Under The Dome review – 1×10: ‘Let The Games Begin’

Chester’s Mill develops a black market courtesy of the resident evil lady while the kids search high and low for the magical fourth person to open the mini-Dome.

Let’s bitch it out…

Each week we break down the good, the bad and the meh of this week’s Under The Dome. Here’s our list for ‘Let The Games Begin’:

The Good

• Non-drama reveal: The truth about Barbie’s (Mike Vogel) role in Julia’s (Rachelle Lefevre) husband’s disappearance/murder comes out…and it shockingly contains zero drama! No histrionics. No throwing anyone out of the house. It’s actually underplayed, which is a really nice change of pace for this show, which so often makes desperate, clumsy swipes at emotional scenes
• Reduced storylines: It’s still hard to get a sense of how big Chester’s Mill is (what’s weirder: not recognizing anyone at the concrete factory or realizing that there is enough lake to speedboat around in?). Aside from the size & location challenges, narratively the show is pulling storylines together as we move towards the S1 finale. So instead of running around trying to follow ten characters, we’ve now focused on three primarily groups, which allows more time for each (for better or worse – see below)

The Meh

• The kids: Joe (Colin Ford), Norrie (Mackenzie Lintz) and Angie (Britt Robertson) don’t really do much in ‘Let The Games Begin’. What they’ve got going for them is that they’re at the heart of the show’s most interesting narrative: the mystery of the mini-Dome. And while I wish I hadn’t called Junior (Alexander Koch) being the fourth member so easily last week, it does make sense. Kinda…sorta….maybe
• Dodee (Jolene Purdy): I feel for Dodee the same way I feel about Phil (an unseen Nicholas Strong) – she’s interesting, but extremely underutilized. I thought being burned and getting partial amnesia would give her some extra screentime, but after being dropped off at the hospital, she disappears
• Linda (Natalie Martinez): This week Linda is nearly back in the good books. Her investigation into Duke’s affairs is fairly well-executed and it allows her a chance to play off Julia, which is a nice change of pace. But then when she discovers that Big Jim is the only living member of the criminal enterprise, she reverts back to her dumb meek self and lets him boss her around. Get it together, Linda!
• Big Jim’s (Dean Norris) quest: It’s always fun to see Big Jim go off and kill someone conspicuously. You had to know that the moment Agatha/Claire (Mare Winningham) pulls a gun on Big Jim that she’s a) tied to Max (Natalie Zea) and b) dead as a doornail. Still, there’s a certain sadistic joy in watching the used car dealer leave a defenseless woman treading water

The Bad

• Max: Remember how last week I said that I like Zea? Umm…I may have spoken too soon. Or at least I did about Max as a character. The gloriously maned villainess quickly takes control of Chester’s Mill criminal element in the least interesting, least gripping fashion possible. Seriously: an underground bare knuckle boxing gambling ring? Blah – it’s so bad it’s nearly laughable
• Robertson’s line delivery: She continues to hover at around 50/50. Sometimes its okay, sometimes it pretty atrocious. Apparently she and Natalie Martinez use the same vocal coach?
• I sure hope that Victor, the guy that Barbie fights, is the new Carter (Andrew Vogel): ie: he’s never seen or mentioned again

Dome info for the week:

• This week’s Dome factoids:
  • The monarch in question is indeed an actual caterpillar. Sorry Angie
  • The mini-Dome requires four damaged goods kids to open up its constellation of pink stars
  • The mini-Dome has a security lock that involves frying
• Number of deaths/injuries: 1 – Agatha/Claire, in the lake, with the drowning
• This week’s drinking game: Drink everytime you want to punch Max in the face

What’s your take on episode ten: now that we know how annoying Natalie Zea is as a villainess, how soon do you want her gone? Were you pleasantly surprised at the non-dramatic way Julia and Barbie handled the news of Peter’s death? Do we hate Linda this week or tolerate her? Finally, what’s up with the butterfly in the mini-Dome? Hit the comments with your thoughts below

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