Comparing apples to oranges is never a fair judgment, but it has to be said that Under the Dome left me with a bad taste in my mouth after having been so spoiled by the series and season premieres of Gotham and Sleepy Hollow last night. Under the Dome probably would’ve been better if it wrapped last week before a majority of fall shows started.
Let’s take a look at the body count from this episode alone. Pauline died sooner from her stab wounds rather than later with Rebecca’s assistance. Any friendly moments between Jim and Rebecca earlier in the season clearly meant nothing to him as he doesn’t hesitate to swing a hammer at Rebecca’s head when he sees the morphine syringe still in her hand.
Jim tries to reason with the powers that be, praying and negotiating that if the dome brings Pauline back to him, he won’t kill every “special” person, starting with Julia. Andrea, the nice older woman who shared her stockpile of food with everyone, paid the ultimate price of her life when Jim uses her to lure Julia away from a crowd. She manages to run away and alert Junior of his father’s intentions. Junior surprisingly shoots Jim in the heart when he faces him alone. I wasn’t expecting him to actually pull the trigger but I’m glad he did.
Jim didn’t exactly drop dead, instead he kept chasing Junior towards the escape tunnel. That’s where this finale got even crazier. Barbie leads the entire town of never before seen Chester’s Mill residents through this tunnel with no real evidence that it’s actually a way out. Joe and Norrie saw a butterfly down there earlier, but they were too stupid to keep investigating without Barbie.
Before Pauline died, she told Julia about her last vision of a man leading everyone out from under the dome. At Julia’s insistence from the other side of a growing chasm in the ground of the escape tunnel, Barbie becomes that leader. His touch on the wall of the seemingly dead end in the cave opens it up to reveal Melanie in a blinding white light. That’s literally how it ended, with her telling everyone that they’re “going home.” Who even knows what home she’s talking about? It could be heaven, hell, flash sideways purgatory, alien spaceship, or maybe it’s just another exit into Zenith.
To recap, this leaves only Julia, Junior, and an injured Jim in Chester’s Mill. Out of those three, Junior will probably be the last one standing if Jim finds a way to get into that escape tunnel now that a tree fell over the entrance. He’ll find a way to move it with his sheer rage and will probably go after Julia immediately. If Barbie is smart, he’ll ask Melanie to go back and help Julia and Junior before he follows her into the great unknown.
No word on a third season renewal yet. With the way this finale ended, the writers are obviously optimistic about their chances. I can’t speak for all the viewers but I know I’m hoping for at least a short season to resolve the story properly. Maybe even give us a few answers while they’re at it.
If you’ve been watching all summer, what did you think of the finale? Would you tune back in for a third season next year?
[Photo via CBS]
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