Jericho Season 1

As the mayoral election nears, Gray Anderson seizes the opportunity to show his strength as a leader when Gracie Leigh is murdered. Gray is convinced he knows who committed the crime and launches a manhunt to capture and kill Jonah and restore peace to Jericho. On the run, the injured Jonah turns up at Emily's house and convinces Jake that Mitch, not he, killed Gracie; but Jonah is later caught and nearly executed by Gray, whom Jake forces back to his senses in a highly charged confrontation; in the end Jonah is exiled. Meanwhile, as playful reminiscing continues to heat up between Jake and Emily, both are hit with a curve ball when an unlikely face returns to Jericho: Roger, Emily's fiance, returns with fifty bedraggled fellow passengers.

In this flashback episode we see the events of the 36 hours preceding the bombs. Jake, having difficulty getting a piloting job in San Diego because of his checkered past, runs afoul of Ravenwood contractors, who kill his business partner. Emily and Roger revisit a thorny issue: Roger wants Emily to move with him to take up a new opportunity in Chicago, even though she's said she'll never leave Jericho. Hawkins is seen in Washington, D.C., with Sarah Mason, getting an assignment from cell leaders to be a driver in the nuclear bomb plot: his target is Columbus, Ohio. He instead all but kidnaps his frightened children and ex-wife; he intended to take Sarah too, but she's gone amid signs of a struggle. Hawkins brings his family to Jericho.

Needing a special rotor to build a windmill they can use for essential power to get through the winter, Jake, Heather, Johnston, and Dale travel to a trading post at the Black Jack fairgrounds, where draconian punishment of thieves allows traders to feel secure. There they find old friends of Heather's from New Bern, where she grew up. A seedy trader has the rotor but Dale finds a back-room with dozens of bunks equipped with handcuffs. Johnston calls off the deal but Dale tries to steal the rotor. Caught and about to be strung up by security, Jake and the others fight their way out, helped by Heather's friends. Heather returns to New Bern with them, where she can use her expertise and their facilities to build windmills for both towns.

As supplies run low and winter is setting in, Jake and Stanley go hunting; Stanley brings Mimi, feeling she needs to learn to hunt. Ten miles from home they encounter a black truck, which chases them and runs them off the road, overturning Jake's pickup. The marauders take everything; Jake's leg is trapped under the truck and Stanley's ankle is sprained, leaving Mimi the only person who can go for help. Freezing night sets in and Stanley fights to keep Jake alive and conscious. Mimi finds Johnston and Gail; while Gail returns to town for help, Jake, near death, tells his father he can still see the 12-year-old girl he killed in Iraq. Hawkins and Sarah go to kill their group leader, but he's already dead; Hawkins sees he's being set up.

A unit of U.S. Marines claiming to be on the forefront of reconstruction efforts arrive in Jericho, complete with a tank. But both Johnston and Jake uncover hints that the newcomers aren't real Marines at all. The town leaders get the drop on them but decide not to tell the town the Marines are impostors -- the people need to believe hope is coming to make it through the harsh, lean days ahead. The Marines are escorted out of Jericho amid cheers; outside town they're relieved of their weapons -- and the tank. (The Morse code for this episode's titles reads, "They will need it.") Hawkins realizes Sarah wants the nuke; she takes Samuel hostage, but on the brink of killing Hawkins she's shot dead by Allison. Darcy leaves with the children.

The wind-turbine blade arrives; Gray wants to buy more but people from New Bern drive a hard bargain for salt and food. Ultimately they arrive at a deal: New Bern is promised part of their spring crop in exchange for the windmills; to ensure they keep the bargain, New Bern demands ten Jericho citizens to help build them. April goes into premature labor and needs emergency surgery; faced with a catastrophic complication in April's pregnancy, Jake forces Kenchy to operate. The operation does not succeed, but Kenchy emerges from his Rogue River trauma and agrees to help out in Jericho. Eric joins the New Bern workers, unable to stay in Jericho after losing his wife and unborn child. Hawkins finds his past is catching up with him.

With the town short on food, Gray announces the refugees must go. Roger, feeling responsible for his fellow refugees, confronts the mayor and in his desperation pulls a gun on him; in the scuffle Gray is wounded as Emily watches, appalled at the change in her fiance. Roger agrees to leave with supplies of food and clothes but demands Gray as a hostage; Jake volunteers instead. Gail manages to get individual townspeople to share rations with refugees, so they can stay; but Roger must go. Hawkins travels to Nebraska to meet people who think they are meeting Sarah; he sees the buyer, a bald older man. Dale and Skylar aim to get more supplies. On the fixed radio they hear the terrorists had FBI badges -- Jimmy realizes this implicates Hawkins.

After Jimmy confesses his suspicions to Jake, they confront Hawkins, demanding to know the truth. With Jimmy outside on lookout, Hawkins tells Jake the truth: he's part of a CIA black ops task force that infiltrated a domestic terrorism ring. He worked his way up, gaining their trust (by unmasking an FBI agent) to become one of the drivers taking the nukes to major U.S. cities. Sarah served as his handler. But the terrorists suddenly moved up the attack date. The CIA had no time to stop most of the nukes; Hawkins had time only to force his kids and estranged wife in his truck and drive to Jericho, the rendezvous point (it would be in a clear zone), with the nuke, which he shows to Jake. Jake then vouches for Hawkins, keeping his secret.

When Eric doesn't return from New Bern with the other men, Jake senses something is wrong and uncovers what their neighbors secretly have in store for the citizens of Jericho: taking Hawkins with him to New Bern, they find the town militarized and paranoid after being attacked by Ravenwood. Jake and Hawkins find maps with Jericho divided up as if after being taken over. Worse, the factory is making huge quantities of mortars. Jake is caught trying to sabotage them, just as Eric had been. In prison, Eric, who looks as though he's been tortured, tells Jake he thinks Heather is dead. The New Bern ruler, Sheriff Constantino, hauls the brothers before an angry crowd and denounces Jericho for sending the mayor's sons to attack them.

A confrontation at the salt mine leaves a New Bern citizen dead. Russell, one of Heather's friends from New Bern, works with increasing desperation to come to a deal with Jericho for half ownership of the mine; Gray and Johnston realize from his warnings that he's trying to head off looming violence between the towns. Johnston sees that his sons are in danger and drives to New Bern himself. In jail, Eric is being tortured for information about Jericho. Meanwhile Hawkins manages to cause an explosion at the factory, causing Constantine to move the brothers; Hawkins stages an attack on the police station as they do so. In the end Jake and Eric break free, and though wounded they escape in the police truck Johnston stole in the commotion.

Constantino presents Jericho with an ultimatum: half the salt mine and several farms or face an overwhelming attack. When New Bern begins bombing the streets of Jericho with mortars, mayor Gray Anderson is faced with the decision to fight their formidable opponents or surrender in order to save lives. Dale assembles the refugees into a private army, promising them shares of a farm he's acquired. Gray orders Rangers to attack the artillery position; but they were waiting for them and several men are killed. Gray prepares to cave; Jake and Stanley confront him and get him to stall. Jake's team captures a New Bern supply truck, but gets surrounded by a scavenger gang -- led by Jonah. He reluctantly helps them take out the artillery positions.

New Bern mounts a direct attack. Jericho deploys its tank against them, forcing a retreat; but the tank only had one shell, and the army will be back with reinforcements. Johnston is badly wounded. After a heartrending goodbye to both his sons, Johnston dies; Jake realizes the town will now turn to him. Hawkins, using his satellite link despite risk of discovery, warns that a troop train is coming. Hawkins drives the tank onto the tracks, derailing the train. Heather comes to in a military camp of the new Cheyenne government. Given a last chance by Constantino, Jake, remembering his grandfather's WWII story, responds, "Nuts," followed by "go to Hell." The episode ends with Jake ordering his troops to fire on the advancing New Bern army.