Jericho: Long Live the Mayor
The latest instalment of Jericho, Long Live the Mayor, was another reasonable episode. There were some good moments and some intrigue, but the show is still plagued by various problems.
The character of Jonah was quite interesting. It would have been all too easy to portray him as some two-dimensional cartoonish villain – twirling his moustache and laughing maniacally while plotting against the town. Instead, what we were given was a somewhat more complex character – still very much the bad guy, but with a deeper, more sensitive side as well.
It was just a shame that this sensitivity was the result of being Emily’s father, because that of course means more Emily. I don’t know why I have such an unfounded dislike of her character, but watching her on screen is like fingers on a chalkboard. I don’t think it’s the fault of the actress; more the obnoxious and whining way the character has been written.
I was very glad to see Dale stand up to Gracie – now there’s our cartoonish villain. She’s exploitive, lying and greedy. Perhaps the writers are anti-capitalism? It was nice that Skylar invited Dale to stay at her house, but the couch? She lives in a mansion – surely there would be one spare bedroom at least.
The idiocy of the townspeople is just confounding. Survivors are relocating to the town and no one has made an effort to find out who they are or what they know. It’s been only three weeks since their lives were changed forever, and they are just continuing on like nothing has happened. Instead, they dress up for Halloween and wait for others to deal with their problems.
Finally the foreshadowing with the Mayor has actually gone somewhere. I guess next week he will either be saved in the nick of time, or he will die and the town will face potential anarchy or revolt. Still, with the town’s collective IQ appearing to be in double digits, I’d be surprised if they could even spell mutiny, let alone organise it.
However, the show was not all bad. It was interesting to learn more about the pasts of Jake and Hawkins, and also more information about the bombings. I like Lennie James’ portrayal of subtle surprise at the fact that New York survived. It’s left open to interpretation as to whether he thought New York would be gone, or whether he was already told incorrect information.
Despite what you may think, my heart is not made of stone. I thought the kiss between Heather and Jake was sweet, and Heather’s reaction afterwards when Jake didn’t depart immediately was funny and cute. There were also some nice scenes between Mimi and Stanley. Both actors did a great job – it was nice and subtle, and didn’t go overboard.
However, while Mimi and Stanley were restrained, there were still too much cheese and overacting in this episode for my liking. If these aspects are worked on, the show would improve dramatically. You may catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar, but unfortunately the same doesn’t apply for viewers.
*Image courtesy of Wikipedia, and used under Fair Dealing for review or criticism
Jake and Jonah*
The character of Jonah was quite interesting. It would have been all too easy to portray him as some two-dimensional cartoonish villain – twirling his moustache and laughing maniacally while plotting against the town. Instead, what we were given was a somewhat more complex character – still very much the bad guy, but with a deeper, more sensitive side as well.
It was just a shame that this sensitivity was the result of being Emily’s father, because that of course means more Emily. I don’t know why I have such an unfounded dislike of her character, but watching her on screen is like fingers on a chalkboard. I don’t think it’s the fault of the actress; more the obnoxious and whining way the character has been written.
I was very glad to see Dale stand up to Gracie – now there’s our cartoonish villain. She’s exploitive, lying and greedy. Perhaps the writers are anti-capitalism? It was nice that Skylar invited Dale to stay at her house, but the couch? She lives in a mansion – surely there would be one spare bedroom at least.
The idiocy of the townspeople is just confounding. Survivors are relocating to the town and no one has made an effort to find out who they are or what they know. It’s been only three weeks since their lives were changed forever, and they are just continuing on like nothing has happened. Instead, they dress up for Halloween and wait for others to deal with their problems.
Finally the foreshadowing with the Mayor has actually gone somewhere. I guess next week he will either be saved in the nick of time, or he will die and the town will face potential anarchy or revolt. Still, with the town’s collective IQ appearing to be in double digits, I’d be surprised if they could even spell mutiny, let alone organise it.
However, the show was not all bad. It was interesting to learn more about the pasts of Jake and Hawkins, and also more information about the bombings. I like Lennie James’ portrayal of subtle surprise at the fact that New York survived. It’s left open to interpretation as to whether he thought New York would be gone, or whether he was already told incorrect information.
Despite what you may think, my heart is not made of stone. I thought the kiss between Heather and Jake was sweet, and Heather’s reaction afterwards when Jake didn’t depart immediately was funny and cute. There were also some nice scenes between Mimi and Stanley. Both actors did a great job – it was nice and subtle, and didn’t go overboard.
However, while Mimi and Stanley were restrained, there were still too much cheese and overacting in this episode for my liking. If these aspects are worked on, the show would improve dramatically. You may catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar, but unfortunately the same doesn’t apply for viewers.
Overall Rating
*Image courtesy of Wikipedia, and used under Fair Dealing for review or criticism
The kiss between Heather and Jake was probably the highlight of the episode for me - even though I knew it would happen, I thought it would happen later (and during a sappy scene). I think I'm just glad the first person I saw Jake kiss wasn't Emily.
Platypus