Category: Jericho (Page 9 of 11)

Was it just me, or did the shots of Jake and Eric in the car during that opening scene look like something out of an Ed Wood flick? Not once was it ever even remotely convincing that they were really on the open road in a car. I believed it about as much as I believed Eric when he said he’d be ready to use his gun when the time came. Something I found funny, though, was that after I complained about how I didn’t buy into the chemistry between Skeet Ulrich and Kenneth Mitchell last week, they actually came off really good this episode. Maybe it’s only when they’re trying to act sentimental that I don’t buy it. Whatever the case, their sequences in Rogue River while searching for medicine to save their father’s life are unquestionably the best of the bunch this week. Of course, part of that was less to do with them than with the action scenes in the hospital, but even so.

That having been said, however, I also really enjoyed the further painting of Gray Anderson of the town’s resident asshole, thanks to his grilling of the Hawkins household. Gray kept going farther and farther over the top with his requests of Robert and his family, and you wanted to see just how much they were going to put up with it. In the case of Robert’s teenage daughter, it seemed as though it wasn’t very long at all; I admit to having been somewhat surprised that it was an intentional performance on her part. It was also nice to see Gray put in his place. That’s what you get, you son of a bitch!

In fact, the only scenes that didn’t really do anything for me were the scenes with Heather and Emily, with their attempts to make ice. The only thing I found interesting from a character development standpoint was the one bit with Heather coming within an inch of a freak-out when she couldn’t seem to make the ice; actress Sprague Grayden played the scene as if Heather felt like she was letting down this family who had taken her in, and although it could’ve gone over the top, I felt her performance worked well.

So, at the end of the episode, we still don’t know for sure that the meds worked on Mayor Green…although the preview for next week proceeded to answer the question for us (gee, thanks, CBS!)…but we do know that, in the future, Eric shouldn’t take off his fucking jacket!!!

Good lord. What an idiot.

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.