Under the Dome - Recap: Water We Going To Do?

Much like last week's "Blue on Blue", "The Endless Thirst" depicts Chester's Mill as a town edging closer to full-on hysteria, as panic sets in once it becomes apparent that the town has no source for drinkable water, after a supply truck accidentally crashes into the water tower. To make matters worse, the lake from which the tower had drawn its water has now been rendered undrinkable due to a ruptured gas line that has polluted the water with methane and dead fish. So it stands to reason that the town would collectively lose its mind. As Julia (Rachelle Lefevre) asks, "What happens when we run out of everything?" It's a question people should have been asking in a more direct fashion than they have been, because there are issues beyond the water. Diner/inn owner Rose (Beth Broderick) is murdered for the meet in her freezer, while Norrie (Mackenzie Lintz) and Joe (Colin Ford) resort to breaking into the homes of diabetics to swipe insulin for Norrie's mother. Chaos has set in as supplies dwindle, and this allows the series to keep the momentum it built last week by continuing to tighten the figurative noose around Chester's Mill. As panic reaches dangerous highs, things stand to get worse before they get better, which is a good thing for viewers, as this promises plot movement instead of stagnation.

One of the bigger stories of the episode is the gradual unraveling of Barbie (Mike Vogel), who starts to lose control after being deputized by Linda (Natalie Martinez) in order to deal with the increasingly-hostile populace. Riots break out at the local store as supplies dwindle, with people getting into all-out fist fights over bottles of water and other provisions. In his attempt to keep people under control, he nearly loses it while subduing an aggressive rioter. Thankfully, Linda is there to bring him back from the brink, but she unfortunately can't be at all places at once. When Angie (Britt Robertson) escapes from Junior (Alexander Koch), bashing him in the head with a snowglobe upon realizing that the missile didn't kill them all, she hides in Rose's diner and confesses what Junior and Big Jim (Dean Norris) did to her. As if on cue, in comes a murdering pair of brothers who kill Rose for the provisions in her diner, while threatening to rape Angie. In comes Barbie, who witnesses the scene and springs into action, straight-up killing one of the brothers by strangling him to death while the other escapes. Without another person there to keep him from going too far, Barbie gives in to his more aggressive impulses, and it's a stark characterization for someone who is frequently presented as being exactly what he appears to be, from a personality standpoint.

But there are other stories set within the chaotic context of the town riots, as Julia and Dodee (Jolene Purdy) search for the source of a signal that's jamming all radio frequencies in town. As it turns out, the source is Joe and Norrie themselves, as the teens confess the truth about their seizures, prompting Julia to swear Dodee to secrecy, since she fears what Big Jim would do if he knew how vital the teens are to the mystery of the dome. For example, the jammed frequencies cease once Norrie and Joe touch the dome together, and while no one has an answer for why this happens, it's apparent that Norrie and Joe have a special connection to the structure. But then, Norrie isn't really thinking about all of that, since her mother is fighting for her life in the hospital after her insulin runs out. The hospital has no extra insulin, and so Norrie looks up the files of other diabetics in town, and tracks down their addresses, hoping that they'll have insulin she can steal. While one man reveals that he already took his last dose, and isn't long for this world, the other house the teens break into reveals a little diabetic boy left home alone by his mother, who went to the store for supplies. Norrie opts not to steal all the boy's insulin, but in her desperation, she takes one bottle. It's one of those scenarios that illustrates how desperate circumstances further shade the presumed black-and-white morality of life-or-death situations. I liked the choice, if for no other reason than that it made Norrie feel like more of a three-dimensional, independent character. She saves her mother, for now. But at what cost?

On the subject of cost, Big Jim is still attempting to establish his hold on the town by solving the water crisis, confronting local farmer Ollie Dinsmore (Leon Rippy) about possibly getting access to an artesian well on his land. This was a natural direction for the story to take, but it's the least compelling of all the major storylines, as Big Jim continues to try and flex his muscle around town, to no avail. But things take a more interesting turn once the water crisis is actually resolved -- by, of all things, the dome itself. It starts raining exclusively inside the dome, due to what Dodee describes as an eco-climate native to the structure itself. Julia isn't quite sold on that explanation, however, stating that she thinks the dome is responding to their needs -- either that it has a consciousness of its own, or that outside forces are reacting to the needs of the people inside the dome. Either way, Julia doesn't believe it's as cut-and-dry as Dodee's would-be scientific explanation. But hey, it's raining, so why not enjoy it? You know, by making out with the guy who killed your husband? It was inevitable that Barbie and Julia would hookup, and their romantic involvement ups the ante for when Julia learns what really happened to her husband, Peter. But it just seems so sudden and out of the blue for the characters, at this stage in the game. But then, there doesn't really need to be much more of a reason for two good-looking characters to hookup than the fact that they're two good-looking characters. So...point taken, Under the Dome.

As the episode comes to a close, Angie finds herself back in Big Jim's house after Barbie rescued her from the diner. He explains that he has no intention of forcing her to stay. He simply wants to make an arrangement, to essentially buy her silence by offering her whatever she wants or needs. In essence, he's offering her not only his "word," but also his "friendship". If she keeps quiet, he'll personally make sure Junior never bothers her again, in addition to making certain her brother is kept safe. However, Angie has a hard time simply forgetting what Junior did to her, and is uncertain whether she wants to enter into this partnership or not. Cue Junior, who comes in from the rain and discovers Angie and his father having a discussion about him. If Angie hasn't made her choice to accept already, she'd better make it soon. Those Rennie eyes look vaguely murderous.

"The Endless Thirst" builds on last week's solid outing. The show is steadily rebuilding the confidence engendered by its first two episodes, and while I don't think this is going to be outstanding television any time soon, it's at least compulsively watchable. And in a summer series, that's all I'm really asking for. Although, given the show's second-season renewal, I worry about how the show is going to further extend the premise of Stephen King's novel. They can't stay under the dome forever...right?