TV Review: UNDER THE DOME: Season 3, Episode 6: Caged [CBS]

CBS‘ Under the Dome Caged TV Show Review. Under the Dome: Season 3, Episode 6: ‘Caged’ was just frustrating, for the most part; but managed to salvage some progressive, last minute momentum. Much of that came from a bit of bloodletting; but, hey, it wouldn’t be too far off base to recommend more blood be spilt – not for shock value, or morbid entertainment value, but just to cull some of the mad cow out of the cast.

On the herder side of things, Christine (Marg Helgenberger) & Eva (Kylie Bunbury) had each resolved to hide in plain sight; serendipity-do-da, as it turned out, as that course pretty much put the writing on the wall, for Julia’s (Rachelle Lefevre) inevitable intervention attempt on Barbie (Mike Vogel).

Along the way, however, Christine had gotten a bit of comeuppance – not just in the form of being delivered to Aktaion, by Julia, but in having to verbally spar with fellow captive, Big Jim (Dean Norris). It was a nice try, attempting to interject a Collectivist vs Individualist argument to their discourse; but simplifying the simplistic doesn’t help.

For all his dispassionate evil scientist dealings, Dr. Marston (Frank Whaley) missed the point about not allowing persons, being held against their will, access to thinly edged objects; but then, Aktaion has not been the most competent staffer. Even after a major breech, the far bank was left unsecured – allowing Barbie to do the very thing that got Jim nabbed; the security detail once again abandoned the principle; once the shooting started; and a supposed professional took an inexplicably long pause, after getting a primary threat in his sights. Throw in the inoculation of Barbie, against the Julia’s reveal, and the Aktaion outpost subplot came to a pretty flat end.

Back at the Dome-icle, the headless chickens phase, of UTD’s Body Snatchers arc, didn’t quite live up to expectations. It was bad enough, that the Dome Drones literally stood-in-place – waiting for Christine’s next order – but the whistling thing was more annoying than creepy. At least going full ‘Lollipop Guild’ would’ve had some ironic value. Worse than whistling witless: Junior (Alexander Koch) was left in permanent Bad Lieutenant mode. As comical as it usually is, watching Junior play authoritarian, his pushing Joe (Colin Ford) around was just really annoying. I won’t comment on how he handled Julia. His manhandling of the pair did serve to formalize a resistance movement, however; but the very first act of resistance was of dubious merit.

In ‘hey, Norrie (Mackenzie Lintz), you got a mom’ news, Carolyn showed up to get her daughter with the program. Once Norrie got a whiff of Kool-Aid off of her, it was decided that stopping Hunter (Max Ehrich) from taking a euthanizing, for the Kinship, was to be that first act.

I say let him go. Not out of any Hunter-hate – I just don’t care if he lives or dies. UTD has done a lousy job of making me actually care about any of these people, so I can stand to see a few go away. The show is hoping to grow up & be a real work of science fiction, someday; but its characters have had their moral/ intellectual values constantly remolded to service the plot. I’d just as soon focus on the plot, then.

Are we supposed to even like some of these people – as in, ever again? Big Jim often gets a pass, I suppose, because he can actually be interesting as a survivor (of good guys, bad guys, and horrible dialog/ scripts). Characters like Junior, on the other hand, weren’t likable to begin with; so why wouldn’t I continue to root against him, after (on top of everything else) he played the top dog of ‘Animal Farm?’

Julia has been useful, thanks to her occasional Nancy Drew moments; but next to Jim, the only regular that has been showing any convincing range is Sam (Eddie Cahill). His trip sideways, after running into would-be suicide, Abby, set him on a sleuthing path of his own; culminating into something of a major payoff. Sadly, Sam, when you come to kill, kill – don’t mortally wound. As satisfying as leaving someone to die can be, that time can also lead to the victim getting help, and naming names. As this was the case – on both counts – I’m hoping that Sam (as the only person, besides Jim, to strike an actual blow) makes it to the resistance.

Unfortunately, this shouldn’t be misconstrued as my soft underbelly, where UTD is concerned. This is just me rooting for something – anything – that gets us past being Under the Drone.

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