"Thicker Than Water" is the eighth episode of Under the Dome, airing on CBS on 12 August 2013.
The episode was written by Adam Stein and directed by Jack Bender.
Synopsis[]
Barbie, Linda, and Big Jim try to take back control of the town’s main water supply from Ollie. Junior stands up to his father and is shattered when he discovers the truth about his mother’s past. Meanwhile, Julia learns firsthand the powers of the "mini dome."
- "Chester's Mill is a place like any other. At least it used to be. Until we were cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious Dome. Invisible; indestructible; and completely inescapable. We don't know where it came from or why it's here, but now that we're all trapped under the dome together, none of our secrets are safe."
At the Rennie residence, a sound wakes Rennie in the night; he pulls a gun from his bedside table and heads downstairs to discover his son. Rennie accuses Junior of stalking Angie McAlister and murdering Clint Dundee, insisting that his son is not in his right mind before disowning Junior.
That morning at the McAlister residence, Barbie digs a grave in the front yard, and discusses with Julia the coincidence of Alice's death and Harriet's daughter's birth occuring in the same house on the same day. Inside, Angie chides Joe for not stocking up on food, and Joe demands to know where Angie has been since Dome Day; Angie brushes off the question and the two head for the Sweetbriar Rose, while Norrie refuses to join them.
At the diner, Angie serves coffee to Julia before Rennie arrives, and Angie informs him that Junior visited her the previous night. He assures her that Junior will not approach her again, and Angie suggests restocking the diner in order to open it for business again. Rennie agrees to talk to Ollie. In the dining room, Julia spots Joe drawing a sketch of the miniature dome and the egg it contains before Joe balls up the page and throws it away.
In the forest, a gust of wind exposes the miniature dome, and streaks of pink appear in the surface of the egg.
At the Dinsmore farm, Rennie arrives to find bodyguards outside, and offers more propane to Dinsmore in exchange for water and food for the town; Ollie declines the trade. He explains that he will gladly let the townspeople go hungry for a time in order to expose Rennie's lack of power, and that he then intends to replace him as Councilman.
At the town hall, Linda and Barbie arrive to find Junior in Duke's office, and Linda puts Junior on probation for the death of Clint Dundee. Rennie arrives moments later, and informs Linda that he intends to invoke eminent domain in order to seize Dinsmore's property.
At the McAlister residence, Julia, Joe and Angie return with food, and Joe attempts to console Norrie; she insists, however, that her mother died because the two of them touched the miniature dome, and orders Joe to leave her alone.
At the Dinsmore farm, Rennie returns with Linda, Barbie, Junior and Carter, but the group is quickly surrounded by half-a-dozen trucks of Ollie's men. Ollie challenges Rennie's authority, refuses to turn over his land to the township, and orders Carter away from his well; when Carter refuses to move, one of Ollie's men shoots him in the kneecap. Linda draws her gun, but Barbie urges her to stand down before rushing to Carter; Junior, however, offers his allegiance to Ollie, taking his father's sidearm as Dinsmore orders Rennie and the deputies off his property.
At the McAlister residence, Joe admits to Julia that Norrie blames him for Alice's death, but insists that he's never felt a connection like he did with Norrie when they found "the egg." Julia insists that Joe show her to the miniature dome.
Outside the town hall, Rennie, Linda and Barbie return after dropping Carter off at the Clinic. Against Linda and Barbie's advice, Rennie insists that they round up additional support for another visit to Dinsmore's property. Rennie leaves to find volunteers, while Linda explains to Barbie that Dinsmore's well drew all of the water away from several other wells and reservoirs in town, and Barbie proposes blowing up Ollie's well in order to distribute the water again.
At the Sweetbriar Rose, Rennie rallies dozens of armed townspeople, including Phil. Linda and Barbie arrive soon after to propose their own plan, but Rennie rejects destroying Dinsmore's well in favor of an armed incursion to secure the property. Linda agrees to stall Rennie while Barbie attempts to blow up the well on his own.
At the Dinsmore farm, Junior explains that his father kicked him out, and Ollie offers to make Junior his "number two." Ollie then reveals that the car crash that killed Junior's mother had not been an accident, but a suicide. Junior accepts Ollie's offer, asking only that Ollie not kill Rennie so that Junior can do it.
In the forest, Joe leads Julia to the miniature dome, where they find the egg inside glowing with pink streaks. Julia touches the invisible barrier, and sees a vision of a second copy of Joe, who tells her that "the monarch will be crowned."
Hurrying out of the forest, Julia explains her vision to Joe, who admits that he and Norrie saw a vision of Alice the previous day prior to Alice's death; Joe then worries whether something bad is going to happen to him.
At the Dinsmore farm, Barbie sneaks onto the property and enters a barn where he constructs a makeshift bomb out of ammonium nitrate and gasoline.
At the McAlister residence, Angie heads to her room for fresh clothes and finds Norrie, who confesses that she was on her way to the Second Horizons camp when the Dome appeared; Angie admits that she has also spent time at the camp. Angie asks Norrie if she has visited New York City; Norrie admits that she has, and Angie explains that her collection of snowglobes are souvenirs from friends because she has never left Chester's Mill. Outside the house, Angie and Norrie shatter the entire collection against the invisible barrier, but Norrie breaks down crying when she finds a Los Angeles snowglobe, insisting that her mother is dead because of her.
That night at the Dinsmore farm, Rennie's battalion approaches the property under cover of darkness, while Barbie clandestinely plants his explosives at the well. When Rennie's battalion comes under fire as they enter the property, and a firefight ensues in which five men are killed and Phil is wounded. Barbie is caught by Wendell, but disarms the man and grapples with him before breaking away and detonating the explosives, destroying Dinsmore's well. Dinsmore's men pull back as Rennie's battalion retreats, and Junior arrives moments later, knocking his father unconsious with a blow to the head.
Inside the Dinsmore residence, Rennie insists that he didn't destroy the well even as Ollie's men abandon the property. Ollie leaves Junior alone with his father.
On the road, Joe and Julia encounter Linda as she rushes Phil to the Clinic.
At the Dinsmore residence, Junior holds Rennie at gunpoint, and Jim admits that his wife deliberately crashed her car into a tree after the two of them fought; he confesses that Perkins helped him to cover up the truth, and that they paid a witness to lie about the incident because Rennie didn't want his son to know that his mother had chosen to leave them. Ollie intervenes, nearly shooting Rennie before Junior shoots and kills Dinsmore and returns Rennie's sidearm.
Outside the McAlister residence, Julia and Joe return to find Norrie standing over the grave, and Norrie hugs Joe, apologizing.
At the town hall, Rennie drinks in his office as Barbie blames him for the deaths of five townspeople; he explains that the reservoir is filling again, and suggests that Rennie had intended to take control of the well not for the good of the town, but as a means of controlling the town. Rennie suggests that Barbie not make him an enemy, but Barbie counters that Jim ought not make him an enemy either. Downstairs, Junior confesses to Linda that he killed Dinsmore because Dinsmore intended to kill Rennie.
At the Shumway residence, Barbie joins Julia in bed as she asks him what "the monarch will be crowned" might mean.
Outside the McAlister residence, Joe and Norrie sit beside Alice's grave, and are watched by Angie, who wears a tattoo of a butterfly on her left shoulder.
At the Shumway residence, Julia repeats the cryptic message: "the monarch will be crowned."Cast[]
Starring[]
- Mike Vogel as Dale Barbara
- Rachelle Lefevre as Julia Shumway
- Natalie Martinez as Linda Esquivel
- Britt Robertson as Angie McAlister
- Alexander Koch as Jim Rennie, Jr.
- Colin Ford as Joe McAlister
- Nicholas Strong as Phil Bushey
And[]
- Dean Norris as Jim Rennie
Guest Starring[]
- Mackenzie Lintz as Norrie Calvert-Hill
With[]
- Leon Rippy as Ollie Dinsmore
Co-Starring[]
Reviews[]
- "I can hardly wait 'till we go down. To the. Well.," by Matt Fowler at IGN.com
- "Like a Kick in the Teeth," by Frances Roberts at DenofGeek.com
- "Without Much Substantial Payoff," by Joseph Kratzer at WhatCulture.com
- "War Inside the Dome," by Laura Aguirre at ScreenCrave.com
See also[]
Under the Dome Season One episodes • (S2) |
"Pilot" • "Into the Fire" • "Manhunt" • "Outbreak" • "Blue on Blue" "The Endless Thirst" • "Imperfect Circles" • "Thicker Than Water" "The Fourth Hand" • "Let the Games Begin" • "Speak of the Devil" "Exigent Circumstances" • "Curtains" |