This weeks Under the Dome bounced back from the past two episodes 'crisis of the week' episodes. Whereas the past two episodes the main story felt contrived (even if it featured some character drama), ''Blue On Blue'' felt like a logical continuation of the story presented in the pilot and ''The Fire''. It was invigorating to watch events unfold and to let the characters react naturally to what was coming their way.
Let's start with Joe McAlister (played by Colin Ford) who finally figured out that his sister Angie (played by Britt Robertson) is missing. It took him long enough, but he spent most of the episode searching for her and bonding with Norrie Calvert-Hill (Mackenzie Lintz). Though it was a shame the reunion with his parents didn't happen or happened off screen. What initially led to Norrie joining his search for Angie was the falling out between Norrie and her parents. I thought her biological father Michael (played by Gary Weeks) showing up was something genuine, not because of the cameras like her mother Alice (played by Samantha Mathis) claimed. He seemed genuinely concerned and happy to see her, like the mother who saw her son for the first time in ten years. Though there is some mystery there about how he knew she was there. There are some things Norrie's mothers aren't telling her (and us).
Then there was new sheriff Linda Esquivel (played by Natalie Martinez) who was reunited with her fiancee Rusty, ignoring her own orders to do so. Which continued her theme of reacting irresponsibly when getting emotional. I'm glad they didn't drag out the fact that Rusty's brother died by her keeping it from him and her subsequent breakdown over it made me feel for her. It was nice to see other characters like Phil (played by Nicholas Strong) and Dodee (played by Jolene Purdy) reunited with their respective loved ones as well.
Barbie on the other hand seemed to make amends with Julia (played by Rachelle Lefevre) while on the lookout for her husband Peter. We obviously knew he wasn't coming since Barbie killed him, but I was genuinely surprised when the letter came into play. And the way it fit Barbie's story felt very convenient as she now believes he truly skipped town. Julia seems to be heading towards a romance with Barbie now, more than ever, and of course the other shoe (Peter's body being found) is going to drop at the worst possible time.
More of Barbie's background in the army was revealed, being part of a squad known as ''the jackrabbits'', though I felt he was entirely honest about what happened with his squad towards Julia. The coin he carried at least carries enough infamy to pry some information out of a random soldier. Which is how they learn about the government's plan to bomb the dome. I heard people saying the action was to drastic, but I disagree. There were some solid reasons provided for the action as the dome is affecting the Earth's magnetic field. We all rely on it and any change in the Earth's magnetic field could be catastrophic. Also, China was ready to go to war with the US over the dome, believing it to be a weapons test. The government trying to destroy the dome might just be a promise they made to China to get them to back off.
The whole town racing to get as many people to safety underground before the bomb hit felt tense, even if we knew that the bomb probably wouldn't do any damage to the dome. It set Junior (played by Alexander Koch) and his father Big Jim (played by Dean Norris) at odds over Angie. Big Jim was willing to leave Angie underground at first, probably worried how Junior's actions would reflect on him. The confrontation at their house drove Junior straight back to Angie though and now she still isn't 'free'. To be honest I'm tired of the Angie storyline and part of that stems from how unbelievable Junior's crazy is. This kind of psychosis doesn't develop over night and we still know nothing about it. And how annoying was Junior acting all smug to Barbie?
The propane mystery was, mostly, solved in this episode. They were using it to help dealers make drugs. It felt very unsatisfying to me and why exactly did Duke allow this? He seemed like a genuine good guy and him allowing such a scheme, to save Chester's Mill as Big Jim says, felt out of character. What little we saw of Duke anyway. But with reverend Lester Coggins coming clean about it, to redeem himself in the eyes of God, it was good to not let it linger for too long. Big Jim, on the other hand, quickly dealt with Lester's new found faith and killed him.
Bombing the dome had a massive side effect though, as the Earth around the dome has now been scorched. Nearly nothing was left standing for miles around the dome and I think this will finally be the catalyst for people to start panicking. Everyone was acting normal, because everything around them seemed normal. This is no longer the case, now and it will be fun to see where they go from here.
Overall, this episode was a good one and the show seems to be getting back on track.
7.5/10
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