Under the Dome
Episode 13: Curtains
By: Carlos Uribe
Under the
Dome is a series about a small town that is trapped under a literal
dome.
Spoilers
Ahoy!
The season
finale of Under the Dome, Curtains, is a mixed bag for me. On the one
hand, it was an entertaining season finale that had enough narrative
momentum that made me interested to see how it would turn out in the
premiere. On the other hand, it was predictable and slightly
ridiculous. The predictable charge comes in terms of the
cliff-hanger. Barbie is able to escape prison, joins the group, but
then gets captured by Junior. It's really no surprise that Junior
picked his dad's side even as he finds out that his father has
continually lied to him. I'm not saying Junior should have tried to
kill his dad but that family is ultimately going to stop him from
actually joining into an assassination plan. It's kind of obvious he
would pick his dad because of family bonds. The episode ends with Big
Jim having built an actual gallows. Barbie is sentenced to death
despite having no trial whatsoever. It helps that the people of
Chester's Mill have decided that they are being punished by God and
they're hoping bringing Barbie to justice will save them. Just as
Junior as about to pull the lever to hang Barbie, the episode ends.
Granted, we get another cliff-hanger ending having to do with the
mythology plot arc but it's ultimately not surprising the season ends
with the life of a character at stake. It couldn't be Julia because
she had been in a coma for the penultimate episode. It would have
been overkill to put her life at stake at the end of the season. The
other characters wouldn't have made much sense due to their role in
other plots. Barbie is already a wanted man so he's the most obvious
choice. The only reason he was even allowed out of jail was to rule
him out as the Monarch. Overall, it's predictable and I'm kind of sad
the show didn't actually kill him off. It would have been a huge
twist, would have gotten the people talking, and the show's dynamics
would still be able to work. Barbie might be the male protagonist but
he's not a strong lead that has held the ensemble together and I
could easily see Under the Dome working without him. If anything, it
would have made it more difficult for the rest of the protagonists to
rise against Big Jim in a good way. It's no surprise that the show
doesn't take the chance. I guess it could in the premiere but it's
very doubtful Barbie will actually die.
The mythology
gets advanced quite a bit as multiple characters try to go after the
mini-dome. Linda tries her best to stay on top of it by taking the
egg but finds herself electrocuted when she tries to touch it. I was
a bit disappointed the writers didn't take this opportunity to have
her realize Big Jim has been manipulating her. The mini-dome also
turns black as the monarch butterfly gets out of it's cocoon. This
causes the dome outside to turn black which turns most of Chester's
Mill into religious zealots. The mini-dome is moved to the factory
where the group put their hands on it. The mini-dome comes down, the
butterfly is free, and Julia is named the monarch as she's able to
stop the egg from freaking out. The show confirms aliens did this
when they use Norrie's dead mother to communicate with them. They get
one wish: they must protect the egg at all costs. The three teenagers
are sent away as Julia takes responsibility for what to do next.
She's basically given an option: she can chose the egg or the
military tags that represent her love interest. Her choice is the egg
as she throws it in the lake. Why? I'm not sure but this was the
right choice as it caused the pink stars to rise. The next thing we
know the dome goes from dark to a very bright white. It's all very
ridiculous which makes it surprising that I'm so willing to accept
this plot on it's face value. Still, we can't escape that this is
basically a story about protecting a magical egg. It's ridiculous
story aside, it makes no sense after the mini-dome goes down. Julia
being the monarch felt like a twist for the sake of a twist rather
than making any rational sense for the narrative. Worse, a lot of
things happen for which we have no explanation. Why did Julia put the
egg in the lake?
The first
season of Under the Dome is perplexing. It's a constant mix between
entertaining, frustrating, and stupidity that ultimately only
arguably found success because of the lack of competition. I believe
if this show aired in the fall then it would have quickly fallen in
the ratings due to the increased options for entertainment. The
season started out very weakly as it couldn't properly set up it's
premise with realistic responses by the characters. The whole
kidnapped Angie plot arc was so frustrating it brought the episodes
down, even the ones that had some elements that were working for it.
She was eventually freed and Under the Dome became more entertaining
but it made a grave error: it tried to validate Junior's craziness.
He was right that Angie was affected by the dome and the mythology
seems to support that they were meant to be together. The two are
part of something bigger after all. What's worse is the show's
insistence to make him some kind of anti-hero when he didn't have the
popularity to justify it. Big Jim's gradual decline into a cartoon
hero at least made some sense but Junior's rise into the group never
worked because it made none. What's worse is that the one plot device
that could have provided the series focus (the mini-dome) didn't
completely succeed because Big Jim's power plot remained too
prevalent. It isn't until the end that the two plots actually
converged. These major narrative flaws are supported by many minor
ones that exposed the stupidity of the characters, highlighted
ridiculous plot details, and ultimately failed to really matter. If
anything, the end of the season finale sort of underscores the
feeling that the writers have an endgame in mind but they have no
idea what happens until then. Still, the first season of Under the
Dome can't be completely dismissed as it is a fun way to spend time
when nothing else is on. Considering it's the summer, practically
nothing else was on.
The quality
of the finale and season aside, I think it's interesting to point out
the impact that Under the Dome might have on the television industry.
I'm not trying to suggest this show is going to influence television
creatively but I do think it's ratings success might indicate to the
national broadcasters that there's an audience for viewers in the
summer. For some unexplained reason, broadcasting networks have been
under the impression that there is a limited audience during the
summer. They assume that the demographic they target is too busy
doing anything but sitting home with the television on. It makes
little sense when you really think about it but it's a way of
thinking that is finally being challenged. The little programming
that the networks have premiered are either Canadian (low-cost) or
with very little fanfare. They haven't done well in the ratings
primarily because they lack any real buzz. It's been a half-hearted
effort so they've received a half-hearted reception. Under the Dome
is different because it came with an actual marketing campaign, has
received significant buzz, and achieved respectable ratings. It is
without a doubt the hit of the summer. Sure, I have a feeling Under
the Dome only succeeded because it had little real competition but it
only speaks to the actual audience that is there. It has provided CBS
with a reliable marketing audience to promote their new fall shows.
In other news, Under the Dome is a big success for the network in
many ways. I wouldn't be surprised if the other networks take notes
and try to have their own big launches in the summer. Under the Dome
might not be very good but it is possibly opening the door to more
summer programming from the network broadcasts. If at least one of
those programs is great then it would have been a great achievement.
Curtains is
ultimately an episode that closes out the first season of Under the
Dome. It'll be the only one I review since I don't plan to continue
the blog next summer but it was certainly interesting to cover a
summer show that actually had a chance. This is not a very good show
but it's a fun one for what it ultimately was: light entertainment.
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