(S01E22) First off, I have to say I love a good flashback. The way tonight's show blended the flashbacks with the current scenes was really well done. For a show that has really become very basic, the level of artistry is very high.
Well, Heather is alive and she's in Nebraska. I've been to Nebraska and, quite frankly, she was better off dead (that's a joke, son). It was great that Heather was able to alert the military to what's happening between Jericho & New Bern but relief is clearly going to come at a price and Robert Hawkins' name is on that price tag. I loved that shot of Heather looking at the flag, that very disturbing looking flag.
I don't know about you but I found that convoy from New Bern incredibly menacing. The little town of Jericho would not stand a chance if it wasn't for Hawkins and his secret weapons...oh, and, of course, the tank. When the tank came over the hill I was ecstatic. After seeing the bad guys head for the hills all I could think is that I got to get me one of those.
Speaking of the tank, was anyone else skeptical when Mayor Dumbass was put in charge of loading the ammo? I thought for sure he was going to screw the pooch. Am I the only one who disagrees with what Johnston and Jake said about Gray being a leader? It seems to me that regardless of who was elected, these people picked their leader long ago and it was Johnston.
I am torn about the death of Johnston Green. On one hand, I always appreciate a ballsy move like killing off a main character. On the other hand, Gerald McRaney is probably the number one reason I watch this show. I guess the writers figured that we have the entire summer to get over it. However, watching Johnston and his father walk off together will be a hard image to forget.
Overall, I have to give this episode a 6.















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
5-10-2007 @ 7:43AM
Kevin Little said...
As much as it pains me to say this. It would better of if this were the series finale. This show has fallen apart.
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5-10-2007 @ 8:42AM
mj said...
Great episode. Johnston's death was done well. To see the boys being strong for the crowd, then to see Jake weeping until Hawkins called was so tragic. Grey, sadly is the mayor, and as such needs to be protected, to give Jericho a sense of continuity. I saw the trucks from New Bern, and also felt creeped out by it. But I thought, if they had spent as much time in trying to grow food, and protect the town, as they did in making bombs and that convoy, they would be in better shape, and wouldn't NEED to take over Jericho. They could have worked together from the moment Heather went to New Bern. How sad. And that flag? Something isn't right. The bad bald guy was a clue, but why change the flag so much??? I so hope this show isn't gone. I so want to know what the heck is going on...
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5-22-2007 @ 8:33AM
georgia said...
I don't like it that Mr. Green was killed off the show I thought he's the only one who could lead his town to victory. I will miss him. I love the show and hope it stays on the air for a long time.
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5-10-2007 @ 8:47AM
mrkorb said...
I don't think CBS or the writers are planning on season 2. They just went and killed off probably the most likable character on the show while revealing that one of the more useless ones is still alive. Stick a fork in it, I say.
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5-10-2007 @ 9:01AM
Michael said...
Kevin I completely disagree! When this show started up I was ridiculing the little inaccuracies regarding what would happen if there really were a nuclear blast nearby, the obvious similarities to "Alas, Babylon", etc. Now that the show has matured, it has moved far beyond what it was when it debuted in the fall and is a first class drama I truly look forward to each and every week. I feel that the show has really come into its own since it returned for the second half of the season. Like "LOST" it has picked up steam and hasn't slowed down at all the way some other shows have (umm... can you say "24"?).
I was very disappointed to see Gerald McRaney's character die. I agree that he has been the glue this town needed but I can also see that many secondary characters have stepped up and although he will be missed, there are enough good storylines left in the show to continue to hold my interest. If you stop and think about it, some of the best storylines have not included Johnston anyway - Stanley's farm, Dale's slow rise to power, Hawkins, New Bern - there is still plenty of drama happening to make things exciting. Now all we have to do is WAIT UNTIL THE FREAKING FALL FOR NEXT SEASON!!!
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5-10-2007 @ 9:08AM
Jack said...
It would be interesting if the series isn't renewed. A really open-ended ending to the show. I wonder if killing the shows biggest name was a response to being up in the air about the future of the series. If it's not renewed, killing him was a chance to give the actor a good death scene with no ramifications for the future of the series.
I'd like the show to return, but with the military coming after Hawkins (whether it's the "real" American military or a splinter group (the real America wouldn't change the flag like that. The flag is a rallying point, something to bind the nation together. Only a splinter group would design a new flag), the New Bern/Jericho shootout at the end bound to have more casualties (like farm boy that didn't want to die), and the death of the dad, I'd completely understand if this was it.
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5-10-2007 @ 9:14AM
rtms said...
Well I was a scattered watcher at best, but with Johnston gone there is no way I'm watching it now. He was the moral and strong foundation to the show and town and with out him this town is lost. They let a jerk like the Kid run them around. They let Gray stumble around making bad decisions.Nope this show is done for me.
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5-10-2007 @ 9:21AM
julielw said...
I too think the show has matured a lot. I think it has come to be a VERY good show. Rumor has it that CBS is going to renew it for next fall. I just wish they would hurry up and make it official.
I also hate the fact that they killed off the father. The interesting thing was that in the beginning when they listed that Sprague Graden (Heather) was a "very special guest", I was thinking that she was going to die and that they had Johnston get shot to "throw us off". But alas.
They're are way too many ends to be tied up now. KUDOS to Doris (I think that's her name) - Hawkins wife for bringing up the "fingerprints" on the bomb and how it could be traced back to the original culprits. If CBS does cancel this show, they would need to make a movie to tie up loose ends.
All in all, I thought this episode was GREAT! Oh yeah....I also loved the fact that Jake FINALLY planted one on Emily! It's about stinkin' time!
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5-10-2007 @ 9:24AM
Kyle Beabo said...
I was really hoping that annoying teen would be the one to die, Zach or whatever his name is. Bugs the hell out of me.
Sounds like this might be one of those shows where there is no resolution. Oh well. It was sorta fun while it lasted, in a slightly better than the Postman kinda way.
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5-10-2007 @ 9:36AM
Walt said...
End the show? When there's money to be made? Bah!
Gerald McRaney finally got a few decent lines towards the end of the show, but the logic holes in the bomb thing are just mounting up faster and deeper. About five/six eps back, one of the plot points was showing a sat. pic of Hawkins playing in his yard, and the girl was there in the town to get the bomb. So, Hawkins' position was already a known -- the bit about "redirecting" to get a terrorist was kind of dumb and/or redundant. The bald guy may not have known if Hawkins had moved or not, but wouldn't that be one place to start looking? Please.
This was enjoyable, but Skeet Ulrich can't carry the show. Part of the whole schtick was for him to live up to his father's original expectations, and that part has run its course. If they bring back the show, I predict a lot of filler/soap opera-y elements and a drop in interest.
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5-10-2007 @ 9:42AM
La-di-dah said...
Fantastic season-ender. It took a lot of ... guts to kill off the funniest, sturdiest character on the show, and I will miss him too greatly. The death obviously had a lot of power for the fictional town and for us because we know that Jake is going give Constantino hell. I am willing to see where the show goes from here. Maybe they'll replace him with another old kook (I loved the grandpa character, but he's dead too).
Things I could care less about include Emily and Jake together. Things I would love to see more of now that they are in a full-out war, women (not Emily only, and not Ashley only) defending the town.
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5-10-2007 @ 9:44AM
BobbyBuz said...
I almost positive I read that Jericho had been renewed for another season. Am I wrong? Why all the skepticism that the show won't be back next season.
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5-10-2007 @ 9:49AM
junyo said...
" But I thought, if they had spent as much time in trying to grow food, and protect the town, as they did in making bombs and that convoy, they would be in better shape, and wouldn't NEED to take over Jericho."
All the cooperation in the world doesn't extend the Kansas growing season, or produce more farmland. If Gray wasn't a total moron he'd have done what Dale's been doing on a municipal level, consolidating the surrounding towns into resource sharing/defensive alliances to prevent just this sort of thing.
Johnston dying was a disappointment; I'd assumed that a storyline that would have been explored further was the growing unease with the democratically elected Gray, compared to the obviously more capable Johnston. Last week was a virtual coup, and it looked like Johnston would've won, if he hadn't voluntarily accomodated Gray.. You could've gotten lots of storylines out of the balance of power in Jericho post-crisis. You can sort of have that struggle with the Jake/Eric/Hawkins powerblock, but they don't have the authority and command that Johnston had as a man, or McRainey had as an actor. Heck, Jake's big speech before battle a) kinda sucked, and b) derived almost all of it's power from it's envocation of Johnston's corpse.
Hawkins wasn't to bright. The real-time data is great, but you could've gotten much the same from a handful of scouts with binoculars and walkies, and you wouldn't have risked revealing your location.
"...the real America wouldn't change the flag like that."
Agreed, which makes me think that the power struggle isn't as over as the Colonel would have Heather believe, and that these guys aren't actually the good guys. Beyond that, if they are in control why haven't they restored shortwave or satellite TV (something that doesn't depend on cables or line of sight) to broadcast the news to the nation?
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5-10-2007 @ 10:02AM
Charles said...
I have to note the exchange of the night. Stanley explains to Hawkins how the tank runs. Hawkins hops in and says, "Not my first time." Jake merely rolls his eyes.
Classic!
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5-10-2007 @ 11:50AM
Peanut said...
My favorite part was near the beginning, when Jake and Hawkins were surprised Johnston didn't want to know more about who Hawkins was. Johnston said something like "I'm about to go to war with New Bern, home of the nearest Costco. I've had enough surprises for one day."
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5-10-2007 @ 11:51AM
Adam said...
Oh man, I am sure going to miss this show over the summer! Johnston Green's death was tragic, and like everybody's said, they could have killed Dale and we'd be much happier. Regardless, I don't see this series struggling without Johnston.
I'm wondering what the deal with that train is. Hawkins seemed pretty interested in it, even though he really didn't do much about it at the end (I thought he'd park the tank on the tracks and derail the train). The helicopters coming were spooky too. I have a bad feeling that the whole battle with New Bern will be quickly extinguished.
What I still don't get is why other countries haven't aided in reorganizing the U.S. I mean, you would think Canada would be coming in and helping establish a new unified government. This faction stuff is realistic, although unlikely if they have global communications. Oh well, it's fiction. I still love this show and can't wait for it's return!
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5-10-2007 @ 12:10PM
Cody said...
"...the real America wouldn't change the flag like that."
I had a totally different reaction to seeing the flag than you. Firstly, the American flag changes all the time. The most recent change was in 1960 when Hawaii became a state. I assume that the bombs caused a major shakeup, and the number of states changed, and they simply updated the flag.
Secondly, I hastily counted the stars and think I saw 23. Weren't there 23 bombs (24 with Hawkins's)? Or am I making that up?
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5-10-2007 @ 12:53PM
Haunt said...
I don't really get all the negativity or "meh" this show draws from so many. I've loved this show from the first episode, so it confuses me when so many say that they never cared for it, or only feel like it's been worth watching in the last few weeks. But then I tend to watch and enjoy shows for the characters and the quiet, character-driven moments moreso than for the action or the big set-/event-driven "mythology" eps, so obviously I'm not the average American target audience. *shrug*
At any rate, loved the episode and I seriously hope it comes back for another season. And I can't believe no one has mentioned the newest 'Deadwood' alum to show up. The military commander (can't remember his name right now) of the camp that Heather woke up in was played by Titus Welliver, a.k.a. Silas Adams from 'Deadwood'. Looks different without the beard and the fancy suits, but that was him, no doubt.
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5-10-2007 @ 1:38PM
Rob said...
Sorry, but that flag just isn't truly American. Yes, the flag evolves to address the addition of new states (or, I suppose in a disaster, the subtraction of a state,) but the stripes have always run horizontally. No legitimate continuation government would create a vertically striped flag. The only reason to use this is... the real flag is being used by the legitimate government and those soldiers are part of some faction.
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5-10-2007 @ 2:13PM
Carol said...
I don't really care if JERICHO is picked up for another season or not. I watched every episode this season but since they killed off Johnston Green (Gerald McRaney), who is the main reason why I watched the show, I won't be watching anymore anyway.
I'm still in shock that they would kill off this character.
CBS you really let me down.
Put McRaney in his own show please.
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