TV REVIEW: Under the Dome’s “Reconciliation” Leads to Peace, Love & Harmony (Just Kidding)

Last week on Under the Dome we saw the epic takedown of Big Jim and Rebecca with Julia looking gloat-tastic as she hauled both off to jail for their little virus-brewing and extermination plan. Big Jim is no longer big man on campus. Julia is now big monarch under the Dome, and she is not taking her new leadership position lightly. In “Reconciliation” Big Jim and Rebecca are in lock up, Barbie and Julia make up, Norrie is still funny, and Junior almost gets a pillow to the face.

This episode begins with Barbie showing up at Julia’s to snitch on Sam. Julia greets the news with, “This is crazy.” Barbie says it’s, par for the course for Chester’s Mill. Things are about to get crazier for the dynamic duo.

Sam and Junior are featured prominently in this offering. We see Junior shuffling through Sam’s nightstand looking for the missing pages of her journal. Lyle has the rest of the journal and he’s a no show in this episode. Junior admits to Sam that his mom is alive and Sam does not take the news well. He can’t believe Pauline is alive. “What kind of person lets us think she’s dead for ten years and sends postcards to her insane ex boyfriend?” Junior is more focused on his quest to find Lyle, the man he thinks killed Angie. He says he’s going to make Lyle suffer before he puts a bullet to his head. They take off to Lyle’s barber shop looking for the missing journal pages. Sam “finds” two drawings – one of Melanie, our crazy 80’s kid, and one of four hands holding up the Dome. “Angie must’ve been one of the four hands, so Lyle killed her to bring down the Dome,” says Junior. He admits that “the other hands are Joe, Norrie, and me.” Sam looks more than interested in the new intel.

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Sam gets Junior drunk and waits for him to pass out. He starts to put a pillow over his nephew’s face saying, “I don’t want to do it. If there was any other way to bring down the Dome, I’d do it.” Junior wakes up and says, “Thanks for looking out for me. I love you Uncle Sam.” Sam can’t do it after all; he angrily throws a bottle of booze hitting a framed picture, ripping part of it. There’s another Pauline painting underneath. It has the number 1821 on it – Angie’s locker number, and the last page in Pauline’s journal featured that number as well.

Back in town, Julia addresses the citizens about the Big Jim trial, reading the charges while taking charge herself. Oh, and by the way, we are short on food, she mentions. She says she’s starting a food sharing program – where everyone pools their food and shares. The townspeople start bickering over their mandatory diet, pushing each other, and one man comes rushing to the front with a gun. Barbie wrestles it free, sadly with no karate kicks, and Hey Mr. DJ Phil (now a cop) shoots him in the chest. Super cop apparently does not mess around.

Julia berates Rebecca in the restroom for the whole killing the townspeople plan. Science teacher cries and admits that Barbie didn’t know about the extermination scheme. Next on Julia’s bitch list, go yell at Phil, full time DJ/part time cop, for killing Wendell, the guy who rushed forward with the gun. Julia tells Barbie he should be sheriff, and she’s sorry she didn’t trust him and wanted some Sam sexy time. He turns the position down, in more ways than one.

Those meddling teens are still investigating this week, obviously having watched way too much Scooby episodes in their formative years. Joe tells Melanie about touching the Dome and having visions. She seems doubtful about his story. Norrie says, “Hey, you told us you died and we got on board, have some team spirit.” Gotta love that girl!

Joe gives Melanie Dome touching 101, it might give you a little shock, let go if you get scared, it’s a Dome. She touches it and sees… nothing. Norrie and Melanie continue their bickering with Joe taking Melanie’s side again. She says she feels so alone and “she’s not normal.” “You’re normal to me,” he tells her. They kiss with Norrie walking in on it. The girls push each other around, but Joe breaks it up. Whew! He’s got a new idea. Blood tests. He thinks that will tell them what Melanie is. Fighting is put on hold to go draw blood.

Things are not peachy in cell block Dome…Big Jim and Rebecca are arguing back in their adjoining jail cells, Jim mad at his wannabe girlfriend for not going through with the plan.

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Jim and Rebecca stop arguing and get back to philosophical talk. “Have you ever seen a man die?” she asks him. He says he has and adds that Wendell’s death means they get to live. “Death isn’t pretty but sometimes it’s necessary.” Rebecca admits that when she was in the church seeing all the families made her think about her mom. “What if my dad was right and sometimes there aren’t answers?” she wonders.

Phil comes to visit the prisoners, upset he’s been fired by Julia, sharing a bottle. Jim says, “You’re the best sheriff this town’s ever had.” Phil’s ready to unlock Jimbo’s cell, but boss man says no, there’s a better plan.

Back at the food share, Julia and Barbie are stacking boxes of food. He finds a bunch of empty ones just as something explodes, throwing Barbie back. Julia’s inside trapped under heavy shelving. He rushes in to rescue her, again sadly no karate kicks necessary. She’s safe. Whew! Wait, now all the food’s gone? Phil is right in the mix of it all saying Big Jim would have never let this happen. So this was your plan, Jim? Big, bad Jim is back and is as devious as ever. The Dome didn’t suck all the evil out of him after all.

Julia’s upset and getting a little Barbie love and comfort. She says she screwed up, with the food and with not trusting her boyfriend (they’re back on). He says, “Don’t give up. There’s a way out of this and you’re going to find it.”

Barbie is next up to visit the prisoners and questions Big Jim about the explosion. “You think I did this?” Big Jim tries a big ‘throw Phil under the bus’ ploy. He says, “Ask Rebecca” for double confirmation that new cop was behind it. She says she didn’t hear anything; she was asleep. Not the back up Jim was expecting.

Meanwhile, Phil is checking on the food he moved in a secret storage room and Norrie’s second mom sees him. He tackles her, holding a knife to her throat. Barbie comes in and saves the day, this time with a karate kick – yay! He shoots Phil and leaves Norrie with one mom still alive.

Julia is busy finding that food solution Barbie talked about. She has seen kindly, older resident Andrea constantly handing out water and food to the people of Chester’s Mill. She confronts Andrea about where all the food is coming from. The woman takes her into her house that’s full of food. Her ex husband Lloyd was a survivalist, so she’s got enough food to feed the town for a couple of months.

Julia has Big Jim and Rebecca brought to the diner. She says what they did was “inexcusable but not unforgivable.” Jim admits to a teeny tiny mistake BUT all in service to this town. He says he wants to make amends. He adds that Julia’s done a “helluva job running Chester’s Mill.” They shake hands and a big celebratory buffet is under way. Honky tonk music plays with everyone happy and getting along. No gallows building tonight.

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Barbie tells Julia he’ll take the sheriff’s position. They kiss with a make up session turning into a makeout session.

Joe takes Norrie to the back of the diner saying, “I’m sorry about earlier. She’s not who I love. You are.”

“That’s your go to? After you’ve macked on another chick in front of my face. Try it on her. She’s dumb enough to fall for it.” She storms out. Norrie, I think I’m in love.

Rebecca thanks Julia for everything; she’s apparently leaving Big Jim’s corner for Team Julia. Melanie later asks the science teacher for her help to figure out what she is. Rebecca’s up for the science challenge and takes off alone for the school’s laboratory. She looks at blood samples under a microscope hearing Junior and Sam prying open the bloody handprint locker. They peer inside and it’s The Lion, The Witch, and the Locker. The darn thing now opens up to some huge tunnel leading to … maybe Narnia?

So, what did we learn this week? Sam is bad. There was hope that those Angie scratches on his shoulder were really caused by a cat he was trying to rescue. But with the whole pillow thing, I’d say he’s not taking over Barbie’s hero and Julia love interest position anytime soon. Bad Big Jim is back as top villain and willing to do anything to save his town.

So what did you think of the reconciliation at the end? Is Sam going to bring the Dome down? We’ll have to wait for next week’s episode titled “In the Dark” to see if we can see the light.

Under the Dome airs Mondays on CBS at 10 pm.