To say that this week’s episode is better than last week’s is to damn it with faint praise, since – as you may recall – the ending of last week’s episode was officially the WORST. ENDING. EVER. But in all seriousness, this really is a far better episode, providing some much needed fleshing out of the townsfolk and their characters.
So this week, we get to know Jonah, the leader of the band of hooligans outside of town who tried to swipe some horses last week and, in the process, got Jake’s mom pretty roughed up when the horses literally ran roughshod over her. “There’s a lot of things about Jake you don’t know,” Emily tells Heather, when the latter concedes that she’s harboring a crush on Jake. Yeah, turns out there were a few things we viewers didn’t know about Emily…like, say, that Jonah’s her dad. Jake and Jonah clearly have a history…at the very least, Jake’s sweet ride used to belong to Jonah…and it’s equally clear that Jake knows enough about Jonah to not underestimate him. As the episode progresses, we find out that it was Emily’s brother…Jonah’s son…who was killed in the incident from Jake’s past that’s been referenced.
As we predicted, Stanley and Mimi (a.k.a. the accountant from Washington) continue their flirtation, although they’re at least taking the time to give Mimi more of a personality than just the hard-ass government employee she’s been to date. There’s a nice scene which clarifies that her anal tendencies extend before the workplace, as she explains to Stanley how, in a fit of boredom, she reorganized his kitchen. And, for once, the growing relationship between Dale and rich bitch Skylar isn’t mired in predictable teen angst; the situation that erupts when Skylar trades away a family heirloom for a case of diet soda then discovers that her parents might not be dead after all is good viewing, if a bit melodramatic; same with the scenes between Richard and his wife, where – FINALLY! – he’s painted without paranoia.
Gray Anderson finally returns to town after having been all but presumed dead (he’s been MIA for a few episodes), and he’s got a LOT of new information for the townsfolk and for us viewers.
*Topeka’s a mess.
*Lawrence was bombed.
*The governor of Kansas is missing.
*New York escaped being bombed, thanks to all of its post-9/11 security measures. (It’s notable that even know-it-all Robert loses his game face at this news.)
*Washington is gone.
Gray’s return also results in an authority struggle between he and Jake…but, then, Gray’s made a point of always wanting to be right since the first episode. I was indifferent to the jailbreak scene right up until the moment when Jake snatched Gray’s gun, at which point I believe I actually yelled, “Oh, shit!” Sorry, I just think Gray’s an asshole, and that opinion was backed up when he started going all Senator McCarthy on Eric. And speaking of Eric, maybe it’s just me, but the interaction between Jake and Eric – like the scene in the bar toward the end of this episode – always seems kind of forced; Skeet Ulrich and Kenneth Mitchell just do not have the chemistry that brothers should have.
I wasn’t sure if Gerald McRaney’s contract was up this episode, but he’s apparently got at least one more show in him. Nice cliffhanger ending…and the first time in a few weeks that I’m legitimately looking forward to next week’s episode.
