After taking a week off, “Jericho” returns with an episode that actually packed a bit of emotional heft.
We begin with Hawkins spending his evening doing what any newly-single fella would: digging a grave. He’s interrupted from his task, however, by the appearance of Deputy Jim, who’s inching closer and closer to being immortalized in the Dopey Deputies of Television trifecta alongside Barney Fire and Enos Strate. I mean, you’d like to think the guy’s got some Marge Gundersen in him and that we’re just underestimating him, but any hint of that vibe is depleting at a rapid pace. Jim’s looking for Sarah, but Hawkins hems, haws, and finally claims that she’s headed to New Orleans to visit family; after another drop-by visit, he then admits that his own family has jumped ship…but to help cast away some of Jim’s rising suspicion, Hawkins takes the deputy over to the shelter where Darcy and the kids are staying. There’s a little suspense about whether Darcy might just narc on her husband and get him out of her hair for good…though the implication that Hawkins might pop a cap in Jim’s skull (he grabbed his gun before heading over to the shelter) is so stupid that surely no-one really believed it was going to happen…but she finally decides to stick to the story for the sake of her daughter, a.k.a. the person who actually killed Sarah. And, once again, things end with the presumption that Hawkins will never see his family again. Yeah, right.
Inevitably, the most interesting subplot of the week was the death of April. I didn’t see it coming, I was actually depressed about it (Lord knows there were far more worthy candidates within the town to have shuffle off this mortal coil), and her last scene – when she tells Eric that she likes the name Tracy, even though he knows that their baby has already died – is gripping. We also get to see Dr. Dhuwalia again…and although it gets a little too CBS-y when he’s struggling with his whole “I just want to live a simple life” thing but suddenly comes around thanks to Jake’s pep talk, Aasif Mandvi is a great actor who manages to rise above the schmaltz. Indeed, the only up-side to April’s death is that we’ll see more of Dhuwalia.
The only other notable events of the week were the arrival of the wind turbine in town, Dale protecting his interest in Gracie’s store and, as a result, finally getting some long-deserved action from Skylar (though you can just about count on her shitty friends popping up again so they can convince her that he’s not good enough for her), and more annoyed interaction between Mimi and Bonnie. Okay, those scenes weren’t bad…but, God help us, we also got yet another gag-reflex-inducing scene between Stanley and Mimi, where they finally admit that they love each other.
Seriously, I really can’t believe they killed off April instead of one of those two.
Anyway, the episode ends with ten of Jericho’s best and brightest – including Eric and Stanley – heading off to New Bern to help build more wind turbines. Not a real cliffhanger.
