Why We Fight

Season 1, Episode 22, Aired
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Episode Summary

The residents of Jericho have survived the attack on their town but there is a lot more in store for them.
9.5
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Fan Episode Reviews (60)

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  • Maybe in the 5 top episodes of Jericho.

    9.4
    "Superb"
    By Ethiras, Sep 18, 2010 Report Abuse
    Maybe in the 5 top episodes of Jericho. It's clear that now the series will go to another level with conspiracy and trying to find the bomb. Good season finale with promises for next season.
    The only bad thing is that Jericho lost one of its greatest characters and that's a clue that it will move on further than just "trying to survive against other cities".

    Now with the military in charge, no one can harm Jericho and next season will have the series finale. That's my opinion even though I believe that they should have available some extra budget. They can sell very well next season.moreless

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    4 0

  • My personal favorite...

    9.4
    "Superb"
    By broekzak, Aug 06, 2010 Report Abuse
    Of all the episodes of Jericho that I have watched, I'd have to rank Why We Fight as one of my favorites, mainly because of how the previous episodes lead the way to the conclusion of a good season.

    Some of the things that I really enjoyed about the episode were how Jack and some of the other members of his family were remembering a happier time in their lives when they were flashing back to Eric's wedding to April while preparing to fight their war with New Bern. It was during one of their flashbacks that I also enjoyed hearing the peanut story Jake's grandfather told Stanley before the wedding started when they were sitting in the bar.

    One scene that I thought was priceless was when Stanley and Bonnie brought Mimi to visit their parents' graves. While it was kind of somber the way he was telling them that it might be a while before they come back to visit their graves, I thought Stanley's description of Mimi when he introduced her to them to be priceless.

    After the war started, I thought it was pretty comical the way Johnston reacted to finding out about Hawkins' satellite computer by saying he was about to bomb the town that had the closest Costco. It was also neat the way Hawkins was willing to help Jericho after being found by the bad guys.

    With that said, there were also a few parts that I didn't like: such as Johnston dying and the way New Bern was bringing in so many reinforcements that Jericho was more outnumbered than before. Another part that I didn't like was when Constantino told Jake that Jericho should give up the next wave of attacks while expressing his condolences about what happened to Johnston. Jake's response of "Nuts" to him was absolutely priceless.

    Despite Johnston's death in this episode, Why We Fight is one of my favorite episodes.moreless

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  • This was the best episode of the first season

    10
    "Perfect"
    By PikerPeat, Apr 17, 2010 Report Abuse
    I am sooooooooooooooooooo happy that this is renewed for another 7 episodes. I have absolutely no doubt with the tremendous fan support that this will go for several more years. This episode introduced the Government officials who set off the Nukes as now coming to find the last bomb.

    In the process, they will support Jericho, but this opens a whole new avenue of how Jericho will interact with the Government which will be fascinating. It may be a way for surrounding towns to bond back together against the Govt.

    There is also the leadership issues with conflicts among many key characters. Superb cliff-hanger episode.

    I love this show.moreless

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    1 1

  • Good episode, but falls short compared to the last few.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By PabloExobar, Jan 19, 2008 Report Abuse
    Ever since Jericho came back from it's midseason hiatus it's been throwing more and more intense episodes at the viewers than the entire first half of the season altogether. The show's soap aspect has been reduced to minimum, and in the last couple of episodes the action became an important element of the show.

    It was also great to finally learn about Hawkins. Once his character's motivations were revealed, his character didn't feel all 2 dimensional anymore, like in most early episodes where you knew he's up to something mysterious, but he's been over-mystified: after the 50th mysterious laptop-browsing it just became dull and laughable. But, as I said, it was great to finally learn more about him.

    The problem is, this finale feels more like a finale of the first half of the season rather than the second half.

    The stage was set for an explosive and adrelain pumping finale, but instead the show goes off on an emotional stage. Which isn't bad... unless there's a gigantic build up like here.

    The first mistake the writers did in this episode was keeping Heather alive. It's not that I dislike her, but I thought her death was a really good shocker. A cold and sudden shocker. This show could use more of that. But revealing she's alive... well, okay. But why now? It felt really out of place. In fact most of her scenes were out of place, expect maybe for the last one.

    Another mistake was the flashbacks. It's a very common things nowadays to have flashbacks in season or series finales. And oh, I do love flashbacks... when they add depth or help understanding the storyline. But in this case, they were way too long, and way too "deconcecrated". Most of the flashbacks didn't add anything to the story.

    So if we remove the useless flashbacks and useless Heather scenes, we get around 25 minutes out of the full 40. Almost half of the episode's a filler, and nothing helps that. Even though the non filler part is alot of fun.

    The fight between New Bern and Jericho isn't as spectacular as you might expect. In my opinion there were more explosive stand offs in the last 2 episodes. However, Johnston's death was really well done, even if I could say that it was useless. It didn't add to the story but it definitely set up some future plot threads and motivation for certain characters. And it was, of course, pretty touching. Well done. To make it more emotional, the flashbacks helped, although as I previously said, only a very little.

    What really disappointed me was Hawkins' storyline. Almost nothing new happened, and the whole him getting tracked down was lame. It was very unrealistic... it's a shame, because the show tends to try to be as realistic as possible. Now it all seems a bit negative. But it's not bad at all. In fact it's good. It's just not as great as the last few episodes.moreless

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  • Why we fight...to survive!

    8.3
    "Great"
    By sosoCraig, Jan 13, 2008 Report Abuse
    Writers have a way of taking what we think is a certain and promptly tossing our certainties out the window. Who saw April's baby dying? Who saw April dying? Who would have thought Johnston would have died? He did. Jake is livid at his father's death and decides to wage a war against the man whom he thinks is personally responsible, the mayor of New Bern. Jericho now has to fight for it's very survival or lose its salt mine, its land and its farms. With all the weaponry out there among the masses, the guns and ammunition in Jericho's possession and mortars in New Bern's, the order is given and the fight to survive begins. And to think CBS saw no future for this show!moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • In this episode there is a series of flashbacks of April and Eric's wedding titled "6 years ago". In one of the previous episodes Eric found divorce papers that said they got married on June 15, 2001. So, Jericho probably takes place in 2007 (6 years after 2001). Edit
    • Rob uses his satellite to scout for the New Bern soldiers, however, when he types in the co-ordinates, the satellite is suddenly able to give him a side-on view! Satellites can't give oblique views... Edit
    • Lennie James (who plays Robert Hawkins) gives away his British heritage in this episode; when he rides in on the horse, he is holding the reigns "English", as opposed to "Western", which is the way most American riders learn. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • National Football League player Kassim Osgood has a cameo role as one of the soldiers who finds Heather on the side of a road. Edit
    • International Airdates: - Denmark: January 30, 2008 on SBS Net - The Netherlands: August 4, 2008 on Veronica Edit
    • This episode was nominated for the 2008 C.A.S. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Stanley (talking to his parents' graves): Remember I told you about that witch from the IRS, the one that wanted to take everything you've ever worked for? Mom, Dad, this is Mimi. Edit
    • Mimi (talking to Stanley's parents' graves): I really love your son. And, of course, Bonnie is just wonderful and I've really enjoyed living with them… Stanley (under his breath): Great. Mimi: What? Stanley: I didn't say we were living together. We're not married! Mimi: Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I… (Bonnie starts laughing) Edit
    • Jake: (at Eric's wedding) If I'm such a joke, why'd you want me as your best man? (Eric looks over at Gail) You didn't want me, did you? Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • "Why We Fight" was also the name of a series of propaganda films created by famous director Frank Capra during World War II. Edit
    • The Army camp, of the forces loyal to the Tomarchio Administration in Cheyenne, that Heather is taken to is "Camp Liberty". Which is also the name of one of the US bases in Iraq (which also happens to contain the infamous prison Abu Ghurayb. Edit
    • US Army General Anthony McAuliffe: McAuliffe commanded elements of the 101st Airborne who were surrounded in the town of Bastogne, during the Battle of the Bulge, the German Wehrmacht's last desperate offensive of World War II. Utterly surrounded, he was given the choice to surrender and avoid further casualties. He sent back a one word response to the German commander, "Nuts!" The General needed the help of American POWs to translate the colloquial phrase. In an interview given in 1954, Gen. McAuliffe stated that his actual one-word reply to the German commander had been "S***"; and that this was sanitized for release to the press. Edit

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