Black Jack (Jericho Episode) - Synopsis

Synopsis

People are starting to die from hypothermia, and the gas supply to run the generator is going to run out very soon. Converting to wind power becomes the town's only chance to get through the winter.

There is a designer in Jericho who can design windmills, but without certain parts, ones that cannot be built in Jericho, such as a regulating governor, they can't hope to get the windmills working. After Mayor Anderson asks for volunteers, the room looks to Jake. Jake agrees to the mission, but refuses to pull men off Jericho border patrol just to watch his back.

Heather volunteers to go in place of the town engineer as someone who knows how to recognize a good regulating governor and has no immediate family to worry about. Jake initially protests, insisting he can recognize a governor also. Heather calls him on his bluff and insists he needs her. Johnston also volunteers, saying that he just has to know what it's really like out there. After doing inventory in his nearly empty store inherited from Gracie Leigh, Dale also decides to join the group to barter items for the store.

Jake and Heather discuss the fact that he hasn't spoken to her in the last month, ever since she kissed him. Heather goes on to tell Jake that she is okay with that and the trip to Black Jack with him is not a date. It's a chance for her to help out the town in a very real way.

The final group consisting of Jake, Johnston, Heather and Dale go to the Black Jack fairgrounds in Nebraska, which has now become a trading post. The group learns a lot about what is going on.

The country has been split into six federal regions and many people are trying to stake claims to the presidency. Several nations across the world have been sending aid by air (not just China). The fairgrounds has a giant news board telling what is going on across the country. The group tries to trade loads of salt from the town mines for the windmill part with a man known to have specialty items, but when Dale discovers bloody shackles in the back of his store, Johnston makes the decision not to do business with him.

Dale, however, steals the windmill part on their way out and they are all caught. Fortunately a group of men led by someone who happens to be an old friend of Heather helps them all escape.

After escaping, Heather tells Jake that she had a discussion with her friend, Ted, from New Bern. New Bern has a way to build governors, and she has the knowledge to get them built correctly. Again, Jake protests. Heather assures him it would only be for a few days. Still uneasy, Jake asks her to come back in one piece and hugs her before she turns to get in the car with Ted.

In the end, Heather goes with Ted hoping to give Jericho multiple running windmills for the winter. In return for their help making governors for the windmills, they ask for salt to be supplied to them from Jericho's salt mine.

Hawkins lets Sarah into his home. Darcy does not like her from the start. Hawkins and Sarah learn that their employer might be the same person who is betraying them and plan to go seek him out. However, it seems that Sarah might be in league with their employer, only known as "the old man," as at the end of the episode she with talking with him and saying that they should use Hawkins' family as leverage against him to get their "package," the bomb.

Gail confronts Mary about Mary's affair with Eric. Gail was looking at a note when she was talking to Mary (Mary assumed that it was a list of Gail's reasons for hating her). After Gail explains that she can never forgive her what has been done to the family, Mary talks about her past. Mary's mother abandoned her at a very young age and she is afraid she has brought a similar fate on Eric's child. At the end of the episode, Mary picks up the note, which says, "Be nice, she will be family some day."

Roger tells Emily about what happened to him on his way back to Jericho. He remembers passing out in a field in Nebraska thinking that he was going to die there. Then he saw a light with a ring around it and he followed it for about 2 miles when he fell right into a refugee camp. Roger believes that this light saved his life.

Dale managed to make some trades at the fairgrounds for his store. He asks Skylar how much of the salt mine her family owns and tells her, "We may be rich."

At the end of the episode, Sarah and Robert Hawkins decide to go and kill "the old man," the leader of their conspiracy. Sarah is apparently a traitor by her text message conversation at the end of the episode:
"Have you located the package?"
"Not yet."
"How should we proceed?"
"We use his family." (italics means Sarah is writing.)