Reconstruction (Jericho episode)

"Reconstruction" is the first episode of the second season of the CBS drama, Jericho. It aired in the United States of America on February 12, 2008; however, a DVD screener version leaked on internet in the early days of January, along with the two subsequent episodes.^[1]

Recap

When the Cheyenne government puts an end to the battle between Jericho and New Bern, Major Edward Beck leads the reconstruction efforts to restore Jericho's power and communication with the outside world.^[2] The episode is set four weeks after the previous episode; Major Beck says the portions of town still without services will be back on the electric grid within another four weeks. After the introduction, the episode opens to Jake and Emily kissing, and their conduct throughout the episode suggests that they have firmly restarted their relationship. Heather Lisinski, however, was not in Jericho for those four weeks, re-appearing only mid-episode when a later convoy from Cheyenne arrives. Later on that week, Major Beck asked Heather to serve as ambassador between Jericho and New Bern because of her ties with the two towns and her pacifist leanings.

Beck, drawing on his pre-collapse experience trying to keep peace in Afghanistan, conducted inquiries into the Jericho-New Bern skirmish, but refused to issue any significant penalties in the belief that punishing one side or the other would lead to another round of violence. Initially, Jake Green is horrified at the idea that New Bern's leaders will go unpunished, and he vows to take revenge. Major Beck attempts to counsel Jake privately, offering him the sheriff position as a sign of his willingness to trust Jake as a leader. Jake, unimpressed, draws up plans for a raid. Hawkins refuses to go along, telling Jake that he is being reckless and short-sighted. When Jake finds out that Emily also thinks he is being reckless, he changes his mind, only to get word that Eric has gone without him. Jake catches Eric just outside of town, and while the two fight over what their father would have wanted, Major Beck and his border patrol find them and haul them back into the city.

In the episode's secondary story line, a government contractor affiliated with Cheyenne gets Stanley Richmond to sign away a portion of his crop in exchange for tax relief. Mimi is initially happy with Stanley, and proposes to him, which terribly flusters Stanley because he had planned to propose marriage to Mimi. After reading the contract, however, Mimi realizes that the contract's consideration is illusory, because (1) the Cheyenne government had already granted universal tax relief, and (2) the contract is more open-ended than Stanley realized. Mimi uses her bargaining skill to get the contractor to own up to the swindling and offer Stanley a fair deal; they also offer Mimi a job. Stanley regains his composure and proposes to Mimi "the way my father proposed to my mother" -- by him asking her. She joyfully accepts.

A new character is introduced in this episode: Chavez, one of Hawkins's fellow secret agents. Chavez follows Darcy home, while she is carrying secret documents suggesting that Major Beck and the Cheyenne government think that Sarah is still alive and is their "terrorist." Hawkins initially attacks, disarms, and threatens Chavez, but later acts as if he trusts Chavez fully, and the two openly discuss the secrets that they each know. Chavez reveals that he knows the Cheyenne government is illegitimate and that Valenti, who sponsored the attacks, is one of its leaders. Chavez explains that the US east of the Mississippi is still free, based in Columbus, Ohio, and that the US west of the Mississippi is all under Cheyenne control, except for an independent Texas, which apparently is close to joining the Cheyenne government, thus solidifying its power. Chavez also confirms Cheyenne-produced news reports suggesting that Iran and North Korea were destroyed by nuclear weapons, although Chavez considers this evidence of the depths of brutality to which Cheyenne's leaders are willing to sink to cover their tracks. Hawkins reveals that he still has the nuclear weapon, and Chavez suggests that they may be able to use it as part of the evidence they collect to discredit the Cheyenne government and thus dissuade Texas from joining it.

At the end of the episode, Major Beck believes Jake's explanation that he was trying to stop his brother, and seems unsurprised when Jake finally accepts the sheriff position. Major Beck tells Jake that he has just learned, to their mutual surprise, that Cheyenne President Tomarchio's whistle-stop tour is coming to visit Jericho.

References

External links

• "Reconstruction" recap, full episode, and cast&crew commentary at CBS.com