Finally! Big Jim
Rennie is starting to come out of his shell.
He’s finally becoming the force of power he embodies in the book. This episode has its problems. The writers still don’t understand how
teenagers actually talk, and the visitor’s day was difficult to watch because of
some of the awkward moments, but hopefully the shocking last moments of this
episode is a harbinger for things to come.
Hopefully “Under the Dome” can make a turnaround.
“Blue on Blue” starts with one of the most stunning
visuals this show has to offer so far as the electromagnetic nature of the Dome
has attracted a swarm of Monarch butterflies.
The beautiful orange and black creatures coat the invisible field of the
dome creating a fluttery, breathing, fluctuating wall that hangs in the air
like a surrealistic curtain blocking Chester’s Mill from the rest of the
world.
This magical moment was slightly scarred by the
horrendous arrival of Joe and Norrie. I
don’t blame the actors for their characters, really. I think they are doing a somewhat decent job
of what they are given, but my main problem is they don’t talk or act like real
people, let alone teenagers. Their dialogue
is stinted and makes no sense most of the time.
Take this episode for example.
Joe’s sister, Angie, has been missing for five days. He hasn’t seen her since the Dome came down
because she’s been locked in Junior’s underground shelter. With his parents trapped outside of the Dome
and his sister missing, wouldn’t he try a little harder to find her? For the last four episodes Joe hasn’t seemed
bothered that his sister is nowhere to be seen.
He’s spent his time at the skate park, having parties at his empty
house, and following Norrie around. In his
defense, he has had a lot on his plate.
He began having seizures when the Dome appeared and has been trying to
solve that mystery (sometimes?) with seizure buddy and budding romance, Norrie. But I have one question; Joe was at the edge
of the Dome when it appeared shearing cows in half and crashing a plane. He witnessed the destruction the appearance
of the Dome can create and for four days he’s just assumed his sister was
okay? Wouldn’t he want to know she wasn’t
cut in half like the cow? Maybe somebody
would have found her if that was the case, but I think someone would still
worry about it. I don’t know, I just
think the fact that he didn’t even look for her before the final act of this
episode is unbelievable.
As mentioned earlier, the characters of Big Jim and
Junior are finally coming around to the evil they represent in the book. Big Jim has been covering up a drug operation
to help bring money in for the town, which was real nice of him and all, but
his role as the leader of the town is threatened when the reverend thinks he
should repent his sins and tell the town what they did. Big Jim has said many times that Chester’s
Mill is his town, but I haven’t witnessed him making any huge power grabs so
far in the show. He’s used his respect
amongst the town’s people to help get things done, but he hasn’t made any
definite power plays…until this episode.
When the reverend starts cracking under the pressure of hiding the drug
ring Big Jim kills him in an awesome way, finally, FINALLY doing something on
par with his book character. Junior
looks like he’s going to do something crazy next episode so stay tuned for
that.
This episode was better than what has come before, but I think
the show has quite a way to go if it wants to impress me. The main problem I’m having is questionable
character motivations and clunky dialogue.
The visitor’s day scene in this episode was difficult to watch because
of the cringe inducing dialogue. Also, a
moment that made me angry; Linda puts up police tape to keep people from
touching the Dome and then, before Barbie even gets done tying off the police
tape, she crosses under the tape and makes out with her husband through the
Dome. What the hell? You should be leading by example! If you put of tape and tell people to stay
away you can’t just disregard your own rules!
That was annoying, and probably started off the scene on a bad note
which might have led to my dislike of it, but there you go.
Decent episode, but I expect better work.
3/5
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