Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 1, Episode 12 of CBS' "Under the Dome," titled "Exigent Circumstances."
It's the second-to-last episode of "Under the Dome" Season 1 and Chester's Mill is no closer to being dome-less than it was weeks ago.
This week's episode opens with Big Jim making an announcement to the town about dangerous criminal Barbie. He decides to check every inhabitant's home to ensure Barbie is not hiding out anywhere. No matter how sketchy Big Jim gets, every single townsperson continues to follow his lead.
Meanwhile, the teens still think the dome is "angry" at everything, and they're all torn on whether or not Big Jim needs to die. While they are contemplating murder around the mini-dome, Norrie's mother comes in (the one that didn't die) and discovers the egg. When asked what on earth it is, Norrie replies, "It's like, the dome's heart." Because Carolyn's a "cool mom," she says she'll keep the discovery a secret.
Before the search for Barbie starts, Big Jim sends Junior to guard Julia's hospital bed. He claims it's because Barbie will probably try to "finish the job" and he only trusts his son to keep watch.
Radio station tech guru Dodee then comes in to inform Big Jim that she has even more news. She overheard more military radio chatter so Big Jim follows her to the station. Dodee shows Big Jim a picture of the magic egg on her phone and tells him where to find it. But not too fast -- before they become the best of friends, Big Jim turns on the radio and hears the military authorities discussing him, saying he cannot be trusted because surveillance cameras caught him murdering the town's reverend. Dodee overhears and when she becomes skeptical of Big Jim, he points a gun at her. He tells her that no one can find out about the mini-dome, because he cannot have the dome lifted. Dodee speaks her mind for a minute or two, telling Jim he's a "sick bastard" but predictably, Big Jim shoots and kills her. He then sets the radio station on fire.
While Big Jim is continuing his killing spree, Barbie jumps out of some bushes and grabs Angie while she's leaving the barn. He explains to her that Big Jim can't be trusted and that he needs her help to break Julia out of the hospital. He fears that Big Jim will kill her if she wakes up -- before she can tell everyone Barbie wasn't at fault. Angie agrees to help and they hot wire an ambulance to use as a getaway car.
At the hospital, they find Junior being the obedient son and guarding Julia's room. Angie decides to distract Junior by telling him she just needs to take a walk and talk. Junior obliges, leaving Julia unattended. During their walk, Angie makes out with Junior to keep him distracted, but Junior pulls away when he tastes cigarettes in her mouth. He may be a psychopath, but, hey, he's got standards. Junior catches Barbie as he's loading Julia into the ambulance and the two get into a fight. Barbie knocks him out and tells Angie to drive away while he waits for Linda to come arrest him. Barbie immediately surrenders when Linda shows up, because he's stuck in a 10 mile-wide dome and where else is he going to go?
On the other side of town, Big Jim has officially hit rock bottom and arrested two teenagers. When he broke into the barn and didn't find the mini-dome, he accused Joe and Norrie of hiding it and took them to the station. While he has them securely behind bars, Big Jim tries to get them to tell him where the magical egg is but they refuse. He then uses them as bait for Barbie, saying he'll let them go if Barbie confesses. Barbie agrees to take the fall and Joe and Norrie head to Ben's house to check on their mystical pet. As they leave, Big Jim tells Linda to trail them because they have a secret the whole town would like to know.
At Ben's house, Norrie, Carolyn and Joe find that dome 2.0 has been making an incredibly loud, painful squealing noise. They lift blankets Ben has used to try and muffle the sound and find that the egg is now glowing orange instead of pink, which means ... well, nothing probably. As they lift the blankets, Linda barges in and sees the egg.
Angie is still with Julia (in a supply closet at the clinic) when Julia wakes up after being shot in the chest, saved from the brink of death and rushed around on a gurney, still managing to look better than most people do on a good day. Apparently even a bullet wound can't keep Julia Shumway's perfect ringlets down. Angie tells Julia that she has to be careful because Big Jim will hurt her if she tells the truth about who shot her.
Just as the episode is ending, we see Big Jim standing before town with a handcuffed Barbie. He tells the townspeople that Barbie wants to confess, but --surprise, surprise! -- Barbie takes it back at the last minute and denies his involvement in the crimes.
With one more episode left, I'm going to go out on a limb and say the dome doesn't come down. Looks like it'll be another long year for Chester's Mill.
Important Notes
- The military knows about the mini egg and knows that Barbie is the only person who has the "authority" to help.
"Under the Dome" airs Mondays, 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
