So here we are. The last two episodes of Under the Dome and I literally can’t stop smiling.
In the last episode, the dome begins to shrink and nobody knows why. They just know that the school is the best place to be right now and try to get all the residents together. Unfortunately, Melanie’s condition hasn’t gotten any better and the group figure that it’s because the egg is no longer in the dome.
On top of this, drama enfolds when Rebecca and Julia have an argument about whether the dome is something that can be controlled by Science or is something beyond scientific explanation.
Meanwhile, Barbie finds out about Hunter being a spy for his father and uses this knowledge to get the guards by the wall to bring him his father. Just to ensure that Barbie doesn’t do anything rash, Norrie and Joe tail Barbie.
On the other side of the dome, Big Jim finally believes in his wife and urges her to paint so that she can tell him what is going to come next. However, Junior is the complete opposite. He becomes frantic when he hears that his mother can’t have any more visions and comes down on Big Jim for screwing things up by throwing the egg over the cliff.
Between Julia and Rebecca’s bickering, Melanie coughs up blood and her hair is slowly falling out. Both Rebecca and Julia are clueless about what’s happening. What if she’s just returning to where she came from? The girl HAS been dead for more than 25 years! Anyway, they eventually bring Sam into the equation and he suggests lima beans to replenish her red blood cells. While they search for lima beans, Rebecca donates her blood to Melanie.
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Junior looks through his mother’s old journal in hopes of finding a picture or past vision that will tell him that Melanie will be fine. He finds a picture of two people walking off into a sunset and believes that that must be Melanie and him. Lyle disagrees and says that it’s Pauline and him since they were meant to be together.
When Barbie gets an audience with his father, they both use a second party to relay their messages to one another. Barbie tells his father that if he doesn’t bring the egg back inside the dome, Melanie and himself will die. Barbie’s father is shocked at the news of Melanie still being alive. He’s sure that his only daughter disappeared years ago and demands that Barbie prove she’s alive. Barbie easily realizes that Norrie and Joe are tailing him and, when he exposes them, asks them to show his father a photo or video of Melanie. Barbie’s father complies and asks how he can return the egg. Barbie decides to trust his father since it’s better to have the egg back than be squashed to death.
Melanie is showing improvement and Rebecca is sure that it’s because of the blood transfusion. Still, Rebecca warns that she still doesn’t know how to fully cure Melanie’s condition. Barbie doesn’t care about the fact that she is still very sick; he’s just happy that she’s better than before.
Norrie and Joe search the police station for working walkie talkies so that they can keep in touch with Barbie when they lay wait Barbie’s father. Joe finds a gun and insists that they should carry it with them in case Barbie’s father finds them and tries something. Norrie is against it and, after a while of debating, Joe leaves the gun.
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Meanwhile, Big Jim tries to help Pauline retrieve her visions. He takes up the paintbrush, puts it in Pauline’s hand and uses his hand to help guide hers as they paint together. Eventually, Pauline finds her will to paint independently.
Barbie’s father goes to the park where the egg hasn’t been moved. No one can touch it and it continues to scream. He carefully approaches the egg and picks it up. Surprisingly, it stops screaming and goes back to its black, calm state. However, when he begins exiting the scene, his own men hold him at gunpoint. He instructs his second-in-command to order the men to lower their arms but the second-in-command tells him that he can’t because he’s under someone else’s order. At that point, Barbie’s father realizes that he isn’t the only one with power.
When Melanie’s health begins to further deteriorate, Julia goes to the edge of the dome and begs it to save Melanie’s life.
Back at the Rennie residence, Pauline finally gets a vision on how to heal Melanie. Eight hands must come together (four hands from 25 years ago and four hands from the present) and lay hands on Melanie. Big Jim believes that the dome will reveal the eighth hand and finally trusts his wife’s premonitions. Unfortunately, Pauline doesn’t tell Big Jim about the other painting that won’t stop dripping blood.
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Rebecca’s faith in Science falters when she tries to rationalize Melanie’s condition and Sam tries to comfort her. Big Jim and Pauline show up at the school and tell Rebecca and Sam about the painting Pauline just created and how it might be the answer to healing Melanie.
When they all gather in the woods and place their hands on Melanie, nothing happens. Pauline says that she knew it wouldn’t work since they need eight hands and that without Angie, Melanie won’t make it. Melanie begins to have a seizure. Rebecca comes up with the idea that Melanie can act as the eighth hand; the girl she was in the past and the girl she is in the present. Sam holds one of her hands since he represents her past and Junior holds the other since he represents her present. Surprisingly, it works, and Melanie’s entire body begins to glow purple like the egg. After a while her normal color returns and Melanie seems normal once again. Then a giant hole appears and sucks her down into the ground.
Yes, a giant hole appears out of nowhere and sucks Melanie into the ground like some kind of accelerating quicksand. The gang try to hold on to her but the force is too strong. She disappears down the hole in a screaming flash.
But the fun doesn’t end there. Pauline goes off into the woods and is completely distraught. Big Jim follows her and tries to comfort her. They have a touching moment where they reconcile and decide to forget the past. However, just as Big Jim and Pauline share a heartfelt kiss, Lyle stabs her in the back. Big Jim, completely irate, murders Lyle but doesn’t realize that he’s given Lyle exactly what he wanted: the opportunity to be with Pauline in a way that Big Jim never could.
The finale episode more than just picks up where the last episode left off, it provides the answer to the question residents of Chester’s Mill have been wondering about: how do they escape from under the dome?
After being stabbed, Pauline is still alive and breathing. Unfortunately, the stab wound is too big and without surgery she’ll bleed out in a matter of time. Still, the gang try to save Pauline’s life while also investigating the new hole that has just opened up. Joe, Norrie and Hunter are the first to explore the hole and don’t get too far when an earthquake forces them to turn back.
They tell Barbie about their discovery and he decides that this might be the only chance the town has of escaping the dome. He tries to get the town in teams so that they can all leave the dome without a stampede.
Back in the school, Big Jim is desperately searching for a way to save his wife’s life. Sam tells him that fluids would help buy her time and Jim rushes off to find a saline pack in the town clinic. Meanwhile, Pauline says her goodbyes to Junior and asks him to go get her painting supplies so that he won’t have to see her die. Then Pauline asks Rebecca to end her pain for her by giving her the last dosage of morphine. Pauline asked the right person since Rebecca has been itching to kill someone from the start of season 2.
When Big Jim comes back to the school and finds his wife dead, Big Jim the Murderer returns. He wants to destroy anything in his path and his radar is set on Rebecca after he discovers what she did. Immediately, Sam comes between Big Jim and Rebecca. However, Big Jim overpowers Sam, picks up a hammer and knocks Rebecca in the head, killing her instantly.
On top of all this, the weather in the dome is very unstable and threatens the lives of Chester’s Mill’s residents. Unfortunately, Tom gets stuck in his shed when he turns back for supplies. Julia and Barbie try to help him but have to leave him behind when lightning strikes the barn and electrocutes Tom. They grab his son and head to the hole.
Big Jim has completely lost it now and tries to strike a deal with the dome. He demands that the dome give him back his wife or he’ll go around murdering the Four Hands and the rest of the dome’s “chosen people”. He even goes so far as giving the dome a time limit. When nothing happens, Big Jim burns his wife’s studio and begins his murdering spree.
Meanwhile, the rest of the town are by the hole and ready to leave the dome. Barbie has already broken them into groups and they begin piling into the hole. Julia stays behind with Hunter to make sure that everyone gets through. Suddenly, Julia gets a call from Andrea on her walkie talkie and heads over to her house. When she gets there, she finds Big Jim holding a gun to Andrea’s head and a hammer in his hand. He tells Julia to lower the weapon she picked up at Andrea’s front door. After getting a call from Sam to beware of Big Jim, Big Jim shoots Andrea in the head and turns on Julia. He rushes after her but Julia is a fighter and manages to escape into the woods. She finds Sam and Junior who help her down into the hole and Junior goes looking for his father. He decides that he’s going to end him.
When Junior finds his father, he only waits for a few seconds before putting a bullet in his father’s shoulder and then rushing off to follow Julia. Unfortunately, Big Jim doesn’t go down easily and chases after Junior.
By now the townsfolk are halfway through the tunnel when they realize that the entire cave is filled with monarch butterflies. The gang believe that they must be on the right track but become disheartened when the path they chose leads to a dead end.
Meanwhile, Julia decides to stay back when a physical gap emerges between herself and Barbie. She tells Barbie that he is the one who has to lead the townspeople out of the dome. Barbie agrees with her and promises to come back and get her once everyone is out. Junior meets up with Julia and is dismayed to find that he’s going to be stuck in the dome a little while longer.
When Barbie catches up to the group and learns about the dilemma they’re having, he has no idea what to do. They can’t just walk through a big slab of rock… or can they? Another monarch butterfly appears from nowhere and lands on a spot on the rock. Barbie steps forward and touches the spot where the butterfly was. Immediately, his hand makes a part of the rock turn blue and the rock breaks apart. Behind the rock is a bright light and Melanie! Melanie looks at them, smiles and says, “Follow me. We’re going home.”
It’s a fitting finale, and I enjoyed every moment of it, but there should’ve been at least two more episodes. If this is how the directors choose to end the second season, then that means they’re going to draw out the story into a third season! I’ve enjoyed watching Under the Dome but when exactly is it going to end?
Rating: 8.5/10
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