person they can have gain access, Heather. Hawkins does not like that Jake always wants to bring new people into this, telling Jake that this is not a secret club house, but in the end Hawkins knows he has to accept Heather’s being brought
in on this.

When Jake brings Heather to the Green house to meet Hawkins and hear the story, she is in shock. Hawkins tells her this is about the future of our country.

Back at J&R, Trish is talking to Bonnie when Goetz comes up to them. Trish introduces Bonnie to Goetz, and then she and Goetz go into his office to talk about the missing money.

Trish tells him about how Mimi has a separate set of books that shows the discrepancy and Trish tells Goetz that because they know J&R takes embezzling very seriously she expects him to take this seriously
as well.

Mary tries to get a way into the town without crossing into private lands, and what better way then under the Army’s nose, right through the checkpoints. She has a soldier she is friendly with, Timmy, who agrees
to let her shipment of booze through a checkpoint that night.

Back in Jake’s house, Heather is still trying to digest all she is being told by Hawkins. Jake then tells her about the binder in Beck’s office. She defends Beck as a good man and they say he is but is taking orders from bad people in the Cheyenne government. Heather is not happy when Jake asks her to get the page from the binder, but reluctantly agrees. Now Hawkins has to get Beck out of the office so Heather can get in.

In Beck’s office, Hawkins tells the major about a reported sighting of Sarah Mason in Nebraska by one of his supposed informants who is in a road gang. Beck agrees to take soldiers and head to the farmhouse in Nebraska where she was to have been sighted.

Meanwhile, Stanley and Bonnie are walking across from the J&R offices, when they see Goetz drive up with Dale inside the Hummer because Goetz had been informed by a local, Fred, that Dale was the person who was bringing contraband into Jericho. Dale had been caught but is not being treated like a U.S. citizen, no judge, no trial.

Beck and Hawkins arrive at the still-smoldering farmhouse, where a male body is found badly burned, as well as a relatively unscathed hard drive, and gun shells.

Heather goes into Beck’s office, and finds the binder she was told to look for, finds the page and takes it out. As she is placing the binder back into the shelf, a sergeant comes into the office and asks her what she is doing in the office.

Jake, Eric and the others go to Goetz and demands Dale be released where Goetz tells them he has sent Dale on to Loomer Ridge. They have to act fast to get to Dale before it’s too late. Jake tells Eric to get a hold of Beck, tell him what has happened so he can gain control of Dale. Bill outlines what J&R has done illegally so far, asking what’s next.

Beck arrives back at his office to find that Heather is being held by the sergeant. Beck asks Heather if she was looking at anything other than the New Bern files, she answers, “No,” but the sergeant says he does not
believe this to be true. Beck dismisses him, and tells Heather he hoped that the sergeant’s actions did not color her faith in his office, that he would consider that to be a crime.

As Dale is being transported by the MPs to Loomer Ridge, Jake, Stanley and Bill block the road. Beck gets to the MP who is holding a gun on them just in time and Beck tells him he wants to talk to Jake.

Jake takes the radio phone, and Beck asks him why he should say Dale is a informant for a terror investigation. Jake tells him Dale is just a 16-year-old kid and if Beck does this, Goetz loses his authority over Dale, and that would keep Dale out of prison. Dale is freed into Jake’s custody.

Goetz meanwhile has gone to visit Mimi in her office at J&R about the ledger she has. He tells her he wants to see her ledger, she tells him that in order to be the independent oversight, she needs to be independent.

He then tells her he wants that ledger brought to him and she agrees. When she leaves, you know she knows he is bad news.

Beck gets the data from the hard drive found at the burned farmhouse. All Sarah’s communiques with the “buyer” and — more telling to him — the surveillance on her drive, the video showing Valente and an unknown man (who I believe is Goetz). [Amy note: Oooh, Lisa, interesting. I hadn’t thought about Goetz being directly involved with Valente before the bombs were dropped. Hmmm.]

Beck orders the lieutenant out of the office, and looks at the photo of Valente. He then shows all this intel to Hawkins, and for a few seconds Hawkins looks obvious, at least to me.

Beck tells him he does not believe Hawkins’ story of a informant, that all the info Hawkins has given to him up to now was just too easy.

Hawkins comes back great though, playing it back on Beck’s court and saying it appeared Beck was upset over what he found on the drive, something Beck does not want to believe. Beck then shows Hawkins the video of Valente, and tells Hawkins he knows Valente lied to him about Sarah not working for the government.

Mimi goes home and Bonnie is there, she asks Mimi if something is wrong. Mimi tells her about the money being stolen. Mimi knows Goetz is behind it and he knows she knows. As Mimi is explaining this to Bonnie,
Goetz shows up at the house.

Mimi tells Bonnie they need to hide but Bonnie says she will tell Goetz that Mimi is not around. Goetz recalls meeting Bonnie, and asks for Mimi. Bonnie says she is not home. He and his goons say they are going to look inside (so much for needing a warrant). Mimi runs into the pantry, telling Bonnie to come, but she looks around and Bonnie is not behind her.

Goetz shoots his way inside to find our Bonnie prepared and ready to defend the ranch. Shooting begins, and a shot hits Mimi in the chest. All she hears is gunfire, and then silence. Mimi crawls to the wall and tries to see through a hole, but then passes out never knowing Bonnie was killed. (I hope Bonnie shot Goetz right in his, well you know where.)

Back in the cabin, Hawkins gets another call from John Smith, and John asks Hawkins if the bomb is safe. Hawkins says yes, and asks him why he is helping him. Here is a very important clue, at 40:21 in the show we hear John Smith answer this question, saying “I want the truth to come out, same as you.”

Listen very carefully to his voice and you will tell that it is in fact Beck who is on the phone. Beck is John Smith. Now, this is my opinion, not based on written fact, rather based on the way Beck speaks: the way he exhales on certain words that is very distinguishable. [Amy note: Very interesting, Lisa. I know the voice is extremely recognizable, but I haven’t been able to decide if I recognize the actor’s voice or if I recognize him because he’s on the show. Someone else — I think it was Len Neighbors on the Athens Exchange — believes him to be Xander Berkeley, who played George Mason on 24, among other roles. Hmmm. That would be very interesting if you’re right!]

John smith tells Hawkins the company is behind the attacks, and mentions Project Red Bell (another hint to John Smith’s identity). He tells Hawkins that project is about Hawkins and his teammates in the bomb plots. He then sends Hawkins a report via scan, titled “Continuity of Government Report” dated 1993! Hawkins asks what this is, and John Smith tells him it is a disaster plan commissioned by the government and prepared by none other than Jennings and Rall!

The whole plan laid out on paper, all the details all made by Jennings and Rall. It got out and was implemented by someone, Hawkins asks John Smith how he knows about this, and JS says because he helped write it!

At the Richmond ranch, Jake and Bill show up, Eric is there with an ambulance. Jake walks into the house, sees Mimi on a stretcher and there is poor Stanley, holding Bonnie, dead, in his arms.

Now commences the fight of Jericho’s very existence, the same as referred to by Johnston in “Why We Fight.”

This is why we fight!

Photos courtesy of CBS. RIP, Bonnie Richmond and thank you, Shoshannah Stern.

Despite a bout with the plague this week, she came through this this fantastic recap of Episode 3, “Jennings & Rall.” So, visit Jericho Monster this afternoon for the Blackjack Fairgrounds blog carnival, and read on for kricka’s thoughts on Tuesday’s ep:

Okay, about eight bajillion things happened in this episode, so this one was really hard! And really long!

It is the episode of old friends and enemies returning to do cool and terrible things, while our heroes fight the incoming Hudson River virus, Ravenwood, Jennings & Rall and the evil overlords of Cheyenne.

First off is Dale, the little boy who is looking more like a man this season, being stopped in Missouri (Missoura?) by what is obviously an Army roadblock. While trying to weasel his way past these guys with his station wagon and big truck of goods, we see a Humvee full of gas-masked soldiers heading down the road, creeping out us, Dale and the composer of this show, if the music is anything to go by. [Ed note: OK, Erika’s already cracked me up.]

Back in Kansas, we see our temporary Mayor Green (previously Stupid Ol’ Eric), Sheriff Green (previously SuperSkeet) and Major Beck walking down the street heading straight for our second returning character of the night, the Eeee-vil Goetz. Once Jake gets an eyeful of Goetz he instinctively reaches for his sidearm while attempting to lunge for Goetz, with only Major Beck between them, and Mayor Eric throwing Goetz the evil eye for good measure (you get ‘im Eric!). Beck does his best to calm down Jake, and then Goetz pulls Jake over for another one of the endless heart-to-hearts that Jake receives this season. Only Goetz gets (heh) all corporate smarmy on Jake, and quietly threatens Jake with his Iraq file, calling the kettle black by trying to guilt Jake about what he did in Saffa. Huh, Goetz, ‘cause what Jake did is totally worse than what you did in Rogue River or New Bern, right? Creepiest guy in a golf shirt ever.

Jimmy is out of the hospital! And immediately spills the beans about Sarah Mason, sending Darcy in a panic off to the Green hunting cabin, and forcing Hawkins to throw himself on the grenade, even though Hawkins is so awesome that even a grenade can not kill him! So Hawkins drops the FBI badge on Beck’s desk and spends a good part of this episode playing Beck like the sexy, gorgeous violin that he is, one pretty note at a time, until … Well, let’s get back to that later.

Jake finally tells Eric what happened to him in Iraq, and why Jennings & Rall is the evil-est of all evils. The way these two brothers are finally working together this season would make Johnston proud, I tell ya.

Meanwhile, Dale gets back to town, and Emily, still with the stupid blond ringlets (please, let this woman get rid of the extensions!!), is told all about how the virus has jumped the blue line, and I wonder, why is she so suprised about this? Does Jake not confide in her with the pillow talk at night? Maybe Jake thinks she’s as useless as I do? Eh, probably just the writers having a hard time pinning her down now that all the angsty relationship stuff is over, but really, Jake should have told her what he found out from the reporter.

We get our first Hawkins/Jake scene in the Sheriff’s office, and they are all whispery and information heavy and they obviously love each other, I mean, look at the gorgeous lighting and the furtive glances … I love these two.

Once again, Dale gets screwed, only this time it’s by Goetz and his corporate minions who come into Gracie’s Market and take a good chunk of what Dale has brought back from his travels, including the black market Hudson Virus vaccine,
leading our heroes to convene in the back of the market, on the radio, trying to come to terms with the virus and the moves of J&R. They (Emily, Heather, Jake, Eric and Dale) are not happy. Eric decides to continue shedding his stupid reputation and heads over to J&R to try and find an ally, while Jake sends Emily over to the hospital to try and enlist the help of Kenchy. Wait! Did he say Kenchy? You mean he hasn’t high-tailed it out of Jericho back to Vegas yet? ... Awesome.

I would like to pause for a moment and give major props to Carol Barbee & Co. for their continuity brilliance. A show this complex is hard to keep a tether on, and I think they have done a great job, for the most part, holding it all together. They must have one of those conspiracy walls like Charlie Crews does over on that show Life (which is also quite awesome).

Anyway, Emily gets Kenchy in on the vaccinate-the-town scheme (Emily doesn’t know what herd immunity is? She frakkin’ grew up in a farm town … oh, Emily), while Eric finds out he might have an ally in Trish over at the creepiest new building in Jericho. While Jake and Hawkins prove once again that they are both sneaky buggers, sharing their plans right under Jimmy’s finger-printin’ nose, and if these two don’t hug soon, I don’t know what I will do with myself! [Ed note: Whoa, Erika. Pace yourself.]

Next may be my favorite scene in the episode. Jake and Dale, the two skinniest boys in town apparently, have a conversation about robbing J&R. Only Jake never tells Dale to do it. He just guides Dale through J&R protocols in a quiet and well lit moment, and leaves Dale with the dirty work. And really, you know Dale just loves this, ‘cause he is just a little thief at heart, right?

Hawkins is once again talking to Beck, and we actually see Beck start to doubt Cheyenne. And once he gets the Giant Talking Head of Doom on his flat-screen to deny everything Hawkins has said about Sarah, we know he is in! And when Beck drops the tidbit that he knows Sarah has the bomb, I think he is not only seeing if Hawkins knows what he knows, but to see if that info is true. Of course, Hawkins is way too cool to let Beck think anything else. Besides, Hawkins is already thinking about one hundred steps ahead of everyone in the room, and the secret coded message he pinched from Beck’s fax machine is burning a hole in his pocket.

Back in the warehouse, Dale and his non-evil minions arrive with the pilfered vaccine. While Emily helps divide the doses up, Jake heads out to find Kenchy, who is late and, as we know, being strong-armed by Goetz. I love that we get both of these characters back in the same episode, since we were introduced to both of them in the same episode back in season one. Nice!

Unfortunately, Kenchy is still a huge mess, and he is no match for Goetz and his evil golf shirt, and he spills the beans right before Jake arrives to save him. But that doesn’t matter! Because SuperSkeet reemerges and makes it back to the warehouse before Goetz and his minions arrive, sends off Emily, Dale, et al with the vaccine, and pulls out that sidearm he so desperately wanted to use back in the first act of the show. Jake points and turns all over the warehouse looking for Goetz, until they end up gun to gun, each with the itchiest of trigger fingers.

But before either has a chance to shoot the other, one of the evil minions gets a call from the J&R Head Cheese telling them that the vaccines aren’t stolen after all! Hey, imagine that Goetz, your chance to shoot Jake has been thwarted once again! Hooray!

Kenchy insists on Jake being inoculated … awwww. Everybody loves Jake! And while the rest of the town lines up for their shots, we see Trish shred the evidence about the vaccines, letting us know that she is the non-evil part of the evil J&R.

And in the hunting cabin, Hawkins awesomely decodes the fax by pulling a phone number while telling us that’s the super-duper secret way him and his team communicate with each other. Right before he pushes the send button on his phone, we see him have about five thousand different thoughts (awesome), and we hear, “You found my message in a bottle,” he knows who Hawkins is, he knows what Hawkins is trying to do, and he wants to help … ooooooooh, and AWESOME.

Also in this episode, Heather sweetly and quietly saves a whole other frakkin’ town by being her lovely self with Beck, who lets us in on how sweet and lovely he is while acknowledging that he helped save that town. Bonnie decides to leave the sweetest family on TV ever and head on out to Cheyenne. To which I say, NOOOOoooooo, Bonnie! Don’t go!!!!! I am really worried about this, and I swear to God, if anything happens to that girl, this gal will be livid.

_

Once again, Erika has proven she’s the funniest girl in the room.

Not shockingly, Yvonne still managed to top me, snagging details I missed, forgot to get or didn’t know (the reporter’s name and what the Morse code meant, as examples, as well as the tangorita details in the first paragraph of her recap).

So, come back this afternoon for the Blackjack Fairgrounds blog carnival, and read on for Yvonne’s fantastic recap:

The first scene of the episode “Condor” opens with Stanley Richmond doing what Stanley does best: being thoughtful, attentive and romantic. (Remember when he made Mimi the tangorita on Thanksgiving in an attempt to produce a close facsimile of her favorite drink, the Mangorita? It was evident he was a keeper back then!)

Mimi wakes up and finds that Stanley has left a single red rose and a note saying “go outside,” complete with a smiley face, on a table at the foot of the stairs. Mimi goes out on the front porch and finds that Stanley has set up a beautiful table and prepared her a wonderful breakfast in celebration of her first day at her new job with Jennings and Rall.

“This is a big day. You get to be an accountant again. Count things, add things up. Maybe even a little subtraction, right?”

This gets Mimi started on how organized Jennings and Rall is, with their bar codes and spreadsheets and how they know where everything is, has been and where it’s going. “I’ve forgotten how beautiful order can be.”

“That’s probably the most boring story I’ve heard in months.” Mimi frowns at Stanley and looks hurt. “No, I love it. I mean, just a few weeks ago, we were sitting at this table, trying to figure out how to defend our farm from the next town over. Now, we’re sitting here, we’re about to eat pancakes with actual chocolate chips in them and you’re blabbing on about tracking packages.”

Just as Mimi leans over and kisses Stanley, a helicopter that clearly belongs to the new Cheyenne government (as evidenced by the new flag on the side) lands in front of Stanley’s house. The deputy communications director for President Tomarchio, Ken Kalley, steps out and asks Stanley if he is Stanley Richmond. Stanley confirms his identity and is told that the President wants to address the Nation (meaning the Allied States of America, under the government in Cheyenne) from the front porch of Stanley’s house.

Cut to Jake in town, overseeing the removal of cars from the street and the repairing of streetlights, in anticipation of the President’s arrival. Major Beck makes a comment about Jake’s sheriff’s uniform (or lack thereof), which consists of jeans and a T-shirt. Jake replies that he is “pacing himself” and shows Beck that at least he’s wearing the badge. Jake questions his need to be there, since the Secret Service is really handling all the details. Beck says that insider intel is always the best and then he informs Jake that “Condor” (the code name for the President, because the condor is the biggest bird in the West) will be arriving soon.

Next we see Hawkins and Chavez in the hunting cabin that belonged to Jake’s grandfather, going over a map and plotting out how Chavez can obtain the password for something (we aren’t sure for what yet). The plan is make their move while President Tomarchio is doing his 20-minute scheduled stop on Main Street in Jericho (Hawkins has set up two diversions that will take place during this time).

Next, the opening logo for Jericho appears, with the Morse code for this episode saying “J & R ran boxcar.”

Back in town, Major Beck is showing Jake around the “state of the art” command center that has been set up for the President’s arrival. Word comes in that the President will be arriving MUCH sooner than expected, so Beck sends Chavez (who is known to Major Beck as Lt. Parker) to secure the street outside for the arrival. Darcy leaves and walks over to Bailey’s where she sits down at a booth where her husband is sitting. She tells Hawkins that Chavez was sent out on patrol. “Did he get the password?” Robert asks. Darcy says she’s not sure. “If he did, he didn’t have a chance to give it to me. What if he’s not back in time?” Hawkins says he assumes he won’t be and that he’ll have to take care of it himself. “How, Robert? You’ll never get past all that security!” He tells Darcy that he needs to get his hands on one of their secure walkie talkies, a task Darcy then volunteers to do. He warns her that this is more than just eavesdropping or copying a few papers. She tells him she can handle taking a walkie talkie without being noticed. Hawkins smiles at his wife, obviously very proud of her.

We go back to the Richmond farm and see that the advance team is decorating the house for the President’s speech. Mimi is talking to Stanley about the gift registry for the wedding (standing beside them is Stanley’s sister, Bonnie! Glad she’s back, but it’s disconcerting to see her real name, Shoshannah Stern, listed as a “special guest star” rather than a regular cast member, in the opening credits). Stanley (who despite being wonderful, doesn’t always think before he opens his mouth) quips that Mimi’s friends will have to buy the expensive gifts, because he’s not making any of his friends buy an espresso maker. Stanley apparently forgot that all of Mimi’s friends and relatives are probably dead, due to fact one of the nuclear bombs went off in Mimi’s hometown of Washington, D.C. This fact isn’t lost on Bonnie though, who smacks Stanley on the shoulder (after Mimi excuses herself to go check on the progress of the decorating) and reminds him that she doesn’t have anyone to invite.

Meanwhile at the Command Center, Beck is running facial recognition software on everyone in town to find out who has a criminal past and may be a threat to the President during his visit. (We see the face of Dan Shotz, one of Jericho’s producers, come up on the computer screen). Beck explains to Jake what they are doing and why and tells Jake to let him know if there is anyone he can think of that should be added to the list of people restricted from secure areas today. Jake comments to Beck that he might be in the system, to which Beck replies, “You’re not.” Jake then asks Beck if he’s seen his file and Beck replies simply that “a lot of files come across my desk.”

Cut over to Mayor Gray Anderson’s office, where Eric Green and Emily are bringing a new history textbook, ordered for the school by Jennings & Rall, to his attention. The cover of the book shows the new flag of the “Allied States of America” and is entitled “A New America: A Comprehensive History.” Eric points out to Gray that the book talks about how the Cuban Missile crisis failed because we didn’t attack Russia and how we pulled out the Vietnam War too early. “At what point is this a country we don’t recognize?” Eric asks Gray. Gray is unfazed and says that the new government has saved Jericho and that this therefore entitles them to their own point of view.

Back at Command Center, where the facial recognition software is still doing its thing, it suddenly stops on Emily’s picture and flags her. A stranger walks up to Jake and says “Those terrorists just keep getting better looking, don’t they?” Jake asks if he can help him and the man introduces himself as Alex Utley. Jake makes a comment about the press credentials he’s wearing: “The Modesto Bee, eh?” Utley responds with, “We’re the second-largest paper in California now, though we had a lot of help.” Jake asks if that’s supposed to be a joke. “I guess not,” is Alex’s reply. He asks if the girl that has been flagged is a friend of his. Jake says she is and tells him that she’s a school teacher and has been flagged due to the fact that her father runs a road gang in the area. “I don’t know why that makes HER a threat,” Jake comments. Alex responds, saying “Well I think they’d say there’s no such thing as being too careful.” Jake asks if he’s reporting on the government or for them. “Yes,” is the reply.

Jake glances up and sees Darcy put something in her purse. She leaves and Jake gets up to follow her. Darcy manages to make it across the street, but Jake is cut off by the arrival of the Presidential motorcade. President Tomarchio arrives and steps out of his car and proceeds to glad hand and back slap various people in the crowd, as well as the taking time for the required photo ops with the kids in town. Darcy heads into Bailey’s where she tells Hawkins that she’s secured the walkie talkie. He tells her he needs for her to buy him as much time as she can and she leaves to go over to Town Hall. Jake walks into Bailey’s where he attempts to have a word with Hawkins. He asks him what’s going on, telling him that he saw Darcy take the walkie talkie. A secret service agent walks in and calls out to Jake, and Hawkins takes that opportunity to slip out. The agent asks if Jake has the missing walkie talkie and he proceeds to frisk Jake and then Alex Utley, who were both in the command center at the time. Jake tries to leave and follow Hawkins, but is told he has to stay put.

Back to the President, who is offering his condolences to Eric on the loss of his father, stating that he would have liked to have known him. He then asks Mayor Anderson if he’d like to represent the area at the new Constitutional Convention. “Constitutional Convention?” Eric asks. President Tomarchio responds, “We have the opportunity to write the next chapter in American history — the triumph of Democracy over the forces of evil. Think about it; we’ll need good men like you to keep this country strong.” Gray says he’d be honored to participate. Suddenly, a bunch of Secret Service agents come rushing in shouting, “Crash Condor.” They rush President Tomarchio to a secure room, as the missing walkie talkie is viewed as a serious security threat. Darcy, looking extremely nervous, tries to leave the sheriff’s office, but is stopped by Beck who tells her that everyone is on lockdown until the walkie talkie is recovered.

Meanwhile, back at Bailey’s, Jake asks Alex why he isn’t reporting about the “Crash Condor.” Alex tells him that the government doesn’t like incidents like this being reported on “and they control my credentials.” Jake then questions what kind of reporter he is, not wanting to make any waves. “A working one,” is the reply. Alex asks Jake if he’s heard of the Hudson River Virus and Jake says he heard about it on the news and that they were reporting they were able to stop the virus before it crossed the Mississippi River. Alex says that the truth is that it has crossed the “Blue Line” (the code name for the Mississippi which is heavily guarded by UN Peace Keepers). Jake responds by saying since no one is reporting the real news, he guesses that gets Alex off the hook as well. Alex tells him that before this he worked for the L.A. Times and won two Pulitzer prizes, “so I’ve got a pretty good idea about what it means to be a journalist and they don’t exist anymore.”

We go back to Gray and Eric; Gray’s asking Eric if his mom will be at the speech today. Eric tells him Gail went to stay with relatives in Cedar Brook. Gray responds that it’s probably too hard for her to be around here right now. Eric says, “You should be glad she’s not here. She would have thrown that new history book right in the Presidents face!” (Oh HECK yeah she would have and that would have been NOTHING compared to what Margie and Edna would have done if they had known about all this!) Eric asks, “How does a government no one voted for change the Constitution? We found time to have an election. Of all people, I think you would remember that.” Gray looks troubled by that statement. (As he darn well should! This is serious business.)

At Bailey’s, Jake says, “So you’re a real reporter, huh?” and says the news is reporting that the nukes were North Korean and financed by Iran. “Is that the whole story?” Alex responds by saying there are a lot of theories. Jake comes back, asking what if our government blew up two countries that had nothing to do with the attacks? Alex retorts by saying that he wrote a story about the holes in port security three years before the nuclear attacks and that the story lacked the “zazz” to make the headlines and was buried on page C18. “People get the news they deserve.” “No,” Jake responds, “people get the news they’re given; it just takes someone willing to give it to them.” Alex says he remembers when “two men with a typewriter took down the White House because people listened. They got angry and they acted.” (He’s referencing Woodward and Bernstein of the Washington Post breaking the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration.) “If I thought anyone was willing to listen anymore, believe me, I’d be talking.”

Back to Darcy, who definitely isn’t the most composed person under pressure! (I have a feeling she’s going to get better and better at this as time goes on though!) A Secret Service man has approached her and tells her he wants to look inside her purse. Major Beck steps up and asks him if that’s really necessary. He is told that it is and Darcy hands him her purse. Meanwhile, we see the files Hawkins is still downloading files and that the download is only a little over 50% complete. Yikes! Interestingly though, Major Beck looks across the room and sees the walkie talkie on a shelf. “You searched the entire office, huh?” Beck asks the Secret Service guy as he points it out to him. Boy, does the agent look embarrassed! I don’t see how Darcy could have pulled that off, but she did! (Woohoo, go Darcy!) The Secret Service agent radios that the missing walkie talkie has been found and is secure.

As Jake hears this come across he realizes that Hawkins is responsible for the whole thing. Hawkins, in the meantime, has almost completed the download. Just as he’s getting ready to leave, he hears someone coming and hides behind the door. He manages to knock the first guy through the door out and Chavez is coming up behind them and takes several others out. Beck orders Jake and his other men to stop Chavez and Chavez then proceeds to attack Jake. As he’s laying on top of him, he tells Jake to “find Hawkins” before he’s pulled off and hauled away.

Hawkins has managed to escape during the chaos and makes it back to the farmhouse. Jake walks in and is almost shot by Hawkins, who is startled. Jake is furious with Hawkins for not telling him that he had Chavez planted in the military. Hawkins asks Jake to check his pockets and Jake pulls out a piece of paper Chavez put there during their scuffle. It’s the password. Hawkins explains to Jake that the reports that are being shown say that the fuel for the nuclear bombs came from North Korea. The real info is on the files that Hawkins has downloaded, somewhere. He tries the password and it works. He finds the information, which says that the fuel officially came from a former Soviet territory. Hawkins says the information they have just found is only the paper trail and that the weapon he is holding is the hard evidence. The problem now, however, is that this information has to get to Texas in order to prevent them from joining the Cheyenne government. Hawkins explains to Jake that Chavez was the one with the contacts down there and that he’s about to be put into a maximum security prison in Colorado. Jake suggests using the reporter. Hawkins doesn’t like the idea but Jake tells him that he’s spent all this time trusting him. “Now it’s time for you to trust me.”

Jake takes the story to the Alex, who wants to break it. Jake warns him that he cannot call this story in, the Cheyenne government will hear if he tries to call it in on a government issued phone. He tells Alex to to leave the press pool and drive straight to Modesto. He references the “two men with the typewriter,” meaning that Jake and Alex are now the two men breaking the government conspiracy wide open.

We go back to Stanley’s farm, where Trish is helping to set up. Trish, it turns out, speaks sign language. Bonnie asks Trish to do her a favor. She explains that Stanley is getting ready to marry Mimi. Trish tells Bonnie that Mimi scares her. “Me too, but it just so happens I like her,” Bonnie responds.

Meanwhile, Beck is questioning Chavez, asking him what he was after that was so important. Chavez doesn’t say anything and won’t tell Beck who he really is. “I’m a dead man,” is all Chavez will say. Beck tells his men to run send Chavez’s fingerprints and other identification to Camp Laramie, so they can find out who he really is.

Meanwhile, Jake is out on the street and some men come walking out of Bailey’s with a body bag to load into a hearse. They are saying that some guy had a heart attack and died. Jake stops them before they load the body and unzips the bag. It’s the reporter, Alex Utley. [Ed note: Now Yvonne’s just showing off, saying his whole name again, given that I forgot to write his name down! LOL]

Back at the farm, the President is speaking, honoring the men and women that died in the battle that took place here between Jericho and New Bern.

We go back to Jake and Hawkins at the cabin, where Hawkins is unable to open one of the files with the password he has. Jake tells Hawkins that the reporter is dead and throws his badge down on the table in defeat.

Back to the President, who has taken the flag that has been folded from the Honor Guard. The President then hands the flag to Mayor Anderson (not to Eric, who has lost his father? Boo!). The Honor Guard then does their 21-gun salute to honor the dead.

Once again, we go back to Jake and Hawkins, who have concluded that the reporter made the mistake of calling the paper. (Apparently, he was under the false delusion that other people had this story and he needed to be the first to break it! It didn’t work out so well for him, unfortunately, and no one else had the story to begin with, so I don’t get why he didn’t listen to Jake). Jake is having a really hard time letting all this go and Hawkins makes it clear to him that he can’t afford for Jake to be his problem right now.

Meanwhile, the President is continuing his “patriotic” speech, saying that the Cheyenne government acted while the true federal government was just debating the proper response. He explains to the crowd that the new flag still has 13 stripes still representing the 13 colonies, but now they run in a new direction, “just as we must chart a new direction for ourselves. In a few short weeks, Mayor Anderson will represent you as we ratify a Constitution for this new nation that will be known to the world by a new name: The Allied States of America. And with this new name, a clean slate. Our debts have been forgiven and we are open again for business. That means jobs, stocked shelves, a return to life as we knew it. And, in the fall, we’ll have elections, where we can all take part in building a new government, as a safer stronger America. God bless you and God bless the Allied States of America.” Most of the crowd is cheering, but Eric and Gray look worried.

Some of the army guys under Beck’s command are escorting Chavez out so that he can be delivered to the prison in Colorado. Jake jumps him, but Beck tells him to let it go, that Chavez will get what’s coming to him. Beck returns to his office where a lieutenant gives him the information they’ve gotten back on Chavez’s identity. It turns out that Chavez stole the identity of a soldier that died in Afghanistan in 2003 and Beck realizes that Chavez is “black ops.” He tries to reach the soldiers escorting him by radio, but we flash to the jeep they were travelling in and see that Chavez has killed them all.

Back at Mayor Anderson’s office, Eric walks in to give Gray the flag he left behind at the ranch. Eric then gets on the mayor’s case for not asking the President any questions. Gray responds by saying that he wants to go to the Constitutional convention and that wouldn’t happen if he had made waves at the speech today. He then pulls out a framed “Don’t Tread on Me” flag that had hung in the office when Johnston was mayor. He had found it in storage and pulled it out. He tells Eric that he’s going to the convention to ask all those questions and that he’ll keep asking until they give him the answers. “I just don’t want them to see me coming.” He asks Eric to serve as mayor in his absence.

We go back to Beck in his office, who is having a video conference with Valente. Valente is giving Beck hell for the incident with Chavez and then asks about Sarah and how the hunt for her is going. Valente, who is not letting Beck talk, concludes the there is too much going on and that the responsibility is overwhelming for Beck. He says he going to send him some help in the form of a “private contractor who knows the area.” That will free up Beck to look for Sarah while the contractors run the day-to-day stuff.

Jake comes in and Beck, knowing that Jake is involved in all this somehow, asks Jake how he thinks Chavez got out of his handcuffs. Jake says that he was a spook and that he probably picked the lock on his handcuffs. Beck replies with, “Yeah, that’s probably it.”

Returning to Stanley’s farm, Mimi is in the process of cleaning up the mess from the speech. Stanley and Bonnie are looking at her with a pained look on their faces. They finally approach her and tell her that they had asked Jennings & Rall to look for her family (the favor that Bonnie asked of Trish). They tell her they were unable to find anything, other than the name of her father’s second cousin on a census in Indiana, but he had left the the area and a woman with the same last name in a refugee camp who turned out to be no relation to her. Stanley tells her how sorry he is, “I really wanted you to have your family at the wedding.” She tells him that she will have her family, referring to him and Bonnie and then she pulls them both into a group hug.

Hawkins meets up with Chavez and tells him that the password opened every file except for one called “Project Boxcar.” He asks Chavez if he’s heard of it and Chavez tells him no and that the password should have opened all of the files. He looks surprised by this news. (I personally don’t trust this guy and I didn’t the moment he showed up!) Chavez asks Hawkins if he remembers “when this job used to be easy?” Hawkins laughs and tells him no, and Chavez leaves.

Eric and Emily are waiting for Jake at the Green household and Eric tells him that Gray asked him to act as Mayor while he’s at the convention. “Mayor Green,” Jake says. “Nice to hear that again,” Emily adds.

Back at City Hall, Major Beck walks outside just as two Humvees drive up with “Ravenwood” printed on the doors of both vehicles.

Back at the Greens, Jake is wondering how things with Beck got so “dicey”. Eric responds by saying that they’d been through worse and they are still here. He says they can handle this and he and Eric clink their beers in a toast.

Back at City Hall, a man gets out of one of the Humvees. It’s Goetz, the bad guy from Ravenwood we were introduced to last season, first in “Rogue River” (he was stealing supplies and killing people in the hospital where Jake and Eric went to get medicine for their father) and then in “Crossroads” where he fails in his attempt to attack Jericho and take their supplies (he then turns on New Bern). He did say he would be back as a contractor of the government when all this was over to help clean things up. He’s a man of his word. This is not a good thing…

He introduces himself to Beck as a tactical operations officer and says: “I’ll take it from here.”

Thanks, Yvonne, for a really fabulous recap!!!

Photos courtesy of CBS; Mimi & Stanley image courtesy of CBS, motivator by kricka.

Listen in:

It’s been four weeks since the end of the New Bern/Jericho hostilities, and there have been many changes in the small town of Jericho, KS. The electricity has been restored in much of the town, thanks to the presence of the military from the new Cheyenne government, who also broke up the border skirmish between the two communities. Jennings & Rall, a private company contracted by the Cheyenne government to help with reconstruction of the town, has become a major presence on the streets of Jericho. And Margie and Edna, the eyes and ears of Jericho, are just sitting down to their first proper, home-cooked meal in months.

Margie: Edna, is this roast beef or shoe leather?

Edna: Margie, since you’re the one who cooked it, I figure you should know. It’s so nice to have a hot, home-cooked meal again, this could be roast moose and I’d still eat it.

Margie: I’m so happy to have our power back even if it does mean I have to see you.

Edna: Margie, never mind that now, you can insult me later. I’ve got some good gossip — er, information that I picked up in town. You’ll never believe it.

Margie: What is it Edna? Spit it out.

Edna: If I didn’t have absolutely perfect vision, I’d never have believed my own eyes, but I declare. ... I saw little Heather Lisinski walk into City Hall today! My laws Margie, I do believe she’s come back from the dead!

Margie: You’re lying. She’s dead. You saw a ghost, Edna.

Edna: Margie, you watch that sacrilegious talk. She is alive! Don’t you think I followed her inside? I saw Jake Green hug her — he wouldn’t hug a ghost, you numbskull.

Margie: Lawsie mercy, Edna, he is supposed to be with Emily. That boy gets around. Like you.

Edna: Margie, what did I say about insulting me? Save it for later, there’s more. I also followed her into Bailey’s, where she had a cozy lunch with that handsome Major Beck. Mercy, I’d like to get around with HIM.

Margie: Well, guess what I saw before that?

Edna: What? And it had better be good, Margie.

Margie: Jake and Emily canoodling in the middle of the street!!

Edna: NO! For goodness’ sake, these young people today have no morals. Now that Jake’s the sheriff, you’d think he’d have better sense than to act like that in broad daylight where everyone can see. They’d better start enforcing the decency laws around here, and right quick, or respectable people won’t be going into town any more.

Margie: Well, I walked right up and broke it up and do you know they had no shame?

Edna: I’m not at all surprised. Oh, but Margie, if you were in town, that also means that you must have seen that sweet Trish. You know, the little gal with Jennings & Rall, the one who came and had supper with us not too long ago?

Margie: I did see her and I invited her back again for dinner. She was on her way to Richmond Farm.

Edna: Oh mercy, I heard all about what happened after she went out there. Didn’t you see that Mimi all loaded for bear in town later? She lit into Trish like nobody’s business.

Margie: I heard. She’s not going to let anybody hurt Stanley. Did you know he proposed?

Edna: Wait, I heard that she proposed to him. Margie, I think you must be mistaken. Once again.

Margie: Edna, you don’t know everything! All I know is I’m invited to the wedding. Stanley said I mean a lot to him!

Edna: Margie, you must be the “something old” they need for good luck. Speaking of old … I have to ask you a delicate question, Margie. Have you misplaced your pistol again? I don’t see it on the mantle where it normally is.

Margie: Edna, never you mind my pistol! Maybe I loaned it out.

Edna: Margie! You’d loan out your pistol? The one that helped to keep this whole town safe from that evil Constantino? What were you thinking? It’s a good thing I still have my sword. My gosh Margie, those were some explosions during the battle, weren’t they? I think I singed my eyebrows. ... Goodness, I got distracted, who did you say you loaned your gun to?

Margie: Darcy said she might need it. Said she might need to shoot a rat. I told her to shoot you then. Oh Lordie, Edna, what if she means to shoot Constantino??

Edna: Margie, you know as well as I do that if anyone’s going to shoot that man, it will be Jake Green, especially since Major Beck pardoned him and sent him back to New Bern. You know how Jake loved his daddy, he’s having a hard time with all this, poor thing. But I guess it’s okay if you loaned your gun to that sweet Darcy. I can’t see her using it, though, she doesn’t seem like she would hurt a fly. I wonder why she needed it?

Margie: Edna, can you keep a secret?

Edna: Margie, I can keep many secrets, unlike some people I know. So spill.

Margie: Some strange man followed Darcy home from work.

Edna: Oh my lands, he never did! Is she okay? My goodness, I thought lawlessness in Jericho was a thing of the past, now that the military is here to keep order.

Margie: I don’t know. I told her to tell Mr. Hawkins to feel free to lock that man in my basement!

Edna: Margie, I don’t think we should be storing anything else in the basement right now, if you know what I mean.

Margie: That is not your business! Besides, Eric almost got killed too.

Edna: What? Well, what good are these military men in town anyway if there’s going to be innocent people being followed and almost killed? Margie, do you think we can trust them?

Margie: I don’t know about that, Edna. We’ve seen some odd people here. I do believe I should snoop around Major Beck though.

Edna: Oh no you don’t, Margie! If anyone is going to be snooping around that handsome man, it will be me. Besides, he seems like a nice enough gentleman, even if he is a little stern. You just stick to following Emily and Jake around.

Margie: Edna, would you like cake?

Edna: Margie, you know that I love nothing more than a good piece of cake. But did you bake one?

Margie: I did and I also taught Emily how to bake one. She went home to bake a cake for Gail tonight.

Edna: Oh my stars and garters, she’ll surely set the house on fire! I’d better warn Gail.

Margie: You know poor Gail is still in mourning. Emily wanted to make her feel better.

Edna: Well, I guess her heart is in the right place, even if she can’t bake a cake any better than you can keep a secret. Speaking of secrets Margie, I’ve saved the best one for last.

Margie: If you want this cake, Edna, spill the gravy.

Edna: Well, I’m not sure that this secret is worth trading for YOUR cake, but I just can’t hold it in any more. Guess who’s coming to Jericho soon?

Margie: Edna, I don’t know. Another beau?

Edna: Margie, is there any man that you wouldn’t consider as a beau?

Margie: You love them all, Edna, but they don’t love you.

Edna: Oh hush up, do you want to hear this or not?

Margie: Go on. You take all day.

Edna: Well, I have it on good authority that the President is coming here to Jericho, all the way from Cheyenne! Can you believe it? But keep this to yourself, only you, Major Beck and me know about this.

Margie: Big mouth! If he’s not a Democrat, I won’t go see him.

Edna: Margie, I hope he’s a Republican so you’ll stay far away when he comes to visit. I think we should invite him to dinner when he gets to Jericho. Then maybe he can tell us more about what’s going on outside of town. I’m worried about what we’ve been hearing on television.

Margie: Well, I just don’t think that’s a good idea because I think you knew his granddaddy.

Edna: Margie, you old fool, what are you talking about NOW?

Margie: I’m not saying, but you just watch your step around that man.

Edna: Margie, I think that as usual you’ve got your information all mixed up, but I guess I’ll trust you. I’d be watching my step around him anyway; I’m not sure what to think about this new government. If we have him to dinner, maybe we can get a better handle on this. My goodness Margie, I’m worried that the reconstruction of Jericho might not turn out to be such a good thing after all.

Margie: Me too and I don’t like that new flag. I don’t like this one little bit!

Edna: I’m glad you mentioned the new flag. Seeing it get run up that flagpole gave me goose bumps, and not the good kind. Margie, we’d better watch our step. Maybe you should get your pistol back from Darcy.

Margie: I’ll go right now then I’m going to Bailey’s. Your turn to clean up.

Edna: Margie, don’t you dare leave me with all these dishes, your cake wasn’t that good! If you help me clean, I’ll buy you some gin when we get to Bailey’s. Do we have a deal, dear sister?

Margie: How much gin?

Edna: As much as you can drink and still walk home. You know Mary Bailey’s got the store-bought gin now that the military’s in town.

Margie: Okay, sister, deal.

Thanks, as usual, to Beth & Jane for their wonderful work on this post.Â

But first, a reminder: I’m looking for guest bloggers for Season 2. Check out the recaps done by guest bloggers over the summer. No fear — Margie & Edna have agreed to put aside their differences and recap the premiere and season finale (note I said “season” and not “series” finale). I wouldn’t have it any other way. Episodes 2, 3 and 5 are spoke for, but I’m still taking volunteers. And if I get too many volunteers, we can double up; we’ve done that before (how do you think Margie & Edna did their first guest blog?) E-mail me if you want to take one on. They’re fun! (And not due the next day; you actually get a couple of days to write ‘em up!)

So, onward.

First off, (thanks, Clarke!) the Jennings & Rall website has a new blog, from Trish Merrick. She’s the character portrayed in Season 2 by Emily Rose, a J&R employee. All I’ll tell you about Trish is that you’ll hate her at first. But then, by episode 3, not so much.

Here’s a snippet from her blog:

My work in the new midwest involves going into communities that are restructuring after the destruction and need temporary advocates that can understand what priorities will get the people I’m helping back to normal the fastest. ... This has been the most rewarding experience of my life and I’m grateful my supervisors at J&R have allowed me to diarize my experience here in Nebraska (and beyond), where I have been stationed for a few weeks so far. ... My blog is part of a program, similar to embedding, there were 5 people chosen whose skills in writing were assessed, and I was one of them. The C.E.O. of Jennings&Rall wants there to be a record by example of all of our great work. ... Rule: First names only. No pictures, no drawings, nothing visual. No danger. Nothing that might scare anyone can appear in this. I’m not sure what they mean but I think I understand: nothing to scare other people.

So, we know that Trish served time in Nebraska before coming to Jericho. The “new midwest”? Interesting phrasing. Hmm. I think this blog will be worth repeated readings.

• Here’s a very cool promo video for Season 2. “Season 2 of Jericho brings many answers to what is happening in the outside world, as it lands smack dab in the middle of town square. A new flag, a new Government, and a well hidden plot, are the realities of the broken America.” (Thanks, Jane and Tero! This vid was by Rubber Poultry, no?)
• OMG, these posters are hilarious. I love the GiantAngryJake one, myself. Erika, you’re genius, girl. There’s more on Jericho Monster and Jericho Junction.
• Entries are being taken until midnight tonight for this week’s “Hey Rangers! Caption This!” Click here for rules and here for the week’s screen capture from schumi. Voting opens immediately after the contest closes and runs through 8 p.m. ET Sunday (Feb. 3).
• Starting about 6 p.m. Sunday, head over to Bailey’s Tavern at Jeritopia for a Super Bowl party.
• Margie & Edna will have a pre-premiere chat at 10 p.m. Feb. 10 at Jeritopia, hosted by Clarke.

Emily Rose photo courtesy of HBO.

Before I get to the good stuff, a reminder that I’m looking for guest bloggers for Season 2. What’s that, you ask? Check out the summer rerun guest bloggers. Margie & Edna are taking care of the premiere, while Yvonne (Aunt Vonna) has ep 2, Erika (kricka) snagged ep 3 and newbie (to Jericho guest blogging, that is) Clarke Ingram (gushing fanboy that he is of Sprague Grayden) will tackle episode 5. Interested in doing a recap/review? E-mail me. GB veterans get first priority, but I’ll try to accommodate all who want to. Multiple blog posts on episodes have been done before.

OK, so here’s the latest:

• Shelby, our very own 10-year-old Jericho journalist, has had not one, but two of her interviews picked up by Media Blvd. Here’s the one she did with Alicia Coppola. I couldn’t find a direct link to the Carol Barbee one on Media Blvd., though I saw it on there yesterday. Did I mention that she’s 10 (Shelby, not Carol)? (By the way, Alicia told Shelby as a child she ran around playing Charlie’s Angels and was always Jaclyn Smith. She and I must be about the same age, because that’s what my friends and I did, and I was always Kelly, too. However, that’s pretty much where the similarities between Alicia and I end, unfortunately.)
• Head on over to Fan Central on the official Jericho site on CBS.com. There’s a new Ranger in town, blogging daily on our favorite post-apocalyptic show … schumi! Congrats, schumi!

• Speaking of, schumi had updates on Jerichon. Click here to register online. It was previously announced that Mike Loomer, the show’s on-set dresser, will be the announced guest. He’ll be “bringing a number of props and costume items, as well as fake firearms that were used by the actors in filming the series along with a few promised surprises.”
• Greg Robinson of E-Gear blogged about Jericho the other day, talking up our beloved, dearly departed former mayor, Johnston Green. He’s urging folks to go out and buy Season 1 so they can be ready for Season 2 on Feb. 12. Here’s a taste of what he said: “The cast, the sets, the drama, the action – everything about it is 100% fantastic.” What he said.
• CBS is asking Jericho fans to plan viewing parties to get new viewers. Check out this thread to hear what folks have planned, and let others know if you have anything planned.
• Brad Beyer told SyFy Portal that viewers wouldn’t even be able to tell that the abbreviated Season 2 had a lesser budget than the full Season 1. Having seen the first three episodes already, I can echo that.
• This is a little spoiler-y, so don’t click on the link if you want to remain blissfully unaware of what goes on in the first episode. Here’s a link to a YahooTV video of the first table reading of Jericho’s Season 2 premiere episode, “Reconstruction.” It’s really cool, because it has video from the actual first episode split-screened with the table reading.
• And last, but not least, keep Skeet on top! Vote for him here, for the “Biggest Male Rising Star of the Year 2007.”

Thanks to Beth, Terocious, Jane, Kystorms and Clarke for some of the above links.

So, you all have to do your part – if you see something out there and haven’t read it on Remote Access, let me know immediately, if not sooner.

Plus, I’ll be looking for guest bloggers for the new season of Jericho, a la the Great Jericho Blogging Experiment of the summer of reruns, which was a resounding success. Margie and Edna already have graciously agreed to recap the first episode for us. That leaves six episodes left to staff. Priority will go to those folks who’ve already guest blogged, but there’s always room for multiple blogs per episode. Let me know if you’re interested and we can talk/e-mail about it.

Here’s todays news and notes and links:
• First off, Brad Beyer (Stanley Richmond) was at the FXinternational convention in Orlando, where Orlando Sentinel TV critic Hal Boedeker interviewed him. Nothing particularly new came out of the interview, but it’s always nice to see “our” cast interviewed. He’s 34 and said the nuts were “pivotal” in decision of CBS to renew the show for its abbreviated run. He did have this to say about Stimi (Stanley + Mimi = Stimi, for those not in the know):

I don’t think the writers had any idea it was going to end up that way. She came to take my farm away. There was just something in the rapport. It really worked. ... These people probably woud not have found each other. Extreme circumstances bring people together. You’re forced to see the common ground. Stanley wouldn’t have gotten a girl like Mimi otherwise.

Oh, Stanley. Don’t sell yourself so short.

OK, on to the rest:
• The SciFi Channel has fully embraced its newest addition to its rerun stable. It’s added a Jericho forum to its forum pages. (Thanks, Jericho Junction.) The channel also added Jericho to its SCIFIPEDIA, with entries already up on Jericho itself, Skeet Ulrich and Ashley Scott (she was on Dark Angel, too). Help ‘em out! (Clarke, wanna get the Sprague/Heather entry started?)
• Already posted in the forums is a link to a live interview with Clare Carey (Mary Bailey) from 8 to 11 p.m. Wednesday. You can IM questions during the interview or beforehand if you can’t watch it live. The show is called Filmnut.
• Marlene Forte, who played “Teresa Clemons” in the Jericho pilot, will be the “Chief Transporter” in the upcoming J.J. Abrams Star Trek film, according to SciFi Wire.
• Smackdown! Lost vs Jericho. Many TV-watchers (myself included) are fans of both shows. Here’s one fan who argues that even though Lost has some episodes that blow anything out of the water, Jericho is more even and, overall, the better show, over at Geektoob.com. Here’s a snippet of his argument:

Let’s hedge this argument a little bit: The absolute heights of “Lost” last season – the flash forward, Charlie’s death, Desmond’s Twilight Zone-style time-travel flashback episode – were arguably better than the best moments of “Jericho.”

But we’re talking about averages here. “Jericho” is like the quality mutual fund that starts merely good and kept getting better (especially after its winter hiatus). It’s the steady performer who always turns out a quality show that can look you in the eye and tell its story without flinching ….

I’m a bit behind on this. Jane posted the interviews last week, but the past couple weeks have been kinda nutsy-cuckoo so I slipped a bit.

But Jericho Monster regularly has some of the best Jericho-related interviews around. She interviews the fans, crew, cast, bloggers, survivalists, anyone who can relate to the tale of Jericho (by this I mean both the story that the show tells and the story of the show’s cancellation and resurrection).

I first “met” Jane when she commented on some posting I had about Jericho way back in the day, in the dark times between death and rebirth. She commented on several posts, actually.

When CBS made the decision to bring back Jericho, at least on a limited basis, and re-run part of Season 1 over the summer, I sought out guest bloggers for their different take on the episodes, as I’d already written recaps on the second half of Season 1.

Jane was one of my first volunteers.

She did three recaps — one by herself and then conspired with fellow Jericho lover and mutiple guest blogger Beth to create Margie and Edna, two old biddies who live in Jericho and recapped not one, but two episodes, including the season finale.

The ladies (Margie and Edna, that is), have become beloved throughout the Jericho fan community, in large part due to the lively (and hilarious!) writing of Jane and Beth.

Jane has two other blogs, too — Jericho Central (news, links and other tidbits, suggestions on how to help Jericho) and Arabelle’s Alley (other things relating to Jericho and other TV shows, including a regular “Ask Margie and Edna” Q&A feature).

Check ‘em out. I often find out something new, and her interviews with fans and others are always interesting.

Illustrations courtesy of Jericho Monster.

Age: 41
Where I live: Minneapolis, Minn.
When I started watching Jericho: I was rooted to my couch for the season premiere on Sept. 20, 2006.
What about Jericho makes it so special to me: I like Jericho because instead of the usual diseases, homicides and every day dreck, Jericho presents something that could quite possibly be in our near future. It is great drama that makes me think what I would do if every single freedom I enjoy were threatened and I was thrown into the middle of a civil war in my own country.
My favorite character on the show and why: It would be easier for me to say who my least favorite character is. I like them all but if I had to take a pick I would have to say Johnston Green. He is the ultimate leader. He’s flawed but very wise and a combat tested veteran. He knows when to pick his battles and is able to to accept defeat when it is inevitable. Jake and Eric have their work cut out for them in the coming season. Then there’s the venerable Robert Hawkins. I have just 9 words for him — “Robert hawkins is in ur revolution scarin’ teh enemies.”
Unless you want to hear about all of my L33t coding skills, I’ll skip this question.
Me, on the Internet: Nuciferous adj. Yielding Nuts for Jericho

And now, Bill’s recap:

We begin the story 6 years prior to the events of the past year, at Eric and April’s wedding. April, Eric, Johnston and Gail are trying to pose for wedding pictures and wondering where the best man, Jake, and Grandpa Green are. Gail goes to find them and as she steps out of the church she steps back into the cold reality of the present, a Jericho that has been devastated by New Bern’s mortars. The citizens of Jericho milling about, armed and waiting for the battle to come.

Jake rides up on horseback as Eric walks out to greet him, both in a hurry to meet with Johnston, Hawkins, Gray Anderson and others involved with planning the defense of Jericho from Constantino’s army. Jake reports that the Talbot farm has fallen into the hands of the opposition. Understanding that the Talbot farm fell to 60 or 70 men, they reckon they are outnumbered and there’s a much larger force still in reserve. Realizing this, Johnston suggests that splitting Jericho’s forces to defend individual farms will cause more casualties than they can afford. It would be much better to stand together as one against Constantino’s army. Johnston advises that Stanley Richmond’s farm, being the highest point in the area, is the place to make that stand.

Back at the front of Constantino’s column, one of his men informs him the Talbot farm has been secured. Constantino, ready to take the other farms around Jericho, mounts the lead vehicle. The camera pans out to reveal a column of trucks filled with men extending for half a mile or more — definitely a force to be reconked with.

Sixty miles away on state Route 37, several men in military uniforms come upon the site of a wrecked vehicle with several dead individuals. As they round the overturned car, they find one person still alive. As they roll her over, we find it is the long-missing Heather Lisinski. If you look closely as they turn her over, you can see something is not quite right with the soldiers’ uniforms.

Again flashing back to Eric and April’s wedding, we find Jake, Stanley, Emily and Grandpa Green at Bailey’s tavern getting quite drunk and swapping old stories. Stanley relates that he loved the stories Grandpa Green would tell Jake, especially the story about the peanuts and World War Two. Jake looks rather confused and Grandpa Green asks what the hell he is talking about. Jake finally figures it out and clues Grandpa in — the story of the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944, when Allied troops were surrounded by German troops. The American division knew it had to hold that ground. Just before Christmas, the Nazis sent a note to the American commander, telling him he could surrender and save his men or they could stay and fight. As the story goes, the American commander, Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, sent a one-word reply to the German commander: “Nuts!”

Gail walks in, rather peeved that Grandpa Green has gotten Jake drunk, and breaks up the fun. As she shoos everyone back to the reception, she stops Jake to inform him that, as Eric’s best man, he is required to give a toast. She hands him some notes, some things she thought he might want to say. Jake, asking if she thought he was going to wing it, gets a little sigh of doubt from his mother.

Back in real time, Hawkins and Jake bring Johnston into a private meeting at Town Hall. What follows is, in my opinion, on of the best conversations, and one of the best Johnston Green quotes of the entire series. [Amy note: I totally agree. I laughed out loud at the line.]

Hawkins: Mr. Green, I have access to a keyhole military satellite … that I can use to track New Bern’s movements in the field today.
Johnston: Beg pardon?
Jake: It’s real.
Hawkins: The one restriction, is that no one can know where you’re getting this information. Tell ‘em I’m scouting in the field, tell ‘em what you want, but this satellite must remain a secret.
Johnston: Sounds good.
Jake: Wai … That’s it?
Johnston: What do you want me to say? I get it, the man has a satellite and doesn’t want anyone to know.
Jake: Yeah, but I …
Johnston: I am about to go to war with New Bern, Kansas, the home of the nearest Costco. Today is already just about as weird as I can handle. I’m not asking any more questions.

Cut to Stanley’s farm as Stanley, Mimi and Bonnie are paying their respects at the graveside of Stanley and Bonnie’s parents. Stanley “introduces” “that witch from the IRS.” As Mimi tells his parents how much she loves Stanley and Bonnie and how much she enjoys living with them, Stanley appears to be upset since he hasn’t told his parents that they were living together. Flustered at this revelation, Mimi realizes that she has once again been the butt of one of Stanley’s jokes. Wondering if everything is a joke to him, Stanley explains that he hopes one day, when they are buried in the family plot, that their children will be able to joke with them.

In the distance, the citizens of Jericho are preparing for the upcoming battle with New Bern. Johnston, Eric and Jake ride up to meet with Gray and Jimmy. Wondering how things are coming along with organizing their forces, Jimmy informs Johnston that it is taking a lot longer to get everyone together and they only have around 200 men. As Johnston sends Jake and Eric down to get everyone organized, he stops Gray. Gray asks why he can’t go; Johnston informs him that he is the elected leader and is is to be protected at all costs. And, they need him to help arm the tank.

Hawkins is calling up the satellite in his basement command center as Darcy worries that their daughter, Allison, is out carrying a rifle while she is with Hawkins. Hawkins says he needs her with him and that Allison will be safe because she’ll be miles from the fighting. As the satellite picture zooms in on the approaching column from New Bern, Hawkins radios Jake that the enemy is coming and they need to be ready. Suddenly Hawkins realizes that someone is homing in on his signal through the satellite. He suspects it is Valente from Homeland Security and as long as he can shut down the feed before the trace is finished all will be OK.

We cut to a hospital room as Heather wakes up. As she exits what appears to me a mobile hospital unit she finds herself in the midst of a large military compound in southwest Nebraska.

Back at the front lines of the Richmond farm, the citizens of Jericho await the forces from New Bern. The situation is tense as they make final preparations and ready themselves behind their barricades. Two of New Bern’s scouts round the corner and signal their unit to advance. Three trucks full of armed men pull up and take position about 75 or so yards away. As Jake and his crew wait and wonder what will happen next, Eric says they’re going to need that tank. Suddenly, the army from New Bern opens fire.

A tactical note: If you are about to be in a firefight, don’t wait for the enemy to take up positions. It is best to start shooting before they have a chance to get ready and start firing on you.

Flashback to Eric and Aprils wedding. Eric presents Jake with a speech for him to give. We find out about some of the tension between the two as they argue that Jake’s life is a joke and that Eric didn’t want Jake to be his best man. The only reason Jake is was because Gail wanted it that way.

Back at the front lines and taking heavy fire, Jake goes for higher ground in order to get a better position to get a better shot at the New Bern forces — especially the guy with the 60-caliber machine gun who is wreaking havoc on them. Who, as I stated above, should have never been able to set up his position in the first place.

Switch to Hawkins’ basement, where Darcy wonders why the terrorists would want to eliminate all witnesses of the attacks. She realizes that those who are tracking Hawkins want more than Hawkins and the bomb. She realizes the bomb is more than a potential terror threat. Hawkins has the last bomb that can be traced to its origin and that it is evidence of who carried out the attacks: “The smoking gun behind the greatest crime in the history of the world.”

Again, back at the front lines and taking heavy fire. Jake is pinned down on the hill. Just as the battle seems hopeless, Jake sees, the tank come over the hill. As the tank reaches the bottom of the hill and takes aim, New Bern’s army starts to flee. The tank takes aim at the nearest truck and fires, blowing it into little pieces. On another tactical note, it’s never a good idea to destroy infratsructure unless you really need to. A tank can be a lot more effective in advancing against a lesser force than simply blowing up an empty and potentially useful two and a half ton military truck. Better to blow up the guys who are trying to kill you. But I digress.

With the battle won, Stanley and officer Bill are quite proud of their use of the tank; cheers abound. That is, until Eric realizes Johnston has been seriously wounded. Eric and Jake carry him into Stanley’s house to administer first aid. Hawkins calls on the radio to congratulate them on winning the battle. When Jake tells him what happened to Johnston, Hawkins advises that people are going to be looking to him for orders and that he needs to be prepared for New Bern’s army to regroup.

As Eric and Jake are administering first aid, Johnston seems to know his time is near. He asks Jake to send everyone outside and delivers one of the most poignant farewells I have ever watched — telling Eric how he should not have to see him die after what he had been though and telling Jake that he is proud of him. After Johnston passes away, we flash back to Eric and April’s wedding reception. It becomes apparent how much Jake cares for Eric.

Back in real time, Jake comes out to announce that his father is dead and it’s evident that Johnston will be missed as a leader, a friend, a father and husband. Unfortunately there is little time to mourn his death, as Hawkins radios Jake to let him know New Bern is on the move again and that a train with hundreds of men is on the way.

Back at Camp Liberty in Nebraska, Heather finds the officer in charge and tries to enlist help for Jericho. The colonel informs her that his orders are to secure the roads in the area and he doesn’t get to make the decisions; he’s just a government employee. Heather questions him about which government and the fact that six different people had claiming the presidency.

The colonel says there were, and there are still some holdouts in Texas and a bloc in the East, but the federal government has been restored in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Heather insists that the military needs to intervene in the fight between New Bern and Jericho but the colonel rebuffs her and sends her away. Later, in a video conference involving several members of the new government, the colonel informs Valente that a significant skirmish is to be expected between New Bern and Jericho. Valente informs the the colonel that one of the terror suspects has been tracked to that area and orders him to go to Jericho, crush the skirmish, clear the area and begin the search for the terrorist.

As Jake and the citizens of Jericho regroup from the battle and the loss of Johnston, Stanley confides in Jake how much he loves Mimi and that he doesn’t want to die today. Jake assures him that all will be OK. Hawkins rides up on horseback to let Jake know that Constantino’s forces are getting close and there is very little time. When Jake inquires about the train, Hawkins simply tells Stanley that he needs to borrow the tank. As Jake readies to lead Jericho into battle once again, he seems unsure of himself. Emily reassures him that his father is still here and watching over him.

Once again, flash back to the end of Eric and April’s wedding reception. Johnston tells Jake that one day he is going to become the man he was born to be, and that day is going to be something to see. As they walk down to the lake to share a bottle of 30-year-old Scotch, it’s the last we see of Johnston and Grandpa Green.

Back to present day. Constantino radios and tells Jake he is sorry to hear Johnston is dead. He tells Jake that Jericho is outnumbered and out-gunned and cannot win the fight. He gives Jake one last chance to back down and surrender. Jake’s reply to him is: “NUTS! You can go straight to hell.” And that he is coming to avenge his father. Jake tells his troops that his father expected them to take a stand and defend their home.

At Camp Liberty, Heather finds out the army is going to Jericho. As they are leaving she seems a bit unsettled and notices that the flag flying over the camp is far different from the American flag of 50 stars and 13 horizontal stripes. A very ominous tone is set as she sees a flag with 21 stars and 13 vertical stripes.

Hawkins has arrived at the train tracks to stop the train headed for Jericho. As the battle at the Richmond farm is about to begin, Hawkins sees several helicopters fly over. As Constantino’s troops approach from the smoke-filled horizon, Jake tells everyone to wait for a clean shot. As the tension mounts, Jake yells, “NOW.”

The screen goes black to the sound of gunfire.

And thus began one of the biggest fan protests in history.

Thank you all so much for joining in the Great Jericho Blogging Experiment. It’s been so much fun to read and edit all your recaps and fan fiction and thoughts and opinions.

I will continue to post news updates on Jericho and of course will be blogging on the show regularly once it returns (triumphantly!) to the airwaves. Then, besides my weekly recaps, we’ll have some guest bloggers from time to time as well.

Name: Margie
That nice Amy wants my bio.
Age: Nobody’s business.
Where you live: Well, dear, I was born and reared here in Jericho.
Personal: I have one sister, Edna. Married 5 times, but I won’t mention the name of the jealous hussy who ran them off. I don’t have any children.
More about me: I was the town librarian because I enjoyed contact with everybody in town. I garden (I’m president of our gardening club), read, crochet, cook, collect recipes, watch soap operas. Pay visits to the sick. I believe we should all do our civic duties and help the less fortunate.

Name: Edna … oh my, I don’t think I want to give you my last name, you never know what kind of ruffians might be lurking, just waiting to steal your identity.
Age: A lady never tells, dear.
Where you live: Jericho, KS, where I was born and raised, and where I will be buried.
When you started watching Jericho: Well, I’ve been watching the town and the people of Jericho all my life. I’m not really sure what you mean by this question, dear. You really should be more specific.
Your favorite character on the show and why: Show? What show? You know, I myself have been called quite a character by many people. My sister Margie calls me much worse, but I try not to listen to her.
What about Jericho makes it so special to you: The sense of community and belonging that you get in a small town like Jericho. You just can’t find that very much any more, especially in these trying and harrowing times.
Anything else you want to tell the readers about yourself: Well, I like to embroider and cook, and Margie and I grow our own herbs and vegetables in the garden. I’m also a mean pool player, just ask anyone down at Bailey’s. But don’t you believe that Eric Green if he says I cheat, he’s a dirty liar.

Even though it’s only been five months since that fateful day when the bombs exploded, it is sometimes hard for the citizens of Jericho to remember happier times. However, there are two elderly townspeople who have no such trouble. Margie and Edna, two of Jericho’s oldest residents, have a nose for gossip and information. And even now, when there is so much to be done simply to survive, they often take the time to reminisce over past times. It is how they keep some sense of normalcy to their lives in times of great upheaval. Plus, they’ve spent many, many years of their lives gossiping about the goings-on in Jericho, past and present. It is second nature to them, as automatic as breathing.

Bailey’s Tavern, six years ago: Eric’s and April’s wedding day

Margie: Edna, look who just sat down behind us.

(Jake, Emily, Stanley and Jake’s grandfather are sitting in a booth at Bailey’s, right behind Margie and Edna.)

Edna: Those rowdies! Margie, I don’t know why we keep coming here, when they let just anyone in.

Margie: What is that old fool saying? Why doesn’t he speak up so I can hear him?

Jake’s grandfather recalls the story of a World War II U.S. Army commander who was out-gunned and outnumbered by surrounding Nazis. The general was offered to surrender or fight; his response was, simply, “Nuts.” When asked what it meant, Jake’s grandfather said it meant, “Go to hell.”

Edna: I think he said something about nuts; has Mary Bailey started serving bar snacks again? I thought the health department put the kibosh on that. Uh-oh, here comes Gail Green, looks like fun time is over.

Margie: Let’s go, Edna. She looks mad.

Edna: Don’t make eye contact with her, let’s just get back to the reception before she spots us.

The Wedding Reception:

Margie: Edna, I wonder how they got Jake to be Eric’s best man? I’m sure Eric didn’t want it that way.

Edna: Well, you know it wouldn’t have looked right if it hadn’t been Jake. Even if poor Jake is a troublemaker, he’s still Eric’s brother.

Margie: Look at that dress Gail Green is wearing. I wouldn’t be caught dead in that rag.

Edna: Margie, you have the taste of a groundhog. That dress is lovely; you’re just being contrary because Gail didn’t sit you in the front row like you wanted.

Margie: I heard Gail wrote the speech Jake gave. Guess she was afraid of what he’d say. That boy is nothing but trouble.

Edna: Now, don’t you be so hard on him, he’s just finding his way like all young folks do. He’ll get there eventually.

Back to present-day Jericho, in more uncertain times…

The neighboring town of New Bern has declared war on Jericho. They’ve demanded that several of the town’s farms be handed over, but Jericho has refused — they won’t give in without a fight. New Bern already has seized control of one of the farms on the list, and they are preparing to advance into town. Jericho is readying its own resources, which means gathering fighting men and women together to take their stand at the Richmond Farm.

Jericho Town Hall:

Margie: Look, Edna, Jake’s back. Oh no, we’re outnumbered? What are they going to do?

Edna: Pay attention, Margie! That nice Mr. Hawkins says he’s going to use his satellite thingy to track New Bern’s forces. Great-grandpappy would have approved of that kind of reconnaissance. I wonder why he doesn’t want anyone to know about it though?

Margie: Oh my, Edna, Johnston said we’re going to war with New Bern, which has the nearest Costco.

Edna: Well, he also said the day was already about as weird as he could handle. Such slang these young people use! But I couldn’t agree more.

Richmond Farm:

The leaders of the fight — Mayor Anderson, Johnston Green, Jake and Hawkins—none of them knew that Margie and Edna planned to fight right alongside them. At the farm, Margie and Edna have positioned themselves up the hill from the road, where they have a bird’s eye view of the battle, and can rush in should they be needed. Margie has her pistol, and Edna is armed with … a sword?

Margie: Edna, you never could shoot straight.

Edna: That’s why I have a sword, you idiot. It’s kind of rusty, but still serviceable. Great-grandpappy would be proud that it’s being carried into battle once again — even if it hasn’t been used since the Civil War.

Margie: Edna, don’t you swing that sword or you’ll just end up cutting your own head off.

Edna: Don’t worry, I know what to do. Come to think of it, though, I wonder why they didn’t want us out here on the battlefield. That big old sweetheart Jimmy tried to make me go back to Town Hall, but I just reminded him about that time I caught him drinking the altar wine after church when he was a boy. He quieted right down after that.

Margie: That’s good, Edna. Always keep some good information handy.

Meanwhile … Margie and Edna were good friends with Darcy Hawkins, so they knew Darcy and Robert were keeping secrets. What they didn’t know was that Robert was one of the last surviving members of the conspiracy. If only they’d known that Hawkins had a bomb that contained uranium that could be traced back to the bomb’s makers — which put him at risk from some very dangerous people.

While the townspeople were gathering at the Richmond Farm, Hawkins was using his satellite connection to track the movements of the New Bern invaders. Unfortunately, the satellite hook-up was also being traced by the corrupt Thomas Valente. When Darcy realized what was happening, fearing for her husband, she insisted Hawkins cut his connection before he was located. Hawkins complied, but not before Valente’s trace was close to completion.

Margie and Edna would certainly have needed extra heart pills if they’d known Hawkins had spotted hundreds of New Bern men in trucks and on a train heading for Jericho.

Edna: Oh my good gracious, is that a tank??

Margie: It’s sure not a Greyhound bus coming for you, Edna.

Edna: OK Margie, be ready in case they need us to charge down the hill with them. My goodness, this shooting is loud!

Margie: Oohhhhhhh! I haven’t heard an explosion that loud since Daddy ate all those prunes thinking they were plums. Edna, is that a tank? Quick! Jump in front of it!

Edna: Oh no, Margie! Johnston Green’s been shot! Somebody better go get Gail.

Margie: If you think I’m going to go tell Gail her husband is dead then you’re NUTS!

Edna: I think Emily went to get her. They’d better get back here fast.

Richmond Farmhouse:

Johnston was critically wounded in the first firefight between Jericho and New Bern; he knows how seriously he is hurt, and he realizes he only has a short amount of time to pass on some last wisdom to his boys. He tells Eric that he is stronger than he thinks he is, and that he loves him. He asks Jake to tell Gail that he loves her, and says that he realizes how hard he was on Jake while he was growing up. Johnston tells him that he’s glad Jake came home, and the last thing he says before dying is to tell Jake that he’s proud of him. He has told both of his sons not only what he wanted to say, but also what each of them very much needed to hear from their father.

Jake and Eric take a moment to grieve privately, then Jake comes out of the farmhouse and tells the assembled townspeople that Johnston has died. With his father’s passing, he has now taken on the mantle of leadership and authority. He is not the same man who came back to Jericho five months ago — that man had the skills to be a leader, but not the self-confidence. Everything that has happened since the bombs went off, and all of his selfless actions to keep Jericho safe, have created a fierce leader in Jake Green. If only it hadn’t come with such a price.

Margie: That poor Jake. He’s gone and lost his daddy. I’m glad Emily is here to comfort him because they surely do love each other.

Edna: Hmm, you think so? They sure did get into all kinds of trouble when they were kids, I just don’t know how good they are for each other. Still, you take your comfort where you can get it I suppose, especially at a time like this. It’s just a shame that that little Heather Lisinski never came back from New Bern.

Of course, Edna thinks Heather is dead — she has heard the scuttlebutt about what happened to her in New Bern. However, Heather is very much alive. She was found in car wreckage by a military patrol. She woke up in an Army hospital tent at “Camp Liberty” in southwest Nebraska.

Heather knows a battle is brewing back in Kansas and she begs the commander, Col. Hoffman, to break up the fight between Jericho and New Bern; but he says he has other orders. Hoffman does pass the report to his superiors, and Valente tells him to go stop the fight there because a terrorist has been located within 200 miles of Jericho. Hoffman is instructed to stop the fight, then find the terrorist.

Hoffman had already told Heather that a federal government had been restored with the capital in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Heather watches the troops leave for Kansas and notices that an altered version of the Stars and Stripes flying over the base. (Margie: Great-grandpappy fought in the Civil War and I’m telling you he could set them straight about that flag! Edna: You hush and let them finish telling their story, you old fool!) Heather is taken aback by this symbol of such profound change. This is not the American flag she knows.

Back in Jericho, things are heating up for a final showdown with New Bern. Jake and his Jericho army are getting back into position when Constantino contacts him on the walkie-talkie. Although he expresses his condolences for Johnston’s passing, Jake is having none of it. Constantino urges him to surrender, stating that the town of Jericho will never withstand another attack from New Bern. Taking a page from his grandfather’s WWII story, Jake’s reply is one word: “Nuts.”

Jericho will not back down.

And neither will Margie and Edna.

Margie: What was that, Edna? Did he say klutz? Who’s a klutz?

Edna: Margie you fool, turn up your hearing aid. He clearly said nuts. Why he’s talking about party snacks at a time like this though, I’ll never know.

Margie: Party snacks? Well, I never.

On the battlefield, Margie and Edna are positioning themselves for the next fight.

Margie: Edna, get behind this tree.

Edna: Margie, if I have told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, you are not the boss of me. I’ll get behind the tree, but not because you said so; it just gives the best cover. We’re not as young as we used to be, you know — it’s not like that time in France with the freedom fighters …

Margie: Edna, quit lying. I saw that movie, too.

Edna: Is your pistol loaded? We don’t want some New Berner sneaking up on us and slitting our throats while you’re trying to load your stupid gun.

Margie: Edna, this gun has been loaded for more than 60 years.

Edna: What?? Margie, do you mean to tell me that there have been bullets in that gun all this time? Maybe you should have put fresh bullets in before we left the house. It’s just a good thing I have my sword.

Margie: Fresh bullets? Look at that old rusty sword.

Edna: It’s better when it’s rusty: if the stab wound doesn’t kill you, the tetanus will. Besides, that’s not all rust, some of it’s blood.

Margie: Good grief, Edna. It’s not people blood.

Edna: It most surely is! Didn’t you ever wonder what happened to that traveling salesman that kept sniffing around you while Daddy was alive? Daddy only told you that he left town, but I knew better.

Margie: You lie, Edna. You go on and move to New Bern.

Edna: Well fine, maybe they’ll treat me better over there. Now hush up, I think something’s happening.

The citizens of Jericho are readying themselves for the next skirmish. It’s important that they are prepared and ready to fight when Constantino and his men come back. The attackers from New Bern are shortly spotted entering the battlefield, and everyone scrambles to get into position. They stand poised to fire, and Jake, with his gun at the ready, holds up his hand.

“Wait …”

Edna: Margie, did you hear something?

Margie: Is that a helicopter?

Edna: A helicopter? Margie, have you gone daft? When was the last time anyone flew anything anywhere around here?

Margie: I guess it was when Mama threw that that bowl at Daddy. He sure flew.

But Margie is right; it’s a helicopter. Hawkins, who has commandeered the tank and sits on it high atop a hill outside of town, spots what appears to be a squadron of military helicopters, flying fast overhead. Are they coming to Jericho? Has he been located? What will this mean for his safety, the safety of those he loves?

Back on the battlefield, Jake continues to stand tensely, shoulder-to-shoulder with his brother Eric. Both are determined to avenge their father’s death and defend their town.

Jake is anticipating just the right moment to open fire: “Wait … wait … NOW!!”

Shots ring out, and the battle begins again.

Who will win?

Stay tuned for Season Two.

Thank you all so much for joining in thIt’s been so much fun to read and edit all your recaps and fan fiction and thoughts and opinions.

One note on this recap: Edna and Margie are the alter egos of Beth and Jane (I know, it’s heresy to admit Edna and Margie aren’t real, but these two women deserve tons of credit!), two of my very first volunteers for the Great Jericho Blogging Experiment. They’ve both been a joy to work with and have put tons of work into their recaps. They each did one on their own, then invented Edna and Margie for Casus Belli. I asked them if they’d write another installment on our favorite gossips for the season finale, and they graciously agreed.

Jane has gotten some great interviews with fans, cast and crew over at Jericho Monster (she also runs the Arabelle’s Alley and Jericho Central sites, each of which is dedicated to another aspect of Jericho). Beth is an active moderator on Radio Free Jericho. Both have been very active in the efforts to get Jericho a second season and to make sure it stays on the air beyond the initial seven-episode order.

Meanwhile, this brings our guest blogs to an end, for now.

I will continue to post news updates on Jericho and of course will be blogging on the show regularly once it returns (triumphantly!) to the airwaves. Then, besides my weekly recaps, we’ll have some guest bloggers from time to time as well.

Age: in my 40s
Where I live: Southeastern Kentucky
When I started watching Jericho: From the moment the promotions began in September of 2006!
My favorite character on the show and why: Stanley Richmond, because to me he represents the best of our future, he works with what is at hand in a great emotional manner.
What about Jericho makes it so special to me: This type of story has always been of interest to me, but Jericho is special because it shows how sense of community is the key to success in a terrible situation.
More about me: I love Jericho, but I also love to write, make beaded jewelery, and work on genealogy.
Me, on the Internet: My own blog is JerichoOnCBS and I am a moderator at Nuts For Jericho, on Nutsonline.com.

And now, Lisa’s excellent recap of “Coalition of the Willing.” (Note to Yvonne: You have some competition, here!)

When we last saw the men and women of Jericho, there was a major defensive move against New Bern to rescue Eric. Hawkins, Jake and Johnston had a hard walk back to Jericho.
As the episode Coalition of Willing opens, we see Stanley, Jimmy and the other men waiting in the darkness. As they are talking, Stanley tells them to keep their eyes open, that Jake had said New Bern might coming soon. Jimmy says, maybe they’re already here, and we see a lone figure appear out of the darkness covering the road. It is a young man, who when called to by Stanley does not respond. He simply walks up to Stanley, who asks him again who he is.

Back in Gray’s office, Hawkins, Johnston and Jake are describing what transpired in New Bern while they were there to save Eric. They tell of the dead they left behind. As Johnston , Jake and Hawkins tell Gray was had happened, Stanley walks into the office, bringing the young man from the road with him. Gray asks who this person is, and in response to that question the young man hands Gray a two-way radio. Gray turns it on, and the voice of Phil Constantino crackles out into the silence of the office telling the young man, Henry, to come home.

Constantino tells Gray his terms as he is prepared to accept them, New Bern wants 7 farms — including the Richmond farm — and half the salt mine! He tells Gray he has four hours to respond, that Jericho is about to be invaded. Constantino tells Gray that for the sake of the people of Jericho he needs to cooperate. Gray still can’t digest how serious Phil Constantino is about this invasion.

This is outside of Gray’s comfort zone yet he can not see his own lack of knowledge will only hurt the people of Jericho.

Meanwhile, over at the Medical Center, we see Eric sitting there hurt. He notices the room, the room where his wife, April, died not so long ago along with their unborn child. He walks to the doorway of the room and begins to relive that day, when April slipped from this world and his sense of guilt and pain over her death is apparent. Gail walks up and brings him out of his reverie, telling him he has to get cleaned up.

At the Courthouse, we find Dale among those people talking over the issue of whose farm to give up. He and Skylar meet Mrs. Sherman coming out of the room, and Dale asks her if she is really going to give up her farm. She tells him she has no way to defend it. Dale asks her if he can defend the farm, can he have it? She tells Dale that since the bank owns half the farm anyway, that if he can defend it, it’s his. Skylar asks how he will defend the farm; he turns to a man and tells him to get all the refugees together for a meeting.

Back in the Medical Center, Mary comes in and see Eric being tended to by Gail. She is just happy to see he is alive. He sees Mary as well, and they come together, it is a moment of peace that two people who are in love are reunited.

Back with Dale , we find him talking to the refugee men, who quickly tell him that defending the farm simply for food is not their cup of tea. Dale reminds them that they have been complaining that they want an equal share and that if they help defend the farm, each will receive an equal share of the farm; he offers them a future. In answer, each signs a form Skylar holds.

With Constantino’s deadline nearly up, Gray is in major stress mode. Emily comes to the courthouse and greets Jake. Now the hard work comes, as Jake must tell Emily that her friend, Heather, is believed to be dead. Stanley enters Gray’s office to tell everyone that the Rangers have not seen anything so far while out on patrol.

Jake and Emily are speaking near the courthouse windows, and at the same time as Johnston is in the mayor’s office, a sound is heard by both of them. The sound is the whistling of mortars about to slam into the main square of Jericho! Jericho is under attack.

Jake and Emily hit the ground while those in the mayor’s office they do the same. The windows smash into thousands of shards around Jake and Emily; he asks Emily if she is hurt. She tells Jake she is good, and he goes out to the street, greeted with mayhem. Many people are walking around in a daze, hurt and confused as to what is happening. He first tries to help an injured man near a car, but then looks over to see his mother laying injured in the street. Jake rushes to her, calling her when another mortar rains down on them all. He covers her body with his own against the shower of debris.

Johnston and the others come running to help, and they find Gail hurt and unable to hear from the concussion of the mortar round, but not seriously injured. She is confused and asks what has happened, and Johnston tells her she will be OK. Everyone is in shock; is this really happening right in the middle of their beloved town?

As they are all standing there, Jimmy comes to Gray and tells him that Phil is on the radio again. Phil proceeds to tell Gray that he now only has one hour to give up the seven farms and the salt mine to New Bern. He tells Gray that he can and will keep the mortar rounds raining down on Jericho day and night, until Jericho surrenders.

It is now that Gray makes his biggest and most fatal mistake. He tells Stanley to get the Rangers and go looking for the location of where the mortars were coming from. Johnston tells him to send scouts first, but Gray has not let the severity of his town’s situation sink in yet and his reluctance to accept help from Johnston has clouded his judgment.

Back out in the street we see Hawkins helping many wounded people to safety. Darcy comes up to him, asking what is happening. He tells her that they need to get the children and leave Jericho, and she asks him where they would go. Hawkins tells her he knows of a safe house in Montana, and she questions this due to the roads being so unsafe to travel. He then starts yelling to everyone on the street to get underground. Darcy tells him she just wants to go home.

The Hawkins family is home together. They go down to the basement, and Sam goes to the door of his father’s secret room, but Darcy tells him to stop and not go in. Hawkins tells Darcy that the room is the safest in the house, made of reinforced concrete. Darcy tells Allison and Sam to get more things, leaving her and Rob alone. He takes her inside the room, puts his backpack down and tells her, ‘no more secrets.’

Gray receives a radio call from Stanley concerning the location of the trucks with the mortars, and asks what to do. Gray, against the heated advice of Eric and Johnston to wait and scout the location first, tells Stanley to go with the Rangers and take the truck! This will prove to be fatal mistake on Gray’s part.

As Darcy and Rob talk together in the basement room, Darcy asks him why he wants to be completely open now, and he tells her that he used to think he could protect them, but now sees that is not possible. They end up being the only people who are making something work in the whole event, they now understand how much their love and family means.

Back in the basement with Gray and the others, they sit wondering if Stanley was successful, and then the answer comes … explosions ring out twice.

There is no answer from Stanley on the radio.

Back out in the street, Gray runs with the others to find Stanley stumbling into the town square, hurt and alone. Jake reaches them first, and asks Stanley where the rest of the Rangers are. Stanley tells them what happened, that while they attempted to take the truck they were ambushed on both sides by New Bern men. He tells them the New Bern people kept shooting, until the Jericho Rangers were all dead. Jake and the others standing there are in shock! Jake’s first reaction is to turn and go after Gray for needlessly sending men to their deaths. Mimi, comforting Stanley, says the whole thing is insane.

Luckily, Johnston stops Jake and tells him to go to Bailey’s, where everyone who is NOT in Gray’s camp is discussing how to find the mortars’ locations. As they are discussing this, Emily comes in and tells Jake she is going with them and he simply hands her a gun with no argument. Johnston tells Jake to just scout — no heroics — just scout the location!

Eric, Jake, Hawkins and Emily head out of town on horseback, and as Jake and Emily are riding together, Eric rides up to tell them that Hawkins has spotted a truck coming from the direction of New Bern. Eric and Jake decide to try to take the truck, with Hawkins and Emily waiting with guns on the hill.

As the truck approaches, Jake and Eric ride up to the truck while Hawkins shoots at the front of the truck to slow it down. Jake gets his horse up to the driver’s side and tells the driver to stop, but as this happens, out of nowhere come men on dirt bikes and cars down the road! It is Jonah, Emily’s father.
Jonah tells his men to let Jake and everyone go and Emily tells him to help her and Jake to stop the men from New Bern. At first he refuses and tells Emily that she needs to get as far away from Jericho as possible. He also asks why he should help the people of Jericho, when the last time he saw them they tried to lynch him!

Back in town, Johnston goes to Dale and asks for his help in protecting the town, but Dale wants a promise from Johnston to get a farm in return. Johnston tells him this is not business, but a personal request.

Emily manages to make a deal for half of all they take if Jonah helps with New Bern, and Jonah agrees.

Meanwhile, the townspeople meet with Johnston about giving the farms up to stop Constantino. As they are all talking Emily, Jake, Hawkins and Jonah come into the bar. Johnston does not look pleased. Everyone goes over the maps that Jonah had showing the locations of the mortars from New Bern, and even though Johnston does not want Jonah’s help , he sees that this is too important to let any help get away and so Johnston accepts it. Johnston tells Jimmy to go stop Gray from giving the farms to Constantino any way he can.

Jimmy and the others go to the basement where Gray and his men, including Bill, are. Gray is despondent, the air is thick with dread. Bill is upset that Eric is there and yells at Jimmy for bringing him. Eric and Stanley tell Gray to not give the farms to Constantino, a fight between the two groups begins, and guns are drawn. Stanley tells Gray that he almost died for Jericho, that Gray owed it to him to hear him out.

Eric begins yelling to Gray that his father and Jake and Hawkins are out at the moment scouting for the mortars, and that they have guns and a truck. Gray wants to know where they got these things, and says this will only make Constantino mad. Eric tells Gray about Jonah and his men being on Jericho’s side in this, and asks Gray to just buy some time with Constantino somehow.

As Johnston and the others get ready to take the New Bern camp, Jake and Hawkins get into the back of the truck they stopped earlier. Johnston gets into the front passenger side. The driver tells Johnston how he recalls a fishing contest in New Bern where they both participated. Hawkins asks Jake if Jonah will have their backs, and Jake just smirks, but tells Hawkins that Emily is here, so it will be OK.

Back in the basement, Gray finally gets his brain into gear and does what Eric and the others have suggested to him. When Constantino radios back to him about the deal, Gray begins a sales pitch in order to stall Constantino. This stall works, for a bit. He only needs to buy enough time for Johnston and the others to get to the camp and take the truck with the mortars. This stall ends when Constantino says he knows what Gray is doing, and that Gray now has just 30 seconds to accept before more mortars are sent into the middle of Jericho.

Johnston and the others hiding in the truck finally get into the camp, and the driver stops. He is talking with one of the New Bern men, and he tells them he has meat for them. The New Bern men are happy to hear that and go to the back of the truck where Hawkins and Jake are waiting in ambush. When the men open the trucks back door, they get the surprise of their lives and are captured. But the driver gets his dose of courage (or fear) and jumps out of the truck yelling, “They’re here!”

This brings on a firefight between the two groups, with the band from Jericho terribly outnumbered. During this gunfight, Hawkins yells, “Where is Jonah?” as Johnston calls for a ceasefire. Just when all seemed lost, over the hill comes Jonah and his men and in a few short minutes the fight is over.

Jonah’s men slowly go over the dead, taking what can be useful to them. As Jonah walks toward the rest of the men from Jericho, he sees a man on the ground. It is the driver, who’s been shot. Jonah looks at him for a moment, and then quietly shoots the man, while Johnston yells “no!” in the background. Emily has been behind Jonah, and sees what he has done, she is clearly in pain as she realizes that her father is a cold-blooded killer.

Jonah simply walks to the trucks and tells his men to take them, as well as the guns and fuel. Emily and Jake yell that they had a deal, but Jonah tells Emily to stay away from him, the she was a teacher and he was a thief who would only hurt her. With that, Jonah and his men leave, as Jake asks Hawkins why he did not stop them from leaving with the guns and fuel?

Hawkins tells Jake that guns are easy, and takes Jake to his storage unit, which is filled with all types of weapons. Jake asks why Hawkins did not tell him about the guns he had stashed, and Hawkins tells him he never thought he would be making Jericho his home.

Gray and the others wait for word on how Jake and Johnston’s expedition went. Johnston comes in to tell Gray that the scouting party was successful, that they had found the mortars. At the same time, Constantino comes on the radio, and tells Gray that what was to come next was his fault, this was now war!

Finally, Gray realizes how he needs Johnston, the whole town does and so he asks Johnston for his help. Johnston and Gray shake hands, and then Johnston proceeds to tell Stanley and the others to go get everyone together.

The last scene

In the last scene of this episode, we see the entire town waiting together in the dark square. It is a somber place. Jake and Hawkins drive up with the truck load of weapons as Johnston get up to speak to the townspeople. I will do my best to say what he did, without mangling it, but I wanted to do this from memory and not copy:

“Most of you have no idea what to do, or what is coming. Some of you do. This is not a fight for land, or a town. It is a fight for our very existence. Pray for each other, and while you’re at it, pray for the people of New Bern. Pray that God forgives us.

He steps down with tears in his eyes, as the crowd of friends and family looks on. Jake steps up, and calls for all people who are able-bodied and over 16 who need a weapon to come forward and get in line.

We watch as each person, from Johnston to Allison (Hawkins’ daughter) each gets a gun. Intermixed with this scene, we see Stanley and a few other men dressed in dark clothes, moving slowly toward a New Bern encampment.

War has come to Jericho.

First, here’s a reminder of who Yvonne is:
Age: 40
Started watching: On Day 1 and never looked back!
Favorite character: This is a tough question, there are interesting things about all of them! I guess if I had to choose one, it would be Robert Hawkins. He’s smart, mysterious and all we REALLY know about him is what he told Jake Green about himself (and Jake chose to believe him). He does seem to be a decent human being and he’s learning the value of his family, so it’s interesting to see how his character is growing.
Why Jericho is special to me: To put it simply, it’s just a well written show, with interesting characters and one of the greatest ensemble casts on television today. The show is also so real: real small-town values and interpersonal relationships and real human imperfections and strengths. The show makes you feel like a part of the community and a part of these people’s lives. There is a vested interest in these characters.
More about me: I’m a GIS Analyst for an Engineering firm. I have four dogs and a wonderful husband and my hobbies include reading, poker and travel!

Now, before the recap, a note from Yvonne:

First, let me preface the recap with an apology that it’s so long. Many of my friends that are new to Jericho have missed an episode here and there (not to mention the big missing chunk in the middle of the summer re-runs), so I make my recaps detailed so that they can follow what’s going on. That said, here’s the recap of “Coalition of the Willing.”

Amy note: We love your long recaps, Yvonne. Like I said earlier: The Internet has virtually limitless space, so why not?

The show opens with Jericho on edge, as Constantino had given them 4 hours to comply with his demands, which Gray has not done and time is almost up. Johnston, Jake, Eric and several of the other men in town are in his office, discussing what’s going on. Jake sees Emily and pulls her outside to the hall to tell her that Heather has disappeared. He says she knew too much about was going on in New Bern and no one has seen her since. Emily asks Jake if she’s dead, and he doesn’t answer.

Just then, a mortar flies into town. There is chaos on the main street in Jericho, as Jake and Emily run outside to see who’s hurt. Jake sees his mom laying on the ground and runs over to her. As he’s leaning over her, another mortar comes flying in and he covers her with his body. He then pulls her out of the way and is holding her, just as Johnston and Eric come running over to them to see if she’s ok. She’s bleeding and is temporarily deaf from the blast. Everyone in town who isn’t hurt is scrambling to help those who are.

Mayor Gray Anderson comes running out of Town Hall and orders his men to open the shelters and get everyone off the street. Sheriff Jimmy comes out to inform him that Constantino is on the radio for him. Gray goes inside, takes the radio and goes off on Constantino, wanting to know what the hell he is doing! Constantino reminds him that he was told what would happen if he didn’t meet New Bern’s demands. Gray responds by saying, “Demands? I will make it my purpose in life to see that you are held accountable for what you’ve just done!” Constantino replies, “Take another hour.” Constantino will order more mortars fired on Jericho if they do not surrender the 7 farms surrounding the town by then.

Gray sends Stanley Richmond off to gather as many Rangers as he can and they are to find out where the mortars are being fired from.

Back in the center of town, Hawkins is still helping to move people to safety. (Wait! There’s our favorite townie, Jennie, being helped by him!) Darcy runs up, wanting to know what has happened. He tells her and they try to decide whether to leave town and try to make it to a safe house he knows of in Montana.

Meanwhile, Johnston approaches Gray, who tells him that scouts have been sent out to find where the mortars are coming from. Johnston says he thinks he should have gone with them. The tension is clearly thick between the two of them as Gray retorts that he had to make a decision and Johnston wasn’t there at the time.

We go back to Hawkins, who is shouting that everybody needs to get underground. Darcy tells Hawkins that she wants them all to go home (big step for these two!). They get the kids and head to the basement and eventually the attached garage, where Hawkins has set up his Intel operation and still has his maps out on display. He tells Darcy that there will be no more secrets between them.

Back at Town Hall, Gray, Sheriff Jimmy, Johnston, Jake, Eric, Bill and some others are waiting by the radio to hear word from Stanley and the Rangers. Stanley finally radios in and says they found the mortar cannons on a truck surrounded by 10 men and he wants to know what they should do. Johnston and Gray butt heads again, as Johnston advises that they send scouts out on both flanks so they know what they’re up against and Gray, knowing there’s only 4 minutes before their hour is up, shouts, “No,” and orders Stanley and his men to take them out.

Back to Darcy and Hawkins: Hawkins is telling Darcy that the only thing that makes sense in all this madness is her and the kids and that he’s truly sorry it has taken him so long to realize this. Darcy has tears streaming down her face as she tells him she’s missed him. They engage in a kiss, which their daughter, Allison, sees and she smiles, knowing her parents have reconciled.

Back to Town Hall, the guys are waiting to hear from Stanley so they know whether or not they were successful, just as mortars are being fired on the town again.

Stanley and a few of the other Rangers come back into town, one of the men having been shot in the group. Jake runs over to talk to Stanley, who tells him that the men guarding the mortar truck were waiting for them and that all of the Rangers except for the one’s who came back with him are dead. Mimi has run over and is sitting down, holding Stanley and cries out, “This is insane!”

Jake, clearly angry, starts after Gray, but Johnston intervenes. Johnston then orders Jake, Gray, Hawkins and the others over to Bailey’s, where he decides that he had best use his prior military experience and take control of the situation. He decides to send out scouts to gather Intel on the situation and do nothing more. “First we find them, then we formulate a plan of attack,” he says. Emily and Mary have entered the bar and Emily walks over to Jake and tells him she’s going with them. “This,” she says, “is not a request.” Jake looks at her and hands her a gun. Jake, Emily, Hawkins and Eric take off on horseback to scout the situation.

Eric rides up to Jake and Emily a while later and tells them that Hawkins has spotted a five-ton truck coming this way from New Bern. Jake assumes it is a mortar supply truck, heading to the next site. Eric tells them that they can get to it and take it out. Emily and Hawkins are lying on the ground with their firearms ready, waiting for the truck to pass as Jake and Eric ride up on either side of the truck. The passenger goes to shoot Eric and Hawkins shoots a hole through the trucks windshield. Jake is able to tells the driver to stop.

Just as this is happening, Emily’s outlaw dad, Jonah Prowse, shows up with his rather large crew of thugs and surrounds them all. Once he realizes that Jake and Emily are there, he tells his men to let them go.

Back in Jericho, Johnston has called a meeting with Dale and Skylar and tells Dale that he needs his men to help them fight New Bern. Dale says his men “Don’t fight for Gray Anderson.” Johnston tells him that if they lose this battle, he won’t have anything to fight for. Skylar pipes in and says they will fight if they can keep Mrs. Herbert’s farm and Dale adds that they want the abandoned Surrey farm as well. “You already own half the salt mine and a percentage of every farm in the county, now you want more?” is Johnston’s reply. “It’s just business.” Dale says. Johnston tells him that it’s not about business to him, that he’s asking Dale to do this as a personal favor. Johnston then leaves.

Meanwhile, Emily is attempting to recruit Jonah and his crew to fight with them and give the all the maps and intel they have gathered on New Bern, but Jonah is trying to convince Emily to leave Jericho and come with him. Emily refuses to leave and promises her father half of everything they take from New Bern if he joins them. She wins and he tells his men there’s been a change of plans. “You got more of me in you than you’re ever gonna admit,” he says to his daughter.

In Jericho, Johnston Green is trying to convince the farmers to fight with them and not give up their farms to New Bern. The farmers are not prepared to fight and feel that once the federal government is back in order, they will get their farms back, because they have the deeds. Johnston argues that the federal government might not ever come back and the New Bern is intent on killing all in Jericho. Johnston promises get them ready to fight if they don’t give in. The farmer’s spokesman asks Johnston who else he has planning to fight, insinuating that there aren’t enough people to fight New Bern.

At that moment, in walk Jake and Emily with Jonah, much to the dismay of Johnston. The farmers leave and the group starts going over the intel they’ve gathered. Johnston asks Stanley how their trucks are guarded and Jonah jumps in and says that there are 30 men guarding the trucks to Johnston’s nine. Sheriff Jimmy walks in to tell Johnston that Gray has the 7 farms he needs and is going to call New Bern and give them up.

“If he surrenders those farms, New Bern will occupy them in 30 minutes. We’ll never get rid of them,” Johnston tells Jimmy. “So,” Jimmy asks, “what do we do?” Johnston looks at Jonah and says, “I guess I’m about to make a deal with the devil.” Jonah laughs and says Johnston flatters him. Johnston tells Jimmy, Stanley and Eric to go to Town Hall and do “whatever it takes” to stop Gray from making that deal with New Bern. Jimmy asks Johnston what that means. Johnston tells Jimmy that means it’s time to choose a side.

Jimmy, Stanley and Eric arrive at Town Hall and confront Gray Anderson and his men, telling them not to make the deal. The situation gets heated and all in the room draw their guns.

Eric starts yelling at Gray, “We have men out there!” Gray tells his men to lower their guns and Jimmy tells Eric and Stanley to do the same. Gray asks Eric who’s out there. “Jake, Hawkins, my dad. They’re going to try and take out the mortars.” Gray replies, “Just the three of them? What do you think they’re going to do?” Stanley then starts angrily confronting Gray, telling him that he cannot give up those farms. Gray argues that they can’t fight either. “You saw what happened this morning. We’re not ready for this!” Gray goes on to say he’s promised New Bern that Jericho wouldn’t retaliate. Stanley fires back, saying that they have maps of all of New Bern’s facilities, including their supply lines. They also have fuel, trucks, ammo and guns.

Gray wants to know where they got all of this and Eric tells them Jonah Prowse is fighting with them and that he has 30 men with him. Gray replies that Jonah could get them all killed. Constantino comes back on the radio wanting an answer. Gray doesn’t pick up.

Back at the truck, Johnston is now holding the driver at gunpoint, while Jake, Hawkins in the other get into the back to hide. The driver looks at him and says, “Johnston Green, right?” He goes on to tell Johnston that the two of them had been in the same bass fishing tournament two years ago and that he remembered Johnston finishing fourth while he finished second. Johnston looks down at his hands, grasping the reality that they are fighting their neighbors.

Meanwhile, Hawkins, Jake and several other men from Jericho have loaded themselves in the back of the truck to hide until they reach the mortar site. Johnston tells the driver, “Let’s go,” and they are off to try to take them out. Returning to Town Hall, Eric tells Gray not to make the deal with New Bern, to buy the guys time to deal with the situation by negotiating with Constantino.

Back at the truck, Hawkins asks Jake if Jonah will have their back if things get bad. Jake laughs and Hawkins tells him he’s not giving him a lot of confidence. “Emily’s with him”, Jake says. “He’ll be there.”

Returning to Town Hall, Gray has finally picked up the radio to answer Constantino. Eric tells him he’s a good businessman and that he knows how to do this. Gray begins trying to negotiate with Constantino.

The truck with Jake and company arrives at the mortar site. One of the men at the site approaches the truck and asks the driver why he’s three hours late. Johnston has the gun sticking in his ribs, so the driver lies and says he was sniped at by a gang out on the road and had to take the long way back. He then says there’s barbequed venison in the back of the truck. The guy he’s been talking to whistles and tells a few of the men to help him get the chow out of the truck. They open the truck to find Jake, Hawkins and several other men from Jericho pointing guns at them. They tell the men to drop their weapons.

At Town Hall, Constantino is not making negotiating easy. He finally gets fed up and asks, “What are you doing, Gray?” He then says that the negotiating is over and that Gray has 30 seconds before he orders his men to send four more mortars.

Back at the truck, Jake and Hawkins have loaded the men that greeted them into the back and get it locked, just before the rest of New Bern’s men at the site open fire on them. The men from Jericho take cover around the truck and the fighting gets heavy. Hawkins screams at Jake, wondering where the hell Jonah is. Johnston yells back, explaining Jonah doesn’t want to get hit by the crossfire, so they should cease fire. Once they quit shooting, Jonah and his men come up from from behind, firing on the unprotected New Bern men as they come.

Every single one appears to be dead when Jonah and his men finish, and they begin taking the weapons, jewelry and anything else they can find. Just as Jonah is standing over the driver of New Bern’s truck, he rolls over, alive, and looks up at Jonah. Jonah points his gun at him to kill him. Johnston screams, “NO!” but Jonah shoots him anyway. Emily walks up from behind him and he turns to look at her. She has tears in her eyes, clearly mortified by what her father has just done.

Jonah then changes the plans and tells Jake, Emily and the others that his crew is taking everything. Emily argues that the deal was 50/50 and Jake angrily gets in his face saying that things are about to get much worse and that they need those weapons. Johnston and Hawkins pull him back to keep him from getting himself shot by Jonah. Emily asks why he’s doing this, and he tells her that he’s a thief, not a soldier and that she shouldn’t be anywhere near him. He then pushes her away and gets in the truck and drives away (although there is a pained look on his face when he does).

Jake looks at Hawkins and asks if they are all just going to let them drive away, they need those guns. “Guns?” replies Hawkins “Guns are easy.” He then takes Jake to his house where he literally has an aresenal of guns of every shape, size and type along with ammo enough for an army. [Amy note: This is where Hawkins goes all in, truly throwing his lot in with Jericho.] They get the guns loaded up.

Back at Town Hall, Gray, Stanley, Eric, Bill and Jimmy are wondering why New Bern hasn’t fired the mortars yet and if that means that Jake and the others had sucessfully taken them out. Johnston appears at the door and confirms that they had taken out the mortars.

Constantino then comes on the radio: “Gray, are you there?” Gray answers him affirmatively. Constantino continues, “Now you’ve brought this on yourself. There’s no deals, no mercy, we’re coming. This means war. Do you hear me Gray?” Gray turns off the radio and sets it down. He then looks at Johnston and tell him that he needs his help. Johnston walks the rest of the way into the room and tells Stanley to find all the runners he can so that they can get orders out to the patrols. He then shakes Gray’s hand.

Out on Main Street, everyone in town has gathered. Jake and Hawkins arrive in a pickup truck loaded with the weapons. Johnston, Gray and the others have come outside and Johnston stands on the back of the truck bed to address the people of Jericho. “Most of you have no idea what to do, or what’s coming. Some of you do.”

He goes on to say that the fight is for their very existance and that they should pray for each other, pray for the men and women of New Bern and pray that God forgives them. Jake then jumps up on the back of the truck and says that every able-bodied person over the age of 16 who needs a weapon should line up and get one. Allison Hawkins is among them.

The show closes with weapons being handed out and the scouts and runners getting info.

Jericho is preparing to go to war.

Thank you, Yvonne. Lisa Coultrup’s will be the second recap, posting either tonight or tomorrow. Enjoy! And tomorrow night, we get two more recaps, from the season finale. One will be written by a very special pair of guests.

She was shy at first about joining the Great Jericho Blogging Experiment, but she finally caved. Here’s her info, then her recap of “One If By Land”:

Name: I am all over the Internet as kricka, but my real name is Erika.
Age: Turned 39 in July, woo hoo!!
Where I live: Brooklyn, N.Y.
When I started watching Jericho: My butt was on the couch right from the start.
My favorite character on the show and why: Ooooh, I am so bad with picking favorites, so I’m not gonna. I will say that I can relate to Jake, Heather, Mimi and Stanley (and I guess that gives away lots about me, including who I am rooting for in the romance department).
What about Jericho makes it so special to me: Other than the post-apocalyptic thing that I am much more intrigued by than I had previously realized, what I love the most about Jericho is that it doesn’t portray small-town folk as simple-minded. I grew up in small towns in different parts of the country, and people are just as complex and interesting in small towns as they are in big cities. This show captures that nicely, without really judging anyone. Also, I like how nothing is black and white, but only shades of gray.
More about me: Like most of my friends, I am happily unmarried and childless, and our lives don’t even come close to resembling “Sex and the City.” That show has caused more misunderstandings and annoyances with people who don’t live here, as much as I did love to watch. And I know New Yorkers get a bad rap in other parts of the country for being only concerned with ourselves and being snooty, but there are a lot of us who are really interested in the rest of the country, and appreciate the quirks and differences from region to region.
Me, on the Internet: I write a blog, Short Story Life, that is totally random. Sometimes I post every day, sometimes you won’t hear from me for a month. Also, I spend a ridiculous amount of time on Television Without Pity and Radio Free Jericho. Really, I think there needs to be a patch or a pill or something to break my addiction.

Jake and Stupid Ol’ Eric are still in the New Bern jail, and while Jake is once again trying to make Eric feel better, we see Maggie, the FauxMarine, being brought into jail. Jake makes a deal with Maggie to go find Hawkins and enlist his help in making a great escape. And Eric gets tortured again.

After an itchy trigger finger leads to a near riot out at the salt mine, Mayor Dad (Johnston) finds out from Russell that his boys are in New Bern, and they head out to get them back. Maggie goes to Ted’s hunting cabin with two of Constantino’s men to find Hawkins, who comes running out of the cabin all ready to shoot Maggie, after killing Constatino’s men (badass!). Maggie gets all squirrelly, yelling “Columbus, Columbus!”, which turns out to be the secret word that keeps Hawkins from shooting Maggie, too. They head out with Ted to steal some mortars to cause a diversion, leading us to my second favorite conversation of the episode, where Ted and Maggie talk about what they were doing five months ago, and Hawkins’ non-answer, which is awesome.

Mayor Dad tries to talk some sense into Constatino (good luck with that), and gets all badass himself on Constatino. On the way to see Eric and Jake, Mayor Dad offers Russell a place in Jericho, and in return Russell continues to prove he is way cooler that most of New Bern by telling him about a short cut out of town. Then Constantino proves once again what a jerkwad he is by changing the terms of seeing Eric and Jake and sends Mayor Dad on his way.

Stupid Ol’ Eric proves he’s not so stupid by getting beat up again but not giving up any information. The minions try to get info from the boys, this time by sitting them across the table from each other and threatening to slit Jake’s throat. Just before Jake receives yet another head wound (this one potentially fatal), Hawkins diversionary bomb goes off, sending Constantino and his minions running to see what’s up, and giving Mayor Dad an opportunity to grab his truck and high-tail it to the jail. Ted wusses out, leaving Hawkins to go running towards the jail all on his own, shooting snipers and guards one by one. As Eric and Jake are being escorted out of the jail, Hawkins shoots the guards and the boys get guns from the dead, and continue the shoot-out while diving for cover (Did I mention boys running while shooting guns is one of my very favorite TV and movie conventions? Well, it is, and I loved this scene). Mayor Dad drives up and rescues everyone, including Maggie, taking Russell’s bypass route out of town.

As everyone camo’s the truck and heads back to Jericho, Jake awesomely reminds Hawkins that they leave no ‘man’ behind, and gets really, really excited about Hawkins’ stash of “actual whiskey.” Heh. The last scene with all of them walking in the dark talking about the smell of the spring wheat and what is to come is beautiful and wonderfully fitting for what Jericho has become.

Also? Gail finally softens toward Mary in a sweet scene at Bailey’s, Skylar gets a lesson in kindness and compassioon, Dale continues to be kinda jerky, Dr. Kenchy gets a shout out, and there is not any Mimi, Stanley or Bonnie (BOO!). My favorite scene? Right at the beginning. Jake asks about Heather, which gives us all hope that she is not really dead. Because she just can’t be. Awesome.

Thanks, Erika, for a great recap! I hope you all enjoy it.

Reminder: Next week is two days in a row with Coalition of the Willing on Friday and Why We Fight, the incredible Season 1 finale, on Saturday.

First, here’s a review of Kay’s info:
Age: Old enough to know better, young enough not to care…
Home:Akron, Ohio—Once the Tire Capital of the world, (Goodyear still produces tires for NASCAR here), we’re the home of the Goodyear Blimp, The All-American Soap Box Derby and LeBron James
Started watching Jericho: from the first previews and commercials!
Favorite character: Jake Green, particularly because he’s played so well by Skeet Ulrich. It’s interesting to learn how and why Jake has evolved into the man he is today. Jake still sees himself as the town misfit, the young hotheaded screw-up he used to be, unworthy of the respect he’s earned in Jericho. He seems surprised at his own strength and capability when heroics and responsibility are demanded of him.
What about Jericho makes it so special: I think it’s the whole ‘What if this happened here, to us?’ scenario. How WOULD we react if we faced these same circumstances? I love the way the writers make this town and these characters so real-that in the midst of a frightening tragedy there’s still hope, love and humor.
More about Kay: I love to read, write, and keep in touch with friends and family. While I love to travel, I can’t imagine living anywhere but the Midwest.
Kay’s Jericho sites: http://tmoodaddicts.blogspot.com, http://skeetulrich.proboards80.com and http://capturingskeet.smugmug.com

After the break, we get Kay’s excellent recap.

We revisit our hero, Jake, as he is being interrogated by Constantino — and threatening harm to Eric doesn’t sway Jake’s refusal to give up Hawkins’ name. He’s taken back to his cell to find those threats are not idle — Eric has been worked over by the sheriff’s thugs. Eric looks Jake over, “Looks like they went easy on you…”

Contantino knows this is the surest way to get to Jake, and make him cooperate. It seems as though Eric’s been broken. Added to his guilt over April and the baby’s death, he’s ready to give up, he’s seen too much. Jake takes his role of big brother seriously and bolsters Eric with stories from their childhood. As they talk, we see an old acquaintance, “fake Marine” Maggie being brought into the jail.

******************

Back in Jericho, things are deteriorating quickly. There’s a skirmish at the salt mine, and shots are fired. After the injured are assessed, one of New Bern’s men has been killed. Russell pleads with Gray Anderson to end this feud by sharing the salt or the worst is yet to come for the neighboring towns.

Across town, Gail Green is trying to manage the clinic. While she accepts some homemade antiseptic from Mary Bailey, she is not ready to deal with her. Emily cautions Mary to give it time. Later, Gail nearly loses it when Johnston tells her he must go to New Bern in the hopes of rescuing BOTH of their sons.

Skylar has a rude awakening as she is subjected to the townspeople’s real feelings for her family … especially her father. He wasn’t so much admired for being a good man, but somewhat feared for being powerful. Dale makes her see that there is a huge difference: people with power hold all the cards … that’s just how life is.

*****************

Jake is shocked when he recognizes Maggie entering their jail cell. He’s somewhat dismissive, wondering how she ended up in this predicament. But Maggie works on Jake, trying to convince him she can make a deal with Constantino. (It seems as though she is playing both sides, so we’re not sure she can be trusted.)

After hearing Eric’s screams as he is tortured by Constantino’s men, Jake reluctantly gives her information. She bargains her way out in order to find Hawkins to help free the Green boys.

****************

Johnston and Russell have been taken to Constantino. While he first tries to reason with the sheriff, Johnston is incensed over the accusations against his sons. He goes into “Ranger” mode and while Constantino doesn’t back down, he knows he is on thin ice. He refuses to let Johnston see his sons, and wants him escorted out of New Bern.

****************

At Ted’s fishing cabin, Hawkins eliminates several deputies, and turns his attention to Maggie, handcuffed to a squad car. She screams “Jake! Jake! Columbus! Jake said you’d know what that means!”

Ted looks green as Hawkins assures Maggie no one is left in the cabin. They head back to town, bent on making their plan succeed.

**************

When Jake and Eric are being questioned simultaneously, the brothers stand strong, refusing to divulge anything. They now know this is about more than salt … New Bern wants Jericho entirely. Even with a knife held to his throat, Jake tells Eric not to talk.

Suddenly, there’s an explosion and it seems Maggie (who’s been taken into custody again) has been telling the truth — Hawkins was going to blow the factory. Everyone rushes out to defend and protect their town, and Constantino decides to move these two valuable prisoners to the warehouse. Jake and Eric’s eyes meet … they silently acknowledge what they must do outside, knowing Hawkins will be waiting.

****************

Once they reach the town checkpoint, Russell thanks Johnston for his offer of residence in Jericho, but says he must stay in New Bern to protect his daughter. As the explosions ring out, Johnston is all but forgotten as the guards rush off — he guns the motor and heads for City Hall.

***************

Meanwhile, Hawkins is in sniper mode, watching and waiting. Ted bails on him — he cannot bring himself to shoot at his former friends and neighbors. As Jake and Eric are brought into the open, Robert takes aim at the guard on the roof, then targets the other men on the ground. He yells for Jake, who overpowers his deputy and retrieves a gun, helping to free Eric from his guard.

They are able to find cover and help Hawkins fight off the enemy, when Maggie shouts out a warning. Johnston Green roars up and with bullets continuing to fly, they leap for the truck, Jake helping the injured Maggie. Thanks to Russell’s previous directions, they escape from New Bern.

**************

With 12 miles left to Jericho, the truck runs out of gas. They hide it under brush and the men start home on foot. While Hawkins points out that Maggie may not make it, Jake says, “She didn’t leave us, we’re not leaving her.”

Fair enough.

*************

The stars still shine and the wind blows on, despite all that’s happened and all that’s yet to come.

Thanks, Kay!

At the same time, Exec Prod Dan Shotz will be online at the Jericho site for a live chat.

Then, next weekend, we have a double shot of Jericho:
• At 9 p.m. next Friday (Sept. 14th), we get Coalition of the Willing (guest blogged by returning G.B. Yvonne and newbie-to-us Lisa).
• At 8 p.m. Sept. 15 (Saturday), we get the first season finale, Why We Fight (guest blogged by the beloved Edna and Margie, aka Beth and Jane, and also by newbie — again, just to the guest blogs — Nuciferous).

Last tidbit: On The Salty Scoop blog, production folks inform us that they’re close to having episode 5 totally wrapped up and there’s less than four weeks left on production of the seven eps they’re been given the go-ahead to do.

A little while back, I asked previous Jericho guest bloggers Jane and Beth to make a return engagement to blog on Casus Belli (which, by the by, is Latin for “Cause for War”). They accepted and then behind my back conspired to do something totally creative and different and fun for this week’s guest blog.

I had no idea back in June, when I asked for guest bloggers in a total experiment for this blog, that we’d get such well-written and creative entries.

So, you’re only getting one this week, but it’s really fun. Enjoy and let us know what you think:

Events as seen through the eyes of Edna and Margie, two of Jericho’s oldest residents

Intro: Life in a small town is a funny thing, even under the best of circumstances. There is the benefit of a strong sense of community, and a certain comfort in the fact that you and your neighbors have known each other since birth. Some people chafe under the restrictions of such intimacy, and flee for larger cities and the anonymity that they provide. Others revel in this inter-connectedness, and even thrive on it. Edna and Margie are two of the latter. Elderly sisters, they have lived in Jericho all of their lives. They have seen it boom, and they have seen it bust. They know all, they see all, and they’re not afraid to talk about it.

Recent events in the town of Jericho have given them much to discuss. After the bombs fell, they witnessed the best and worst of the citizens of Jericho. They have managed to survive these hard times as they always do: through sheer force of will and a nose for gossip.

Gracie’s Market 10 a.m.

Margie: Edna, did you hear about those New Bern people coming back to town with those windmills? There’s something strange going on here.

Edna: There you go again, Margie, looking for trouble where there isn’t any. At least we’ll get the power back on! And that Constantino is such a nice young man — although, his pointy beard makes him seem a little … well … shady, don’t you think?

Margie: He’s shady for sure. Did you know that Eric Green and Heather Lisinski didn’t come back with the others?

Edna: Oh no, not that sweet Heather! I wonder why she didn’t come back? Eric, they can keep.

Margie: Sometimes I can’t believe you’re my sister. Eric could be in danger. He’s been missing for three days and that Russell from New Bern told Jake he should be worried about Eric.

Edna: Well fine, let Jake worry about Eric then. Honestly Margie, you were just telling me a few weeks ago how scandalous you thought he was being with that Mary Bailey. Don’t tell me you’ve changed your tune just because of what happened with poor April.

Margie: You know, I heard that Johnston Green is going soft on that home wrecker Mary Bailey. He’s been at that bar helping her make antiseptic. I think I’ll tell his wife and see how much longer he acts like that. This didn’t go on in my day.

Edna: You old fool, you know you don’t want to be the one to tell Gail Green that her husband’s hanging around Bailey’s Tavern. She’s got a mouth like a sailor, and she won’t thank you for sticking your nose in her business. And what do you mean, your day? I seem to remember you spending quite a bit of time in the hay loft with Stanley Richmond’s father (God rest his soul), so don’t tell me about how that kind of thing didn’t happen in your day.

Margie: Well, I never! What about you Miss High-and-Mighty? You and Skylar’s grandpa were quite the pair weren’t you? I’ve had enough of this! I’m going to Bailey’s.

Bailey’s Tavern 11:45 a.m.

Edna: I sure hope Mary Bailey’s got something better around here than that bathtub gin she’s been passing out lately. There are some days, I swear, that homegrown hooch she serves makes me wish I were a teetotaler. Look Margie, there’s Johnston! No, don’t look, he’ll see you looking.

Margie: You? A teetotaler? You’d drink that antiseptic if you could get your hands on it. I guess you heard what that rich kid, Skylar, did with her little boyfriend Dale.

Edna: You know what Margie, I’ve had just about enough of you! If a nuclear bomb hadn’t taken out Denver, that’s where I’d be headed right now, just to get away from your vicious lies. Where was I — oh, yes, Skylar and Dale. You mean, did I hear about what they did with the salt? I did. Those two, trying to run Gracie Leigh’s market; why, I heard they swindled that nice farmer Mr. Simmons out of goods to sell in their store. Teenagers turning to hooliganism; it will come to no good, I tell you.

Margie: You should know all about hooligans. That spoiled Skylar had papers drawn up saying her parents are dead so she could get half of the salt mine. Dale went along with her because he’s in love. What do kids know about love?

Edna: More than you do, I’d wager. I just don’t like what’s happening to the kids of Jericho these days. I don’t care if a nuclear bomb did go off, that’s no excuse for bad manners.

Margie: Kids. Skylar and Dale went to the Mayor but he didn’t accept their little plan. I heard that Russell was trying to make a deal with them. They better stay away from him, that won’t end well.

Narrative: Characteristic of most small-town gossips, Edna and Margie think they know everything that goes on in their little community. But they have no way of knowing that at this particular moment, Jake Green is enlisting the help of Robert Hawkins to go to New Bern and retrieve his brother, Eric. A dangerous mission, yes, but a necessary one. And Jake has picked the perfect man for the job.

Meanwhile, Edna and Margie are still sitting in Bailey’s Tavern, soaking up the local gossip and enjoying a few drinks. Their chitchat soon turned to some of the other citizens of Jericho.

Bailey’s Tavern, 1 p.m.

Margie: Well, I’ve heard of the pot calling the kettle black but Stanley Richmond takes the prize.

Edna: What are you talking about now?

Margie: You know I never did cotton to that IRS woman moving in there with Stanley.

Edna: Well, why not? She seemed perfectly sweet to me. Of course, I’m not the one who owes the government money… And after all, she is stuck here, far from her home. It was the neighborly thing for him to do.

Margie: That’s what I mean. Neighborly? Letting a woman you’re not married to move in with you in front of your innocent sister??

Edna: Innocent? Ha! Didn’t you hear about that Sean Henthorn moving in there with her? I’m telling you, these kids today don’t know anything about morals, not like back in our day.

Margie: Morals? Go wash your mouth! You don’t know what morals are.

Edna: Well, that Stanley Richmond is sure going to get a surprise when he heads back to his farm, isn’t he? When the cat’s away…

Margie: Surprise? He’ll throw that boy out!

Edna: Well, that’s what he should do. But that sister of his has him wrapped around her little finger. You know she’s all he has, he wouldn’t want to disappoint her.

Margie: Oh no, he’s got that mistress. That’s why Bonnie thought it was okay to move that boy in.

Edna: You hush your mouth, that IRS woman is no mistress. Haven’t you seen the way they look at each other? Besides, what does it matter if Bonnie has that boy living there? They’re not hurting anyone.

Narrative: Stanley did come home, and learned that the household structure had changed a little in his absence. Although he wasn’t happy with the new living arrangements, and he was not Sean’s biggest fan, Mimi helped him realize that it was best for him to let Bonnie make her own choices. For now.

In the meantime, events in New Bern were unfolding. Edna and Margie would have given anything to be flies on the wall during these events…

Jake and Hawkins arrive in New Bern to see buildings destroyed and damaged by heavy artillery. They were told that this was what Ravenwood did.

Sheriff Constantino tells Jake he doesn’t know where Eric is, but Jake and Hawkins go to the factory where all the Jericho men were working to see Ted Lewis, who says that both Heather and Eric just left a while back. But when Ted shakes Jake’s hand good-bye, he slips Jake a note with his address on it, and a message that he should come alone.

Jake and Hawkins go to Ted’s house trailer, and spot Sheriff Constantino’s second-in-command staking out the place. The cop says he doesn’t know where Heather or Eric are, but they are not safe because the sheriff has ordered them to be shot on sight because they tried to blow up New Bern’s factory.

Suspicious, Jake and Hawkins break into the factory and find a chalkboard with an entire inventory of Jericho and a map of Jericho, but the territory around the town is divided into areas—each one with the name of the New Bern Sheriff and his men. They also discover that New Bern is making ammunition and getting ready for a war with Jericho. Jake decides to stop factory production, but is caught by the sheriff and thrown in jail. Hawkins escapes.

Jake is in prison in New Bern when Eric is thrown into the cell across from him. Besides being starved in a prison cell for three days, he also looks very sad and depressed about something else. Eric says that they discovered New Bern’s plan to make war, and he and Heather made one last brave stand, an attempt to destroy the machines used in the factory. They got rid of one machine, and then they were caught. New Bern authorities threw Eric in jail.

“So where is she?” Jake asks anxiously. “Where’s Heather?”

After a long silence, Eric says, ”...She’s dead, Jake.”

Guards come and take both the brothers outside. Here, Constantino is telling lies about Jericho to all the citizens of New Bern. He says Jericho tipped off Ravenwood about them, that they weren’t holding up their deals, and so on. Then the sheriff brings out Jake and Eric and says to the people, “See these two? They are the sons of Johnston Green, sent here to wreak havoc on New Bern!” He then promises everybody that New Bern would never fall and that they were going to teach Jericho a lesson.

Hawkins watches unnoticed in the back of the crowd…

Narrative: Had Margie and Edna been flies on the wall, in reality, they would have seen how trivial the concerns in their own lives were in comparison to events in New Bern. But because of their relative sense of security in the town of Jericho, they spend the bulk of their time gossiping, and sniping at each other. To them, the day-to-day lives of the citizens of Jericho are the focus of their world. As a result of their false sense of security, the biggest obstacles they face are within their sisterly relationship. Were they in New Bern, like Jake, Eric, and Hawkins, they’d feel much differently about the scope of their problems…

Margie: Do you think Jake and Eric will be home soon?

Edna: I sure hope so, you know how Gail Green frets when her boys aren’t home safe. In the end, family’s all you have.

Margie: You know, I didn’t mean those ugly things I said to you, Edna.

Edna: I know you didn’t, Margie.

Margie: But I sure thought them.

Age: 41
Where I live: Nashville, TN
When I started watching Jericho: From the beginning – I have never missed an episode.
My favorite character and why: Jake Green because I identify with him in a lot of ways. I’ve made choices that have altered the direction of my life and hurt those around me. Jake is surrounded by people who love him but I don’t think he feels worthy of that love. He’s hurting inside and so far he is unable to reach out to them to ease that pain.
What about Jericho makes it so special to me: Its diversity. In one hour you get a little bit of everything with a dose of “what if” thrown in the mix.
More about me: Considering the extent of my involvement in the “Save Jericho” and “Promote Jericho” campaigns and support forums, I’ve said way too much already.

The main focus of this episode is Hawkins, when confronted, sharing the role he played in the bombings with Jake; or, at least, what he wants Jake to know and/or think.

First, let’s recap the subplots:
• Emily attempts to restore some normalcy to Jericho by starting a history class for the teenagers. However, it’s soon obvious that priorities have changed and education has taken a back seat to survival as students leave class to return home to help their parents who are “growing beets in the bathtub.” The only student who stays is Allison Hawkins who alludes to the tension between her and her mother following the shooting of Sarah Mason. Darcy Hawkins meets Allison as she leaves the school and tells her that nothing can change the fact that she loves her.
• Johnston, obviously mourning his separation from Eric, who went to New Bern; the death of April and the baby; and the loss of his position in the community, spends the episode alone in a deer stand in the woods. Gail visits April’s grave alone.
• On the Richmond farm, Mimi, armed with a hatchet, has a heart-to-heart with one of the chickens, but chickens out. She does muster her strength later and prevail so there is chicken for dinner. In the interim, she attempts to play parent as she deals with teenage rebellion now that Sean Henthorn is making himself at home both at the farm and with Bonnie. In the end, Mimi and Bonnie come to an understanding and agree to work together.
Now for the meat and potatoes of A.K.A.:
Jimmy takes his suspicions about Hawkins’ fake FBI badge to Jake. When Hawkins returns home, Jake and Jimmy have already searched the Hawkins’ home and an armed Jake is waiting for Rob in the hidden room in the basement. Hawkins, trying to take control of the situation, is disappointed. Jake has swept the house for weapons, restrains Hawkins and questions his true identity after finding multiple fake IDs in the desk. Hawkins tells Jake:
• Both he and Sarah Mason worked for the CIA and were part of an off-the-books team tracking the bombs used in the attacks.
• The bombs were brought in by the U.S. government after the fall of the Soviet Union. A shipment disappeared on its way to the DOE storage complex in Oak Ridge, prompting the implementation of the CIA operation, Red Bell, headed by the Department of Homeland Security.
• Hawkins’ specialty is Satellite Installation.
• The shipment of nukes had been converted into 24 high-yield devices and distributed amongst domestic militia, anarchists, and religious fanatic groups. Basically, terrorists who “were only linked by their desire to down the federal government.” The coordinator was unknown but was considered to “have deep resources, an ability to coordinate diverse groups, and by all indications, he is an American.”
• Jericho was chosen as the rally point due to its geographical location. Defense Department projections in the event of fallout scenarios in 20 U.S. cities show Jericho outside the fallout zones, with a salt mine, plenty of farmland and access to an untainted water table.
• Hawkins spent a total of four years, part of it in prison, working to infiltrate the terrorist cell and gain control of the nuclear bombs. The only “outside” person he was in contact with was Sarah Mason, his handler, which explains his estrangement from his family.
• Eventually, to gain the cell’s trust, Hawkins arranged the provision of high-grade government IDs – fake FBI badges.
• At that point, Hawkins wanted to take down the cells they had and secure the bombs they could, which was about half; Sarah disagreed, saying she believed they could get more if they turned the informant in to the cell leader.
• Though Hawkins attempted to get the informant to safety, the man got caught in the middle. In an unfortunate turn of events, Hawkins had to kill the informant to keep from blowing his own cover and potentially letting millions of people die.
• Hawkins shows Jake the nuke buried under the shed behind his house, further confirming his story.
• According to Hawkins, the reason so many of the bombs were detonated was because someone tipped off the terrorists before the CIA could get control of the nukes.

Jake Green and Rob Hawkins agree to trust each other at this point and Jake backs up his claim to be an FBI agent to Jimmy.

Thinking back on everything he’s related to Jake,, Hawkins realizes the coordinator of the U.S. attacks was Valente, who is with the Department of Homeland Security.

Great job, Denise. Thanks all for reading!

Next week is another week off, as there’s more preseason football — the New England Patriots at the Carolina Panthers. Guest blogs return with the episode of Aug. 31, “Casus Belli.” Jane (aka JerichoMonster) will be blogging again, with our second guest blogger TBA.

Anyhow, here’s the skinny on Rachel and her recap of “A.K.A.”, my personal favorite episode, follows:
Age: 24
Where I live: Plainview, N.Y.
When I started watching Jericho: January, via online video on Innertube.
My favorite character and why: Robert Hawkins. I’m always drawn to complex characters with obvious faults, but Hawkins is the sort of man who takes the idea of a ‘fatal flaw’ to a whole new level. His irrevocable love for his family, his obstinate methods of operation and those little hints of the man underneath make him an entertaining character to watch.
What about Jericho makes it so special to me: The show is so appealing to people of so many different backgrounds. I’m constantly amazed at how diverse the fanbase is. There are times when I walk down the street and wonder just how many people on the street with me are also diehard fans of the show.
Etc: I’m really honored to be blogging about this episode, since it’s the pivotal one of the season and has a lot to do with the overall plot. I only hope I do it justice!
My web sites: I have a personal blog and I’m the moderator of jericho_tv over at livejournal. I also love kystorms’s blog.

I was one of the large number of fans who watched the show on the internet during the regular season, so I’ve been taking advantage of the summer reruns to see the show on a bigger screen. And as ‘A.K.A.’ is probably my favorite episode of the series so far, I was doubly excited to see it on my television.

In short, I was amazed all over again. The plot, the acting, the direction, the cinematography—everything about this episode was spot-on and perfect.

I’ll start off by mentioning that this episode was directed by Sanford Bookstaver. That name doesn’t ring any bells, but Bookstaver also directed the season finale, ‘Why We Fight.’ It’s probably safe to say that he’s an expert at flashbacks, which he interspersed beautifully here and in the season finale.

But it was more than the flashbacks that make this episode. It’s the lighting that focuses on just what we need to see at that moment, the quick zooms during the intense action scenes, and the sweeping movements through the more lighthearted scenes. It’s truly a shame that this episode wasn’t submitted for Emmy consideration, because it truly stands out from the rest.

It would be a travesty to not mention the plot. This was the big reveal, the truth (or so we’re led to believe) behind Robert Hawkins’s actions prior to the bombings. We finally see just what he’s been hiding in that big white barrel and we understand the importance of Sarah in the entire backstory.

The side stories were a very nice addition to all of the drama occurring in the Hawkins basement. Mimi’s conversation with the chicken will forever remain one of my favorite scenes of season 1, ever. [Amy note: I completely agree. This was the first time I actually liked Mimi!] Allison’s reconciliation with her mother Darcy and Mimi’s honesty with Bonnie were also great.

However, I had some doubts over the general reactions to April’s death. I never saw April as an important part of the Green family. So Gail’s conversation with her headstone and Johnston’s sudden brooding irked me. I’d expect him to be somewhat accustomed to death since he’s a military man. I don’t mean to say that he doesn’t deserve time to mourn, but I would expect to see him in a bar or keeping himself as busy as possible to forget. And Gail’s self-righteousness about it (which comes up in future episodes) really made me hate her character.

But that side story was pretty minor and easy for me to ignore. Skeet, Lennie, and Alicia were absolutely brilliant in this episode, and they really deserve the credit for pulling it off.

Thanks for your recap and thoughts, Rachel. I had no idea the director was the same as the finale; that explains a lot. As I said above, “A.K.A.” was my favorite, too. Here’s my original recap of this episode. I tend to believe that Hawkins is finally being honest. I could be wrong, of course. But I heart Hawkins.

More important than the interview with me (I know, how could it be?) was an excellent interview Jane did with Phillip W. Palmer, Jericho’s production sound mixer. He’s also worked on Medium, the much-too-short-lived Threshold and one of my brain candy favorites, Entourage.

Then there’s the Jericho production blog, which also links to Jane’s interview with Phillip. Below that entry (“Phillip’s a star!”) is the answer to Friday’s Jericho trivia question.

In Episode 16, Jessica tells April about a patient named Mr. Ostrowski. Who is Mr. Ostrowski a reference to in the world (real and/or fictional) of Jericho?

I’ll take pity on you, and give you the answer after the break.

Mike Ostrowski is a producer/writer from Jericho’s Season 1.

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.)

Anyhow, ‘nuff about what I thought. Our next guest blogger is Judy and after a few words about her, you’ll get to see what she has to say about it:

Name: Judy
Age: 52 and proud of it!
Home: Aurora, Ill.
Started watching Jericho: Very first episode last September! And didn’t miss one all season!
Favorite character: I am so torn here, I just don’t think I can come up with ONE favorite! I loved Johnston Greene—he was usually able to calm the craziness, spoke calmly and assertively, straight from his heart. His military background was of immense help right from the beginning. I also love Jake—bad boy going straight! He seems to have a bit of a tortured soul and has had some trouble finding his place in the world. With each episode, however, he is definitely coming into his own and is living up to the challenges that have been set before him. He can easily take the place of his father, because with each little skirmish won, the people of the town come to respect him just a little bit more and are really beginning to look to him for guidance. But, then there’s Robert Hawkins—I didn’t like him at first (and I wasn’t alone!), but little by little as his secrets are revealed (or are they???), he’s kind of growing on me. The thing I like the best about him, though, is that he takes no c__p from anyone and is not afraid to skirt the law to make things happen.
What makes Jericho so special to you: This is not a show for the reality-show junkies who don’t know how to use their brains. It requires intelligence and is thought-provoking, particularly in these times. It inspires hope that no matter how seriously we may be in trouble, we are not alone, and even obstacles as daunting as this nuclear bombing can somehow be overcome. Together, we can accomplish miracles.

As this compelling episode begins, we find Hawkins burying Sarah in the woods (if it’s still winter in Jericho, my question is, how the heck did he manage to dig a hole? However, like others, I have suspended my desire for reality and logic because I so love this show!). Jump to the hospital, where Gail is telling April that she looks tired and needs to get some sleep. April tells Gail that she’s been sleeping. When Gail wants to know where it is she’s been doing this sleeping, April admits on the couch in her office, to which Gail replies something along the lines of, “That baby will be born with a crick in his neck!”

Next, we see Hawkins at home, cleaning Sarah’s blood from the floor. Here comes a knock at the door, and who should come a-calling but our friendly sheriff’s deputy, Jimmy. [Amy’s note: Love that Jimmy!] He tells Hawkins that the mayor has asked him to keep track of the refugees, find out where they end up and see how they’re contributing to the town. We can see panic in Hawkins’ eyes as he tries to come up with a response to what he knows will be the next question.

Back at the hospital, the generator kicks back in. April grabs her stomach and collapses. Jake is screaming for someone, anyone to help her.

Jimmy tells Hawkins how cold it is outside so that Hawkins is forced to let him in the house. When Jimmy sees that Hawkins is cleaning, he comments that if Hawkins is using the last of his fuel on housework, then Darcy has trained him well! When Jimmy asks where Sarah is, Hawkins responds that she left yesterday to visit family in New Orleans. Jimmy turns to leave, but not before noticing the nasty cut on Hawkins’ leg. Our secret agent tells him it’s the result of an accident with a tree branch while he was cutting wood.

Once again, back to the hospital (there was a lot of shifting back and forth in this episode—it wore me out!), April has regained consciousness and says that she is very tired. Mama Green seems pretty sure there’s a problem with the baby and sends Jake to find Papa Green and Eric and get them to the hospital. Jake doesn’t know this, but Eric and Mary are out in the boonies collecting wood.

Meanwhile, the new windmill finally arrives from New Bern, accompanied by good old Constantino, who seems to be the law in New Bern these days.

Now here comes Mimi dropping Bonnie off at the hospital for her volunteer work. Bonnie asks Mimi if she has ever volunteered for anything, closes the door to the truck and walks into the hospital. Next thing we know, Mimi shows up at the hospital all dressed in scrubs to do some volunteer work of her own. Needless to say, Bonnie is less than thrilled and hands her a bed pan.

Back in April’s room, her blood pressure is dropping and she’s feeling contractions. She can’t have this baby now—she’s only 16 weeks along. There’s no medication on hand to stop the contractions. She tells Mama Green that if she loses consciousness, Mama should get some alcohol from the still and give her a 10% alcohol drip, after which April promptly loses consciousness. Gail immediately tells someone to hurry up and go to Bailey’s and get Kenchy, the drunk doctor who can barely stay on his bar stool. Doc comes in, smelling like a brewery, and tells someone they have to get a fetal heart monitor, which of course, they don’t have, so he hands Mimi a stethoscope and teaches her how to use it to take blood pressure and pulse. Mimi is visibly terrified at the prospect of being hands-on in the effort to save April and the baby.

Jumping to the Mayor’s office, we find our illustrious Mayor Gray Anderson talking with Constantino about buying more wind turbines. The haggling begins. Constantino says the town can have 10 additional windmills in exchange for 10 percent of the town’s spring crop. When told that the town could starve next fall if it gives up 10 percent of the spring crop, Constantino replies, “Starve next fall, or freeze this winter.” Eventually, as the episode progresses, the Mayor agrees to the deal that Constantino wants. Constantino then tells him that he will need 10 men from Jericho to come to New Bern with him to help build the wind turbines, and that they will be leaving right away.

Next, we see Hawkins lowering the nuke into a hole he dug under the shed. Along comes Jimmy again, telling Hawkins that the Mayor wants him to find out what resources Sarah might have taken with her when she left for New Orleans—gas, food, etc. Hawkins says she left with just a backpack. Jimmy inquires as to whether or not Darcy might know and asks to talk to her. Hawkins is, at this point, forced to admit that they had split up and tells the deputy that he will get his coat and take him to her. While Hawkins goes back into the shed to quickly finish lowering the nuke into its new hiding place, we see Jimmy waiting outside calling out marital advice—how important communication and honesty are, etc., etc.

Continuing with the baby crisis at the hospital, Kenchy says they will have to operate to save the baby; he refuses to do it. He tells the group he has seen too many people die as a result of being treated in unsanitary conditions with improper equipment. Gail pipes up and says, “We are not losing this baby!” Kenchy responds, “Find yourself another butcher,” and walks out, Jake hot on his heels. Jake manages to convince the good doctor that they do have the spinal tap kit that he needs and can make the environment as sterile as possible by boiling the sheets and the surgical instruments. Kenchy reluctantly agrees to proceed.

At the Richmond farm, we come upon Mimi doing laundry. She tries to tell Bonnie to get her some bleach, with little success and great frustration on Mimi’s part. Bonnie signs the word “bitch” to Mimi, then roughly shows her the signs for “please” and “sorry.”

Finally, Deputy Bill finds Eric and Mary, who rush to the hospital, just as the surgery is getting underway. Mama Green sees Mary standing outside and orders Jake to close the door. Later, the baby’s heartbeat stops and everyone panics, telling Kenchy he has to do something. Kenchy responds, “This has not been about the baby for several hours.” When asked to elaborate on that, Kenchy says, “I am trying to save April.”

Oh, look! Here we are at the Refugee Center, where Hawkins and Jimmy have arrived to talk to Darcy about Sarah. Hawkins gets a moment alone with Darcy and she reluctantly agrees to corroborate Hawkins’ cover story to explain Sarah’s absence, but she refuses to talk to Jimmy in Hawkins’ presence.

Poor Mary! Back at the hospital, when Eric comes into the hallway to tell everyone that they had lost the baby, she tries to give him a hug and console him. Eric pulls away, tell her he needs space, that they’ve lost the baby, and he needs to be with April right now.

Jimmy exits the Refugee Center after talking with Darcy and tells Hawkins that he has invited Darcy and the kids to stay at his house. And, oh, by the way, they found a body outside of town with a broken neck. Witnesses said they saw a woman fitting Sarah’s description in the area. “Do you think Sarah is capable of something like this?” he asks Hawkins, who responds, “You never know what people are capable of.”

Kenchy decides there is nothing more that can be done to help April. They are unable to stem the bleeding, and he wants to stop the surgery. Mama Bear (oops, sorry, Mama Green) says no, even as the doc is walking out of the room. Eric and Jake both follow him outside. Jake sends Eric back inside and manages to talk Kenchy into continuing, even though they both know April is going to die. Our good doctor breathes a huge sigh, shrugs his shoulders and heads back into the room, where they close up April. Next we see Eric sitting with April and Jake telling Gail that Eric will need her—now. April opens her eyes and tells Eric that she likes the name Tracy. Eric agrees that Tracy is a beautiful name.

April closes her eyes for the last time. Eric breaks down, Mom rushes in checking for a pulse. On finding none, she goes and envelops Eric in a huge hug and they both are sobbing. Jake comes in, kneeling on the opposite side of the bed from Eric with tears in his eyes and reaches across the bed to take Eric’s hand. Johnston joins the family, wrapping his arms around Gail and Eric, mixing his tears with theirs, as they all say a final farewell to April.

As the news of April’s death spreads through the hospital, Mimi approaches Bonnie and signs, “Sorry,” to her. Tears spring to both their eyes as they hug each other.

A little later on, as the doctor is leaving the hospital, a medical student addresses him by his full name and fills him in on the symptoms of a woman sitting on a gurney. Kenchy draws himself up to his full height, drops his jacket and introduces himself to the patient, telling the student to get boiling water and make a tent with a sheet so they can get the patient breathing normally again.

It’s now time for Constantino and his little band of thieves to depart for New Bern with their 10 “volunteers” from Jericho. The good Mayor tells the men that the town’s survival depends on them. Stanley tells Bonnie that he hopes she and Mimi won’t kill each other while he’s gone. Bonnie tells Stanley that he’s all she has. In a very low voice, reminiscent of the Terminator, Stanley says, “I’ll be back!”

He tells Mimi to take care of Bonnie. Mimi decides now’s is the time to tell Stanley how she feels about him, but Stanley interrupts her and says, “I’ve loved you since the first day I saw you at Bailey’s.” Mimi says, “You said it first. No one’s ever said it to me first before.” Eric tells her that he told her because he doesn’t know what tomorrow will bring, plus he can hold it over her for the rest of their lives. Mimi hugs him and tells him she loves him, to which Stanley replies with a grin, “I said it first!”

As Eric prepares to say good-bye to his family, he tells Mary that he just can’t stay in Jericho right now. Johnston says, “Take care, son.” Eric hugs Jake, who tells him, “Be strong.” He turns to Gail and wraps his arms around her, telling her he’s sorry. Mom reassures Eric that they will take care of Mary while he’s gone.

Jake goes to find Heather’s old buddy, Russell, who’s in town along with the contingent from New Bern, and asks him where Heather is. Russell tells Jake that Heather is fine, she just didn’t want to come on this trip. Jake looks Russell right in the eyes and says, “If anything happens to any of them, you’re the first one I come for.” Russell replies, “I know,” and turns and climbs into the truck with the “volunteers,” which heads out of town as Jake watches them go.

For those of you who might be wondering what Dale and Skylar were up to this week, they paid a visit to a farmer who wasn’t holding up his end of the deal he had made with Dale and drew a gun on him, telling him to give them their share of his crop. The farmer told Dale he didn’t have much left, and Dale settled for his share of what the farmer did have left. Later on, he and Skylar ended up in a liplock after laughing about the look on the farmer’s face when Dale drew the gun on him.

Much more to come next week!

Thanks Judy! Excellent recap!

Interested in joining the great Jericho blogging experiment? E-mail me at avernon@lohud.com.

Name: Jackie
Age: 54
Home:Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Started watching Jericho: Original pilot episode
Favorite character: Skeet (Jake Green)—he obviously has a past, but you get the feeling that most of the trouble he has gotten into can be directly linked to the fact he never felt he could measure up to the high standards of his father, and who among us didn’t do a little rebelling and make a few mistakes in our youth? It is pretty easy, especially for young men, to get in over their heads while trying to prove to others and themselves that they are “real men.” Especially for one with a father like Johnston Green, Army Ranger, Mayor, and probably not to great at expressing his feelings, unless they are of the negative kind. It is obvious that he is truly trying to “let history start today.” Take what is good about his father (strength and wisdom) and his mother (compassion) and add them to his personality to a greater degree. Whatever sins he feels are haunting him, he now has the opportunity to become the man he wanted to be all along, and is doing a fine job of it in my opinion. Not to mention the fact he is really easy on the eyes. [Amy note: Amen, sister!]
What makes Jericho special: I think what makes Jericho so special to me is 1. Being of the Baby Boomer generation, the premise of the show is something we lived with for as long as we can remember; I was 9 at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and after that nuclear war was never far from our minds. 2. The sense of community and compassion you see even under the worst of circumstances. Plus, the great writing, acting, directing, sets, special effects, etc.

Having made it through the worst of the winter, Jericho finds itself in a state of flux. People are looking for alternatives to another long, hard Midwestern winter. One group, led by Ridley, decide to leave Jericho for the south—Texas or, even, Mexico.

Roger, on the other hand, knows how bad things are outside of Jericho. He argues with the Mayor over whether to allow his group of survivors to stay. The Mayor feels that, with Jericho’s dwindling supplies, “the last ones in should be the first ones to go.”

Then, out of the blue, a reason for hope arrives. The United States Marines march into town with promises of help not far behind. They say they’re on a recon mission to determine what towns need help from the U.S. government first. They bring news that America was bombed by Iran with the help of North Korea.

The Hawkins family, as usual, has its own, unique, problem. Hawkins is having doubts about following Sara’s advice to move his family to a safe house and go with her to find the man responsible for killing their fellow agents. He also wonders whose side Sara’s really on. When the truth comes out, Sara holds his son at gunpoint, makes Hawkins gather his wife and daughter and demands that Hawkins give her the “package.” Hawkins attempts to subdue Sara, she gets the better of him and his daughter is forced to shoot and kill Sara.

As the day goes on, the Green family comes to the realization that the Marines are only another group of survivors looking for a way to cheat Jericho out of what little gas and food is left. After a small skirmish the fake Marines are forced to leave town—without their tank and guns. Johnston Green urges the Mayor not to let the townspeople know of this deception—because sometimes people need hope more than food.

He asks Stanley to hide the tank in his barn — because you never know when you might need a tank.

Thanks, Jackie! A great, succinct recap.

I hope you all enjoyed this, our fourth week of guest blogs on Jericho. Here’s a link to Semper Fidelis No. 1.

Check back next week for more, with Winter’s End, and check back during the week to see what Jericho-related news I’ve managed to dig up.

Name: Yvonne G.
Age: 40
Location: Norfolk, VA
Started watching: On Day 1 and never looked back!
Favorite character: This is a tough question, there are interesting things about all of them! I guess if I had to choose one, it would be Robert Hawkins. He’s smart, mysterious and all we REALLY know about him is what he told Jake Green about himself (and Jake chose to believe him). He does seem to be a decent human being and he’s learning the value of his family, so it’s interesting to see how his character is growing.
Why Jericho is special to me: To put it simply, it’s just a well written show, with interesting characters and one of the greatest ensemble casts on television today. The show is also so real: real small-town values and interpersonal relationships and real human imperfections and strengths. The show makes you feel like a part of the community and a part of these people’s lives. There is a vested interest in these characters.
More about me: I’m a GIS Analyst for an Engineering firm. I have four dogs and a wonderful husband and my hobbies include reading, poker and travel!

Now, onto her recap:

The situation in Jericho continues to be dire, with the desperation of the townspeople becoming more and more evident. As the episode opens, former Mayor Johnston Green is trying to talk Ridley and his family out of leaving town in an attempt to survive on their own. Meanwhile, inside the Town Hall, current Mayor Gray Anderson is talking to some of the other townspeople, including Stanley, Mimi, Emily and her fiancé, Roger, about the need for the refugees Roger brought to town to leave.

There isn’t enough food and fuel for everyone to get through the winter, Gray reasons, and those who came to town last should be the first to go. Roger argues that the refugees have done their part in supplying firewood and food for the town, but the new Mayor emphasizes that it isn’t enough and the refugees are using up resources faster than they can supply them.

Unless there is a change, not everyone will survive. At that moment, Jake Green, who is napping at home, is awakened by a loud noise and the ground rumbling so hard it’s shaking
everything in the house; his brother, Eric, rides into town on horseback and tells everyone to clear the streets. A tank and some soldiers come around the corner into Jericho, behind Eric. The Marines have arrived!

Almost the entire town has filtered in behind the tanks, and the Gunnery Sergeant of the 4th Charley Tank Battalion introduces himself to the Mayor and tells the town that the “war is over.”

Of course, the town of Jericho lost all communication with the outside world due to the EMT from the blast in Denver and other than what news Jake and crew were able to bring back from the fairgrounds at Blackjack, the town is clueless as to what’s been
going on in the outside world.

The Gunnery Sergeant tells them that North Korea and Iran have been nuked and that they were behind the terrorists that smuggled in the bombs. He goes on to say that the issue of six men claiming the presidency in six different territories has been resolved and that the former secretary of the HHS is now the President of the United States and that they’ve set up the government in Columbus, Ohio. He then tells the town that their mission is to restore “lights, power and infrastructure to Kansas, one town at a time,” and that Jericho will be back on the grid by the end of the year.

The townpeople are elated!

Meanwhile, back at the Hawkins’s household, Sara and the Hawkins family are packing up to leave town. Allison asks her dad how many more times they are going to have to move and Hawkins tells her this will be the last time. Allison doubts her father’s ability to stay in one place for good and Hawkins looks hurt, realizing how many times he’s put his family through hell.

Back in town, the Gunnery Sergeant is talking to Johnston about his former military career and promises not to hold the fact that he was Army against him. He tells Johnston that the Army Corps of Engineers is on the way and that the town should get together a “wish” list in the meantime. Mayor Gray steps in to ask what the troops need as Mary Bailey invites the troops to the bar to unwind. Meanwhile, Jake agrees to help Lance Corporal Mullen find the parts she needs to repair the Battalion’s radio, as they have lost communication with their command center in Dodge City.

At the Hawkins household, Sara is using her PDA in the basement to communicate with someone, presumably the “old man” about the “package.” Hawkins enters the basement just as she’s put it away and questions the decision to abandon his family at the “safe house.” He knows the dangers, he reasons, and can protect them better if they are together. Sara, showing some jealousy and stating that Hawkins never cared that much about his family before the bombs went off, re-emphasizes the danger his family is in and gets Hawkins back on the original plan.

He and Sara kiss.

Returning to Bailey’s Tavern, Mimi has realized that with the government back on track, accountants will be needed again.

Stanley jokes, saying, “Does that mean I’m back in debt?” (I totally love Stanley’s sense of humor!) Mimi tells him not to be so negative and that it means that because New York survived the blast, she’ll be walking through Central Park next summer.

Bonnie’s boyfriend comes running over at that moment to tell Bonnie (who is standing behind her brother talking to one of the Marines) that he thinks he could be a Marine. Stanley sarcastically interjects with, “Dude, I could totally see that happening, except for everything about you.” [Amy note: I agree, Yvonne! A great one-liner.] Bonnie tells Stanley to back off and the two exchange a few more words in sign language before Bonnie and her boyfriend take off.

Mimi tells Stanley not to worry about Bonnie, that her boyfriend is just a phase and that once things settle down, he’ll be gone. Stanley replies, “Yeah, maybe you can give him a ride out of town on the way to New York.” Mimi tells Stanley she doesn’t want leave him, just Jericho, and that she wants him to come with her. Stanley makes it clear that that’s not his life and walks away.

“This,” Mimi mutters, ” isn’t mine.”

Sara and Hawkins are still making out in the basement, telling each other how much they’ve missed one another. Hawkins tells her it’s time to go and tells her to continue loading up the truck while he gets some things from the basement. When she leaves, he pulls out the PDA out of her backpack and see the whole electronic conversation that she’s had about the “package.”

Darcy was right; Sara is not their friend!

At Baileys, Jake and Corporal Mullen have arrived, looking for a part for the radio. Jake hugs Emily on his way to the bar, who tells him she’s glad he’s OK after the accident. [Amy note: See last week’s recap.] Roger shakes his hand and Jake and Mullen proceed to the bar. Jake asks Mullen what it’’s like out there and Mullen tells him Jericho is better off than most. Mary Bailey says it’s hard to believe that as she setting down a drink for Mullen, who tells her she should see what’s left of Lawrence, Kan. She goes on to tell Jake that the buildings are gone and that neighbors are fighting each other for what’s left of the food and water.

“It makes me wonder if the survivors are the lucky ones,” she says. Jake asks Mary if they can take apart the jukebox for a transistor for the Marines’ radio. She asks if there is an alternative to taking the music from the bar and Mullen and Jake decide to see if they can use an old ham radio in the City Hall instead.

Sara realizes that Hawkins is onto her and takes his son, Sam, at gun point. Hawkins comes upstairs to find her holding his son. “I think you have something of mine,” she says.

Hawkins drops his gun and holds out the PDA, asking if that’s what she wants. “Among other things,” she says. “You’ve been lying to me, Robert. When did you fall back in love with your wife?”

At Town Hall, the Battalion Sergeant is telling Gray and Johnston that the town is better off than most they’ve seen and that because of that, they will not be a priority on the list for aid because it’s on an “as-needed” basis. He tells them to give him the wish list and he’ll see what he can do.

Jake and Mullen are at trying to put the radio back together and there’s a lot of flirting going on between the two. She tells him that he’s got his “brooding bad boy act down to an art.” Jake and Mullen get the radio working and she makes contact with Command Headquarters in Dodge City.

Command orders their unit back to Dodge City.

Sara and Hawkins continue their conversation, while Hawkins tries to soothe his son, telling him they are just telling a story. Sara tells Hawkins that she is no longer working for anyone, that she’s on her own and that if he gives her what she wants, everything will end OK. Hawkins asks what she’s going to do with the “package” and she tells him she’s going to sell it.

Darcy walks in through the front door at this moment to find her husband and son being held at gunpoint by Sara.

In the middle of town, the Battalion is getting ready to leave town. Mayor Anderson asks the Sergeant why they are leaving and is told of their orders. He tells Gray that the Army Corps will come through, eventually. One of the Marines tells the Sergeant that they don’t have enough gas to make it back to Dodge City. The Mayor promises them enough gas to make it back, as well as all the supplies they need, if the Sergeant will just make Jericho a
priority. The Sergeant agrees and they agree to wait an hour before they leave so the Mayor can get their supplies ready.

Jake has pulled Mullen into an empty building to say goodbye to her and asking if she’ll make it back to town sometime. She tells him no and they go to kiss, only to be busted in on by the Gunnery Sergeant.

Sara insists that Hawkins bring her the “package” and Hawkins insists that he can’t. Sara promises he will lose something—but whether it’s something with a heartbeat is up to him. She stands up and puts the gun directly on Sam’s head. Hawkins agrees to give her the package. Sara tells Darcy to get Allison down to the living room while Hawkins goes to the basement to get what she wants.

Jake goes back to Town Hall to get the radio and supplies from the office for the troops, leaving Mullen in the center of town. A radio transmission from Command comes through while he’s doing this and Jake answers the call. He hears explosions in the background and asks if they are taking fire. He realizes that what he’s hearing is not gunfire, but rather the fireworks display that Mayor Gray is putting on as a sendoff for the Battalion. He walks outside, just as Mayor Gray is inviting the Sergeant and the troops inside for a going away dinner. Jake has put the pieces together and realizes that “Commandâ€? is not in Dodge City, but somewhere close to town.

He finds Stanley and tells him to get some guys from the patrol together and do a sweep of the town’s perimeter, looking for a guy with a radio, and to make sure they take guns with them. He lets Stanley know that something is wrong with the whole scene.

Meanwhile, inside at the dinner, Gray has asked “Former Sergeant Green” (Johnston) to make a speech. Johnston starts off by saying that the Marines have a saying, “Semper Fidelis,” which means “always faithful” and that he finds it fitting that Marines were the ones to come to Jericho’s aid.

He goes on to thank them and the troops respond, “Hoo, rah.”

Johnston immediately knows these men and women aren’t Marines, because “Hoo, rah” is an Army rallying cry. Johnston pulls Gail out of the room and Jake shows up to meet them at that moment. They all all go downstairs, where Jake and Johnston compare notes and come to the same conclusion. Gail asks who these guys are, if they aren’t Marines, to which Johnston replies that they are people with enough firepower to wipe out the whole town. It is decided that Johnston and Gail will go back to the dinner and try to get word to Mayor Gray about what’s going on without the Sergeant hearing and that Jake would try to secure the tank.

At the Hawkins’ household, Hawkins has gone to the basement to break the “package” out of its secure concrete bunker while Sara continues to hold his family at gunpoint in their living room.

Jake finds Mullen back in the office, packing the rest of the supplies and confronts her about “Command” picking up Jericho’s fireworks. She tries to lie and Stanley comes through with a transmission on the radio, saying that they found the guy and the radio just outside of town.

“Is any of this real?” Jake asks Mullen, to which she replies, “The gun’s real,” as she pulls one on him.

He asks how they managed to get all the Marine gear and she tells him that they overthrew the dozen or so Marines at the refugee camp, stating that the Marines never had a chance against 10,000 starving people. He asks if the men were and she tells him no, that the refugees treated them and went off to the next town in search of food. Their act worked so well that they continued to do it from town to town, taking food and supplies each time.

Jake tells her they are not going to leave town with Jericho’s supplies and she tells him not to get himself killed doing something stupid. He holds the flashlight up and shines it in her eyes and tells her she doesn’t have it in her to kill him. At that moment, the Gunnery Sergeant and some of the troops bust into the room behind him and the Sergeant knocks Jake out with the butt of his rifle.

Hawkins has retrieved the “package” from the basement and brings it upstairs for Sara. Sara tells Hawkins to open it and walks over to it with a Geiger counter, which starts to make noise. Darcy realizes it’s a nuke and can’t believe it has been in their house the whole time.

At Town Hall, the “Sergeant” is asking Mullen why she told Jake about them and she tells him how he figured it out. They are debating what to do: Mullen just wants to leave but the Sergeant wants to kill Jake, because he’s afraid that he’ll let the whole town know and they’ll be overtaken when they go to leave. He tells Mullen that it’s either Jake or them, at which time Johnston, Mayor Gray, Eric and some other men come in and Johnston says, “I
vote for you.”

Eric questions whether anything that they had told the town was true and is told that a little is, but that they really don’t know what’s going on either. Gray wants to expose the group to the town for what they really are and let them decide what to do with them, but Johnston insists that that “faith” is the town’s X factor for survival and that they should
give the “Marines” a “heroes” escort out of town. Gray argues that the town will find out eventually anyway, but Johnston argues that by then, the worst of it will be over.

Sara is ready to exit Jericho with the nuclear device and asks Hawkins how she can be sure he won’t follow her. He insists he won’t and she says, “Not if I take your son with me, you won’t,” and tells him that she’ll leave him just outside of town. Darcy becomes enraged over this and jumps Sara from behind, knocking the gun out of her hand.

Sara throws Darcy into the wall, knocking her out. Hawkins takes over the fight with Sara and tells Allison to get Sam out of there. The battle between Hawkins and Sara violently continues and she manages to pull her knife on him and stabs him in the leg. He backs away momentarily and she comes after him slashing the knife in the air at him as he backs up. She backs him into the dining room table, where he falls backwards and lands on the table on his back. She’s about to kill him when she is shot from behind and falls on top of Hawkins.

He looks up to find that his daughter, Allison, has killed Sara. He asks his daughter if she’s OK. “I’m fine,” Allison replies. Darcy has come to and sees what has happened. She tells her husband that Allison is NOT fine, that none of them are fine and that as long as they are with him, they’ll never be safe or fine.

She grabs the children and says she’s leaving him. Hawkins says, “Darcy,” and Allison pulls away and says, “I love you, dad.” Hawkins can’t look at her but tells her that he loves her too, with tears pouring down his face. (Seeing a tough man breaking down, showing his love for his family is a gut-wrenching scene. I think it becomes evident that Hawkins has changed also and that he truly is a decent man who loves his family.) Darcy and the kids
leave.

Back in the center of town, the phony Marines are slowly making their “hero’s” exit, to the cheers of the townspeople. Jake catches up to Mullen, who asks, “Our own personal escort out of town?” Jake tells her she needs to get out before she gets killed. He tries to talk her into staying in Jericho, where she’ll be safe, but she insists that it won’t work, “not after the story we told.”

Mimi walks up to Stanley, who is part of the escort out of town. He raises his hand and says, “Not now, Mimi,” to which she responds, “Like hell, not now Cornhusker!”

“Cornhuskers are from Nebraska; I’m a Jayhawk,” is Stanley’s witty comeback.

She gives him a look, to which he replies, “What?”

She smirks and says, “You drive me so crazy and you know that I can’t stay here forever, but the truth is, I can’t live without you, either.”

“Really?” Stanley replies, with a smile.

“Yes,” responds Mimi, “really!”

Stanley shakes his head and the two engage in a passionate kiss.

Hawkins is back at the house, putting a tourniquet on his leg, when he hears Sara’s PDA go off (she never retrieved it after the scuffle). He opens it and sees a message: “What’s your status?” He pretends to be Sara, telling the person on the other end that Hawkins is dead. He says he has the “package” and asks when they can meet. He is told that the location is to be determined and he will be informed.

The fake Battalion has made it out of town under the escort of Jake and Stanley; they meet up with Johnston, the Mayor, Eric and a few other townspeople who have been brought into the loop. Jake tells the “Sergeant” that they have provided enough food to get a few days out of town. He asks if they can have some water also. Johnston steps up, rips the Marine Corps patch off his uniform and tells him to make do. He tells them to leave their weapons on the tank and leave, and the “Sergeant” tells his followers to do it.

They leave, with Jake telling them to be careful. Jake turns to his father and asks what they do now.

“We soldier on,” Johnston replies.

Jake then turns to the tank and asks what they do with it. Johnston asks Stanley if he has enough room in his barn for the tank. Stanley asks him if he’s serious, to which Johnston replies, “Why not, you never know when you might need a tank.”

The episode closes with Johnston walking away, carrying his rifle.

Thanks, Yvonne, for a complete and excellent recap!

And to anyone else interested in guest blogging on Jericho, feel free to e-mail me anytime or respond on this note.

See recap No. 2, here.

We’ve still a long way to go before Season 2 and, hopefully, Season 3!

Judi did an excellent job; very moody, just like the episode. Here it is, without further ado:
Name: Judi Massey
Age: 43
Home: Pekin, Ill. (born and raised, with five years on the west coast of Central Florida in the ‘80s and ‘90s)
Personal: Married 23 years, with 3 sons (25, 18 and 6)
Occupation: Secretary/Administrative Assistant for 17 years
More about Judi: I’m a white, Christian Republican with a Democratic tendency on occasion
Started watching Jericho: I became a Jericho fan from the beginning of the first season and fought with all the rest of the fans to resurrect our show. I will continue to do whatever is necessary to continue the story of Jericho and bring in new viewers.
Favorite Jericho sites: www.Jerichorises.com and www.Jeritopia.com

The reality of life now in Jericho is evident. Hunting takes on a whole new meaning with food, water and fuel running low made more urgent with the addition of 50+ refugees. They must go find food. Eric and Johnston return from their hunting trip empty-handed. A new hunting party emerges—Jake, Stanley and Mimi—Stanley wants Mimi to learn to hunt in case something should happen to him.

Meanwhile, Hawkins and Sara decide to do a little hunting of their own- for the “old manâ€? who seems to be hunting them—or, at least, Hawkins.

In their pickup truck, our new hunters find a pack of dogs scouring for food. There is a large amount of garbage from what looks like at least 1,000 people. Where are they going? A plastic bag from South Dakota; are they heading to Mexico? Should they be doing the same?

Back in Jericho, Emily finds Roger at the refugee shelter. He feels responsible for the refugees and wants to take care of them. At the Greens’ house, Johnston and Gail are talking about the sudden temperature change, as if a storm is coming. Gail found a bottle of liquor in Jakes old closet and they share it. They talk about how alike Jake and Johnston are and how close they once were. Johnston thinks Jake has forgotten but Gail assures him that he hasn’t. Johnston is very important to Jake.

Hawkins and Sara go to the rally point house and find a hidden door in the wall. They find a dead body inside along with lots of computer equipment. Hawkins wonders why the equipment hasn’t been destroyed. Someone is hiding in the woods, watching their every move, listening. They plug in one of the hard drives and find most of their team has been “terminated.� There are pictures of one of their team members and his family dead and a shadowy figure in the dark. Is this who is hunting them?

The road in front of Jake, Mimi and Stanley is blocked by another pickup truck. They decide to turn around to avoid problems when the truck chases them, ramming them repeatedly. Jake tries to shoot at them but they ram the truck from Jericho until it flips.

Emily finds out that Roger told the refugees stories about Jericho to keep them motivated. She sees Roger in a new light. They go back to the house to get more clothes, sheets and blankets. Roger finds her wedding dress in the closet. He tells her that their day will come again and she tells him how proud she is of him. They aren’t the same people they once were.

Mimi wakes to find Stanley unconscious and Jake with one leg pinned under the truck. The pickup that rammed them is coming and she hides while Jake plays dead. The people from the pickup take everything, even Stanley’s and Jake’s coats and all the tools. Mimi volunteers to go for help despite Stanley’s objections. His ankle is broken. He gives her directions to follow and to stay safe, to hide if she sees any lights coming.

Jake pleads with Stanley to find shelter for himself from the bitter cold but he won’t. He knows Jake would never leave him if the roles were reversed. They talk about where Jake has been for the last five years, what he has been doing. He says his girlfriend in San Diego is dead and it’s his fault, that the bombs didn’t kill her. It’s dark and they wonder about Mimi. Is she coming back? Stanley says she’s strong and will make it.

Mimi’s flashlight dies but she keeps walking. Lights approach and she hides. It’s Johnston and Gail looking for them. Mimi takes them to where Stanley and Jake are. Johnston has Gail go back to town to get help lifting the truck off of Jake. He keeps Jake talking to keep him awake and he tells his father about a terrible thing he did while in Iraq. A little girl, 10 or 12 yrs old, he killed her. He killed a little girl.

Eric and Gail come back with help and free Jake. Once home, Jake wants Johnston to forget what he said. He says he can’t do that. He knows what war can do to men, what he has done and that Jake can talk to him. Jake breaks down and Johnston tells him when he’s ready, kisses him gently on the head.

Hawkins and Sara go back to his house, guns drawn, thinking someone is there after his family. Darcy comes downstairs upset by how they came in the house. Hawkins tells Sara she is right about moving his family, he will move them tomorrow. He won’t tell Darcy until after the move that he is leaving again or she won’t agree to the move at all.

At the hospital, Stanley and Mimi come outside and welcome the sunlight with uplifted faces. She tells Stanley how much she doubted herself. He says he knew she would make it. She touches his face and lips. They are cold. He tells her she could “warm them�. (What a line!)

Hawkins tells Darcy they are leaving and she agrees. He finally confides to her he possesses something that people will stop at nothing to get. She trusts him but tells him not to trust Sara. She is not on their side.

Sara goes out for a walk to meet the shadowy figure from the rally point house. He asks if she has the package; “Not yet,” she responds. He wonders why is she stalling on this one? She hits him hard, his knees buckle, and she snaps his neck and replies—“Because this one’s different!â€?

Fade to black.

The hunters, hunted and hunting are similar but yet far different, depending on whose eyes are looking. All are the reality of Jericho and the residents, good or bad.

And without further ado, here’s Kay’s recap, an excellent summation of Black Jack, Episode 13:

This is a pivotal point in our story, thus far. Winter has hit hard and fast, and good citizens of Jericho are freezing to death in their homes. Gas and oil levels are critically low and Mayor Anderson has called a town meeting. It seems building wind turbines will be the best solution for the town and the necessary parts can be found at Black Jack Fairgrounds, which has become a new-world trading post. When volunteers are requested, all eyes turn to Jake. No surprise, since he’s Jericho’s ‘go-to guy’ when the chips are down and gutsy heroism is required.

Jake thinks this will be a quick trip, taking a couple men along to watch his back. But that’s not to be. First, Johnston wants to go—and gets permission from the Mrs., much to Jake’s amusement. Next, Heather insists on going, and because she has the mechanical know-how to identify the parts they need, this is a no-brainer. Never mind that this is uncomfortable for Jake, as he’s been avoiding her ever since she kissed him. Heather is more concerned with doing what she can to help out and pretty much tells Jake to get over himself and move on. The last member of the group is Dale, who wants to trade salt and some of his castoffs for more useful items. And so our motley crew leaves the safety and security of their hometown.

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Meanwhile, Hawkins is surprised to find Sarah has arrived in Jericho. Bringing her home as a former co-worker does not sit well with Darcy (can you blame her?) and she ferociously protects her cubs, Allison and Sam, from Sara’s tales of the horrific things going on in the outside world. Darcy insists that Sara cannot be trusted and it’s time Rob is forced to listen to HER demands for a change.

In another part of town, Roger and Emily are tiptoeing around each others feelings, sorting out their relationship. Roger has changed, and Emily is not sure how she feels about the stranger he has become.

Mama Green has taken Mary Bailey up on her offer to ‘talk’. She is firm and forthright, telling Mary exactly how she feels about her relationship with married son, Eric, especially in light of his wife’s pregnancy. While Mary fights tears, she summons her (liquid) courage and defends her side of the story. You get the feeling that these women are more alike than either would admit, and there is an inkling of grudging respect between them.

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Black Jack turns out to be a frightening throwback to a wild-west, frontier way of life … and law. Mounted patrols, gun-toting security and a hangman’s noose—evidently occupied by a thief—warn Jake and company that criminals are dealt with an iron hand.

Johnston and Dale head off in one direction, while Jake and Heather search for the parts they need. It’s not long before Jake hauls off to defend Heather’s honor and is assisted by a stranger. Russell turns out to be with Ted, an old friend of Heather’s from New Bern. He and Heather are overjoyed to be reunited, and you can’t help but notice Jake’s concern—just how close were they?

The men inform Jake and Heather of news that’s been seeping into Black Jack from refugees and travelers. Seems the government is divided into different areas, with men claiming the presidency in six different capitals. This can only hint that civil war may loom as the various factions jockey for power and position.

Ted and Russell take them to a dealer who may have what they are looking for—he does. But after Dale brings the man’s shady business practices to Johnston’s attention, they refuse to partner with him. In a misguided act of defiance (or lunacy), Dale steals the needed part and a brawl ensues. Luckily, Ted and Russell lead the way and using their truck, break out of the compound. Jake recklessly follows in the Jericar, and all escape with their lives.

It’s when they stop to say goodbye and thank the New Bernians for their help that Heather announces she is not going back to Jericho. To say Jake is shocked is putting it mildly. For all his pretense, it’s obvious he cares deeply for Heather and is afraid for her. She tells Jake this is what she wants to do … to turn the lights on for everyone back home, and with the facilities and manpower in New Bern, they can build the wind turbines there. She insists it will only be for a few days. They hug each other tightly, and she leaves him with the now-familiar promise to come back in one piece.

As Jake waves the truck off, Heather’s face is illuminated and there seems to be an unspoken bond between them.

Breaking News: Jericho, Kansas

The gas supply for the town’s generators is running low. It has been suggested that windmills are the answer but Jericho doesn’t have the needed parts to get a windmill working. This may be the only way our town can survive. Johnston Green, his son Jake, Dale, and Heather will be traveling to Black Jack Fairgrounds, a trading post in Nebraska, to acquire the needed parts.

Breaking News Update: Jericho, Kansas

We have just learned that Johnston, Jake, Heather, and Dale arrived safely in Black Jack although they found it heavily guarded. They discovered a News Board and have been informed that the United States now has six capitals with six people claiming to be President. The board also has news predicting the worst winter in decades coming soon.

News Flash: Jericho, Kansas

Johnston, Jake, Heather, and Dale found the needed part. Unable to trade salt for the part Dale stole it. Our townspeople were caught, but some old friends of Heather’s helped them escape. Heather explained to Jake that her friend, Ted from New Bern, has a way to build the part they need and she has the knowledge so she will go to New Bern to help build the windmill.

Addendum

Robert Hawkins and his family have a newcomer named Sarah staying with them. Sarah has come to Jericho from St. Louis where she and Robert worked together. Hawkins and Sarah are looking for their employer (Old Man) whom they feel betrayed them. It appears to us, however, that Sarah may be the traitor because she received a message asking her if she has located a certain “package.” While Hawkins thinks he and Sarah are going to go kill the Old Man, Sarah receives a message asking if she has found the package. When she replies that she has not, she gets the response, “How should we proceed?”

Sarah replies, “We use his family.”

Stay tuned…...

To anyone who has never seen Jericho before — and even for those of us who have seen the entire season — I won’t give anything away in advance.It was so much fun to see the pilot episode and to remember where all the characters came from — and how far they’ve come.

Poor Jake, I forgot he had a entire story to tell the townspeople where he has been for the last 5 years
• “I’ve been in the Army,” he tells Stanley.
• “Minor-league baseball,” he tells that stupid nosey store owner, Gracie Lee [I’m with you Charlene! I didn’t like her much, either!]
• He sees his old love, Emily, tells her he has been “in the Navy.”

Of course, all heck breaks loose when Jake gets to his family’s home.

Mom’s missed him, big brother doesn’t trust him and good old Major Dad has major issues. (Newbies — you will find out later at at later date.)

Jimmy’s son sees the mushroom cloud [ed note: I’d forgotten it was Jimmy’s son who is the one who sees it!] and all hell breaks loose.

It was so funny to see these characters in the season premiere — Miss IRS lady (Mimi) and good old Hawkins.

Can’t wait for next week, as I forgot what happened!!!!

Here’s a little bit more about Charlene:
Hometown: Yonkers
Started watching Jericho: At the beginning.
Favorite characters: Mimi, Hawkins, and Major Dad — and of course Jimmy!
What do you like best about the show: I love this show because it’s scary to think that this could really happen to us. And I also love the music choices that they pick for each episode. They should put in a CD — that would be awesome!

It was a wonderful episode, and I’d forgotten a lot of the details myself. I’d almost completely forgotten how obnoxious Gracie Lee was and how much I utterly hated Mimi at the beginning. And how little Eric actually trusted Jake at the get-go.