Episode Report Card Daniel: C+ | 27 USERS: D+ YOU GRADE IT Angie, You Can't Say I Never Tried
By Daniel | Season 1 | Episode 3 | Aired on 07.08.2013
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.“This is a small town,” characters are told repeatedly in the third episode of Under the Dome, generally in the revelation that someone knows someone else's secret. Everybody in Chester's Mill has them, with some of them darker than others, and the darker ones, by and large, haven't bubbled up to the surface yet.
The town deals with the aftermath of the accidental shooting of Policeman Freddy, and the lynch mob that surrounds the town jail is the most excitable the residents have been since the dome came down. It's Big Jim who calms them down and urges them to let the law do its job. Not too well, presumably, given the headaches that would likely cause for him. And the residents get back to normal, which is being largely unconcerned about being trapped inside an invisible dome.
Paul seems to be remorseful about accidentally shooting Fred, but then tricks Linda by faking some sort of asthma attack or panic attack, and when she enters his cell to help, he jumps her and locks her in before stealing a rifle and fleeing, leading to the "Manhunt" title. Big Jim enlists some of the menfolk, urging them to take a break from being homophobic towards Carolyn so they can smoke Paul out of the woods. Barbie comes along too, although Big Jim and Julia are becoming increasingly suspicious of him; Junior has told both of them that Barbie beat him up for no reason, but Junior always kinda looks like he serves a punch in the face, so neither Big Jim nor Julia ask Barbie about it. Julia, becoming increasingly convinced that Barbie was in Chester's Mill for a reason, snoops in his stuff before finding a map of the area with a location on it. Big Jim, meanwhile, is becoming more concerned with being in charge, and — more important — being seen to be in charge. He's boring Barbie to death with football stories from his school when Randolph manages to get the drop on him, only to be felled by Linda, that hardest working cop under the dome or outside it. Randolph may have been helped by the fact that somehow Phil Bushey is narrating the manhunt over the radio in real-time somehow, despite phones not working under the dome. Good job giving away where the search party was over the radio, Phil!
Meanwhile, Norrie has snuck out to Joe's house, because she heard he has a generator, and she's hoping to avail herself of it, because without her tunes she's apparently not the ray of sunshine we've already come to know and love. She neglects to tell her moms where she's going, though, which seems pretty shitty of her. But Carolyn does arrive in time to see Norrie and Joe engage in some synchronized seizuring.
Elsewhere, Angie plays up to Junior and encourages him to check the cement factory where they used to have sex for a way out. Julia — puffing herself up mightily as the one, as a journalist, with the responsibility of finding answers about the dome — follows him, and then they get lost on their way out, giving Julia the chance to explain why she, clearly an awesome journalist, is in a backwater like Chester's Mill. The reason does not make her more sympathetic — in her zeal to take down a politician, she published damning documents that were fake, which she suspected they were. And she doesn't appear to have learned enough as a reporter to use a notebook or some kind of recorder when interviewing someone. Oh, and her news reports on the radio include such great muck-raking dirt as, "Presumably, [the authorities] will keep at it until they get some answers." Nothing makes for good journalism like making assumptions and placing unmitigated faith in authorities! Or maybe she was talking about the audience?
Daniel is a writer in Newfoundland with a wife and a daughter. It's not that hard to portray journalists accurately on television. Not that Aaron Sorkin has figured it out either. Follow him on Twitter (@DanMacEachern) or email him at danieljdaniel@gmail.com.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Over at the radio station, Julia is displaying her killer journalistic chops by delivering another report about how nobody knows anything, including the answers, and caps it with the utterly laughable, “Presumably they’ll keep at it until we get some answers.” Then she has the nerve to wax poetic about the importance of a well-informed society, before looking out the window and wondering where Junior is going in such a hurry. Phil points out that Junior is a councilman’s kid, so “if anyone’s got the inside scoop, it’s him.” That’s debatable, but Julia hustles outside to flag him down and ask where he’s going. Junior says he’s going on a hike, and Julia asks about why he’s got a helmet. “I don’t have to answer your questions. It’s a free country,” he says, and walks away. Jesus, Julia — you’re tougher on the kid than you were on Big Jim himself last night.
At the diner, Rose sits down next to Barbie, tired because she’s down an employee, what with Angie not having been seen since “Dome Day.” Doesn’t appear all that concerned about Angie, really. She asks if Barbie’s comfortable over at Julia’s place, and Barbie looks silently surprised. “Small town, kiddo,” says Rose. “Only gonna get smaller.”
Big Jim comes in to let everyone — i.e. all the people at the dome — about the escaped Paul Randolph, and wants everyone to stay in their homes until further notice. Plus he’s rustling up a search party, looking for able-bodied men to help out. Roger and Ollie volunteer, and Big Jim quietly fills them in on how he’s stolen some provisions and a rifle, so he wants them to get their firearms.
Then Big Jim strolls over to Barbie and formally introduces himself. Barbie does likewise. “Funny name for a fella with your particular expertise,” says Big Jim, and Barbie says nothing. Big Jim asks if he’s a bounty hunter and again, Barbie doesn’t respond. Big Jim does take note of Barbie’s bloody knuckles. Then he fills Barbie in Randolph’s background — former marine, served in Iraq. You mean, someone who shouldn’t have instantly gone batshit? “So, Barbie, you in or out?”
We see Randolph running through the woods, while Phil Bushey is somehow able to tell everyone in Chester’s Mill — and potentially Randolph himself — exactly where Paul’s car was spotted, just as the search party (consisting of just Big Jim, Roger, Ollie and Barbie) pulls up at the clearing in the woods where Randolph left it. Big Jim finds a trail, but Barbie’s located the real one, declaring Big Jim’s find a “dummy trail,” one that someone with Randolph’s military background would never leave. “See, I knew you’d be useful,” says Big Jim, and the four of them head off into the woods.