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| Joe and Norrie "experiment" with the dome. |
Shortly
after Under the Dome’s pilot aired, I made the argument that the show should never explain the dome, concentrating
instead on the people inside the dome and what happens to them. I didn’t want this show to turn into Lost (or The Event or Flash Forward,
though Lost was far better than those
two), a show in which so much time was spent trying to decipher the mysteries
that people often forgot to think about the characters, which were the best
part of the show. Likewise, with people
wondering about the dome (and people who’d read the book complaining about the
ending), I believed the show would be better off focusing more on the
characters and less on the dome.
Unfortunately,
it turns out that the characters in Under
the Dome are almost universally dull and the plots so clichéd and worn
(seriously, every plot so far this season, down to the early delivery, was used
before on Jericho), that I was relieved
to see somebody on the show actually caring about the dome and want to know
more about it. So I actually enjoyed the
various ways Joe and Norrie tried to learn more about the dome. Making out while touching the dome was cute,
though I suspect Joe’s trigonometry skills are being exaggerated. Either way, the two end up at the center of
the dome, where they find a smaller dome holding what looks like a black
egg. I’m kind of hoping they keep
exploring, though given the show’s renewal, I’m a little hesitant to think they’ll
actually explain the dome this season.
The rest of
the episode seems like it should have been eventful, but it is so filled with
out-of-nowhere stories, predictable plots, and unexplainable scenarios that it’s
impossible to care. Obviously, the big
story is Julia’s pregnant friend, whom we’ve never seen before, stopping by to borrow
some yogurt just in time to hallucinate her deployed sailor husband, touch the
dome, and go into labor. Mightily
convenient. Since Alice is the only
doctor in town, they obviously end up there, where she gives birth, Alice bonds
psychically with the baby (yeah that happened), and then dies. Why does she die? The episode implies that it was due to her
need for insulin, but that can’t be it since she just a got a new vial a day or
two ago. As I’ve said before, the
problem with this show isn’t that people are dying. The problem is that good horror doesn’t just
randomly off people. Good horror creates
a scenario in which the characters have a
reason to die at any moment, and then it kills one. That is good horror. This is not.
In predictable
plot news, farmer Ollie makes a power play on Big Jim, which doesn’t go well
for Ollie’s redshirt, assigned to guard the propane. This was the story I expected out of Jim and
Duke in the pilot, it’s just a shame that it’s taken half the season to finally
get to it. Also predictable is crazy
Junior crazily shooting one of the Dundee brothers who tried to rape
Angie. Making him a deputy was probably
the dumbest move on a show filled with dumb moves.
And in
unexplainable scenarios, somehow Rose’s body hasn’t been moved from the diner
so Angie has to bury her with the help of Joe’s friend Ben. There’s no explanation for why Angie or
Barbie didn’t tell somebody about Rose.
Nor is there any reason given for why people aren’t trying to eat at the
diner, given that they’ve been open this entire time and there’s apparently
still food there that Rose felt the need to protect. None of it really makes sense, except that it
gets Angie and Ben together which, ultimately, leads Angie back to Joe for a
heartfelt reunion. I’m honestly finding
the kids on Under the Dome much more
interesting than the adults, which is something I never say about a show.
So, halfway
through the first season of Under the
Dome, where do we sit? The show
still has trouble being scary, the plots are mundane and well-worn, and there
isn’t a single character I’m truly afraid for.
This show is pretty clearly a disaster procedural when it needs more
serialization. I think there is some
promise moving forward, but I can’t honestly say that I expect that promise to be
fulfilled. Oh well.
So
thoughts? Comments? Just want to tell me my blog sucks? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter
@TyTalksTV.
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