By Trevor Dueck – Staff Writer
Follow on Twitter @TrevDueck
(With all recaps and reviews, spoilers ahead so be forewarned)
Episode three of Under the Dome was called “Manhunt.” Hey remember when I mentioned The Simpsons Movie and how Under the Dome was not based on that? Funny enough the teenagers in this episode made a similar point that the Simpsons knew about the dome long before it happened. Those crazy kids!
First off, the acting in this show is God awful. I let it slide the first two episodes, but this latest installment actually raised the bar for terrible acting. It’s not a good thing when an actor is trying to convey feeling behind their lines and all I end up doing as a viewer is laughing. That’s never a good sign. Here is your quick and dirty recap with my thoughts.
Last week some crazy cop named Paul Randolph accidentally shot one of his fellow cops. This episode started as Paul was apprehended and taken to the town’s cop shop where he was greeted by irate town’s folk. Those people were ready to bring out the pitch forks and have themselves a hanging, but good ol’ Big Jim was there to calm everyone down. What a guy.
Deputy Linda is the only police officer left that isn’t insane, dead or outside of the dome, so she has got her work cut out for her. Linda takes Officer Paul to a prison cell, where Paul fakes some sort of coughing attack. Of course the level headed and sweet Linda approaches Paul to help him out but ends up getting duped. Officer Paul locks Linda in the jail and grabs a rifle to potentially cause more mayhem.
Big Jim tells Junior that he better buck up and stop acting like a weirdo and start acting like a man. Junior tells Jim that he got the cuts on his face because of Barbie, who according to psycho boy, Barbie did it unprovoked because he was crazy.
Meanwhile Angie is still prisoner in Junior’s bunker, however, she found a radio where she could be informed about what is happening above ground. Junior comes in with some protein to feed her and they get to talking about how come nobody has decided to dig under the dome? Another reference to something I asked last week, why hasn’t anyone tried digging? Angie makes mention of a series of tunnels under an old cement factory, where Junior and her use to run away together. Angie starts pretending she is interested in Junior so he does what she wants him to do, like check out the tunnels to see how far the dome goes under ground.
At the town’s diner, rumors are circulating about Barbie and Julia and their living arrangements. Big Jim stops by to let everyone know that Officer Paul is on the loose and that Jim is looking to create a search party to go and find him. Jim recruits two random dudes in the diner and Barbie in order to create a search team to go and find the rogue officer. Since two random unknown guys were chosen you can pretty much count on one of them if not both of them getting hurt. It’s usually the rule in television shows…kill off the extras first. I call it the redshirt rule in honor of Star Trek. Sure enough they go into the forest and all of a sudden Paul starts shooting and we have an extra down! I repeat an insignificant character has been shot. Of course the other insignificant character is the one that has to take him to the hospital. So now we just have Big Jim and Barbie in the woods together. Ooohhh…the tension.
By the way I still think there is some sort of odd connection between Barbie and Jim. I personally think Jim knows who Barbie is…but that’s just me.
While the manhunt continues, there is a party at Joe’s house. I mean the kid has a generator, no parents and so it’s time to bring out the liquor and crank the tunes. Kids from everywhere show up with their iPods, iPads and their teenage angst attitudes. Even the town high school jock, who is also the town bully, shows up. Cliche? Yes but there is a bit of a showdown between Joe and the jock. In fact the bully actually makes mention that he slept with Joe’s sister Angie…Joe didn’t seem phased by the comment. In fact Angie has been missing for two days and Joe hasn’t once asked where his sister is. So we can all agree that Angie was probably known to get around. I’m just saying.
There seems to be a bit of a love connection between Joe and Norrie (the girl with the two moms) In fact, when they touch sparks fly…literally. They also fall to the ground and convulse together…how romantic. There is nothing that brings two young lovers together than a good old fashion seizure. They start repeating pink stars fall in lines. There is a puzzle in there somewhere but we have no idea right now.
Now back to our manhunt. Big Jim and Barbie are in the woods alone and there is some tension. Big Jim knows that it was Barbie that beat the crap out of Junior. Yet, all Big Jim wants to do is find the rogue cop and take care of him. Just when they think they are close, all of a sudden Officer Paul shows up with a rifle to Big Jim’s head. Barbie puts up his bad ass gun and we have a showdown. However, all of that is for nothing as Officer Paul gets shot in the back by Deputy Linda.
Junior is off exploring the tunnels under the cement factory and the nosey reporter Julia is hot on his tail. Junior realizes that the dome cuts through the tunnels and there is really no way to escape from below, and he also realizes that he has a visitor in Julia. Both have a heart-to-heart chat. Junior opens up about how he doesn’t feel loved by his dad, and Julia talks about how she got canned at her last reporting job for not fact checking a big story. Junior also tells Julia that he was beaten up by Barbie for no reason. I guess he is sticking to that story.
Julia and Junior get through the underground maze and return to Junior’s home. There, Barbie and Big Jim are talking but decide to finish the conversation later. Julia seems more skeptical about her new pretty boy roomate. They return home and Julia asks Barbie once again why he was in Chester’s Mill, and Barbie states the same line about just passing through. Barbie hits the showers and Julia starts going through his bag where she finds a map with an X. Is this where Julia’s husband was buried? Or is it the cabin? Nonetheless I don’t think we are going to have a love affair between the two after all.
Not a bad episode, but not the greatest. The entire series is built on the story so the acting is pretty much secondary. I don’t want to be over critical of the acting, but there are some scenes where things seem rather forced. Not much more was explained about the dome, but we are starting to see some character development. I think there is going to be a major split between the people at some point with Barbie on one side and Big Jim on the other. Like I said I have never read the book, so this is pure speculation. My guess Julia is going to start to uncover more info on her dead husband and the connection to Barbie, through that, we will probably learn more about Barbie as well as Big Jim’s propane/drug business.
What we learned this episode
• Big Jim made two interesting points. He mentioned there is still one thing left that could implicate him in the “drug business” and at the end of the show he mentions that killing is what Barbie does. So there is a definite connection between the propane and drugs. Somehow there is also a connection to what Barbie was doing in town.
• The dome makes for a great half-pipe
• Deputy Linda becomes the new sheriff, and it looks like Big Jim is going to be in charge of the town
• It appears you can’t get under the dome
What we still don’t know
• Does Big Jim know who Barbie is and why he was in town? Is Barbie somehow connected to the propane conspiracy?
• Why are the teenagers saying pink stars are falling in lines?
• Norrie was on her way to reform camp before getting caught in the town under the dome. What was the reasoning behind Norrie going there?
Under the Dome airs Mondays, 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
