Jericho Review

There's not many television shows that have tackled a prospect so controversial and intriguing as a Second American Civil War. The movie Civil War, released in 2023, depicted such a hypothetical event, but omitted any genuine examination into the conflict itself and focused moreso on the plight of war journalists... wasted potential, if you ask me, but that's a review for another day. The television series 'Jericho', however, released in 2006 and sporting a two-season runtime continued on by comic adaptations, is possibly the greatest depiction of a hypothetical collapse scenario of the United States and the subsequent political factionalization that would mark such a turbulent time in our history. So how exactly is Jericho so compelling, and why should you spend your precious time watching it? Let's discuss!

Jericho has about an explosive of a beginning as any show possibly could- that being a simultaneous nuclear bombing of practically every major American city (bar New York as we learn later in the show), leaving the titular Kansas town of Jericho to fend for itself during a period of uncertainty and civil collapse throughout the fifty states. It's a terrifying reality that's come uncomfortably close to our own reality, see our history throughout the Cold War. A majority of Season One focuses on a central cast of characters and Jericho itself, less focusing on the motivations and explanations for the nuclear holocaust and moreso how this ordinary Kansas settlement is navigating through it to survive this tumultuous era.

The primary characters are the Green Family, featuring Jake, Johnston, and Eric, alongside Emily Sullivan- the daughter of a local crimelord and survivalist, Dale Turner, the town's social exile that eventually rises to take up a position of affluence after inheriting the local supermarket, and Robert Hawkins, a mysterious outsider that arrived to Jericho just hours before the apocalypse setting the series into motion. There's countless other characters worth noting, such as Washington pencil-pusher Mimi Clark now thrust into a new, uncertain world, or her love interest and local Jericho farmer Stanley, schoolteacher Heather, Johnston Green's Mayoral rival Gray Anderson, and beyond. The ensemble cast that Jericho presents you with would, in a lesser show, overwhelm the cinematic senses and introduce too many cooks in the kitchen, leaving the viewer ultimately dissatisfied and confused. However, Jericho balances these characters, their dynamics, and their collective plotlines together expertly to weave a compelling narrative that can't help but reel you in from the second this political post-apocalyptic thriller begins.

Jericho is master of making the audience feel anxiety and biting curiosity regarding what's next. Jake Green's development from a self-serving town exile into a brandished hero determined to keep everyone together and safe no matter the cost is thrust into the backdrop of utter chaos, as Jericho ultimately enters a conflict with their neighboring township New Bern, marking the explosive climax of Season One. Other characters also develop heavily over the season's course, such as Robert Hawkins who goes from a mysterious and suspicious outsider into someone of invaluable assistance to the town's survival and even prosperity during these uncertain times.

Whilst initially, the story behind the bombings is kept cloaked and shrouded by secrecy, with suspicion being thrown onto all manner of characters, most prominently being Robert Hawkins and his family, considering their mysterious arrival into Jericho just hours before the cataclysm began- we learn much more during Season Two, where the primary mysteries behind the nuclear annihilations are revealed to the audience. This becomes especially prevalent with the reveal of the 'Allied States of America', a faction that manages to force most of the other squabbling remnants of the American Government to heel under a singular, cohesive banner, on the surface being a democratic system meant to bring about necessary change within a broken system that allowed these destructive events to take place, but over time reveals itself as a fascistic corporatocracy, where a shadowy entity called Jennings and Rall secretly calls all the shots and owns practically everyone inside the ASA government. Furthermore, the actual legitimate remnant of the American Government situated in Columbus, Ohio, is far too weak to actually mount a capable resistance against the ASA, and their demise seems almost imminent. To say anymore would be spoiling a narrative that I believe is best experienced firsthand by yourself, so from now, my lips are sealed.

If there's one downside I could name regarding Jericho, it's probably how the show ends on a cliffhanger. It was nearly cancelled after its opening season until fans of the program flooded CBS with requests begging and demanding in equal measure for its revival, to which they eventually kowtowed, yet after Season Two's finale, the only continuation one can find is through the official Jericho comic adaptations that were made with input from the writing team. Unfortunately, those comic adaptations too end on a tantalizing cliffhanger, and despite whispers of a reboot or revival throughout the years, no such effort has ever manifested for poor old Jericho, leaving its fans dissatisfied and in the dark. While I sincerely doubt Jericho could ever return today, I still believe it a thought-provoking examination of humans facing adversity and their reactions to suffering and change like never before, and I highly recommend it for any nascent viewer. God Bless everyone, and stay tuned for more blog posts.