Casus Belli (Jericho episode)

"Casus Belli" is the nineteenth episode of season one of the fictional CBS drama Jericho. The term "casus belli" is a modern Latin phrase meaning "case for/of war," referring to the justification for acts of war.

Synopsis
Phil Constantino, New Bern's sheriff and town manager, releases the men of Jericho and delivers a shipment of windmills to the town. When Eric Green doesn't return from New Bern, Jake suspects that something is wrong. He teams up with Robert Hawkins to search the town and find Eric, but they soon find a bigger problem. New Bern is running a munitions factory and is preparing to wage war on Jericho; New Bern has full inventories of Jericho's stores and detailed maps.

During a discussion with Jake and Robert, Phil reveals that Ravenwood tried to loot the town. Evidence of the looting is shown on the bullet and bomb-ridden facade of the town hall. As a result of the hard times, Phil and the people of New Bern fortified their town. Also, Phil confirms the food shortage in New Bern.

Later, Jake is captured trying to stop the military operation and ends up in jail, where he finds his brother, Eric. When Jake asks about Heather Lisinski, who left for New Bern after the events of "Black Jack" to help build the windmills, Eric says that she found out what was going on and sabotaged the machinery. He also tells Jake that Heather is dead. After Eric tells Jake this, the two are brought out in front of city hall, where Constantino is addressing the town. At the end of the episode, Robert Hawkins is seen looking on from a concealed position.

Trivia

 * New Bern, Kansas was filmed in Fillmore, California, the same town where the Jericho Pilot episode was filmed.