Under The Dome review – 1×04: ‘Outbreak’

The town of Chester’s Mill becomes a giant incubator as meningitis comes to town. Thank goodness there’s a respectable number of red shirts hanging around to fall ill and die!

Let’s bitch it out…

Let’s count out the good, the meh and the bad of this week’s episode, ‘Outbreak.’ After the jump we’re tracking Dome information.

The Good

• The titular outbreak: Although it may have been obvious that no one of consequence would bite it, the result of the outbreak shows Under The Dome‘s potential. When things get rough, the medicine will go, people will riot and sh*t will hit the fan. Hopefully this is a more civilized taste of what’s to come
• Angie’s (Britt Robertson) wet ‘n wild: I’m a little unsure what Angie thought would happen when she pulled on that giant pipe, but I’m willing to overlook her mental deficiency since she’s been held prisoner in a fallout shelter for three days. Just when things look like they can’t possibly get worse and she might end up accidentally drowning herself, Angie finds herself rescued by none other than Big Jim (Dean Norris). The real question, however, is just how far does Junior’s (Alexander Koch) crazy apple fall from the tree? Methinks that just because Ang is out of the shelter doesn’t mean she’s out of trouble just yet…
• Joe’s (Colin Ford) gesture: I’m not sure how intrigued we’re meant to be by the continued (mis)adventures of Joe and Norrie (Mackenzie Lintz) and their weird seizing spells, but the eek! factor spikes when we see Joe creepily sit up and make a shushing sign on the video playback. I could do without the “Dome doesn’t want us to tell” suggestion, but if the creepy continues, this could turn into something memorable

The Meh

• Lester’s (Ned Bellamy) religiosity: The crazy nutso religious character is a Stephen King staple. While they’re often caricatures, they also frequently pose legitimate threats (my favourite is Mrs. Carmody in The Mist). Such is the case for Lester, who attempts to burn (?) all of the town’s medicine because he thinks that it’s God’s will. While he may eventually turn into a genuine antagonist that provides continued conflict on the show, for now he’s merely a nuisance
• Barbie’s (Mike Vogel) backstory: Let’s be honest, Barbie is our male protagonist, so he was never going to be too bad. But it is slightly disappointing that his backstory is so mundane and predictable. A former vet who worked crappy odd jobs, then fell in with a bookie. I guess his connection to Phil (Nicholas Strong) is interesting (or helps to make Phil more interesting), but aside from that…Barbie is still so generic, all-American hero that he’s kinda snoozeville

The Bad

• Linda’s (Natalie Martinez) downwards trajectory: Linda was doing so well! Now suddenly she’s pulling her firearm on crowds at the first sign of danger (apparently someone didn’t learn from Paul in 1×02?) Obviously that’s not the most colossal eff-up, though. That honour belongs to her decision to deputize Junior(?!) We could see it coming down the pike when Mrs. Moore makes the connection between Linda and Junior, then he delivered an Indepedence Day speech to pacify the crowd and sealed the deal. Do you think Junior planned this, or is it just a happy coincidence that the town’s resident psycho has lucked into a position of power and authority?
• Julia’s (Rachelle Lefevre) disregard for everyone: I get that this woman is desperate to find her missing husband, but she’s clearly sick and totally contagious. And yet apparently Julia is special because she doesn’t see the need to stay inside the hospital. If the show were more pessimistic, Julia would be responsible for killing a few innocent people and she’d be shamed for being a selfish shrew. Instead we’ll have to continue armed with our burning hatred of her, secure in our knowledge that Julia thinks she’s more important than everyone else (Side Note: I would be less mean-spirited if she was seeking Peter out because he’s a doctor, but that’s clearly not her priority)
• Lesbian chemistry: Sorry Aisha Hinds and Samantha Mathis, you’re both good actresses but as fictitious lovahs, Carolyn and Alice have zero romantic chemistry

Dome info for the week:

• Residents attributing (insane) behaviour to the Dome: 2 – Mrs. Moore, the kindly teacher (illness) / Joe (seizures)
• This week’s Dome factoid: Nada…no new info
• Number of deaths/injuries: 1 – Mrs. Moore in the hospital, with the meningitis
• This week’s drinking game: Drink everytime someone frets about running out of medication

What’s your take on episode four: do you think that Angie is out of the fire and into the fireplace? Do you think the outbreak is a hint of things to come? Are you excited for Lester to go increasingly crazy/religious? Will Julia forgive Barbie and, more importantly, do we care? Hit the comments with your thoughts below

Under The Dome airs Mondays at 10pm EST on CBS. *Please remember: we’re discussing the show as its own entity, so please refrain from raising spoilers from the book