Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The second season of the cult favorite Jericho shows in gritty, emotional detail why fans adore this show. It's intelligently written, and manages to make its out-there concept not only believable, but mesmerizing. Part post-apocalyptic sci-fi, part Western, part conspiracy thriller, and part juicy human drama, Jericho in its second season explores how the citizens of wee Jericho, Kansas, are coping six months after a nuclear bomb destroyed most of the town--and the fabric of the country. The layers of character and plot development, rare on network TV, continue to surprise and develop. Our hero, Jake (Skeet Ulrich), is helping put the pieces of his town and life back together, while hostile forces from neighboring towns plan attacks. And the mysterious Robert Hawkins (Lennie James) is hiding in town with a literal smoking gun--a nuclear warhead that may prove the attacks were carried out not by Iran and North Korea, but by internal forces. Hawkins is on the run, and Jake is in on his secret. Amid all this chaos arrives Major Beck (the charismatic Esai Morales), who's been sent by the acting Western government to instill order in Jericho. "The nightmare is over," he intones to the shaken townsfolk. "Order will be restored."
The second season of the cult favorite Jericho shows in gritty, emotional detail why fans adore this show. It's intelligently written, and manages to make its out-there concept not only believable, but mesmerizing. Part post-apocalyptic sci-fi, part Western, part conspiracy thriller, and part juicy human drama, Jericho in its second season explores how the citizens of wee Jericho, Kansas, are coping six months after a nuclear bomb destroyed most of the town--and the fabric of the country. The layers of character and plot development, rare on network TV, continue to surprise and develop. Our hero, Jake (Skeet Ulrich), is helping put the pieces of his town and life back together, while hostile forces from neighboring towns plan attacks. And the mysterious Robert Hawkins (Lennie James) is hiding in town with a literal smoking gun--a nuclear warhead that may prove the attacks were carried out not by Iran and North Korea, but by internal forces. Hawkins is on the run, and Jake is in on his secret. Amid all this chaos arrives Major Beck (the charismatic Esai Morales), who's been sent by the acting Western government to instill order in Jericho. "The nightmare is over," he intones to the shaken townsfolk. "Order will be restored."
The nightmare is far from over, however, which accounts for
Jericho's intense drama and creative storytelling. The viewer is
never totally sure whom to believe, keeping the viewer just off
kilter just enough to want to watch another episode, and then
another. Extras on the boxed set include terrific audio commentaries
on virtually every episode, which lend even greater appreciation to
the set designers and cinematographers. There's a featurette,
"Rebuilding Jericho," giving fans insight to the conception of a
post-apocalyptic America, and deleted scenes, and perhaps most
interesting to devoted fans, an alternate unaired ending to the
season finale--worth watching just to see where the creators
imaginations can take them. --A.T. Hurley
Product Description
JERICHO is a drama about what happens when a uclear mushroom cloud
suddenly appears on the horizon, plunging the residents of a small,
peaceful Kansas town into chaos, leaving them completely isolated
and wondering if they're the only Americans left alive. But in this
time of crisis, as sensible people become paranoid, personal agendas
take over and well-kept secrets threaten to be revealed, some people
will find an inner strength they never knew they had and the most
unlikely heroes will emerge.
Season 2: 2008
| # | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | Morse Code[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "Reconstruction" | Steve Boyum | Carol Barbee, Jonathan E. Steinberg | February 12, 2008 | WE'RE BAAACK |
| The Allied States of America, a new government based out of Cheyenne, Wyoming begins the process of rebuilding the area. Major Beck, the military commander of the region, declares an end to the Jericho-New Bern feud and offers a general amnesty, in the belief that any additional penalties would only strengthen the feud. He also appoints Heather Lisinski as ambassador between the two towns. Angered by the amnesty, Jake, Eric, and several of the Rangers plot to kill Constantino. Hawkins abandons the plan, and Beck preemptively repeatedly warns Jake not to try his plan. When Eric decides to go ahead with the plan anyway, Jake tries to stop him and offers a credible story to Beck to save his brother's life. Jake then accepts Beck's offer for him to become Sheriff of Jericho. Meanwhile, Robert and Darcy Hawkins meet with a newly arrived member of Robert's team, Chavez, who informs them that the country had been roughly split in two countries along the Mississippi River, with Texas remaining independent. Stanley and Mimi get engaged. | ||||||
| 24 | 2 | "Condor" | Christopher Leitch | Matthew Federman, Stephen Scaia | February 19, 2008 | J&R RAN BOXCAR |
| Jericho prepares for a visit from new President Tamachiro. People start to feel uneasy after Jericho is given revisionist history textbooks and Gray Anderson is asked to represent the region at an unelected Constitutional Convention. Gray agrees to go to the Convention, but promises he will ask tough questions there. He also installs Eric as Acting Mayor. A California reporter explains to Jake that the government tells newspapers what to publish and often covers up bad news. Jake tells the reporter that he has news of the attacks, but the reporter soon turns up dead. Chavez, Robert, and Darcy covertly download several Presidential files; Chavez is exposed and captured during the attempt. Jake slips Chavez a key, and he escapes from military custody. Hawkins' universal password can open all but a folder named Project Boxcar; neither he nor Chavez had ever heard of it. Chavez leaves for Texas to see if he can get the Texas government to listen to Hawkins. Valente informs Beck that Ravenwood will be coming to oversee the day-to-day administration of Jericho. | ||||||
| 25 | 3 | "Jennings & Rall" | John Peters | Joy Gregory | February 26, 2008 | CALLER KNOWS ALL |
| Dale returns from a trading expedition with information that the "Hudson River virus" has "jumped" the Mississippi River. Goetz of Ravenwood seizes and orders the Hudson River virus' vaccines' destruction; agents in Jennings & Rall (J&R), the civilian company working with the government and owner of Ravenwood, are powerless to stop him. After Heather talks with another town plagued by the virus, she tells Dale to hijack a J&R transport truck. Though Goetz is suspicious and tortures a doctor to try to obtain information, a friendly J&R employee falsely informs him that the vaccines were destroyed, allowing the town to be secretly inoculated. Meanwhile, to protect his identity, Hawkins tells Beck that he is an FBI agent loyal to the United States of America who is also looking for Sara. He tells Beck some truths about Sara; after Valente flatly denies them, Beck agrees to work with Hawkins. Hawkins decodes a phone number and expects to talk to another member of his team, but instead speaks with an unknown person who claims he wants to help him. | ||||||
| 26 | 4 | "Oversight" | Steve Gomer | Robert Levine | March 4, 2008 | A COSTLY DEATH |
| Dale is forced to start smuggling to continue importing goods under J&R's tight regulations. Goetz temporarily shuts down Dale's store; after an informant tells him that Dale is the primary smuggler, arrests him. Jake gets Beck to declare Dale a terror informant, which frees him. Mimi finds that some money may have been embezzled from J&R's stash, and reports it to her supervisor, who tells Goetz. Goetz demands that Mimi bring in her private ledger, which Mimi agrees to do, but arrives at her house with an armed force later that day anyway. Bonnie tries to cover for Mimi, but when Ravenwood demands to search the house, she shoots several Ravenwood employees before being killed herself. Meanwhile, "John Smith" tells Hawkins that Beck has a radiological scan of the area, and he needs to take it. He and Jake are forced to ask Heather to steal it from his office, which she reluctantly does. Beck becomes disturbed when he sees a video of Valente dealing with possible terrorists. | ||||||
| 27 | 5 | "Termination for Cause" | Guy Bee | Rob Fresco | March 11, 2008 | THO IT IS DARK |
| Goetz and his team learn that Mimi Clark is still alive and surround the medical center while Beck deals with an uprising in New Bern. Goetz starts taking hostages to force the Rangers to leave, but this only alerts Hawkins to the situation. Mimi awakens, and Hawkins has "John Smith" give him the email address of one of Goetz's bosses. Jake identifies Goetz's informant and has him and a captured Ravenwood agent reroute Goetz to a crossroads near Stanley's farm. There, Goetz's boss arrives and fires him. After he leaves, the Rangers, as well as several people from New Bern who had been tracking Goetz, arrive and kill all the Ravenwood employees except for Goetz in a battle, as Beck had argued that nothing happen to him in retribution. Jake wants to turn Goetz over to Beck, but Constantino had ordered that Goetz be killed. While Jake and Russell, Heather's brother from New Bern, argue, Stanley shoots Goetz; the group hangs Goetz's body outside at an entrance to New Bern. | ||||||
| 28 | 6 | "Sedition" | Scott Peters | Carol Barbee, Matthew Federman, Stephen Scaia | March 18, 2008 | KNOW OUR FLAG |
| Major Beck arrests Jake and puts him in solitary confinement, hoping that he will give up the Rangers' and especially Stanley's location. The Rangers ambush a military convoy and demand Jake's release; Beck declares the Rangers to be in open insurrection. Normal citizens of Jericho begin guerrilla warfare against the military. Jake's mother is given permission to visit Jake; after the visit, she gives the Rangers enough information for them to find and free Jake. Meanwhile, Chavez tells Hawkins to deliver the bomb to Texas. John Smith tells Hawkins to wait a few days; Hawkins agrees but starts to Texas immediately. John Smith betrays Hawkins to Beck, who attacks him. Hawkins manages to escape, but abandons his laptop and the bomb. John Smith is revealed to be the mastermind behind the September attacks, who now wishes to use Hawkins' bomb to destroy Cheyenne and the J&R leadership. | ||||||
| 29 | 7 | "Patriots and Tyrants" | Seith Mann | Dan Shotz, Jonathan E. Steinberg | March 25, 2008 | IS STILL THERE |
| Jake and Hawkins meet with one of Hawkins' teammates, Cheung, in Cheyenne. They plan to seize the bomb, which is being covertly transported in an ambulance by the Cheyenne government. John Smith is present at the scene, and manages to kill Cheung and shoot Hawkins before escaping. Hawkins has Jake drive the truck to the Texan embassy, where they receive political asylum. The Texan ambassador gives them a plane, and Jake and Hawkins fly off with the bomb.[4] During the flight, they are harried by Cheyenne planes, but planes from the Texas Air National Guard shoot them down. They land in Texas, where the bomb is tested.[5] Meanwhile, Beck receives orders to move ahead with his crackdown. Eric agrees to work with Constantino for his resistance movement, but later finds Constantino's tactics repugnant and repudiates him. Heather berates Beck for his crackdown and he arrests her. However, after looking through the evidence in Hawkins laptop, Beck arrives at Bonnie's grave and grants amnesty to Jericho. He and his soldiers refuse to take orders from the Cheyenne leadership. Gray Anderson returns at Jake and Hawkins' behest and raises Johnston Green's "Don't Tread on Me" Army Rangers flag. | ||||||
