Trust Jake Green to summarize in a few words the theme of this season of post-apocalyptic Kansas drama Jericho: "This isn't a country, it's a company." The old America is gone, replaced with a corporate dictatorship. This scene really made me feel as though the show knows exactly what it wants to say, and it's heading towards a huge resolution next week. And then the show threw a plot twist at me that suddenly put me in a smidgen of doubt. Spoilers, and more reaction to last night's episode, ahead.

The other thing that was really nice about that scene was the fact that it showcased something Jericho had been missing for a while: the focus on the Greens as a troubled, but caring, family. Not only did we see Jake's mom for the first time this season (and she got to kick major butt, slipping a message to Jake and then giving directions to his prison despite having been blindfolded) but we also saw Jake's grandfather, in some hallucinatory sequences. And then Major Beck ties it all together nicely with his "what would Gerald McRaney do" speech, in our clip. I often stop and wonder what Gerald McRaney would do, when faced with a dilemma.

Anyway, once again, we got a sense that Jake's family is at the center of the story, and he has a legacy to live up to. If only Eric had gotten more than two lines last night, it might have felt like old times.

All of the scenes of Jake talking about revolution were stirring, especially the weird "East India Tea Company" moment with grandpa Green. Jericho has been trying a tough balancing act this season: the micro-story of Jericho dealing with the new government and the thugs from Ravenwood, and the macro-story of Hawkins trying to expose the coverup. It's always a tough balance, because Hawkins' story is so much more important, in the grand scheme of things, and yet the Jericho story is the one we really care about. Ideally, the Jericho story should help us understand why Hawkins' mission is so important, because he can't let the corporate bastards who bombed American cities win.

But that's where we get to the plot twist that didn't quite ring true for me. I'd been assuming the mysterious voice on Hawkins' phone was not really an ally, so I was happy to be proved right. But the idea that the mad bomber behind the "September attacks" was actually trying to destroy Jennings & Rall made no sense to me. Especially since he could have predicted it would do the opposite, putting J&R completely in charge. The revelation came out of nowhere and seemed a bit forced.

And then the bomber's threat, to destroy the Cheyenne government, seemed even more contrived. I just couldn't quite buy it. It felt as though the writers were grasping for something that would amp the crisis level to maximum in the final episode, but it was a bit of a stretch. We know this bomber is someone associated with J&R, so why is he so desperate to destroy them anyway? (I heard the explanation, I just didn't quite believe it.) And if 23 bombs didn't work last time, what makes him think one more will? This was the first time that Jericho's rushed pace made me feel as though the show was just taking wild leaps to get to its conclusion.

Also, I'm having a hard time seeing how the show will balance its micro and macro stories in the final episode of the season (or ever.) With Jake going off with Hawkins to stop the bomb, we're losing our main viewpoint character on the town's struggles. Will the town of Jericho be left out of the show that bears its name? Or are we finally going to see Major Beck coming around and rebelling against his paymasters? Either way, I'm still cautiously optimistic for next week.

One other note: I couldn't help noticing that the episode was sponsored by Sprint. And Hawkins' secret secure spy phone had the Sprint logo very very prominently displayed. Good to see product placement will continue long after our country is ashes.

5:00 PM on Wed Mar 19 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
2,471 views
21 comments

Comments

Bluecell at 05:48 PM on 03/19/08
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I think it would have had more impact if it wasn't a new character, Jake's grandfather, in the halucinations, but instead his dead father. Maybe they just couldn't get the actor back. Too bad, that would have been a nice touch.

I thought the actor that plays Major Beck was fantastic in this episode. He pulled a complete 180 from patsy to badass and it was very convincing.

I also loved the final scene with Jake and Hawkins. They're both exhausted, broken, beaten and they're on their way to save the world. Or at least the U.S....
steven_scareplanes at 05:50 PM on 03/19/08
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man its lonely in here... yeah i agree i thought the grandpa was a little off hand since we hadn't seen him once before this episode. I agree it most likely was written for the dad.
iconoplast at 05:59 PM on 03/19/08
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Didn't we see Grandpa getting drunk at Eric's wedding?
joemoon at 06:53 PM on 03/19/08
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Actually, we have seen the grandfather before, in a flashback telling war stories in the bar the day of Eric's wedding. Though, yes, I think showing his father would have had more impact.
slmcdee at 06:59 PM on 03/19/08
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I've watched quite a few episodes online... and all you see is Sprint Proproganda.
Charlie Jane Anders at 07:06 PM on 03/19/08
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Connectedness Index: 235

@steven_scareplanes: Actually, the grandpa did appear in at least one episode of season one.
All_Thumbs at 07:30 PM on 03/19/08
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Um, I actually kind of like this show, and it might not get picked up. Wish less people would lambaste it. Oh well, guess we'll get another unwatchable sitcom. (Yes I know unwatchable sitcom is redundant)
Charlie Jane Anders at 07:51 PM on 03/19/08
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Connectedness Index: 235

@All_Thumbs: Who's lambasting the show?
All_Thumbs at 08:06 PM on 03/19/08
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Sorry, I'm all about overly and overtly strong language today. You weren't harsh about what you took issue with, so this might not have been the right place for that comment. But elsewhere on the net (especially on a certain very large man's website) people were most certainly trashing the show. Sorry to offload a couple of days of frustration in the wrong direction CJA.
saketini99 at 08:44 PM on 03/19/08
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I'll be sad when it's all done.... *___* I quite like this show.
shadownode at 08:45 PM on 03/19/08
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The only thing that bothers me is the magically secure cell phones.
Charlie Jane Anders at 08:59 PM on 03/19/08
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@shadownode: And yet people question whether Jericho is science fiction!
Mister Adequate at 09:13 PM on 03/19/08
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I have much the same feelings about the episode. It was kickass when it was focussed on Jake and all that business, and Beck really started becoming an awesome character.

And then this pretty nonsensical idea comes out. I mean, I can see the whole Gordian knot problem here, but it'd hardly just be J&R for a start, and nobody smart enough to mastermind a simultaneous nuclear attack on 23 cities could be dumb enough to think that in the aftermath the new government would ever be significantly vulnerable to nuclear attack again.

An excellent episode, but that plot point was just... argh. Still, they've done so incredibly well with everything else on such a short timescale, I guess something had to give. I'll give them my time for the final episode quite happily, hopefully it'll be wrapped up reasonably well.
cunning001 at 09:58 PM on 03/19/08
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I'm counting this show as a win for the broadcast medium in a way. Even with its imminent demise that these issues got to be portrayed on network TV and entered a little more into the meta-cultural conversation is a good thing imo.

The issues could have been covered in more depth the drama could have been more even and higher in engagement for the viewer, but that it got enough support from all of the constituent pieces (advertisers, viewers, production staff, network corporate, netizens) to get a season and a half televised... win.
guibom at 10:02 PM on 03/19/08
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I agree with basically everything you said. The only thing is that I never cared for the city of Jericho. One of the biggest problems of the first season was that patriotic, we are americans and our city is the best, speech. Maybe it's because I'm not American, but I always wanted to see the overall picture of the aftermath (why, how, who, etc).
royen at 03:35 AM on 03/20/08
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@guibom: I agree. Some people cite not getting the bigger picture as the reason they stopped watching. The show is called 'Jericho', though, so I guess the focus on the eponymous town shouldn't come as a surprise.
mikecoscia at 03:43 AM on 03/20/08
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Bombing all those cities made J&R congregate to one area to really take over the government. That last bomb will to take them all out while they are cornered into one small area, hence wiping them out for good.

The funny thing is when Jake said America is a company, he was not far from the truth. Major corporations manipulate our government.
sandmanfvr at 05:35 AM on 03/20/08
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Loved it. I like Beck, but I loved to see his character crack and couldn't take his wasn't the boss in Jericho. I hope a new season comes from this. Jericho is a great show.
Log1c at 11:50 AM on 03/20/08
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So anyone think of who the mystery man is? Jennings or Rall? I think that its more a fact that the mystery man wants to end the monster that he created rather than *is this a smart thing to do?* so he is blinded by that fact instead of thinking it through.

That being said, it is definitely a stretch to think it will work. But I think thats what Jake/Hawkins have picked up on and the reason they are trying to stop it.
xtopher at 03:15 PM on 03/20/08
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Why is Gerald McRaney still in the credits? Maybe he'll be a ghost too.
NeoPoliticus at 11:26 PM on 03/20/08
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Corporate nation or ObamaNation? What a choice.