"Winter's End" is the sixteenth episode of Season One of Jericho.
Synopsis[]
Fuel supplies are low, and the town generator is on its last tank of gas. The new wind turbine arrives from New Bern and is quickly set up. Gray Anderson asks if Jericho can buy several more turbines. Phil Constantino, the former sheriff and now town leader from New Bern, says they can certainly talk about it.
April Green, who is sixteen weeks pregnant, collapses while on duty at the hospital. She is found to be bleeding, and contractions begin, which she desperately wants stopped. Dr. Kenchy Dhuwalia is quickly summoned from the bar to tend to April. He notes the lack of equipment and qualified personnel and the hospital's lack of sterile conditions; he cites these circumstances in opposing the idea of operating on April.
Faced with her imminent death, however, Dhuwalia is persuaded to perform the surgery. The hemorrhaging cannot be stopped, and the baby is lost. Dhuwalia storms out of the operation when he realizes he can’t save April, either.
Jake Green persuades the doctor to come back in to finish the operation so that perhaps she won’t die immediately on the table. Dhuwalia does return, and April at least gets a last moment with Eric Green before she dies. April tells Eric that she thinks Tracy is a good name, and that's the last thing she says.
New Bern is suffering terribly from lack of food and salt. They make a deal with Jericho for 700 pounds of salt and 10 percent of their spring crop. It’s a high price for some turbines, especially when it appears that the whole crop won’t feed Jericho alone, but they need the power so badly, they agree to it.
New Bern demands 10 men from Jericho to help build the turbines. The men will return to Jericho after New Bern gets its salt and food, although they claim they are not holding the men as collateral.
Eric, devastated by April’s death, agrees to be one of the 10 men. Stanley Richmond also goes, after getting his sister Bonnie to promise (semi-jokingly) that she won’t kill Mimi and will feed her. Jake tells Heather Lisinski's friend, Russell, from New Bern that nothing had better happen to any of the men while they are in New Bern, or "you will be the first person I come for." Russell, who had been distant and uncomfortable during the whole visit, solemnly says, "I know." He also tells Jake that Heather knew that they were coming to Jericho and didn't want to come.
Robert Hawkins buries Sarah out in the woods at night. Deputy Jimmy drops by Hawkins’ house, saying that the mayor has requested him to check up on all the refugees. Hawkins tells him that Sarah left, with a backpack, on foot headed to New Orleans, where her family is. Jimmy doesn't appear to be buying the story 100%, but he doesn't say anything.
Later in the episode, Deputy Jimmy tells Robert that he wants to speak to Darcy about Sarah. Robert told Bill that he and Darcy were having marital problems, and asked to speak to Darcy first. He managed to get the story to Darcy first, so they would be in sync. Darcy gives Jimmy the same story, but as she later tells Robert, “It wasn’t for you. It was for Allison [their daughter].” Jimmy offers to let Darcy and her children stay with him and his family while she and Robert sort out their marriage problems.
Deputy Jimmy shows Hawkins a picture of a dead body they found in the woods. Hawkins is very nervous and is ready to shoot the Deputy, until he sees the picture is of the bald man seen on the pictures on the hard drive in the cabin that Robert and Sarah went to in the previous episode. Robert is relieved that he doesn't have to shoot the Deputy to protect himself and his mission.
Also, Dale Turner gets angry when a farmer refuses to live up to a trade deal the farmer originally made with Gracie. Dale and Skylar Stevens decide to take matters into their own hands when Mayor Gray refuses to help them. Dale threatens the farmer at gunpoint to get his share. The farmer relents, and Dale and Skylar celebrate their victory with a kiss.