‘Under the Dome’ Season Finale Review: ‘Curtains’ Proves Anticlimactic

To put it politely, the finale of Under the Dome’s first season was a huge disappointment.

While the hour started off with raised stakes and a terrifying new problem as the dome turned black and completely blocked out the sun and any hint of daylight, it plummeted into the same clichés it has been clinging to all season and in the end, we were once again left with more questions than answers.

“Curtains” began with Linda demanding to know what the mini dome was and why the kids have it. I think a better question would be why is she the absolute worst? She’s seen Big Jim’s questionable choices more than once, but she still blindly follows him to the point where she declared the mini dome ‘police property’ and radioed Jim to let him know that she was seizing it from the kids so he could see it.

Thankfully, Norrie and Joe are a million times smarter than Linda and Norrie easily tricked Linda into touching the mini dome. It shocked her and knocked her out just as Junior arrived, more crazy eyed than ever. Norrie and Joe were able to convince him that they had to follow the dome’s directions so the three strapped it to the car roof and took off to find Angie.

She was busy helping Julia bust Barbie out of jail. Julia recovered surprisingly fast for someone with a gaping hole in her body and no real medical treatment, but she (correctly) pointed out that something wanted her to get better quickly. They freed Barbie from his cell, but were unable to get the handcuffs off. It didn’t matter though because Barbie still managed to take down two people who tried to stop them with his hands behind his back. Silly, yes, but since Barbie is one of the few people on this show I don’t hate, I’ll refrain from eye rolling.

Joe sent Angie a message that only she would understand over the police radio and Angie, Julia and Barbie met the other three in that big underground space people like to hang out in a lot. Junior attempted to shoot Barbie, but Julia calmed his crazy for a moment. The four teens placed their hands on the dome once more and it shattered, releasing the monarch butterfly. Unfortunately, the little guy was in bad shape, but Norrie poked him and he was able to fly.

First, he circled Barbie, which was mostly hilarious because of the tantrum Junior threw over the idea that Barbie was the monarch. But we all knew that was just a fake out and as the little egg began to cause an earthquake, Julia calmly picked it up, everything stopped and the butterfly flew to her and Barbie declared her the monarch (again, duh).

But Junior wasn’t any happier with that nomination so he started waving his gun and demanding that Julia give him the egg. She walked toward him and then tossed it to Angie, telling the teens to run as Barbie tackled Junior (handcuffed). Barbie urged her to go with the teens and she did, which allowed Junior to punch Barbie a few times (only because he was handcuffed) and then takes him to meet Big Jim.

What was our least favorite villain up to? Basically, he’d gathered the town in the church as they worried that the darkness would lead to their deaths (I wish). As people turned to religion, Big Jim elected himself God (more like the antichrist) and decided the best thing they could do was build a gallows. Yes, a gallows in the center of town to hang people Barbie because suddenly Chester’s Mill is the Wild West or something.

But then he was distracted when Linda radioed him and mentioned ‘the pink stars are falling.’ Jim then took her to his wife’s studio and showed her the painting of the pink stars falling on a black egg. Linda’s response was to tell him that if his wife had predicted the dome, that meant she was important and Jim’s whole family was important. OMG, just die, please. Linda is officially too stupid to live.

In the woods, Angie, Norrie, Joe and Julia decide to ask the egg for guidance (obviously). Norrie’s dead mother appears before them, but Julia quickly points out that it’s not really her. Sure enough, dead mom (I’m sorry I forgot her name) explains that they decided to take on a familiar form because they’re still learning to communicate. So aliens brought the dome? That was what I was assuming at this point, but she never really explains what they are, only that the dome is there to protect them.

She also tells them that if they don’t do what the dome wants them to (kill Big Jim), they’re all going to die. Julia realizes that she can’t protect the egg and save Barbie so she decides to take a boat ride (I don’t even know) to contemplate things and then drops the egg in the water. Suddenly the pink stars are rising and light begins to peek through the dome again just as Big Jim is ordering Junior to push the lever to hang Barbie.

But it’s not just normal light; it’s this creepy white, super shiny light. Everyone is transfixed by it just like they were the pink stars. We get close-ups on each of the main characters watching the light and then the camera pans out and we get to see the whole dome and the weird whiteness inside of it like some messed up snow globe. And that was the end.

It’s been almost twelve hours since I watched and I’m still annoyed. What kind of ending was that? Nothing has changed to lead into season two. NOTHING. Big Jim still holds all the power, Barbie has a noose around his neck, Crazy Eyes continues to side with his father, even though he’s stopped trusting him more than once, Linda is too stupid to live and the only characters worth rooting for are still going to be treated like fugitives and criminals.

Was that supposed to be a compelling, cliffhanger ending? Seriously, am I missing something? If you enjoyed the ending and have theories, please feel free to share them below. If you need to rant as much as I did, you can share that below too. I’ll be back in a few days with my best & worst of season one list (mostly worst).