TV REVIEW: Under the Dome Sheds Some Light in “In the Dark”

The latest Dome installment answers more questions and continues to amaze with the craziness that can only occur under that darn Dome. A dust storm threatens the lives of every citizen, Barbie and Sam form a short lived bromance, Julia and Rebecca bond through bombs, the crazy teens find the missing egg, and Big Jim saves the day with a nifty windmill/fire hose trick.

Barbie and Sam Go Spelunking

Junior and Sam take off to Narnia, crawling through the bloody handprint locker and down to a huge tunnel that looks like the Grand Canyon beneath the high school. Barbie joins them not wanting to miss out on the fun. There’s an explosion and a cave in, landing some big Indiana Jones boulders which separate Junior from Barbie and Sam. Junior says he’ll get help with Barbie and Sam trudging on, looking for Lyle.

Barbie questions Sam in the tunnel, asking him where he was when Angie died. Barbie almost falls down a huge cavern but Sam manages to grab him, lifting him to safety. They argue; they bond; they argue some more. Barbie asks, “What happened the night Melanie died?” Sam blames it on the egg, saying it started screaming. Lyle went after Melanie because she had the egg. He pushed her and she fell into the crater. “Pauline begged me to help Lyle; I did. I left the love of my life in a hole, like garbage, and now she’s back.” The love of your life when you’re…sixteen, Sam?

They’re Baaaack! Those Pink Stars Are Falling Again
Norrie and Joe are screaming at each other. “I love you, Norrie,” says Joe. Norrie’s not going for that after seeing her guy play suck face with Melanie from the 80’s.  “Too bad, I don’t love you,” she tells him. Joe has a hissy fit and storms off.

Meanwhile, Melanie and Junior start working together. Melanie comforts Junior about his dead mom and they look like they’re about to kiss. Boy this girl moves fast. Norrie walks in and asks ”Do you hit on literally everyone?”

Junior, Norrie, and Melanie find Joe and convince him that they need to be working together. “I would rather risk dying again than not knowing why I’m here,” says Melanie. Brave young thing. Where do they start?  The lake.

The teens go out on the lake in a boat with Melanie saying, “The egg knows we’re here.”

“Maybe we have to do something together,” she suggests. Really? Junior as usual doesn’t have a clue, “Like what?” Norrie says that Melanie can be a substitute Angie and they can all touch hands just like old times. They do and the glowing pink egg starts rising to the surface of the water.

They get back to the house with pink glowing egg, Melanie transfixed by it.  Norrie and Joe make up and kiss. They put the egg in the center of their circle and use it like a ouija board, all touching it.  The little pink stars make a return visit, falling all around them. They look happy although they don’t have a clue as to what it all means. They sure are pretty though.

Image © CBS

Julie and Rebecca Bond over Explosives

Julia and Rebecca decide to blow the big boulders out of the way, freeing Barbie and Sam. They spend “In the Dark” bonding through sad stories of how they ended up in Chester’s Mill. Rebecca admits she thought Jim’s heart was in the right place. She says she was wrong.

They work on the pyrotechnics together, finally blowing an escape hatch for the two hunky guys trapped in the dark. Only one emerges safely.

Big Jim vs. Dust Storm

Because deadly magnetism, an infestation of hungry caterpillars, and blood acid rain is not enough, the people of Chester’s Mill now face a swirling, trash ridden dust storm. Rebecca says this dust storm is going to suffocate everyone in the Dome unless they start ‘mist dispersal,’ spraying water all around – you know, using fire hoses with a fan or windmill. She is the expert on all things science, remember?

Big Jim is going for the windmill method but has a hard time getting the people behind him at first. With the storm picking up to Sharknado proportions, they finally give in and help raise the homemade windmill. They hook up a hose and it works! I feel like a couple of blasts with one of those huge super soakers would have done the trick also.

Image © CBS

Another One Bites the Dust

Back in the super secret tunnel. Barbie and Sam bond with Sam admitting he’s torn up with the whole Melanie falling to her death thing.  Barbie thanks him for saving his life but the bromance is over when Barbie spots the Angie scratches on Sam’s shoulder. Barbie realizes that Sam killed Angie; it wasn’t creepy Lyle. In what must be the easiest to get confession ever, Sam admits he did kill Angie. He says, “I had to! It’s a sacrifice I have to make to make the Dome come down.”  He admits that he will have to kill the remaining three – Norrie, Joe, and even his nephew, Junior.

Barbie draws his gun wanting to take Sam in so that Junior can have some justice. Sam says he’s so tired. The Dome has caused him nothing but pain. He jumps off the cliff thing to his death. Sam storyline over before it really even began.

The Dome will be back next week with another “cliff” hanger. It looks like Barbie is hanging by a thread while trying to scale the cliff of death. Will he be the next one to bite the dust under the Dome?  What did you think of the reveals in this one? Do you think we’ll get our pink stars answer any time soon?

Under the Dome airs Mondays on CBS at 10 pm

Random Notes

• Hilarious when Big Jim asks Julia “Is there a brain under that hair? These people don’t need to talk about their feelings.”
• Equally funny when a diner asks, “Everyone in favor of Jim shutting up while we wait the storm out…” Everyone raises their hands.
• Didn’t Sam’s demise seem a bit sudden? His character had so much more story to tell. Or maybe it’s just me missing Don Flack.