With the penultimate episode of its freshman run ”Exigent Circumstances”, Under the Dome delivered what is arguably its best episode yet. While not flawless, I really liked how every move, every action and every step the characters made had consequences and repercussions, some of them even of “life or death” proportions. Let's break it down, shall we?
I CAN BE USEFUL. So I guess I was wrong about Dodee remembering the miniDome but after she hears the military talk about it, she finds a photo she made of it. Smart move, homegirl but your next one? Not so much. She goes on to tell Evil Jim about it and she overhears the military talk about how he killed The Reverend. I would have dropped everything and gotten out of there as fast as I could. Trying to make him believe that she believed him just resulted in Evil Jim knowing more than he should. At least Dodee got to tell him what she really thought of him before she was killed and she's damn right: We are gonna smile when he dies, I know I will. It might not be of significance but I thought it was unnecessary to shoot the radio device if the radio station is gonna be burned down to the ground anyways. With limited resources available, you'd think they'd use them sparingly.
YOU'RE BEING WATCHED. The military is still trying to get a hold of Barbie which just left me with a lot of questions: What exactly is it they want with him? Even if they do find him, how do they plan on communicating with him when the only person inside the dome who had sort of access to the outside world is now dead? And what exactly are those “necessary expertise” they keep talking about? How do they know about the miniDome? How do they know it was moved from the woods? Just how involved is the military with the Dome? With the season finale airing next week, we might not get the answers to those questions until next year.
PARTNERS IN CRIME. Barbie and Angie work on a plan to get Julia out of the clinic. It was nice seeing these two again. I really liked them in the pilot and am rather bummed they didn't have a scene together until now. Once they get into the clinic, they realize that Junior is guarding Julia, so Angie puts on her former candy striper uniform and tries to concinve Junior that his father is the bad guy. When that failed, she plays the “I need you” card and manages to lure him away, alllowing Barbie to sneak Julia out into an ambulance. He stays behind to prevent Linda from following them but somehow she knows about Angie escaping with Julia when the ambulance was clearly out of frame before she arrived at the clinic? At first, I thought Junior might have told her but she made the call to Evil Jim right after arresting Barbie, so he was still lying on the floor at this point. So how does she know? Bad writing, that's how. (While we're already at it, they also forgot to include Dodee's name when Evil Jim was stating Barbie's crimes in front of the town.)
DON'T LIE TO ME. It seems like Angie did get into Junior's head as he starts to question Evil Jim about why he is so insistent about getting Julia back when they already got Barbie. Conflicted about what to believe he turns to the Dome and I genuinely hope that he will do what's right and turn against Evil Jim.
STATE OF EMERGENCY. Evil Jim invokes a state of emergency over Chester's Mill, granting him even more power than he had before. Of course, Linda doesn't even try to stop him from doing so. She's by far the worst part about the show. I just can't believe how easily manipulated she can be. You'd think the fact that teenagers are working with a man who supposedly killed several people would make her realize that something is fishy about Evil Jim's story. She even went along with his decision to lock up Norrie and Joe because these two really are such a great danger to the rest of the town. She didn't even bother to talk to them to hear their side of the story. The show had the opportunity to create a strong female character and decided to make her weak and incompetent. Good grief. I really loved how Carolyn and Norrie wouldn't have any of his bullshit. Take note, Linda!
Meanwhile, the miniDome is moved to Ben's house to keep it safe from Evil Jim. It starts to emit a screechy sound and just like with the storm last week, there's some ambiguity on what caused it: Barbie's life being in danger by accepting Evil Jim's ultimatum or Julia waking up. Based on some promotional photos for next week's finale and the fact that Julia is one of the possible triggers for both, the storm and the screechy sound, makes her the frontrunner for The Monarch in my book. After being released from jail, Norrie, Joe and Carolyn check on the miniDome which had started to glow in an orange hue. Now that Linda has discovered the miniDome as well, maybe she'll finally start asking some questions. Of course, Evil Jim didn't release them because of the good in his heart but rather under the condition of Barbie publicly confessing to his crimes. I just loved it. Barbie essentially told him to screw himself by pleading not guilty and bought the group some time to figure things out.
What do you think? Whose side is Junior on? Is Barbie gonna die next week? Who's The Monarch? How is the military involved with the Dome? How do you think S1 will end? Sound off in the comments below!
Rating: 4/5
Watch the promo for the season finale "Curtains" here!
19 y/o austrian high school graduate who is in the midst of figuring life out. Writer for SpoilerTV. Loves watching TV, cheesecake, meditation & music. For feedback/questions, write me on facebook or mail me.
