November 15, 2006: Wedding Day
We open with a scene of Emily and Roger - the first look at Roger - in their bedroom, and then Emily wakes up from her dream turned nightmare. She's not the only one awake in the middle of the night. Everyone's up in the Richmond house because the mercenaries from Rogue River - named Ravenwood - are outside their door, masking themselves as people who want to help. They even use Eric's name to try to warm Stanley to their presence, but he's not convinced and wards them off, rifle in hand.
The next morning, Jake asks Eric about his status with April, but the conversation is cut short when Stanley, Bonnie and Mimi show up at the Green house, asking about Ravenwood. They bring this to the officers' attention, including Hawkins and Gray Anderson. They decide to load up on any explosives they have, and they advise Stanley to leave his farm and come into town for safe measure.
A more positive change this morning is Johnston's improving state of health, since the last time we saw him he was being injected with the medicine his sons brought back from Rogue River. April and Gail finally feel some relief, and it's good to see them smiling. I had temporarily forgotten that April is pregnant - she still hasn't told Eric at this point, though. And we find out a few scenes later that the news of his love for Mary Bailey comes out before April can reveal hers... and just like that, the marriage is over. Or at least it seems so.
Meanwhile, Jake has a short fuse for Hawkins, telling him to just "get it done," when they're at one of Jericho's borders, awaiting Ravenhood. But Hawkins doesn't take commands that easily, telling Jake, "You need to know when you're in over your head." And as the Ravenwood vehicles spread out across the bridge, facing a line of armed Jericho men, one faltered shot is fired. No one is hurt, but Jericho is warned that if the bridge is not cleared in four hours, it will be by force. Jake offers up an idea - just as I expected - to get rid off the bridge altogether, so that no one will be able to get across by force. But he finds his greatest opposition is his own brother. Eric vetoes the idea. "The answer is
no."
In a quieter place, Emily holds up her wedding dress in front of the mirror, and Heather sneaks in to give her a bridal bouquet mock-up and a plan to keep her occupied since she's feeling extra lonely on this day. In town, while Emily waits for Heather outside in the truck, she has another vision: She's in her wedding dress, Heather is a bridesmaid, everyone in town is going to the service.... She's shaken out of this one by Heather returning with news that everyone is advised to stay indoors today. So the girls end up at Bailey's bar, with doc Kenchy Dhuwalia (
Aasif Mandvi) from Rogue River keeping a stool warm at the other end and keeping the drinking underway.
The men are secretly planning to blow up the bridge despite Eric's orders, and Jake goes out to warn the people who live nearby. But Stanley isn't budging. He won't so easily leave the house his grandfather built, and he tells Jake to go warn everyone else. "You're wasting time here." Elsewhere on the Richmond property, Hawkins is leading the pack, gathering fertilizer and diesel fuel to create an explosive for the bridge. Bonnie insists on staying with Stanley and Mimi confronts him about protecting his sister. "You didn't grow up in this house!" he says sternly. She reminds him that he's the connection to their family and it's the memories that Bonnie needs, not the farm.
A little tipsy at Bailey's, Emily has a moment alone with the doc and they both sympathize with each other over their lack of sleep and unsaid-but-obvious sadness and frustration. They talk about where they were supposed to be on this day, and we're suddenly inside another wedding scene - celebrating in Bailey's bar
before the ceremony, champagne being poured and a speech that turns sour, implying a bland life and fears that Emily might have in real life, fears that are playing out in her dreams.
Amidst all the chaos, Gail defends April and scolds her son for his behavior, for ruining his marriage. Eric is getting pressure from all sides. For the first time in a while, Johnston is standing on his own two feet and telling Eric to do whatever it takes to avoid complete mayhem after he hears about the mercenaries planning to charge into Jericho. Minutes later, Eric is at the bridge, pushing past Jake, hopping in a truck and driving away from his town and family.
As Gray is about to blow the bridge, everyone evacuates the roadway, leaving Jake standing in front of Ravenwood with the fuse in his hand. "Turn your trucks around, or I blow it," he says. They order him to step aside so they can take medicine and supplies for refugees in Rogue River - as the government ordered. Right. Just then, one of their men is shot dead, and there's a red target light on leader Goetz's (
D.B. Sweeney) chest. Hawkins is armed and hiding off to the side, and Eric returns just in time with Jonah and his men. Ravenwood is surrounded. "What's this town worth to you?" says Jake. The mercenaries turn to leave but not without placing a shuddering thought on the table: When it's time to put Jericho back together again, when the fighting ends and the government sends help to resurrect the struggling town, Goetz says they're going to send him.
Night falls and the town
is struggling. People are starting to argue with each other, and Johnston steps back into his role and puts Gray in his place... and Jake, too. But do Jericho residents want Johnston to keep making their decisions? In the mayor's office, Jake approaches his father about getting together a trained security force. Unhappy with his son's decisions that day, he coldly gets a point across with few words, "Make sure you do it right."
Back in the bar, Emily sees another vision of Roger - he's talking to her, asking if she's going to be sad forever, asking what it is that keeps her so tied to Jericho, and when she says she doesn't know, he whispers, "I think you do." My thought? Jake. Later, she finds herself at the chapel, alone with only the lit candles keeping her company, until Jake shows up. He knows what this day means to her. "How did he propose?" he asks. And we learn what Jake proposed back when they were teenagers. She wonders why he didn't stay away after he left Jericho. And with Jake leaning in to whisper in her ear, we realize it's another dream/vision/nightmare. "Are you sure that's what you wanted?" he said to her. From the look on her face, it isn't.
