The arrival of the Cheyenne military in Jericho promised the return of peace, normalcy, and civilization. That promise is being exposed as a lie with every passing episode, and never more than in Episode Four with the murder of someone who was never even on the front lines. That doesn't mean she didn't rise to the occasion and go down with honor.

We'll get to who "she" is in a minute.

If anybody is in the crosshairs when Episode Four begins, it's naturally Hawkins. Another phone call from the mysterious "John Smith", who phoned at the end of Episode Three, comes with the claim that Hawkins and the bomb are a day away from being found. Apparently advanced satellites can conduct aerial radiation detection surveys that can penetrate lead shielding. Beck is receiving a special binder by courier containing those test results. All Hawkins has to do is get the incriminating page.

Unfortunately, getting into Beck's office went from hard (after Darcy was fired in Ep3) to almost impossible, when special thumbprint locks are installed on his office door. Only Beck, various military personnel, and trusted civilian aide Heather have access. It doesn't take a rocket scientist for Jake to understand that Heather is the only option, although Hawkins doesn't want to trust another person. Reluctantly, he lays the cards out on the table for Heather, explaining about the conspiracy surrounding Cheyenne and the bombs. Already reeling, Heather gets worse news when she learns they want her to steal from Major Beck. Not knowing who to believe, she relies on her trust in Jake and agrees to get the survey page.

While Heather is locating the binder and searching for the right page later (and looking so incredibly guilty doing it that she might as well be wearing a sign that says "SPY"), Jericho is having its own local problems. Jennings & Rall is creating a stranglehold on the local economy, forcing business owners and farmers to go into debt, while Goetz ruthlessly enforces control of the borders to prevent Dale and Skylar (back at last) from smuggling in goods through the black market. The easiest way into town is via Stanley's farm, but Stanley doesn't want to be involved. Dale resorts to bribing checkpoint guards with Mary's help, but it almost proves pointless when Goetz arrests Dale in full view of the town and summarily condemns him to the same max-security prison that they tried to send Chavez to. Only the intervention of Major Beck, who Jake persuades to name Dale a "confidential terror informant" under his jurisdiction, saves the teenager from hell on Earth.

Beck also comes to the rescue of Heather, after one of his sergeants becomes suspicious of her prolonged stay in Beck's office. Heather swears that she wasn't doing anything underhanded, and Beck takes her at her word, even suggesting that the military owes her an apology for treating her like this. That look you see on her face as she leaves Beck's office" That's guilt. A big, heaping pile of it. Clearly they have a close relationship, and Heather just exploited it twice in the same day.

Hawkins, however, doesn't have it quite so easy with the major. As part of his continuing scheme to woo Beck away from Cheyenne and Valente, Hawkins falsely claims that Sarah has been sighted at an abandoned farmhouse in Nebraska. Not coincidentally, it's the same house filled with damaged computer equipment from Season One that Hawkins was lured to. This time it's Beck's turn, but he finds the house in cinders, except for one surviving hard drive. The hard drive, which Hawkins has planted, uses the video and computer evidence Hawkins has gathered to imply that Sarah had a nuclear device which she was attempting to sell a mysterious buyer who clearly resembles Valente. No fool, Beck accuses Hawkins of arranging the whole thing for his benefit, but Hawkins doesn't blink, using a little psychology to draw out Beck's deepening suspicion that Valente is corrupt. It's the sort of battle of the minds we've come to expect from these two, and so far Hawkins maintains the advantage.

With events moving in the direction Hawkins wants, yet another call from Smith proves enlightening and mystifying at the same time. We've known from Season One that cities in a specific pattern were bombed in order to maximize the spread of radioactive fallout. Smith alleges he was one of the authors of a Defense Dept. report that J&R prepared in the 1990s. It analyzed how the government might respond in exactly this kind of scenario, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. Clearly someone obtained this report and used it as a kind of blueprint for the bombings and the aftermath, and J&R is desperate to keep this information from getting out. Smith also explains that Project Boxcar is the joint Cheyenne/J&R operation to hide the truth about the bombings. Hm.

In the midst of all this drama, a minor scandal develops at J&R, where residents are exchanging their American dollars for new Cheyenne currency.

At least, compared to everything else going on, it seems minor.

Independent auditor Mimi uncovers what is either a $10,000 mistake or theft and brings it to Trish's attention. Trish passes the report along to Goetz, who probably couldn't react more suspiciously if he was trying. He seems more interested in knowing where Mimi got her information, and he compels her to turn over her personal workpapers. Mimi returns to the farmhouse and finds Bonnie, who continues to be friends with Trish and is planning to travel to California for J&R-sponsored volunteer work. Mimi barely has time to explain what's happening when a Ravenwood jeep shows up looking for her. Bonnie goes out to tell Goetz and his four fellow goons that Mimi isn't home, but he decides to search the house. Mimi runs deeper into the house, Bonnie right behind her.

At first.

Mimi quickly realizes that Bonnie is missing. She turns back, but Bonnie is already in the living room with her shotgun. She takes out the first Ravenwood thug, but he shoots wildly as he falls and hits Mimi in the upper chest through the wall. Bonnie appears to hit two more thugs before Goetz gets the jump on her. We don't see the actual shooting, but he fires two shots before Mimi passes out. When Jake gets to the Richmond farm later that night, Mimi is being taken away on a stretcher while Stanley brokenly cradles his sister's body in his arms.

Wow. It's almost like they're trying to say that it's not just people like Jake and Hawkins who are in danger. That no one is safe.

Uh-oh. I think they just did.

1. Bonnie's final scene is incredibly effective. The sound effects are intentionally muted, as if we're hearing through her ears. It's actually quite reminiscent of the climactic scene in the film Cop Land. The suspense mounts as the POV keeps shifting back and forth between Bonnie and Mimi. The murderers - well, you'd think professional mercenaries would do better against a deaf teenager standing in the middle of the room, but then they probably didn't expect this. Otherwise they wouldn't have shown up in khakis and polo shirts.

2. As for Bonnie's death, I'm sorry to see her go. She was a likeable character. But I'm more relieved that it was her and not Mimi. Until they showed her alive and being treated by paramedics, you naturally assume that she dies too when she collapses, covered with her own blood. Mimi is one of my favorite characters, and Stanley/Mimi my favorite pairing. I am concerned about the impact this will happen on them. This is a death that will haunt them both for some time. Clearly Stanley won't be remaining on the sidelines any longer either.

3. My only issue with the shooting is what Goetz is thinking. Evidently he either stole the money or he's protecting who did. And Trish points out that J&R has a zero-tolerance policy toward embezzlement. Considering what we've seen from Cheyenne and J&R so far, I wouldn't be surprised if thieves have a way of . . . disappearing. So his attempt to steal the ledger and kill Mimi make sense in a way. But Trish is no idiot. She'd know Goetz was responsible the minute she heard Mimi was dead. So I'm very curious to see what happens to her in Episode Five. The combination of the Richmond shootout, the stolen money, and Trish's preexisting worries about J&R's tactics could definitely win her over to Jericho's side - if she lives long enough.

4. I wonder if Jake should have found a different way to get that radiation survey. I suspect Beck is going to be extremely angry when he finds out about Heather's betrayal, and that could be the biggest stumbling block when Jake and Hawkins try to get him to join them. I also wonder if Heather is through with helping them. I don't think she can lie to the major again.

5. The relationship between J&R and Jericho is reminiscent of the "company store" from the late-19th and early 20th-centuries, where unskilled labor like miners was forced to buy essentials at wildly inflated prices from their employer and remain in debt for their whole lives. This is a monopoly with governing power. They might as well give the chief administrator a crown. And this is happening in small towns all over the West.

6. It was nice to see Skylar again. All we need now are Allison and Samuel Hawkins. Maybe we won't have to wait much longer for them. Maybe . . . Episode Six?

7. It will be nice when we won't have to see Goetz again. He has instantly become the most loathed character on the show, and I can't see him being in Jericho much longer. The town will know he's a murderer, he's already despised for his attempted piracy in Season One, and he probably stole from his employer. And CBS is reporting that the character Russell, the New Bern friend of Heather who tried to broker a peaceful resolution to the Jericho-New Bern conflict in Season One, will be returning in Episode Five. So I wouldn't be surprised if New Bern's hatred for Ravenwood becomes a factor as well. There are simply too many forces pointing against him. The question is if he takes anyone with him.

Later this week I'll have a new article on Jericho's ratings performance over the first fifty-plus percent of the season, why it's a lot more complicated than just the next-day Nielsens, and what it could mean for a possible Season Three.

R.I.P. Bonnie Richmond. Like Johnston and April, you'll be missed.

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