On to the matter at hand, this week’s episode of Under the Dome was not directed by James Gunn, did not star Chris Pratt, and did not have the best soundtrack ever. I’m talking about Guardians again, aren’t I? And y’know what? It was actually pretty good. While I was disappointed that Sam and Barbie (the two dudes at odds who must put aside their aforementioned differences to survive) didn’t reminisce about old episodes of Under the Dome, the cave-in did manage to advance the plot, which, let’s face it, was getting stale. While trapped under Chester’s Mill, Barbie and Sam had a bit of a heart to heart about Sam’s past, his connection to the mysterious Dome ghost girl Melanie, and some straight about Sam’s flirtation with Julia. Now, I was afraid that the whole episode would deal with the two guys getting all alpha on each other over Julia, but thankfully, the writers took the time provided by the clichéd cave-in to fill in some back story on Sam, Lyle the barber, Junior’s mom, and Melanie. All season, Barbie has been ignoring his instincts. Last year, Barbie was portrayed as a man with a soldier’s instinct, a sort of sixth sense of survival. He finally utilized that ability this episode since he just would not trust Sam, even when Sam concocted a story that it was Lyle that killed Melanie so many years ago. So, when Barbie saw the scratches that Angie inflicted upon Sam the night of her murder, we saw that Barbie’s instinctual distrust was justified. Hey, see what happens when writers use established character traits instead of conveniently ignoring them? While Sam and Barbie’s drama played out underground, on the surface, the rest of Chester’s Mill had to deal with a dust storm. Rebecca dealt with both cave-in and dust storm as she continued to be a rather interesting character. A few weeks ago, Rebecca was planning to cull Chester’s Mill but now she’s pulling double duty by providing a windmill and a plan to rid the town of the dust storm and rig up some explosives to save Sam and Barbie. Julia learned to trust the MacGyver-like Rebecca, as it is still not clear which side the teacher will fall on. It is clear that “Big” Jim was for himself of course, as he oversaw the very public construction of Rebecca’s windmill while Julia went underground to free Barbie and Sam. The struggle for power over Chester’s Mill’s residents continued between Jim and Julia. This round went to Jim as no one saw Julia rescue Barbie, but everyone saw Jim hold back the dust storm, something that “Big” Jim made damn sure the townsfolk realized. Another little plot element that could have got very annoying very quickly was put out to pasture, as Joe and Norrie found love in each other again. Norrie forgave Joe for the kiss he shared with Melanie, and thank goodness, because that sappy little plot contrivance was getting very irksome. The Dome Four are reunited, the egg is back in their hands, and they received another vision of the pink stars as Under the Dome suddenly and once again remembered it is a sci-fi show. All is right in Chester’s Mill, let’s hope it stays that way. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!
