It’s been over two months since we last had a new episode of “Jericho”…and, you know, I gotta tell ya, I think it’s a testament to how the series was losing me even before its temporary departure from the airwaves that not only did I not really miss it all that much while it was gone, but when it came back last night, I couldn’t even be bothered to be home or even set the VCR to tape it.
This isn’t to say that I didn’t want to see it, you understand – because if I didn’t, I certainly wouldn’t be continue to blog about it – but, clearly, my excitement about the show’s return was decidedly muted. It was, like, “Eh, I’ll watch it online tomorrow.”
Well, I’ve now watched it…and, okay, I’m back in I-want-to-see-what-happens-next-week mode, and it’s almost totally and utterly because we finally, finally, FINALLY got some questions answered about Hawkins. I was never entirely sure what to make of him before this (mostly because so little information was doled out about his past), but it seems that he was actually part of the group responsible for the nuclear attack. Oddly enough, I never really considered that to be a possibility; I always just figured he was working within the government in some capacity and that, as a result, he knew who was responsible. But to actually be a member of the group who set off the bombs, I absolutely didn’t anticipate that. I’m figuring he might’ve been working undercover, but we’ll see.
We also got back story on Jake and what he was doing prior to his return to Jericho…well, at least part of what he was doing, anyway; he was indeed in Iraq, as well as Afghanistan, but he was apparently working for a private contractor rather than the military. We also confirmed that he was returning to Jericho because he was on the run…from Ravenwood Security. (You may remember them as the organization who’d supposedly been hired by the US Dept. of Homeland Security as back-up for the National Guard.)
Basically, these were the two big stories going on in this episode, which was almost exclusively told in flashback during the 36 hours before the bombs fell. There are other bits and pieces about what the other citizens of Jericho were doing at the time, but aside from Jake and Hawkins, the only other interesting bit of info that we receive is that Emily had been fighting with her fiance, Roger, before he left town. The only new information we get comes during the last five minutes; it’s only two things, but it’s just enough to inspire interest in next week’s episode.
1) In addition to Roger’s return, one of the other people who comes strolling into town – although no-one knows it except us viewers – is Hawkins’ ex-partner (or lover, or whatever) from this terrorist organization he’d been working with.
2) Roger saw some seriously fucked up shit. Or else he’s now blind and didn’t see anything at all. I honestly couldn’t tell for sure which it was…but whatever the case, that was a seriously blank stare he was giving.
Back next week? Yep. The preview makes it look like it might be a bit darker. I know, I always get my hopes up, and I’m invariably disappointed. But this week’s episode has made me optimistic…so don’t let me down, “Jericho”!
