In Which I Review Under the Dome (1x5)

Butterflies, buses, and bombs!

On this weeks episode of Under the Dome, "Blue on Blue," the residents of Chester's Mill received three surprise visits; each of these visits gradually demonstrated the fear not only inside the Dome but on the outside as it becomes apparent that even those living in the world have no idea what is going on.

The first visit to the Dome came in the form of butterflies. Monarch butterflies, as we learned from our wunderkind Joey, are not supposed to be in Chester's Mill this time of the year. It's just not natural. Neither are you Joey, neither are you. And yet there they are, hundreds of colorful butterflies. The effect of it was both beautiful and befuddling. Why are these butterflies just hanging out on the Dome? The very cool CGI of the butterflies flying off the Dome was also pretty spectacular. We learn later, from mechanical and engineering student Dodee, that the magnetic field is messed up because of the dome, thus confusing the poor butterflies. Naturally this causes alarm on the outside; planes could crash and China thinks it's a super weapon. And not only does China think it's a super weapon but the President had to reassure them that the United States has no idea where it came from. Someone is lying, folks.

Speaking of lying, Big Jim kept Angie in the bunker over night and "has to think" about what Angie told him concerning Junior. Jim can't believe his son would do this, despite all the signs that Junior is not a normal human being. When he finally does let Angie go, it's only as the mother of all bombs (literally) is about to drop on Chester's Mill. She winds up back in her house, where Junior is waiting with a gun. They proceed to cuddle as the world ends. This is totally logical and every girl who has been held captive in a waterlogged subterranean bomb shelter would do exactly the same thing. 

On our other romantic couple front, Joey and Norrie, the former has decided that the pair are human receivers and that the Dome is talking to them. Also, Norrie discovers that she has a father who was not an anonymous sperm donor. I'm not really sure why I'm supposed to care, but Norrie sure was upset. Luckily Joey was there to calm her down. And kiss her. We can't forget the kiss. Why? Because in the twisted teenage logic of Jorrie, that lip lock stopped Chester's Mill from meeting the big man in the sky. Just as the bomb was about to collide with the Dome and destroy everything, the two kissed and lived to see the next day. Because post hoc ergo propter hoc. Granted the effect was rather cool and the apocalyptic landscape outside the dome post-MOAB was really visually stunning. How far does that go? What all was destroyed? Did anything survive?

Liars everywhere. The military brought in the families of the residents of Chester's Mill. At first it's a lovely sight, friends and loved ones "reuniting" through the Dome. And then Barbie figures out what is going on. By flashing a very shiny badge that basically means "I am awesome and you will tell me everything because of my awesomeness" we learn that after the butterflies landed, the army got their orders to pull out after one last goodbye for the trapped residents. Why? Because the government has decided to launch a missile (Mother of All Bombs) at the Dome, destroying it and killing everyone inside. Thank goodness for Joey and Norrie.

And finally, Big Jim. In an effort to save his skin from the Creepy Rev who has decided that Jim must purge himself of his sins and give himself over to God, Jim kills the loony priest at the Dome. He does this calmly and it made me wonder if Big Jim has a history of violence. He kept Angie in the shelter after all. And he has no problem threatening his son. Oh and those sins? Drugs. But they aren't being sold inside the city, so I guess he gets points for that. I will not miss the Creepy Rev but who will find the body? Will they investigate the murder? What will Big Jim do next? His son has been revealed to be a psychopath (now with a gun and a badge!) and whatever hold he had on the city (Creepy Rev did say that Jim metaphorically owned the town before the Dome. It belongs to God now, by the way) is tenuous as people like Barbie and Julia and Linda show their true noble colors.

Miscellaneous Notes on "Blue on Blue"

--Barbie and Julia are back to being best friends and obvious romantic partners. Julia still doesn't know that Barbie accidentally killed her husband, but something tell me that at this point she won't care. We also got more information on Barbie's past as a solider. 

--Dodee and Phil are cute. I ship their best friendship.

-- Angie, run. Don't cuddle the psychopath. Just run.

--So, the Dome is impervious to acid, lasers, angry teenage boys, BOMBS, but not water.

--How much of the outside world is gone??

--What if everything was designed this way? What if whoever put the Dome down knew that this is how events would play out and now they have the residents of Chester's Mill and the outside exactly where they want them.