JERICHO: Condor(2008).
© CBS

Mania Grade: B-
Episode: Condor
Starring: Skeet Ulrich, Lennie James, Kenneth Mitchell, Gerald McRaney, Pamela Reed
Written By: Stephen Scaia, Mathew Federman
Directed By: Chris Leitch
Network: CBS

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JERICHO: Condor

Ok, so now I see why we were so rushed through the war between the towns last week. The creators wanted to move to the next stage of the series. It seems that the struggles are over, there’s food aplenty, power, and communication. I know some months have past since the battle between the towns, but it sure seems like everything is getting fixed up really quickly. Another question is where are the radiation ravaged zombies? I know Jericho is situated in a spot where it was shielded from the fallout, but there was fallout somewhere right? This new regime seems to be controlling, and even crafting the media, so it makes sense that we wouldn’t see devastation on TV but surely some traveler would bring more real news. It happened often enough last season.

A lot happens in this episode that’s pretty ridiculous, but hey this is a fantasy of sorts right? This is an alternate universe United States, sort of like Red Dawn from the 80’s. The social commentary here is realistic in a way though. It says that people will accept things they might normally not accept during tragedy, they’ll accept almost anything that pulls them free of the devastation. Now I don’t actually think people in our country would accept rewritten history and heavy control like the people of Jericho have but our current world shows that we are willing to accept a lot either out of fear or the necessity for revenge. 

I really enjoyed this extreme new government and how the various characters reacted to it. There’s not much surprising here. The mayor seemed willing to deal with the new government because of the opportunities it seems to be affording him. Sure at the end he makes a commitment to “ask the important questions” but it felt half hearted at best. Jake and Eric are beginning to realize that things wrong are afoot and are already resisting even if they are doing it within the system so far. But Hawkins, the man, is still fighting. When the president comes to town, he and his new partner concoct a plan to steal files that would prove the government is corrupt in order to get Texas, the one big hold out state west of the “blue line” that hasn’t become a part of the new government. I kept feeling like Jake should really be involved in this plan. When he did learn that something was going down, he just sort of let it happen and even helped out toward the end. Jake and Hawkins seemed to break through their barrier of distrust last year and all of the sudden the barrier is back this year. While the story itself has been pushed forward, it feels like Jake and Hawkins’s relationship has been drug back. 

Stanley and Mimi continue to plan their wedding and I mostly continue to not care. Mimi is sort of a fun character but Stanley’s “aww shucks’ personality really grated on me this week. I’ve been waiting to see when Ravenwood would return and it happened much quicker than I expected and I couldn’t be happier. Jake’s dropped his badge so I hope that means he’s ready to work outside the system to learn the truth of what’s happening to the country. I like this new direction overall but I really hope we see some things in upcoming stories to remind us, oh yeah the country was attacked with nuclear weapons. It’s no LOST or Battlestar Galactica, but it continues to be a fun