TV REVIEW: Under the Dome’s “Revelation” Finally Answers Some Questions

In Under the Dome-land it is never good to ask, “How much worse can things get for the good people of Chester’s Mill?”

The second those words leave your lips, things go from bad to worse and from strange to completely bizarre. In “Revelation” Big Jim and Rebecca play God, Barbie and the band of teens uncover some clues, Julia and Sam grow closer, and we finally get some answers to big Dome questions. Let’s take a look at this week’s episode.

“Revelation” begins with the town’s new power couple, Big Jim and Rebecca, looking at the census results to decide who will live and who will die. Rebecca seems a little over eager, saying, “We can’t let these emotions get in the way.” Big Jim is hoping for some Dome intervention and seems less than thrilled with the prospect. Jim’s good streak seems to still be streaking. Rebecca steals Jim’s card key to the city as she leaves, or it might be the key to some locked laboratory at the high school. Much more on that later.

Julia shows up at Sam’s doorstep again. She asks him for his help again. They don’t kiss or anything again. Geez, Sam how many times does she need to come by before you make a move? Julia reveals the whole Jim/Rebecca plan for population control with Sam saying, “Big Jim’s always had a God complex.” Julia also adds that Barbie stands on Jimbo’s side. The door is open, Sam. Wide open.

The pair try to uncover what the Big Jim/Rebecca extermination plan is for the rest of the episode. They break into Rebecca’s place finding blood samples in her fridge, informational books on pigs, and pamphlets for prayer groups. You’re super hot, on the right track, so close! They’ll crack this blood, pig, prayer puzzle.

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Meanwhile, Melanie, mystery 80’s girl, is looking through her old yearbook with Norrie insulting her. Is it just me, or is rude Norrie really hysterical and the one we need to be rooting for?  Barbie rushes in looking for Julia with Norrie saying, “Rocking the same clothes as yesterday.” Way to call old guy out on bad fashion choices, girl.

Barbie takes the teens back to the high school so Melanie can show her mad locker opening skills. He looks doubtful when she says bloody handprint locker was hers … in 1988! Barbie says, “It doesn’t make any sense.” Joe has the best line of the night, “And the Dome does?” Amen, brother, amen.

The Barbie investigation into Melanie’s background continues with our hero looking through microfiche (Google it, oh the irony of that statement) of newspapers from the 80’s to find intel on mystery girl. They find a front page article on Melanie going missing, complete with a picture of the young girl. Barbie’s becoming a believer. They decide to take off to Melanie’s old home for more clues.

Lyle is still in lock up when Junior pays him a visit. “Let me out,” he tells the young cop, so, of course, he does. Junior needs information about his mom, Pauline, and knows Lyle’s the one who has it. How is she still alive? Why did she fake her suicide? Why did she abandon me? Junior’s just a mixed up kid with mommy issues. Unfortunately, Lyle is not the answer man. He strings Junior along without giving up anything meaningful. He does say, “She knew the Dome was coming. She had to get out.” He also shows Junior a stack of postcards, all with images of paintings mom made that show the events occurring under the Dome.

Junior and Lyle try playing ‘put the postcards in order’ on the diner floor but it’s a frustrating game (especially for these two). They decide to go to Sam’s cabin to find Pauline’s journal instead. Lyle steals the diary knocking Junior upside the head.

Rebecca pays a visit to a pig farm checking out some swine, especially interested in a dead one. She tells the farmer it could be a flu. Rebecca takes a blood sample from dead piggie saying, “Everything happens for a reason.”

We see her break into Dexter’s laboratory next using the stolen card key. She’s doing some super secret experiment injecting eggs with some liquid. Big Jim busts in demanding answers – what the heck is going on here? She explains that it’s how they’re going to save the town. There just isn’t enough food, so she’s concocting a little formula to rid the town of a quarter of its people. She’s mixing the swine flu with influenza to create a sickness that is “nature’s way of leveling the playing field.”

Barbie and the teens make it to Melanie’s house where she says she doesn’t remember anything; she just feels sad. Joe comforts her, even holding her hand. Norrie asks Barbie, “How am I supposed to compete with a girl he thinks is from a galaxy far, far away?”

Barbie says Joe thinks he’s helping. She responds with the hilarious, “Don’t undermine my feelings of jealousy and abandonment, but since we’re chatting, what’s up with you and Julia? Whatever you did was super bad.” Don’t mess with Norrie. Melanie goes to her childhood bedroom remembering the falling stars in the woods outside her window. The team decides to investigate. Things get interesting and we actually get some answers when they make their way to the exact spot of the falling stars.

Melanie walks to the spot and has a panic attack remembering a number of key reveals for the night… she was Sam’s girlfriend, a group of them (Sam and Lyle included) found a meteor, and she touched it causing it to crack open. There was an egg inside that Melanie took and ran off with, Sam screaming at her to put it back. Someone pushes her down the meteor crater where she hits her head and dies. “I am Melanie Cross, and I think this is where I died.”  If I died, then what am I, she asks her new friends. I bet Norrie has some ideas.

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Sam and Julia continue their investigation discovering the pig farm Rebecca visited, but now many more pigs are dead. It all makes sense! Big Jim and Rebecca are creating a super virus to infect the town people with. They must stop the evil plan, so off they go.

Rebecca and Big Jim are having a little quiet time, and plan not coming together yet. They have a heart to heart about his wife. Jim blames himself for the suicide saying he backed out of taking her to a “facility.” He says if he’d made the hard choice she might still be alive. “This time I’ll make it.” Rebecca has her own “I’ll out tragic your tragic story” to tell. She reveals that her mom died when she was eight; her heart just stopped while riding bikes. “I asked my dad why and he said sometimes there are no answers. That’s why I turned to science. If you look hard enough, there is an answer. You’ll need to distribute it in water.”

Big Jim saunters into the diner and grabs one pitcher of water. Wait, he’s gonna get rid of a quarter of the population with one pitcher. Sam and Julia rush in to confront Jim. Macho Sam grabs the vial out of Jim’s pocket, but it’s empty. Uh oh, Rebecca’s got the bad stuff.

Science teacher shows up at the church with the vial of virus. Are you kidding me? She’s going to infect the people at church? She grows a conscience and can’t do it. Sam and Julia arrest Big Jim and Rebecca with Julia saying, “We’ll have a town meeting and let the people decide what to do.” I bet she’s hoping for another gallows building session. Big Jim’s gotta have the last word saying, “Talk to your boyfriend. He was the first one on board.”

Speaking of Barbie, he and the band of teens find Junior and wake him up. He says he thinks Lyle killed Angie; Melanie adds, “He probably killed me.”

Sam and Julia head back to Julia’s place for a little sexy time (I hope). Julia says, “Thank you, you believed me.” But of course there’s a knock at the door and it’s Barbie to put an end to the lovefest. Barbie begs her to listen to him; you know he wants to snitch on Sam. Julia says not tonight, no way, do you know who I’ve got in here? She shuts the door on her boyfriend (ex?).

Sam asks if she’s okay and finally goes in for a kiss with her pushing him away. What? He says he’s sorry but is probably wondering how he misinterpreted all the goo goo eye looks and the twelve visits to his doorstep. He takes a secret peek at his shoulder revealing Freddy Krueger scratch marks. Hmm, wonder if those came when Angie was murdered?

So, what revelations occurred in “Revelation”? There may be a meteor – Dome connection; Melanie was killed (accidentally?); Sam is bad; Big Jim likes playing God; a jealous Norrie is hilarious; and Barbie and Julia are on the outs. What did you think about the reveals this week? Were they enough to satisfy until next Monday or did they leave your Dome deflated?

Under the Dome airs on CBS Mondays at 10 pm.