Under the Dome: Episode 2 Recap and Review

By Trevor Dueck – Staff Writer
Follow on Twitter @TrevDueck

(With all recaps and reviews, spoilers ahead so be forewarned)

Episode two of Under The Snow Globe…er Dome was called “Into The Fire.” First off, I had a friend ask me if Under the Dome was based on the Simpsons Movie. So let’s make that clear, Under the Dome was not originally written by Matt Groening, but I digress.

Time for the quick and dirty recap/review:

Last week we were introduced to the folks of Chester’s Mill who had found themselves trapped underneath a large, invisible, dome that fell upon their town. Nobody knows how it got there or why, but episode two did give us a tad bit more insight on the characters in the fish bowl.

Episode two started with Barbie having a flashback of murdering Julia Shumway’s husband Peter. Of course it was all done in self defense but we now know that Peter owed Barbie’s “boss” something and Barbie was there to “speed up the process” in getting it. Obviously it didn’t go well and Barbie had to react and shoot poor ol’ Peter Shumway. Now we know why Barbie was burying a body in episode one but we don’t know what he exactly wanted from Peter.

Barbie woke up from his telling nightmare in a state of panic and guilt. He realized that his dog tags were missing (so we now know he was in the military) and realized that he had left them at the scene of the crime.

Later on in the show Barbie went back to the scene and was able to find his dog tags. Just as Barbie was about to leave, the neighborhood psycho, Junior showed up and decided to pick a fight. Junior thought the crime scene inside of the house was just the result of rough sex. Junior was told by his imprisoned “girlfriend” Angie that she had crazy sex with Barbie. Of course it was a lie and a feeble attempt to piss Junior off, but it did fuel the crazy. Barbie told Junior to get lost in his own violent way and returned home with his dog tags on, the only problem, he told Julia that he found his tags in the bathroom, but she knew that he was lying. Some sexual tension and drama are building between those two.

Duke’s pacemaker exploded at the end of episode one and unfortunately he ended up dyeing. Deputy Linda was really hurt as she was like a daughter to good ol’ Duke. So much so, he left Linda all of his assets including his house. Big Jim pretended he was grief stricken but really he was not to keen on the idea of Linda having the house – there are secrets that could be stashed away in there.

Outside of the dome were some military personnel who were pretending to be working really hard by talking on their walkie talkies. They were given strict orders not to touch the dome or interact with anyone on the other side. They were just there to look important. Through radio signals we find out that they have no idea on what the Dome like structure was or came from.
The more interesting storyline is the one with Big Jim and his copious amounts of propane stored somewhere. We learn that Big Jim and the dead Sheriff Duke were not working alone and had the cooperation of the town’s creepy reverend and part time mortician, Reverend Coggins. Big Jim tells Rev. Coggins that he needs to get the deceased sheriff’s home before Linda because she may stumble upon some incriminating evidence.

Joe, the smart teenager, uses high school Math to figure out the dome is ten miles wide and covers the entire town. Joe was also able to figure out that the dome was like a sieve where small amounts of water could get in from the outside. Now all Joe needs to do is maybe start wondering where his sister Angie is.

Meanwhile at the radio station, the two employees started picking up on small amounts of military radio conversations. They find out that the invisible barrier is a dome – no kidding. Julia Shumway busted into the radio station and hears the news, grabs the microphone, and alerts all the towns people that they are living underneath a dome.

The creepy Reverend breaks into Linda’s new house and finds the evidence he was looking for. Apparently propane receipts were a big deal, so Coggins decides to burn them and throw them in the trash can. Of course through stupidity a fire breaks out and the home is set aflame. Since the entire fire department was stuck outside of the dome, Barbie and the town all pitch in to throw water on the flames. It’s not a good thing to have something on fire that could spread while entrapped underneath a large dome.

Linda rushes into the house because she hears someone screaming for help. She saves Reverend Coggins life and gets out of the home unscathed. Meanwhile Big Jim grabs a bulldozer and sees his opportunity to be a hero. Jim knocks the house down so the fire is controlled and the evidence is history.

Just when you think the story ends on a high note; a crazy police officer goes nuts and tells everyone around him that they are doomed and that they are all going to die. The officer fires off his gun at the dome and the bullets ricochet and take down another police officer. And so we are now down to really no law enforcement except for Linda. Bring on the chaos and Lord of the Flies.

My plot predictions:

I haven’t read the book. Big Jim becomes the man in charge of a town that will be divided. My guess is that Big Jim, like his son Junior, is a tad crazy and is using the propane as a way to protect the town from doomsday. I think Jim knew something was about to happen but probably didn’t expect the dome. I’m thinking Julia Shumway’s husband was a creep and had a big gambling problem; maybe he was also involved in the Big Jim, Duke and Rev. Coggins scheme too? Big Jim gave Barbie an interesting almost confused look in episode one when they first met.

Hmmm….

What we know about the dome:
• The dome is ten miles
• Electronic things blow up when in near proximity of the dome
• Very small amounts of water can get through the dome
• The military is not involved or responsible for the mysterious dome

What we don’t understand yet:
• Big Jim and his propane scheme and how was Duke involved?
• Big Jim accused the Reverend Coggins to be high on “their stuff.” Was the propane being used for drugs?
• What is up with the seizures and what do pink stars have to do with anything?
• Who are the love interests going to be? Barbie and Julia? Joe and that troubled Goth looking teenager that was passing through town on her way to reform camp and is now trapped with her two Lesbian moms?
• Why hasn’t anyone thought about digging underneath the dome? How far does it go down into the ground?
• Does the rest of the world know about the dome?

Overall, this episode wasn’t bad. The story is intriguing to me but the acting is subpar. I don’t find myself interested in the Junior storyline at all. To be honest, I don’t find his character to be that believable. Maybe he will become more significant later on but it’s all a tad over the top and cliche. I think the director has done a good job in keeping people hooked and interested in the mystery and that’s important for a series like this.

We got a few answers this episode and it did enough where I will tune in again this Monday at 10pm ET.