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Last night’s episode brought real panic to Under the Dome and for the first time since the pilot, it was terrifying. “The Endless Thirst” opened residents’ eyes to the fact that resources were dwindling in the dome, which led to fights and mob mentality where people stopped seeing each other as people as it became every man for himself.
The tension began as residents lined up outside the store and the owner wanted them to trade goods like batteries in exchange for food. The townspeople weren’t too keen on this idea, but Linda and newly deputized Barbie showed up to attempt to keep the peace. She brokered the deal, but it only lasted a few minutes before people began pushing and arguing.
Windows were shattered, tires were slashed and then all out looting as Linda and Barbie did their best to control the crowd, but they were severely outnumbered. Linda attempted to hit them with tear gas, but as Barbie noted, the canisters were too old and they didn’t work the way they were supposed to so the looting raged on.
Meanwhile, Angie took the first opportunity she had to hit Junior over the head and run for her life (smart!). As Junior complained to Big Jim that he’d lost her, Angie made her way to the diner and filled Rose in on her ordeal. While the older woman was skeptical about Big Jim’s part, she did believe Angie’s story and promised to help her. Unfortunately, two guys showed up, demanding meat from her freezer and they weren’t taking ‘no’ for an answer.
Rose did her best to deter them, but one of them grabbed a baseball bat and started beating her with it (how horrific was that to watch?). That left Angie to fend off the other guy and once he knocked her unconscious (this poor girl), he sent his friend to watch the door so he could presumably rape her. Luckily, Barbie noticed the friend standing by the door and managed to get in and save Angie, but it was too late for Rose; she was already dead.
As the chaos continued in the streets, Linda was ready to use her plan b, which was to remind people she had a gun. But before she needed to, it started to rain in the dome and that somehow calmed everyone down (rain water is better than no water or whatever poison water the lake had). Big Jim arrived just in time to celebrate the rain and then he saw Angie. Barbie handed her over so Big Jim could get her to the clinic, but I’m pretty sure all the viewers let out the same ‘are you kidding me’ sigh as I did. Here we go again.
While all of this was happening, Norrie and Joe were breaking into houses to try and find insulin for her sick mother and Julia and Dodee were driving around town, attempting to locate a strange frequency that was being given out that they assumed was connected to the dome. It turned out that the frequency was coming from Norrie and Joe. Julia was convinced that they were somehow connected to everything and she wondered if the dome was protecting everyone.
Later, as the rain continued, Julia and Barbie ran into each other and shared a kiss. Angie was dismayed to wake up in Big Jim’s living room, but he wanted to play let’s make a deal. He was willing to give her pretty much anything as long as she didn’t tell everyone that his son is a creepy kidnapper. Angie didn’t want to agree to anything at first, but Big Jim was persuasive. Angie insisted that Joe be included in the deal so he’d be safe too. Big Jim promised Junior would never touch her again just before his son walked in and wanted to know what was happening.
Additional Musings:
-Overall, this was a good episode, but the show still has got to find a way to recapture the balance it had in the pilot. I liked that the tension and panic escalated because it made me genuinely scared for the characters, especially Angie and Rose, and that’s what this show needs to be doing every week.
-I want to care about Norrie and her moms, but it’s really hard. Norrie going from house to house should have seemed like a brave thing that she was doing to protect her mom; but instead, it just felt like two teenagers breaking into houses.
-Barbie and Julia are both strong characters and the actors have chemistry, but the kiss felt really out of place for me. Barbie had a rough day, almost killed two different people and he was completely on edge, but Julia’s journey in the episode didn’t seem anywhere near as tense so I don’t think it was in character for her to let her guard down so quickly with this man she barely trusts.
-The new theory that the dome is trying to protect them is an interesting one. It did get rid of two people who were part of the propane plan, it saved them from the bomb blast and it was awfully convenient that it started raining when it did. I’d like to see this theory explored more in future episodes.
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