Mother of all Bombs!

This episode, titled “Blue on Blue,” was a decent mix of drama, with touches of romance and melancholy, as the inhabitants of Chester’s Mill are convinced they are all about to die. Obviously, we knew no such thing was ever going to happen, and I don’t mean just those that’ve read the book, but the fact that we’re only halfway through the series. There wasn’t much this time, in the way of character development (Stephen King’s strongest suit in my humble opinion), but we did learn a little more of Barbie’s interesting background, as we discover he once had a very bad experience while serving in the military. Junior isn’t as strong in this one either, but his father, Big Jim, show us what he’s really made of.

There are a huge gathering of butterflies on a section of the dome, which Joe (Colin Ford) wakes Norrie (Mackenzie Lintz) up to go and check out. They are convinced it’s because they are receiving signals from the Dome, directly into themselves. Big Jim (Dean Norris) has discovered a soaked and frightened Angie (Britt Robertson), chained to the bed. His reaction was exactly as I expected it to be, as he tells her he must think — then leaves her alone again, to the sounds of her screaming.

Back outside, Barbie (Mike Vogel) and the two kids, are looking at the butterflies when they suddenly clear at a spot where Barbie tries to touch, revealing a soldier standing there. It appears they are to have visitors at last, but not for the reasons they initially think. News spreads thanks to Julia Shumway’s (Rachelle Lefevre) radio broadcast, and as people start to arrive, Barbie helps out at Sheriff Linda’s (Natalie Martinez) request. Junior Rennie (Alexander Koch) turns up and has a small scene with Barbie, but Barbie simply walks away, after showing his obvious surprise at Junior becoming a cop.


Thanks to the whole world being aware of the Dome, people come out of the woodwork to see the Chester’s Mill inhabitants, and one of them is not exactly a welcome sight. Norrie’s attention is drawn to a man standing outside the Dome with the other visitors. It turns out she’s been lied to by her mothers, as she was told that her father was in actual fact a sperm donor, but lo and behold — he stands before a confused and now angry daughter. Linda’s fiance turns up, and she shares the news of his brother Freddie’s death. Julia is shown a Dear John letter from another outsider, which tells her he’s left her for good. Reverend Lester Coggins (Ned Bellamy) is telling everyone that he’s been hearing the Lord say the word Moab, to him, and he tells Big Jim to confess his sins to the people soon, or he’ll do it for him.

Eventually we learn that Moab is an acronym for “Mother of all Bombs,” meaning the military intend to drop the largest non-nuclear weapon in their vast arsenal, because the Dome is interfering with communications. Big Jim lets Angie go (which I didn’t foresee), and after telling Junior, his son goes after her. He catches a surprised and scared Angie in her bedroom, and together they await their fate. Almost all Chester’s Mill inhabitants are now in the underground tunnels with Beethoven and Skeeter Davis (singing the apt, “The end of the World”), playing on the radio. After the bomb hits, the outside looks like armageddon, and as Jim and Lester face each other, Big Jim does what he does best — survive.

Grade: A

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Angie McAlister (Britt Robertson) Profile

Angie McAlister is independent, and likes to do things her own way. She hooked up with Junior for something to do, and has known him all her life. Her parents were out of town when the Dome came down, leaving her alone with younger brother Joe. She’s been chained up till now, thanks to a jealous and psychotic Junior. Joe has been searching for her since she disappeared. She works at both the clinic and the diner part time. Junior locked her up after seeing her talk to Barbie.