Jericho: Patriots And Tyrants
By fred | March 26, 2008
But my main concern was about what took place in Jericho, and Beck. Not that I wanted things to end with a fight starting much like season one did, but it could have ended within that same place, the clam before the storm, but made it much more tense because things weren’t going to be that easy and happy.
In other words, I would have liked it much better if Beck hadn’t come to its senses, hadn’t realized how wrong he was and kept blindly following orders, believing whatever it is he wants to believe he’s doing. I would have liked it better if in the end, he and his men had been starring at the clock getting ready to go and open fire on the “terrorists” who were still on level 3 areas, if the people of Jericho were all together, at peace, in the quiet, with guns in their arms, knowing a fight was coming up.
Of course, that is the case. It looked like it was all good, but a new civil war is about to start, and they’re right in the middle of it ! There will be blood, there’s no question about it. But a less boring happy-ending would have been much better.
And really, why did Beck realized he was wrong, exactly ? There’s just one reason he did : because Heather told him to open his eyes. That’s it! So far he was fine with everything, he was fine with the government re-inventing everything. I don’t mean changing the country’s name and flag, but also rewriting History. He was fine with them lying to everyone, including him (and that about the whole conspiracy), as he was proven they did by Hawkins. He was fine with the government calling terrorists everyone who only tried to live, tried to have their stores running, tried to get food and a vaccine for a deadly virus that did exists, was coming, and for which all J&R employees had received a vaccine shot of course.
He was fine with a government that lets some of their employees free, with guns and official uniforms, going after and killing innocent citizen. He was fine torturing innocent people, citizens he knew hadn’t done anything wrong, quite the contrary in fact (hence why he named him sherif in the first place). And he was fine going “level 3″ on Jericho, he had done it before in New Bern, and he had already initiated it here. The only thing that made him start to question things, after everything he had gone through and everything he knew, was Heather telling him he was wrong.
And even then, of course he needed a report - thank God Hawkins’s computer was here, was fine, and was not secured or encrypted in any way. I have to say, I feel like in the 40’s Beck would have been in Germany, running his own concentration camp, and it’s only in 44 when a cute girl would have told him he was wrong and showed him a copy my Mein Kampf, that maybe he would have started to question things…
Really, I feel like Beck had clearly gone to the ASA and it felt really lame to see that the only thing that made him question things, and re-join the side of the USA, or whatever Texas will call the new country in the end, was Heather just telling him to open his eyes. I also find that scene with his men throwing away the new flag and waiting for his orders to be quite cheesy (even though I loved Heather’s smile there…) and I have to say, again, I think I would have liked it better if he had stay in his crazy beliefs, and if the fight within Jericho hadn’t magically been resolved.
By the way, okay so… was Eric not siding with Constantino the right choice to make ? I have to say, I’m not sure. In fact, I don’t think so. Because sure, Beck somehow joined him and it all was fine, but his plan was pretty much let’s hope for the best, let’s stand there and believe nothing wrong will happen, let’s just die! I’m sorry, but even if Beck came to its sense, that doesn’t mean all of Cheyenne will do the same, far from it.
And you will have to fight, and kill people, because it will be either them or them, it’s a freaking war people ! And those people might be less Americans that the citizen of New Bern were back in season one, or let’s say they’re not US soldiers, they’re AS soldiers. If you’re not ready to kill them, they will kill you. I’m not saying make no prisoners and kill everyone, but get ready to fight.
Anyways, this was still a pretty good episode, and there is no doubt it had a real sense of closure. Feels much better to say goodbye to the show after this episode than after season one finale, there’s no doubt. But I’m pretty sure the show won’t survive on any other network, because the upcoming civil war will be fought with planes, tanks, and possibly nuclear bombs ! I am however very interested in finding what was the other version that was shot, the one ending with a cliffhanger…
That was it, the end of the fight, and it ended well. As a new fight is shaping up, one we won’t get to witness, I have to say I am really happy we got to see this one end, the second season, as short as it was, still was much better than the first and felt pretty good. Thanks to all the nuts who made this possible!
