(S01E21) Maybe I missed something but where is the freaking tank?
As the messenger from New Bern came into town, all I could think was that it's nice to see the kid from Deliverance still getting work. Sadly he brought along some real bad weather.
After watching Dale's performance tonight, I have developed a new opinion of him. He may be nuts but he's got balls of steel. It's clear that if Jericho can survive this battle, he will emerge as one of the most powerful men in town. The scene between Dale & Johnston was awesome because it showed the true nuances of the ex-mayors ability to govern. A truly great leader gets you to do things because you want to.
The writing was on the wall days ago, but it's clearly time for a recall in the town of Jericho. Thank goodness, Mayor Dumbass finally realized he was in way over his head. CBS keeps saying that someone will die in the finale and my money is on Gray.
I was wondering when Jonah was going to return. There was absolutely no way the town could defend themselves without his help. Of course, that help came at a price, but I loved it. It was one more example of the kinds of choices you are forced to make in times of crisis. I mean, after Ma Green got caught by mortar fire, Jake, Erik and Johnston were going to do whatever they needed to do to keep her and all their loved ones safe. My favorite part was when Jonah drove away with all the spoils. I expected him to turn to Emily and say, "You knew I was a snake when you let me in."
I usually don't pay attention to the previews, but I have to ask...does anyone else think Heather is coming back or was that just a Survivor-like ruse to throw us off?
Oh and one more thing, where is the freaking tank?
I give this episode a 5















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-03-2007 @ 8:14AM
Chuck said...
I thought this episode was fan-freakin'-tastic. I kept yelling "where's the tank?" the whole last twenty minutes or so. I have a feelin we'll see it, but I'm sure they don't want to tip their hand just yet. I suppose they could also say "we have another nuke, so just try something!" but I doubt that will happen.
I also kept hoping they would call out New Bern's mayor on all the crap he pulled to start it, but obviously it wouldn't really have helped--he's beyond reasoning with.
And (spoiler ahead if you did not watch the previews) . . .
that WAS Heather they showed. Considering that's been one of the big questions the last few weeks, why would they show her in the previews? Somebody's head was stuck somewhere it doesn't belong when they put that one on!
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5-03-2007 @ 8:15AM
grumpyoldman said...
The Freakin Tank will save the town in next week's finale!! (I hope). Wouldn't it be great if CBS announced next Wednesday morning that Jericho will be back next year.
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5-03-2007 @ 8:21AM
Alicia said...
I always thought Heather was still alive. It was just something to try and break Jake.
And um.... yeah, the thought must have crossed my mind 3 or 4 times saying.... "You guys.... you have a TANK!"
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5-03-2007 @ 8:41AM
mike s said...
I lvoed the storage building of Hawkins with all the guns and ammo. Where's the tank Stanley??????
Recall the mayor or maybe a mortar gets him?
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5-03-2007 @ 8:30AM
Bill said...
The instant they sent that first crew to take out the mortars with Stanley and a bunch of red shirts, leaving Jake and Hawkins behind, it was waaaay too obvious that they were dead. I liked that it was a setup for Gray's downfall, but they could've somehow handled it better than that.
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5-03-2007 @ 9:06AM
Kyle Beabo said...
I too was yelling "Where's the tank?" Do they have ammo for it? Did anyone check?
Ah well. The episode was pretty cool. Couldn't believe they didn't try the stall tactic earlier. Seemed kinda obvious.
Also I don't care what anyone says, Dale is an idiot. If the town goes down, he goes down. There is no way the rival town would let a baby like him keep control of half its supplies. The kid is annoying and needs to be exiled for his inability to help his fellow man. You'd think that having lost his family he would cling on to anything familiar, but he doesn't care about anything but 'salt.' You just know there is going to be an episode where he has to choose between having it all and having the girl. Count it down.
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5-03-2007 @ 8:57AM
mj said...
They have a tank, but nothing to shoot. I was so happy to see Jonah, but I am so upset that he took everything. I keep hoping he will be back next week to help. I keep looking at spoilers and they just say a leader is going to die. In the previews, you see Jake and Eric, and hear a voice saying they are going to look to you now. I really hope Johnston isn't the one. He is Jericho. If he dies, I know I am going to cry. I so hope this show isn't canceled.
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5-03-2007 @ 9:15AM
junyo said...
A. Thought about the tank, bt no ammo, no fuel, and not sure it's mortar-proof.
B. What kind of moron is Gray for not only not thinking of it, but actively countermanding scouting the flanks. You don't have to be a military genius to imagine the distinct possibility that an evil sheriff, bent on stealing your town, maybe, just maybe, would be smart/evil enough to anticipate a counterattack and set an ambush.
C. Dale continues to give me both the heebies and the geebies. But, as they say 'chaos equals opportunity'.
D. Why didn't someone stick a pistol in Jonah's ribs? Yeah he might have 30 men, but a bullet through the gut would ruin his day, which might make him more open to a more equitable trade. And while you might not survive the encounter, without those heavy weapons, you still probably won't survive.
E. Didn't really see why everybody was so shocked/disgusted when Jonah wasted the bass fisher. He pretty much was directly responsible for the battle. Because if he'd kept his mouth shut, they probably could've taken down the mortar site with minimal loss of life. And if the New Bernians had won, it would've meant killing his fishing rival. Guess he really didn't want to face Johnston on the river again. I don't really have that big of a problem with punishing that level of stupidity.
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5-03-2007 @ 9:48AM
julielw said...
When it comes to Dale - I think he feels that everyone's been trying to cheat him out of the deals that were made for the store. Hey, times are tough but if these people were going to back out on their deals, they should have come to Dale to tried to negotiate a new deal. I think Dale felt that no one was taking him seriously so he stepped up to the plate. Went to the extreme a bit but he's young and still growing up in ways. It seems like he was coming back around to his old self in the end a bit when Johnston handed him a gun to help protect the town.
I hope the don't kill Johnston off either. I love him. He's got a backbone and GREAT leadership. Grays stupid and panics too easily. Maybe he'll walk out in front of a mortar.
Loved Hawkins in this ep. Loved him and his wife making up and there being "no more secrets". Loved seeing Jonah again. Also loved Emily in this episode. Her and Jake are great together.
I didn't think Heather was dead anyway. Of course, with her in the previews, it could be someone telling Jake about what happened to her through a flash back - I guess that's always possible but I think she's really alive.
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5-03-2007 @ 11:23AM
Shane Reeves said...
First off they needed to employ that tank. While the initial bombardment was happening, they needed to fire that thing up. A tank may not be mortar proof for long, but mortars have to be in a fixed position while a tank is mobile. I would have attacked with that tank and twenty men Scipio Africanus style. While thirty New Bern men and their mortars wasted time in negotiation, that tank could be destroying the New Bern army and the infantry could be burning the town to the ground. Those men and their useless mortars would have to return like Hannibal to Carthage to find the battle was already over. They would have no choice but to surrender with their supply base destroyed.
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5-03-2007 @ 11:38AM
h8rain said...
I was screaming the whole episode "WHERE'S THE FREAKING TANK!!!!!" Even if it does not have ammo, they could use it for pure armor and run down the mortar trucks. I doubt they would have time to reposition to fire on a moving target.
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5-03-2007 @ 12:44PM
Rob said...
Common guys,.. be logical. Why would Jericho tip their hand so early? Showing the tank would only give the mortar operators something to aim at. Not only that, but we don't know how much fuel or ammo they have for it. It would be a waste to show the only "secret weapon" you have when you don't even have a specific use for it yet.
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5-03-2007 @ 1:55PM
bigmck said...
If I recall from the Iraq invasion, the tanks run on gasoline. I am thinking that Hawkins probably has something they could fire out of it. He has everything else in that basement. I have a feeling the tank will be taking out the tent camp that we saw in the last scene last night. That may not be the whole fighting force, but it looked like it was probably most of them. That is why Gerald McRaney (can't think of his first name on the show) made the comment, "May God help us for what we are about to do." == This show is so good. It is one that I just don't miss.
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5-03-2007 @ 2:27PM
amber said...
I've been trying to figure out what they did with the tank, too. If anything, if you're going to waste what gas is left, it should be used on the tank to take out the New Bern guys.
My money's on Johnston to bite it in the finale, since in the preview it said something about someone filling into empty shoes, and it showed Jake standing on the Town Hall porch, looking all stoic.
I'm hoping that the shot of Heather means that she's not dead, otherwise I'm going to be writing really nasty letters to CBS about raising up my hopes that way.
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5-03-2007 @ 3:16PM
julielw said...
"My money's on Johnston to bite it in the finale, since in the preview it said something about someone filling into empty shoes, and it showed Jake standing on the Town Hall porch, looking all stoic."
I'm afraid it will be Johnston too (though it could just be he'll be wounded and out of commission trying to help out stupid Gray Anderson). I believe it was Hawkins voice who said something like, "People are going to be looking to you now." when the preview showed Jake. Of course sometimes the way the previews play the audio while showing the footage can also be misleading. Jake did look pretty stoic though but it looked like he was standing on the Stanley's porch on the Richman farm not the town hall. I kept rewinding the previews to see if I could figure some things out and it looked more like the Richman farm to me. Gee, does that make me obsessed?:-)
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5-03-2007 @ 4:12PM
Bishop said...
I'm hoping it isn't Johnston who dies, and hoping its Gray. Or no one dying but the town holding another election and Jake becoming the new mayor, because we know everyone has notices his leadership and love for the town. That way they don't have to piss off all the fans by killing Johnston and can still have a great season finale(Hoping that it is the season and not series finale)
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5-03-2007 @ 4:18PM
Mark said...
I hope it's not Johnston biting it in the season finale.
Re the tank. The previews for next week show Jack (grin) Hawkins talking with the tank's turret close up behind him. As mentioned, they didn't use the tank because they have no ammo.
This was a great episode. In a way, it reminds me of the original Star Trek - you can sort of see they don't have a huge budget so they make do - they can't show too many spectacular explosions or highprice special effects, so instead of showing mortars falling and blowing up, they show the aftereffects. But the story is carrying things along.
My prediction for the finale: Jonas is going to go all Hans Solo on them - in this ep, he helps, but shows he's just in it for the prizes.... but either in the season finale, or next season's opener, he's going to ride in and save the day, a la the Millenium Falcon at the end of the first Star Wars movie.
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5-03-2007 @ 5:27PM
Jennifer said...
I would bet Johnston bites it. I think the season will end with Jericho in a "seriously screwed" sort of position, and getting rid of Johnston would do it.
I suspect showing Heather smiling happily is a ringer, given what's likely to go down in this episode. Maybe there's a flashback or something.
Wouldn't it be freaky if Jericho totally lost the war and the next season started with them all under New Bern's martial law?
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5-03-2007 @ 4:57PM
malren said...
Add me to the list of folks screaming "WHERE'S THE TANK?" until I realized - much like #8 and #12 - that it would be tipping their hand too early and give the mortars something to aim at.
I'm sure there are a few shells in the tank, and it obviously had enough diesel to run to the barn. Plus, Jericho is farm country so a lot of the engines will be diesel...I don't think gas will be unavailable. Scarce...but attainable.
Plus tanks get what, three MPG? You gotta REALLY need it before you decide to run it. Like next week. :)
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5-03-2007 @ 7:15PM
Kate said...
The preview of Heather was from when they went to the trading post - when she looked up and saw the new flag. I wonder why they would put that in? what happened to the girl Johnston carried back from new bern. Dale is going to be trouble if they have a second season. I think he started the shoot-out at the salt mine.
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