Directed by Jack Bender, written by Stephen King
Rating: 6.5/10 (C+)
Next Episode: 2.02 Infestation
After the disappointing mess that was the Season 1 finale, I was hoping that the show would turn on a dime and correct some of the mistakes it has made during its freshman run but the show treads the opposite direction and seems to embrace the silliness we have come to known from last year.
The vagaries of the dome turn it into a giant magnet attracting various ferromagnetic items, among them Big Jim’s car which ends up crushing Linda who was freeing a handcuffed Barbie who by the way didn’t die on the gallows (to everyone’s surprise). R.I.P. Linda. She was never the brightest tool in the shed but quite frankly, this was the best solution. She was poorly written and too much of a gullible idiot to be ever redeemed properly but at least she performed one last good deed by saving Barbie. To solve this new predicament, we are introduced to the resident high school teacher Rebecca Pine (played by Karla Crome) who has been studying the dome since it came down and hasn’t breathed a word of it to anyone else because.. I honestly don’t know. It’s probably best not to apply logic. She suggests building another magnet to counterfeit the dome’s magnet field whereas Julia follows the dome’s orders to stop the killing. The meeting between Julia and Rebecca clearly marks the beginning of the good ol’ debate of faith versus science.
Meanwhile, Julia saves a mysterious girl (played by Grace Victoria Cox) that appears in the middle of the lake and gets acquainted with Sam (played by Eddie Cahill), the reclusive brother-in-law of Big Jim. It struck me as odd that the two of them didn’t talk about the dome at all but as with most people in Chester’s Mill, Sam harbors some secrets: He has a sketchbook with a drawing of the unknown girl from the lake. Is she a manifestation of the dome? Is she one of the beings that created the dome in the first place? Is she actually the Monarch and not Julia? She seems saddened by Linda's death and yet leads another character to her demise. The episode ends with Angie's bloody hand print, so somehow this is connected to the drawing in Sam's sketchbook. Are Joe, Norrie and Junior next?
Big Jim has a spooky encounter while he’s stuck in the shelter and it is with none other than with Dodee who gives him the ominous warning that he will eventually have to make a sacrifice. I didn’t think he would go as far as hang himself. Whether he will be able to abandon his megalomaniac ways to emerge as the strong leader he wants everybody else to believe he is, only time will tell.
Junior... pardon me, I mean James, flipflops to hating Big Jim again but this time it doesn’t look like he will bounce back to being on his side as he finds out the truth about Dodee. Then there’s that weird dream sequence with his mother Pauline (played by Sherry Stringfield), which actually is some kind of other dimension. Just what exactly is Pauline’s connection to the dome? She is revealed to be well and alive, residing outside the dome and capable of using her paintings as some sort of medium to communicate with Junior and possibly others. This has got to be the most ludicrous thing the show attempted to pull off.
Linda’s death leaves the position of sheriff unoccupied and Big Jim nominates Phil as her successor. I’ve always liked him, so I hope he won’t be dumbed down as much as Linda was. He needs to find out the truth about Dodee ASAP and side with the right people, instead of plotting his own personal vendetta against Barbie and working for the man who actually killed Dodee.
It’s very apparent that this season will be more focused on the dome and the mysteries surrounding it and while it is an enjoyable and entertaining show, it all feels a little silly and dumb. The entertainment factor outweights the inconsistencies and goofy things, so here's to another season of Under the Dome.
Other thoughts:
- Here I am, thinking I’d never have to see that cow being split in half again. Oh well...
- The scene in Joe’s house is probably one of my favorite visuals from the show with all the flying knives, pots and nails and the house ultimately crumbling down.
- How exactly did Angie plan on removing the nail out of Joe’s hand with that piece of wood?
- The reunion between Barbie and Julia is so overdramatized. These two have literally known each other for only two weeks. Tone it down a notch. Or two. Or three. Just tone it down.
- There was a brief shot of boars eating trash outside the school. Why hasn’t the show mentioned hunting as a food source?
- “Shut up and be dead. I’m busy.” Oh, the writing. It never fails to make me laugh.
- Please no Julia/Barbie/Sam love triangle. PLEASE.
Good review. While I enjoyed the episode, it was a good start for the season. There were things I didn't like. Lets start with predictability I knew Linda was going to be casualty, no loss there really. She was annoying and really didn't have a purpose but to be annoying and kinda dumb.
ReplyDeleteSecond I didn't like the new characters they introduced. And the way they introduced them, like I'm supposed to buy that Sam has been there this whole time and noones seen him including members of his own family? Ya I don't think so. And thay teacher miss Pine not only is she taking on the annoying role since Linda bit the dust but if she's been studying the dome since it came down why haven't we seen her before. I'd think shed been there when all the other wacky stuff the dome has done. And shed have a scientific answer for everything.
The Julia and Barbie thing really bugs me too. They have barley been together a few weeks and yet they make it look like so epic live story. Spare me please. He killed her husband lets be real here. I would of much rather Barbie with Angie. And speaking of Angie why in the world would they kill her off. She had a purpose, she had a reason to be there. I am very disappointed with that death. Not only does Joe not have any family under the dome anymore but they lost one of the 4 for the hands. Why make Angie a good character with a story and then kill her off with no pay off. Makes no sense.
Overall it was a good first episode, I don't know if ill be tuning in every week like last summer as I'm disappointed with the turn the show is taking. Ill give it 2 more episodes and if things don't get better I'm gonem as I think a lot of people feel the same. I say 5/10 for the episode.
Despite of what people have been saying about it, I really loved the episode.
ReplyDeleteThe second I found out it would be written by Stephen King, I knew the episode would rock.
And that's what it takes to have a good show; killing off characters people like. I mean, 2 deaths were announced and if the deaths had been Norie's mom and the guy at the radio, people would've said "what the f? I thought the deaths were going to be more important characters and not them blabla..."
And as you said, NO TO THE LOVE TRIANGLE! Shows have used it too many times and now it's gotten boring.
See ya next week!
Brit Robertson needs to join "The Originals" ( getting back to her "The Secret Circle" days ) cast as Gia { O'Connell }, Cami's younger sister and newly turned vampire.
ReplyDeleteThe show is entertaining for sure but it's dumb as hell. Damn!
ReplyDeleteShe needs to join a cable series like Banshee or The Americans. She should leave this teen stuff behind. Time for her to shine now ;)
ReplyDeleteI think it makes sense that she would stay silent about her findings given that she seemingly knows nothing about the dome yet except that it can influence electromagnetic fields. Dodie already more or less figured that out last season. She's still working on her studies and theories; she doesn't have enough to go on to start announcing anything to the town yet. False hope and all that.
ReplyDeleteBut when the dome actively starts tearing the town apart using the one thing she does know about it? That's a pretty good time to finally come forward.
How so? Do you mean it's strange, or do you really mean that the characters are acting stupidly, and if so, what makes you think that?
ReplyDeleteI know that broadcasting the first season took a few months, but in the show timeline its just few weeks, and introducing a guy who is gonna be a part of love triangle drama seems so unlikely...And its gonna happen, and the science annoying teacher gonna be the fourth part of love quadrangle (?). When she said about Barbie and heavy lifting, the way julia looked at her was kind of jealous way of looking...its way overdramatized. Lets make more mystery and science less love and family dramas.
ReplyDeleteLol, the Cop lady just standing there while being smashed instead of pushing Barbie and moving at the same time is one act of stupidity. There was also countless dialogue in the season premiere that went way too fast... it seemed like they were "speed reading" a script they memorized which is exactly what they were doing, lol.
ReplyDeleteTrue Blood at one time was the best "bad show" out there. This show is similar but without the R-rated stuff which is a hindrance. No clue why I'm still watching Under the Dome but hoping to continue to be entertained...
We're supposed to believe she didn't have time to move. That was the fault of the special effects team rather than the story.
ReplyDeleteThe dialogue went by at a perfectly appropriate speed. It wasn't difficult to follow. Some of the dialogue was kind of stilted though.
i don't think Julia was being jealous. It was rather that Rebecca and Julia subtly disagreed with the other one about what stopped the dome from being magnetic. This two are bound to butt heads soon.
ReplyDeleteI suppose you're right about her research being inconclusive. I guess I'm more irritated about the way she was introduced. Her existence wasn't even acknowledged during the first season and out of nowhere, she suddenly shows up and becomes such a crucial character in the show.
ReplyDeleteI guess we'll just have to wait and see.
ReplyDeleteI had no problems with Sam's introduction. He doesn't seem too close with Junior and Big Jim and it appears he closed himself off from everybody else after Pauline's suicide.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I'm not expecting them to be reuniting with bear hugs or anything. Just expect them to at least be aware that the guy is trapped with them.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I understand. We just have to go along with it since there are a ton of people in the town that we haven't been properly introduced to, she has no connection to the main characters that we're aware of, and she was of no importance to the events of Season 1, so it makes sense that we wouldn't have met her until now even if it does feel strange.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about this episode! After the S1 finale mess i think a lot of things are still very lost. When i saw the note saying the two characters were going to die, i was thinking that one of them would be Junior. I'm disappointed about Angie's death. It wasn't a shock, because in the books she dies too. But it's sad to see her go, her character was a lot of potential on the show. I wasn't too sad about Linda, she was a little 'meh' for me. Big Jim continues to be a asshole. I don't know, but something about Junior's uncle doesn't look good. I think he's bad news!
ReplyDeleteGreat review. My thoughts exactly. Increase the logic guys, it's not that hard. I'm sad about Angie, no more Britt Robertson on the show. The most annyoing thing though is still people changing attitudes and sides within minutes or seconds...and back again. This is all happening too fast - first they're building the gallows out of nowhere (why even bother? why not just shooting Barbie?) and the next minute they happily tear it down again. I have no problem with good people turning bad or vice versa but not in that pace. Special effects were good and all in all the episode was exciting.
ReplyDeleteThere definitely is something fishy about Sam, some even go as far as to speculate he's Angie's murderer. He knows more than he lets on and he most likely is connected to the dome somehow, given that Pauline is his sister and his newphew is one of the Four Hands.
ReplyDeleteThe extras/other townspeople has always been one of the clumsiest aspects of the show and it doesn't look like it will change anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteSo is the new mysterious girl what came out of that black egg after Julia threw it into the lake? as for juniors mom is it possible that while everyone else was having adverse reactions to the signals that the dome was giving off is it possible that she was always in tuned to whatever frequencies were radiating off said dome? that she could communicate with it whenever or however the egg and original dome were conceived and thats how she was able to create such "prophetic" while unexperienced artwork? and how she was able to communicate with junior while he was in his "dome coma"? just some thoughts. and that angie was killed by the manifestation of the dome because she was still planning on killing big jim? and the whole dodie vision things are really reminding me of the "ghosts of the island" from lost
ReplyDelete