Jericho Nuke Notes: Jennings & Rall

Posted by Ryan

Jericho Jennings & Rall

Jericho, Season 2, Episode 3 “Jennings & Rall”

When Jake discovers that the government official who is supposed to protect them is actually withholding a vaccine for the Hudson River virus, he and the Rangers take their survival into their own hands.

We learn that Ravenwood is a subsidiary of Jennings & Rall. It’s like their own private army. Jake was once an employee of Jennings & Rall, back when he was driving supply trucks in Iraq. Jake’s convoy came under attack, and they returned fire and some civilians were killed. But there was no investigation or repercussions. J&R kept the whole episode quiet.

Though the government denies it, Hudson River virus has crossed the Mississippi River. Fall River, Missouri, is under quarantine and 220 people have died there in the past week. Dale was able to acquire a few thousand doses of the vaccine through the black market, but Ravenwood has orders to confiscate and destroy all vaccines that don’t come directly from J&R (hey, they’re just concerned about public safety). Seems like depriving people or whole towns of life-saving vaccinations is a good way to get people to cooperate … or just get rid of them altogether. So if there’s no danger of the virus west of the Mississippi River, then why has everyone in J&R already been inoculated?

Speaking of J&R employees, it seems that Trisha might not be 100 percent evil after all. Unofficially, she doesn’t agree that Ravenwood has carte blanche to do whatever they want. She’s also responsible for fudging the vaccine disposal log — accounting for 2,880 doses that were supposed to have been destroyed but ended up injected into Jericho citizens. Trisha also recruited Stanley’s sister to join J&R in Cheyenne. Apparently, the city now has 800,000 people and is some kind of cool, progressive happenin’ place.

Hawkins, realizing that he’s about to be linked to Sara Mason, tells Major Beck that he’s actually an FBI agent from the Columbus government who’s been tracking Sara. Hawkins has Beck convinced that Sara’s still out there and has a bomb. A run of Sara’s fingerprints reveals that her records are top secret, meaning that she has worked for the government. If Valente denies that Sara has ever worked for the government, then he’s clearly covering something up. Of course Valente denies this, and is quite the a-hole to boot. Beck, who has never quite entirely bought into the Cheyenne government, realizes his boss is full of it, and gives Hawkins permission to resume his “investigation” of Sara.

We learn a little about Major Beck, too. Beck’s wife was in Santa Fe, N.M., when the attacks happened. He’s not sure if she’s alive or dead. Beck sent an army medical team to Fall River to vaccinate the remaining townspeople. It’s clear Beck is now operating outside of Cheyenne’s authority.

Beck’s office has been receiving cryptic faxes. Hawkins recognizes these as a code that his team was supposed to use if all other communication failed. Hawkins deciphers the code and gets a phone number to call. The guy answering the phone claims he knows what Hawkins is doing and he wants to help. So who is it on the other end of the phone and how can he help? Or is this some kind of ploy by Valente to round up former team members?

Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS ©2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.