Any excuse to make a Kaiser Chiefs reference, right? Well, actually, by the time the opening credits were rolling in this week’s episode, it was less a prediction than a statement of fact; when Mayor Gray decided to kick the refugees out of Jericho because they couldn’t support them anymore…well, the refugees didn’t take kindly to that development. Next stop: Flying Fists, Nevada!
At first, it’s really tough to buy into Gray’s decision – it comes across as harsh even for a longstanding dickhead like him – but upon reflection, exactly what are the refugees supposed to do, really? A few episodes ago, Jericho’s higher-ups made a decision they thought was right, but now that word’s gotten out that the “Marines” who visited the town were a bunch of phonies, people are rebelling in a big way. Basically, the town’s a powder keg, and it’s hard for cool heads to prevail when the dumbasses are so prone to making sweeping gestures like, say, throwing tear gas cannisters into the building where the refugees are holed up. Even when both parties try to discuss things, everything goes horribly wrong. Gray pulls a gun on Roger (you know, Emily’s husband…who, by the way, seems to have gotten his shit together, psychologically speaking, over the course of the last few episodes) but ends up getting shot himself. One of the refugees breaks into Johnston and Gail’s house, probably in an ill-advised attempt to get Johnston’s attention, and things go awry there as well…although visions of Gail’s head being cracked open by a baseball bat don’t come to pass. It’s here that we’d normally get a full-on “Little House” moment, but, instead, when Gail tries to explain that the reason they don’t let the refugees stay in the empty houses is because they’re waiting for the townsfolk who were out of town when the bomb dropped to return, the refugee replies, “Yeah, well, wherever they are right now, I hope they’re not being run out of town.” Ouch. When all’s said and done, Gail convinces Gray to let the refugees stay in the empty houses…except for Roger, who actually gets off easy by only getting banished from Jericho. And since he won’t let Emily go with him, count on the Jake / Emily relationship to be blazing again soon.
Other moments:
* Dale and his new, bestest lady friend manage to swipe back some of the gas that was stolen from Dale, but, like their maneuvers last week, you know it’s just building to some awful payback. My theory…? Dale will be a swinging single again by the end of the season.
* You know, with the whole subplot about Hawkins’ family, here’s what I’m saying: how can we miss them if they won’t go away for even a full episode? Anyway, he only stops by to catch a glimpse of them before he travels to Nebraska to try and complete Sarah’s work (read, “stop the bad guys who she was working for”). We get no closure on this, but based on the news reports that the townsfolk pick up, it does look like the folks in Jericho are about to realize that Hawkins ain’t actually FBI. Had to happen eventually.
My declaration: best episode of the season so far. My God, it’s so good that, with the look at next week’s episode (which indicates that lots of secrets will be revealed), I almost hope the show gets renewed…and in past weeks, I’ve been a long way from thinking as much, so that’s really saying something.
