Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 1, Episode 11 of CBS' "Under the Dome," titled "Speak of the Devil."
The CBS summer drama officially went off the rails a couple weeks ago, but that doesn't mean this week's episode didn't elicit a handful of gasps.
When we reconvene, we find our four "blessed" teenagers laying in the barn, staring up at the ceiling. The pink stars are no longer there, but in their wake are hundreds of chalky constellations scattered across the top of the shed. Joe notices that four stars are not part of a constellation (seriously, has this kid memorized the Encyclopedia Britannica?) and concludes that the stars must represent himself, Norrie, Angie and Junior.
To no one's surprise, Junior takes any chance he can get to try and win back Angie. When his whole "we are destined to be together forever and ever" spiel doesn't make her heart flutter, he runs out of the barn and refuses to help with "operation dome disappear" unless Angie will be with him.
Meanwhile, Linda has apprehended Big Jim and is questioning him about the propane scheme. He admits almost everything, and tries to convince Linda that he's actually a saint because it's his propane that's keeping the town running now. I have to admit, he has a (twisted) point. He manages to not only get Linda off his back about the illegal activity, but also convince her that the real threat is Mr. Prettyface Barbie. Rennie is a self-proclaimed "open book," while Barbie seems to have a lot of secrets.
While Linda and Big Jim are discussing what to do about Barbie, he's at Julia's waking up from a not-so-restful night on the couch. Julia admits she missed him in bed. She also asks him to take her to Peter's grave. But their plans are interrupted when the doorbell rings and Julia opens it to find Max with a gun pointed directly at her. Max tells Julia that "Right now, [she] cant even help [herself]" before shooting her in the chest.
Barbie rushes to Julia's aid and calls Linda, who is still sitting next to Big Jim. When he hears the news, he immediately convinces Linda that Barbie is probably behind Julia's chest wound. Thankfully, Joe shows up and helps Barbie rush Julia to the hospital. Because everything that could happen in the show does, insane weather makes the drive even more difficult. Joe swerves around a fallen tree, while what seems to be a tornado forms in the sky. Joe tells a dying Julia and distraught Barbie that the dome is "angry."
Rennie takes this moment to show Junior his stockpile of guns. He explains that Max is a very bad woman who is determined to ruin the town with drugs and alcohol. Junior flirted with her only a few minutes before so he has trouble believing him, but eventually Big Joe pulls out the "single dad" card, melancholy piano music starts to play and father and son share a heartfelt moment. Jim tells Junior his only responsibility is to stay in the house and refuse everyone entry while he tries to take care of business.
When there's a knock on the door, Junior answers it with guns a-blazin', but it's only Angie who came to tell him that the disastrous weather outside is his fault. When Junior stormed out of the barn, he broke up the Fantastic Four and the dome isn't happy. Angie says if he doesn't come back, everyone will die. A flying bench comes soaring towards her head, Junior throws her out of harms way and the super fast winds stop. Angie claims it's because they're touching again, that he needed to return to the group to make the dome happy. The foursome isn't exactly reunited yet, Ang.
Meanwhile, Barbie tries in earnest to save Julia's life. Naturally, Joe asks him how on earth he knows how to do that and he gives the whole "I was at war" response again. Julia flatlines, but just as Barbie is about to give up she starts breathing again. Joe tells Barbie he's sure that he is the monarch and he was sent here to save everyone (because he also saved Joe's life in the first episode). He runs off to tell the others that he's found Mother Teresa incarnate and the Barbie is going to save the whole town.
Eventually, Barbie leaves Julia's bedside and finds Big Jim, who tells him that it was Max who shot Julia. Barbie knows, and says if they are going to bring Max down, they are going to do it by his rules. Then Barbie tells Rennie that as soon as Max is out of the way, he'll do everything he can to knock him out of power.
Barbie sets up a bomb "just in case" and then they go off to find Max. Unfortunately, thanks to perfectly planned TV, Max finds them first. She and her partner have guns to Big Jim and Barbie's heads but, she says she'll spare Barbie's life if he'll be her boyfriend. He refuses, the bomb goes off, the lights go out and suddenly, he has the gun. He tells Big Jim to guard the perpetrators and walks off but Big Jim shoots both of them dead instead. He goes to finish off the job and shoot Barbie too, but Barbie punches him and gets the gun. As he's pointing the gun at Big Jim's face, Linda appears, sees the carnage and assumes Barbie is to blame. She tries to apprehend him but he elbows her in the head and runs off.
Big Jim heads to the radio station to make an announcement but first, Dodi tells him that she overheard outside radio signals. The military knows Barbie is inside the dome, he's the one "they've been looking for." Whatever that means. Big Jim then makes a PSA, telling the town that Barbie murdered Max, Max's friend, Max's mom and tried to kill Julia as well. Big Jim declares a state of emergency because Barbie is on the loose and tells Chester's Mill to look for him.
Before the episode ends we're presented with what is perhaps the most eerie scene of the season. We see the four teenagers at the edge of the dome where the stars lined up, touching it and closing their eyes. When they open them, there's a blurry figure on the outside, walking toward them. Finally, fake Big Jim comes into focus. He's smiling nonchalantly at the group, but knife wounds start magically appearing on his chest. He keeps staring at the kids while wiping away blood. Suddenly, bloody knives appear in each of the teenager's hands. Junior steps away in fear and runs to find his dad. The other three decide that if the dome is going to come down, they have to kill Big Jim first.
What we learned this episode
- Barbie could be a bad guy and the military's discussing him for some reason.
"Under the Dome" airs Mondays, 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
