Well, that was certainly a much better episode of Under the Dome than last week’s, wasn’t it? In a show filled with so many stupid mysteries – no one cares who the monarch is – it was nice to see UTD tackle a pretty straightforward procedural, in the investigation of Angie’s death.
Near the end of “Infestation,” Under the Dome makes its biblical aspirations pretty clear. Jim gives a eulogy at Angie’s funeral (for some reason), and in recounting the events of the last few days, invokes the plagues of Egypt: Angie represents the death of the first born, the dome blacking itself out last season was darkness, and now they’re dealing with a scourge of locusts. Well, butterflies, but you get my point.
The monarchs that have taken up residence in Chester’s Mill are multiplying like crazy, and Rebecca Pine warns Big Jim and Barbie that if they don’t torch the crops or treat them with pesticides, they’ll lose their food supply. This is a legitimate concern, but it doesn’t really go beyond “case of the week.” What it does do is show the real agenda behind “Infestation” – this episode isn’t about Angie or caterpillars, it’s really about Big Jim. People say his name about every ten seconds, and he’s bending over backwards to try to be the town’s messiah. The town, meanwhile, has all seemingly come to the same conclusion regarding the dome’s omnipotence. So it looks like season two is going to be pretty religiously flavored, which makes sense given that season one was mainly about mob mentality. It gets to the point that Barbie and Rebecca have to distract Jim so Barbie can take off in the crop duster. Dean Norris does fine work as Jim, and a hero complex is an interesting addition to his budding megalomania.
Angie’s murder, somewhat surprisingly, casts a pall over the entire town. Junior and Joe are on the warpath, and before long Officer Lenny Kravitz Phil has arrested the mysterious woman that Julia and Sam rescued last week (also, Sam turns out to be Junior’s uncle, which I liked). Alexander Koch as Junior is better at grieving than being menacing, and is actually pretty tender (this is, uh, “different” from the book).
Colin Ford as Joe McAllister doesn’t fare so well. For much of the episode he overacts like a theater camp kid, and I think it might have something to do with his seemingly selective chemistry. Barbie and Norrie: yes. Junior and Julia: no. Whatever the case, I don’t blame director Ernest Dickerson, a veteran of The Wire and Dexter.
Ultimately, the girl is proven innocent, because Julia and Sam found bruising on Angie’s body fitting a man’s hand. By the end of the episode, Junior is starting to think that he’s the killer. All told, this was a solid episode, but it stumbled near the end, shoehorning in a fight between Julia and Barbie, just so the show can drive them into the respective arms of Rebecca and Sam. I don’t need everything to be status quo all the time, but try not to show your hand so plainly, Under the Dome.
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