Out on the street, Jake goes over the EMP effects a little more briefly than Hawkins did. Eric asks whether help is still on the way. Because Assistant Secretary Walsh totally promised help! Dad grumps, "I don't think so."
Credit. Hey, it's Johanna's birthday! Well, it will be when you're reading this. If you're reading it the day it goes up. Which, okay, you probably aren't. But even if it's not actually her birthday, I encourage you to spend a minute doubting her very existence. Trust me, she likes it.
We open on a shot of a clock mounted on a building, stopped at 9:02. We have a title! Then a semi-omniscient caption reads, "2 weeks later." Oh, Jericho, it's sweet of you to make my "bad copy ofBattlestar Galactica" jokes for me. And then we're back on Main Street. Incidentally, has anyone else wondered why the street is always wet in the morning? I didn't think Kansas was that rainy. People are strolling around pretty much as usual. But wait, there's a group of kids who are playing baseball in the middle of the street, using mobile phones as balls. Well, sure. I suppose the fact that the kids are doing this without anyone even saying, "Yo, can you wave the bat around somewhere else?" is supposed to represent how the town has fallen into lawless anarchy. Except I can't help wondering whether even back before the bombs, this was something the kids did and the townsfolk were just too braindead to say, "Quit that." The pitcher has several facial piercings, so he is obviously a hoodlum. Jake strolls along the sidewalk, looking particularly stoned. Then the batter swings, and we see him hit the phone three times from different angles, like it's particularly astonishing or something. The phone flies off and smashes through a window at Gracie's. The boys say "whoa!" and "dude!" a few times, and run away. Dale peers out through the hole (apparently prawns are only $8.99 a pound).
Meanwhile, Jake grabs one of the punk kids as he tries to flee the scene. Not to yell at him about the window, oh no. Jake warns him, "Hey, slow down!" Running is dangerous! Not like playing baseball on Main Street. Then Dale runs over and shoves the kid, knocking him down. Jake then turns his attention to Dale, and the kid runs away while Dale huffs about the window. Realizing that the kid is gone, Dale snits, "Thanks a lot," and tells Jake that kids have tried to break into the store twice this week. That Joaquin Phoenix-y kid we met last week suddenly appears and omigoshes supportively. Turns out his name is Sean. We won't find that out for half an hour yet, but "Joaquin Phoenix-y kid" is hell to spellcheck. Jake is randomly suspicious, but Sean insists, "Dale's my buddy!" Dale is silent, so Sean strolls off. Then Jake sternly tells Dale, "You can't go around shoving people." Ha ha ha! So: random vandalism gets a pass, but if you start running or shoving people, Jake's gonna kick your ass. Got it. It's a good thing Jake didn't see that bicyclist who went by a minute ago -- I don't think he was wearing a helmet. He advises Dale to tell the cops if he's having a problem. Dale sighs that they'll just write up a report. "Well, then come to me!" Jake says. Jake, you were right there. And you didn't do anything. What is wrong with you? Dale says that he'll deal with it himself, and heads back to the store. Jake flaps his arms and puts his hands on his head in exasperation. This is rapidly becoming his signature move. If he ever does that and simultaneously says, "Come on, come on!" I'll be so happy.