Well, at least Under the Dome has finally give Britt Robertson something to do outside of being held captive or working at the diner. In “The Fourth Hand,” Angie entered into Under the Dome’s main storyline, joining her brother Joe and Norrie as three of the four “controllers” of the egg. While I’m still very uninterested as to how or why these three are all connected to the dome, I’m a little excited to see what might actually be inside of that egg or at least what it can do once the “fourth hand,” the last member of the group, is revealed. However, if I have to hear the words “mini-dome” before then, I may pull my hair out.
Another interesting part of this week’s episode of Under the Dome was the introduction of Natalie Zea’s Max. While it is not realistic in any sense that she would have been able to skulk around, following both Big Jim and Barbie undetected for the past eight days in a town as small as Chester’s Mill, the history that Max shares with both men and her threat about exposing the secrets that they each are hiding makes both Barbie and Big Jim incredibly more interesting. Plus, on a pure acting level, Natalie Zea appears much more capable than the rest of Under the Dome‘s cast; she may be spitting out nonsensical dialogue but she gives it her all and provides it with some semblance of believability.
The combination of Max’s presence and the increased role of Angie made this a slightly better episode of Under the Dome than we are used to, but there were still plenty of problematic aspects to be found in “The Fourth Hand.” First, Linda searches the facility that is supposedly housing all of the propane tanks and is investigating the whole big conspiracy. This storyline was an issue tonight for three reasons: the propane plot is one of Under the Dome‘s dullest; Linda is one of the show’s least interesting characters played by one of its poorest actors; and, lastly, Under the Dome allowed Linda to make the idiotic decision to shoot open a door supposedly holding tanks of PROPANE. If Chester’s Mill wasn’t in enough trouble with the fact that Junior is on the police force period, there’s absolutely no hope with Sheriff Linda in charge.
Another major problem with tonight’s episode is the writers’ continued confusion over what to do with Junior. Under the Dome cannot decide whether to make this annoying pest of a character a straight up villain or a redeemable “lost soul”; however, neither is working because the show won’t commit to either idea and instead decides to flip whatever switch they want with Junior from week to week. I do not fear Junior, nor do I pity him or root for him; the character’s inconsistency has only added to his overall awfulness and only makes me hate Junior even more than I did when the series premiered.
As I’ve said in pretty much all of my reviews of the series this summer, even though Under the Dome can display some form of competency and caliber in certain moments, the overall show has too many issues that it needs to resolve before it can even come close to being in the vicinity of “good television.” Hopefully, these final few episodes of season one can try to remedy some of the shows more glaring problems and bring us closer to that “good” version of Under the Dome that is still a possibility, even if it may be a bleak one.
Other thoughts:
– I didn’t mention Junior’s mom’s paintings because they are just too ridiculous to even discuss and another stupid way that Under the Dome is attempting to shoehorn Junior into the central plot and get the audience to care for and connect with him.
– In case anyone was wondering, it’s been only eight days since the dome surrounded Chester’s Mill. So, in only eight days, Julia has forgotten about her “missing husband” and shacked up with another guy, barely showing any remorse or hesitation. You stay classy, Julia.
What did everyone else think about this week’s Under the Dome?
Chris, I’m totally confused about “Under the Dome.” To many main characters themes and plots. How ever that aside. You’ve got a “Great Blog” and keep up the good work!