By Strega
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.After spending all night playing cards, Jake finally learns the Auditor's name (Mimi), and Eric plans to really, seriously tell his wife that he's leaving her for Mary. Suddenly, the power comes back on, which leads to gratuitous Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Also, phones start ringing with an automated message from Homeland Security advising people to stay put, because "help is on the way." The townsfolk still can't get anything via television or the internet, though, which make it look more and more likely that the PTC has finally taken over the country. As an added bonus, having electricity back leads to a small explosion that injures Emily. Unfortunately, she survives, plus the library almost burns down. Meanwhile, Hawkins takes a portable satellite dish out to his yard, and uses his laptop to pass on some more secret messages. After dealing with the fire in his usual heroic fashion, Jake climbs onto a rooftop and peers around town through a rifle scope (don't ask) looking for other fires. He notices that Eric's house is ablaze, and also spots Hawkins behaving in a suspect fashion. Jake and Hawkins completely fail to save Eric's house, and while sifting through the ashes later, Eric finds out that April was planning to divorce him. Naturally, admitting that they loathe one another causes them to renew their bond. Or something. Jake almost tells Dad where he's really been for the past five years, but Dad insists that he doesn't want to know. Sigh. That evening, everyone troops down to the bar as usual, because the satellite dish at Bailey's is picking up what appears to be a presidential podium. So they gather to wait and see if anyone will appear behind it and say something. Instead, there's a distant rumbling, and everyone goes outside just in time to see missiles zooming into the sky. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Previously: I love the fact that this week the clips include Stanley saying that he couldn't find a pesticide container, and Heather's warnings about static electricity. Isn't the point here to help someone catch up by showing them scenes that are, like, relevant to tonight's show? Or at least slightly comprehensible to someone who missed the last episode? Maybe they're trying to make sure that anyone just tuning in is just as bewildered as the regular viewers are.
As dawn breaks over the empty streets of Jericho, Jake voice-overs, "I'm tired of war. No one ever really wins."
Cut to Bailey's, where Jake, Stanley, and the Auditor have apparently been playing cards all night. Yes, seriously. He was tired of War, the game. Apparently I'm going to have to dig out my Misdirection-Based-Comedy alarm. I hope the warranty's still good. The Auditor suggests playing Crazy Eights or Hearts while I try to figure out how they played a three-handed game of War. Mary offers them all coffee, and the Auditor says, "Make mine an Irish." Then Jake says, "So, Mimi, what would you be doing if you were back home in DC?" Her name is Mimi! And to think I thought this show would just tease us endlessly without ever answering important questions. Mimi says that if she was back home she'd be sleeping, and then complains that Jericho is so quiet that it's hard for her to fall asleep: "It's like my brain is an echo chamber." Oh man, too easy. Jake replies, "Why do you think I left town?" Good Cop strolls in with Eric and smirks, "I could tell her!" Jake warns Good Cop to hush up. Mimi guesses that Jake was "captain of the football team, prom king, most likely to succeed." The boys all chuckle, and Good Cop says, "Don't quit your day job." Stanley interjects, "I think [Jake] beat up the prom king." Then he says, "Eric, you must have a million stories about your brother screwing up, right?" Eric agrees uncomfortable, and then moves away to ask Mary for some coffee. As she gets it, Eric tells her that he's going to have a talk with April tonight: "And then I won't need coffee as an excuse to come see you." They fondle each other's hands as Jake watches with what may or may not be surprise. Then there's a clank as the lights come on, and the jukebox inexplicably starts to play "Takin' Care Of Business." It's particularly inexplicable since Bailey's, as we all know, has a generator. If they were actually trying to conserve power for a change, why did they leave everything switched on? Jake hurries to unplug the jukebox, and as soon as that business is taken care of, the pay phone on the wall rings.