On the series final of Under the Dome, “The Enemy Within,” the new queen prepares to take down the dome, Junior and Sam compete for the queen’s attention and the resistance makes a final stand.
It’s been a long three years, (four weeks if you live in Chester’s Mill), but it all comes to an end tonight. One thing, make that two things, are certain:
1. That damn dome is finally coming down
2. CBS execs and most of the viewing public ceased to give a shit a while ago.
Long Live the Queen
In an effort to save some coin, the role of the new queen of the kinship, Dawn, is being played by the same actress (Kylie Bunbury) who played her dearly-departed mother, Eva.
Dawn may be a few hours old, a day tops, but she was well prepped by former queen, Christine. She’s ready to lead the kinship out of the dome and on to world domination. There’s one thing standing in her way though; the remaining members of the resistance. Unlike her predecessor, Dawn wastes no time tracking them down.
The only thing keeping Dawn from killing her dear old dad, is Joe. Joe won’t finish the device without this friends’ help. Dawn agrees to let everybody out if they pitch in and help, with the exception of Julia and Big Jim. Seeing as they were never part of the kinship, Dawn trusts them the least. But she does promise not to harm them, at least until the dome comes down.
Barbie is still referring to Dawn as his daughter and holds out hope that there is some good deep, deep, deep down inside. Julia is dubious, but Barbie promises her that if he can’t get Dawn to play nice, he’ll kill her himself.
Dawn is quite the little delegater, and while everybody readies for the dome to come down, she’s listening to Christine’s voice recorder at town hall. Junior, who finally wakes up after taking a shovel to the head, has returned to announce that Christine is no longer on their side. (It’s amazing how slow news travels under the dome.) Sam informs Junior that there’s a new queen in town.
Sam has the new queen’s ear. He really wants to be her mate, but Dawn makes it clear that the role of the “Alpha” must be earned. In an effort to make himself indispensable, Sam warns Dawn about the government presence outside of the dome. Apparently, nobody alerted Christine to this fact, and since she was one of the first cocooned, she was clueless. (Since this is the series finale, I’m going to let the stupidity of that plot hole slide by.)
Sam warns Dawn that as soon as they get the dome down, she’ll be used for government experiments, but he’s got a plan to help her avoid that grisly fate. He informs her there are tunnels under the cement factory that lead to the next town over, beyond the grasp of the military.
Dawn tells Sam that perhaps she’s found her mate after all. She instructs him to start preparing for their exit while she goes to oversee the construction of the device. Dawn lays a big smooch on Sam as a reward not realizing Junior is spying just outside the door.
Viva La Resistance
Big Jim requests that someone bring him his new best friend, Indy, stating the pooch is the “key to his heart.” For some unknown reason, they acquiesce to his request and manage to track down the dog in spite of everything else going on. Of course, Jim has stashed a key to the jail cell where they are being held in Indy’s collar. Again, going to let that one slide.
There’s only one guy guarding them, and he’s not too bright, so when Julia requests some water, he leaves the two alone, allowing them to waltz right out the door.
They head to Big Jim’s bomb shelter for weapons and supplies and are followed by their dimwitted guard, but Jim bashes the guy’s head in PDQ, which has me wondering what was the point. We know Big Jim’s a killer. We don’t need to see him squash some minor character’s head like a grape to be reminded of that fact.
Daddy’s Girl
The logistics of Joe’s device are unimportant, all we need to know is that it should work. And in the woods, Barbie and members of the kinship are placing the amethysts. They aren’t moving fast enough to suit the queen, so she shoots one to prove she’s not the benevolent dictator that Christine was.
It’s amazing how Barbie and Dawn already have serious family issues to work through. Barbie calls her a killer, and she says she inherited that particular trait from her daddy.
Now those good looks, that’s all mom, and it’s driving the men wild. Junior follows Sam to the cement plant where he accuses Sam of trying to steal his rightful place as Dawn’s mate. Sam tells Junior that he’s not worthy of the new queen, especially since he tried to drown children to solve the limited oxygen problem.
The two beat the crap out of each other, and it looks as if Sam has the upper hand, until he’s stupid enough to turn his back. Junior takes the opportunity to shove a piece of metal through Sam’s gut, effectively eliminating his competition.
Everything is set out in the clearing, and Dawn allows Barbie to go. He questions how Dawn plans to escape the perimeter set up by the military, and she tells him that Sam is taking care of it. Dawn doesn’t offer up specifics, but her eyes start to dart to the cement factory looming in the distance.
Dawn warns Barbie not to mistake her letting him go as a sign of weakness. If they meet again, the reunion won’t be pleasant. Since it’s obvious Barbie now knows Dawn’s exit strategy, there’s bound to be a showdown before the credits roll.
The End of the Kinship
Barbie leaves, and Junior arrives. Dawn knows who he is because she’s retained Christine’s memory. Junior’s covered in blood, and Dawn questions what kind of mischief the little scamp has been up to. He says he did what he needed to do to be by her side; he killed Sam. Junior says that he did it for her and the kinship.
Dawn isn’t super concerned about the kinship. She says their rebirth was compromised when Big Jim destroyed the egg. Dawn plans to use Christine’s maps to find the other eggs and start fresh. She’s going to do things the right way, under a new dome. Dawn throws around the pronoun “we,” but I’m not certain Dawn is fully committed to their relationship.
The Dome Comes Down
Everything is set to go. Joe and Norrie just need to scurry back to the radio tower to make sure the transmitter doesn’t overheat. There’s just one small problem. Norrie is an integral part of the device. She’s one of the four hands and saw the pink stars.
Not sure exactly what’s going to happen to Norrie, but Dawn promises the truculent teen will be full-on kinship when it’s all over. Joe tries to protest, but he doesn’t get too far. What choice do they have? Norrie kisses him, tells him she loves him no matter what happens and marches towards her fate hand in hand with Dawn.
Hunter reports via walkie-talkie that time is running out. The transmitter is overheating and shooting sparks. It’s now or never, baby. But it’s Joe who takes his girlfriend’s place at the last minute. This was Dawn’s plan all along.
So the big moment everybody has been waiting for occurs. There’s a blast of purple light, the sky lights up and the dome disappears. Poof!
There’s a few loose ends to tie up, especially since UTD writers never did figure out how to quit while they were ahead.
The military immediately swoops in and starts taking people, including Norrie.
Big Jim and Julia, who were hiding in the woods with a gun, are discovered by Junior, who stops his dad from shooting Dawn. Father and son start to tussle, leaving Julia to take off after Dawn, who has fled the scene.
Parental Guidance Suggested
Big Jim and Junior are in a fight to the death, and even though Jim begs his son to stop, Junior is hell bent on on finishing his dad off. Junior swears he won’t give up, “they” never will. So Big Jim stabs him. Big Jim may be down one son, but he’s still got his dog.
As I predicted, Barbie is waiting for Dawn at the factory. As she crossed a huge chasm on a very flimsy looking board, Barbie steps out of the shadows. First, she pulls the kinship card, feigning disbelief that Barbie would risk destroying everything that he and Eva worked for. When that doesn’t work, she reminds him that she’s his daughter, and that whatever is in him, is in her too. Barbie says he’s willing to destroy the darkness that exists within them both to save humanity.
He steps on the board, and it’s obvious that the thing is about to bust. Dawn calls Barbie dad and tells him she loves him, but Barbie isn’t interested in any more father-daughter bonding, so he jumps on the board, it snaps, and they both fall.
Julia shows up and discovers that Barbie had an escape plan, a sturdy chain he managed to grab hold of to pull himself up out of the abyss.
Outside the Dome
Barbie and Julia don’t have much time to celebrate, because as they exit the plant, they’re surrounded by the military.
After receiving a Silkwood shower, Barbie and the others are interrogated by the military. The government has no intention of going with the body-snatching aliens, pink stars and other nonsense.
Barbie, Big Jim, Lily, Hunter and Norrie are presented with an alternative explanation. The dome was a science experiment gone terribly awry, and it’s all Aktaion and Hecktor’s fault. Those who show no signs of alien infection are free to go about their lives as long as they agree to keep their mouths shut and stick to the government’s account of what happened, it’s all good, but if they blab…..
The rest of the townspeople are “safe” and being held until a cure is found. With Dawn dead, they don’t pose much of a threat. Other than maybe flinging themselves out of windows.
Big Jim strikes a deal to be the official dome spokesperson. For an undisclosed amount of “compensation,” he’ll make sure the public buys what the government is selling.
One Year Later
Julia and Barbie are very much a couple. They’ve gone all Kerouac. They’ve been off the grid, cruising the highways on Barbie’s dream motorcycle. The two are out camping, and Barbie’s just about to propose, when Big Jim, with Indy in tow, pulls up and busts up their romantic moment.
While the happy couple have been blissfully banging their way across country, Big Jim has been elected to Congress. Lily is his chief of staff, and Jim got Hunter a job at the NSA.
Big Jim shows Barbie and Julia video footage of Dawn, presumably thanks to Hunter. While Julia and Barbie may have been convinced that she was dead, Jim was not. Jim claims to have seen enough bad movies to know, if you don’t have a body, they ain’t dead. Big Jim isn’t about to get “domed” again, so he’s been keeping an eye on things.
Big Jim isn’t the only one poking around. Norrie, having enlisted in the military, has been doing some investigating of her own. She manages to gain access to some top-secret facility where she discovers Joe, who appears to be alive and well. Norrie promises to tell the others and find a way to help him.
The episode ends with three young kids huddled around something. They are interrupted by their teacher, Dawn, who has been taking her pupils on field trips in order to help her locate another egg. And sure enough, the closing shot is of a perfectly intact egg.
So that’s it, folks. Take this information and be sated. I’m still bummed that Happy Endings got the axe. But if Boy Meets World and Full House can get a second chance, maybe Under the Dome can too.
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer in the entertainment field since 2012. In addition to currently writing feature articles for Screen Rant, Jennifer has contributed content ranging from recaps to listicles to reviews for BuddyTV, PopMatters, TVRage, TVOvermind, and Tell-Tale TV. Links to some of Jennifer’s reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.
