Hobo.PassingThru

For a better perspective, Junior was first shown in bed with his then-girlfriend right before she dumped him. He's immature and cah-razy but he's not a kid, kid (His girlfriend though, she looked like a kid, kid). Then he kidnapped her and held her hostage for (days? a week?) How long did that happen? I thought it was weeks that he had her down there. But, no she was locked up and ended up getting killed in what? Two weeks or less? Yikes. Anyway, regardless of chronology, for the show to have an older, creepy woman (or alien woman) seduce Junior isn't as shocking as how Junior himself was introduced in the show. At least the Space Cougar used lube!

Now that you mention it, that is ridiculous.

One thing--among many-- that I don't get is if the idea of this episode was about aliens, or whatever is controlling the townsfolk, are trying to reproduce. That really makes little sense since the humans don't have enough food to survive. There are competing interests. Do you want more under the dome or fewer under the dome? Unless, they give birth to aliens and then the human "parents" become the food? There's two different baby scenarios played out, Suicidal Glugglug got her kid taken from her, Outside of the Dome. Then Escaped Convict, Murderin' Sam, the Guidance Counselor jumps off the wagon and on top of her because, the time was so right, right? And, Ava thought she was pregnant. But, isn't. So, you know Barbie is gonna try and knock her up. Because their one year of imaginary love that took place in a day or two was just that powerful. Also... When Christine showed up jogging towards Camping Junior, that was as ridiculous and predictable as Construction Foreman Junior clashing with the guy who had 5 years of construction experience. When Christine shed her shirt because she was too sweaty, asked for some Junior Wear and Junior provided a long sleeve shirt, which see gleefully wore before tossing her shed shirt and then jogging off, I was like, what's the point of teasing? It was just the two of them down by the lake. She should have cougared up and jumped his bones then.

ottoDbusdriver that is a hilarious summation. All I can add is "It's only been three weeks!" and that ghost of Drownsie was probably watching and doing a little, slow David Lynchian shimmy in that nightgown. Oh yeah. Now that Fivehead is back to her normal self- hating everyone and complaining, does this mean the bangs go?

I see. Then I missed that. I don't know if I could take it if the reason is Chekov's E-cig.

Keep in mind he also has that scarring on his shoulder. He didn't want to talk about that either. Now, it is certainly possible it isn't related to whatever his buddy was referring. But, given how the Paul character seems to be the least focused upon, it makes it seem like every little thing about him is important to figuring out his hidden past. Speaking of hidden pasts, all of the characters seem to have one or more dark secrets. The thing is it would be cooler if those secrets came out during the course of events which advance the story. One thing I am wondering is what if Ray's son is not his wife's son. What if somehow Ray may or may not be the father and somehow the kid's real mom is out of the picture? The paternity test threat would still be real to Ray but that situation would be more of a twist than his ex-wife having a fling or the child being the result of that rape. Something about her and Ray's street corner argument seemed off enough to make me wonder that. And then there is Antigone. Perhaps it is the result of her beat (but I doubt it) she's kind of obsessed with prostitutes. She led that raid into that house expecting prostitution and was disappointed but then found her sister and mad at her. That made sense. But, then there was a scene where she jumped to a conclusion something involved prostitutes and was again disappointed when she found out it was not about that. Oddly enough, of the three, Paul seems to have lots of contact with prostitutes. For a motorcycle cop, a highway patrol cop, it seems kind of odd that he is traveling in those circles. Whereas, Antigone can't find a prostitute to save her sanity and Ray almost seems asexual right now (n the great car conversation with Antigone*, he said he has "body issues" right now, didn't he? Well, after being shot in the gut, I can't see his body issues going away) Obviously, all of the other peripheral characters, and Frank, have some defining secrets. It's almost too bad that stuff couldn't have been put up front and center for each of the main characters. Establish them properly by giving them each half-an episode and breakdown the mystery in the other half. Or, maybe it could have all been done in the first episode. And, I guess it sort of was but not well enough to make people care. I mean it was cool that the three cops came together at the end of the first. But, if that had happened at the beginning of the second instead of the story of the basement rats, it would have been more engaging. And, one thing about Ray. We saw him drinking and smoking himself to near death in Episode One. In Episode Two, he commented on Ani e-smoking (?). But, I don't recall him smoking at all and he drank water during that booth meeting with Frank. Then by this episode his dad was the one who was the hard drinker, smoker (?) or at least toker. However, Ray did smoke during Episode 3 and this was after seeing that x-ray of his chest (was that cancer?). Just an odd character inconsistency. Rust Cohle smoked constantly in comparison to Ray. * the car conversations have been great. Both Ray and Paul don't like e-cigs at all and razzed Ani for using it. Those conversations are one of the tropes that worked well in Season One and Two. It allows for characters bonding or not bonding.

That's a very good point. The dome did seem to take the long way around in making its plan work. It seems like if the dome had just zapped everyone who was underneath it, it could have done a lot in a short amount of time. If it did not zap all of them at once then it could have zapped some people, maybe select a group from day to day and week to week. That absolutely ridiculous that the prey/ those converts had to do so much to have their minds controlled. And, in the end, the dome didn't really discriminate between many people. Maybe Joe's "best friend", the skateboarding kid, who disappeared for a year, only to pop up again once in a while to see Drownsie, got killed because he threatened the Dome's agenda, or Drownsie's purpose. But, Drownsie got killed, too. Actually, I've lost track of all the people who got killed. That Christina did say she wanted Big Jim killed but that is a difficult task for any of those morons to accomplish. For as many who've been killed, how many were almost killled, or very, badly wounded. and are still around? Silly. For a moment in the latest episode, I thought they were going to make the argument that this is not only an alien thing but that Barbie's dad was behind it and aware of the consquences or something....I don't know. it was only a moment where it seemed like others knew more about what was going on than we ever will.

Well, that is why it was bizarre. He was shown as the character who was in this position of authority, knowing what he was talking about, when in fact, he was a boozing, conniving murderer. I know that in a way, Big Jim did the exposition on that. BJ (ha!) said that everyone changed. But, for everyone to believe they changed is just silly. It makes sense for BJ and Julia to be completely grounded in reality (and for that dog, too) but the show makes it seem goofy that all of the main characters believe the VR was real. Now, as I wrote that I began to consider that it all makes sense: mass delirium where somehow detailed, life experiences are known to all who were in the cocoons. But, that Queen Butterfly Bee Lady (Christina?)...when she an Ava/Eva weren't busy posing to show us their fit bodies, she seemed aware of what was going on. So, Christina and Drownsie knew what was going on Eva/Ava sort of knew what was going on but was deluded and willing to believe the VR. Nuts The problem is the show doesn't convince me that this is even happening. We're the ones who are Under the Dome, people! It is us!

Sam--the medic brother of the painter/mom of Junior. He specifically spoke to that group by saying that when he "was in prison" as if he expected all assembled to go, oh, yeah! You were in prison for a year...which coincided when you were re-introduced to the town less than "3 weeks ago."

It is one of the most ridiculous shows and this episode was perfectly absurd. If I had to admit why I still watch it it is because of reading comments from people who read the book spoiling it for me. However, the thing about watching this show is that I forget almost every previous episode except for bits and pieces but I can watch a new episode and know what is going on. That lasts up until the point I realize that I have no idea what's going on in the show. Every time they do the opening and they say "three weeks ago", I lose it. I just laugh. Then to say that on top of that, they were in suspended animation believing they lived a year of their lives? Wow. Part of why I didn't watch "Lost" is because it seemed like they were so desperate to tell a story that they threw everything into the pot and mixed it up, realized another season was coming up and tossed in even more stuff. For Big Jim to just decide, well, the house got burned down (and we're all Under the Dome) I'm going to get as far away from that source of smoke as possible (Under the Dome) and go to an island to be alone (Under the Dome). Oh, hey, here's a dog who has claimed me as his master (Under the Dome). Then there's Junior. He's lamenting losing a fantasy life? His ex-girlfriend who he was stalking on died and he has gone from mourning her AND mourning his back from the dead mom who never died until she died (Under the Dome). And, Junior is mourning not being Che Guevera and riding his motorcycle across Eurasia? Somehow all of those people forgot about the entrance/exit in the lake? You would think one of those big brains would try to go back to the outside world through the exit. When Barbie went back to being (Under the Dome) I knew this show would never figure out how to end. So far, yeah. Nothing that happens on the show means anything. As far as we know they are all in the egg now. It's the stupidest show I've ever watched and I can't stop watching. I feel smarter and saner through the rest of the week. Yeah. Why didn't any of the other characters ask her about that either? She wore normal clothes while she tried to act normal, right? But, once she went all loop-de-loo, back to the nightgown.

Perhaps I am very wrong with looking at recurring, potential visual symbolism. It seems to me that the overhead shots of the highways might be symbolic. Each part of that mess of roadways lead somewhere, right? I really do believe that they are presenting a very convoluted picture in the early episodes and eventually it will be be more apparent and what we see will make much more sense. Do I wish the bureaucratic/ criminal situation were clearer? Yes. I really do. But, I can't expect it to become and stay more confusing. That would be like relying on 8 episodes filled with cheap thrills. I can't see that being the case here. A David Lynch series, yes. I could see cheap thrills in abundance for the upcoming Twin Peaks.

I haven't read all the newer comments but I want to know is there Speculation thread set up. Or how does a Speculation thread get set up? There was this "analysis" of the series so far using Egyptian mythology/ Ancient Egyptian practices. The analysis is informative but it is not an article; it is a comment. Hopefully, it's okay if I link to the comment from another site? I don't want to wholesale cut and quote the guy's thoughts. Nor do I want to commit a faux pas. http://www.aintitcool.com/node/72110#comment-2108695648 If linking to this is wrong, let me know. It seems to be worth a read, like the Yellow King stuff was worth considering (before the first season dropped the ball off a cliff and went home with a plain, ol', inbred, psycho killer.)

That's it! It is about a train project. I actually heard that is based on a real project and the costs they gave in the first episode were right on the money. $68 Million, if I recall correctly. So, it is about a train. And, some how that town stands to make loads of money. How? Especially since I thought it was a passenger train? I don't know. Or, do I? I suppose a passenger train would get lots of people to and from the casino and the jobs in that town. There must be lots of retail businesses besides the bar and the casino. Mask and costume stores?

That's still not outside the realm of possibility. Until the next episode, I'm going to consider that birdman with a gun to be the perverse equivalent of a cuckoo clock bird. It was just waiting to chime at the top of the hour.

I don't get the specifics of the land deal that I thought was the center of the corruption. Maybe I missed something in some of the exposition on the problem the state is looking into. Sure, the "mayor" of a city of 95 residents filled with millions of dollars of business and 70,000 non-resident workers is already suspect. Obviously, it is all about developing the land and getting a piece of any business action. But, specifically?

About those two aspects: It also seemed as if those different divisions were each also either trying to whitewash some aspect of the investigation or just stick it to someone. They each had their own interests just as each of the three detectives were offered unique incentives for producing certain results in the investigation. That is what intrigues me most. At this point, I'm confused as to just how the corruption is working out. It makes sense if the whole town is some form of sham corporation. It makes sense if somehow laws were violated in numerous ways. But, I still don't quite know if it is just one main investigation or 3 or more different angles. If it is more than three angles, in a way, the Frank character is conducting his own investigation. For now, that makes it seem like Frank's hands may be clean of the Caspar guy's murder, especially if he wants the money he gave the guy. If he had the guy killed, why didn't he get the money back, too? But, if he sent someone to threaten Ray then is Frank still somehow complicit in anything dealing with the murder? And, how would messing around that way help him? I guess it will all unravel somehow soon. As complicated as those highways look in the overhead shots of, those are all roads that lead somewhere, right?

You're right. That is what happened. I just don't see what scaring him, like Frank did with that money guy on the highway, would accomplish. Obviously, shooting Ray could steer him from suspecting Frank and instead suspecting someone else is trying to spook him. Though, up until I read this thread, I thought that whole sequence could have been as insane as either the Rick Springfield doctor in a mask or it could have been part of the submissive kinkiness that Caspar guy was into. One thing that (somehow) stood out was the full sink when Ray walked in. It didn't seem to be flowing over yet. So, I got stuck on how someone had been there recently but not recently enough.

Other than the big events comics, I haven't read much of the comic either. What I do know from reading back issues is that The way the show and the current comics are set up is a lamer approach to play off of the Destiny vibe that Batman and Superman have. It isn't needed, in my opinion. [those old comics from the Cold War years had an Accidents Happen gimmick that lead to harsh things resulting in Great Things for people. So, unlike the show or Smallville--there was no gimmick that one event mainly resulted in the universe. That Big Bang theory of why superheroes and supervillains exist is kind of cheap, lazy] The one thing Barry has-- and it is strongly hinted in the show-- is that he's the reason why time travel and alternate Earths are incorporated into the main universe. He is vital. The comics drag that importance through the mud by making him responsible or vital to every little change that happens in the big comics events. So, the season finale makes sense with all the little easter eggs tossed in, like the helmet for the Earth 2 Flash. Barry deals with RF and I don't really know all the crazy villains the Jay Garrick Flash deals with, The Maestro?. But, opening the door to alternate timelines and universes will allow the show to keep it interesting. That's part of why in the 1960s they had Barry meet the older Flash. More story possibilities. The show Smallville realized that way too late and still they made it seem like they were squeamish about superheroes showing up in full glory. That's what's great about The Flash: it isn't ashamed to be a superhero show.

I'm unsure if someone already addressed this as it played out in this episode. But, I'm going to throw it out there anyway. In order for the Reverse Flash to exist in the first place, he really needs The Flash to exist just as much as he needs an ancestor in the early 21st Century. Without The Flash, Eobard Thawne would not be a speedster in the Future. So, we would not have seen the Earth-2 Flash's helmet, Eobard would not have had a vendetta against Barry, he also would not have time travelled to kill either Barry or Barry's mom. So, why it is not completely obvious to him that The Flash needs to exist is baffling. The way the show set it up is that he needs to The Flash to exist for the events in the season finale to play out and for him to be able to return to his proper time. All I think that has occurred is that he basically just took himself out of [the present day] time period...or, maybe Eddie killing himself made it seem like Eobard Thawne no longer existed and he still does, just in his proper future and not at STAR Labs in 2015. The thing is everything else seemed to remain the same after both Thawnes vanished. But, this doesn't mean that Eddie isn't still Eobard's ancestor, and, there's a chance they could reboot Thawne getting stuck in this time period. That would negate him replacing the Real Wells and would leave both Cisco and Barry as definitely knowing what transpired when HarriThawne existed. God. They've painted themselves into a tight corner. But, the one thing that baffles me is that to go back in time to eliminate The Flash is to wipe out Reverse Flash and reduces the chances that the alternate universes will be discovered (or will discover each other). Baffling.

Another paradox is that after Cisco and Ronnie (and perhaps someone else) built the time machine to Wells' specs, Wells ended up saying it is perfect. Then he said that the first person to build a time machine like that was Rip Hunter. Well, that isn't exactly how history went down and in a way Wells ended up changing history right then. Now, there is no proof that the thing worked but if it had worked, you would think it would not have needed the Flash to open up a wormhole so the time machine could wiggle through it. It should have just popped through time on its own perhaps by just opening up a wormhole by itself. I don't know why it happened like that.

I rewatched the finale and the whole episode fell apart. I know what happens will be resolved and explained next season but the cringe-worthy moments are glaring on the second viewing. There are at least two times Caitlen didn't know pop-science facts. That was two times too many. As for the rest of it, I'll accept whatever explanation for the time paradox stuff for now. But, the rest of it was on shaky legs. The thing that burns me more than Cisco just diving in to build a time bubble and doing it with parts laying around the lab, was that Harrithawne didn't do any of this himself. He made that key to reactivate the reactor but even though he was supposed to be faster than the Flash, he didn't try to crack open the wormhole himself nor did he try to build the time bubble himself. He could have. He'd been planning this for 20 years. Wotta procrastinator! I can get the explanation that it took two Flashes to accomplish what Harrithawne needed to do. But, when they had that scene with Barry and Joe on what will certainly become the Cosmic Treadmill, it was like, you're sitting on all you need, dude! And, in a previous episode I think he said he used that to run as fast as he did when he cracked through time the first time, so, why did he have to collide with a molecule in a super-collider to do that again? Stuff like that...

I know what you are saying and that would seem like the direct result of Eddie killing himself. I just think Eobard still exists just in his own time and not there right now. Someone explained it in the I don't know about the parallel timelines aspect being exactly what the show is trying to do but I do think the Reverse Flash character isn't going away. In the comics there's 2 or 3 of them. And, I think since Thawne is the main one then he'll probably continue to exist for some reason and I still believe the show dropped at least one clue as to how he still exists. Part of the reason why is because the timeline has already been changed by Barry. Eddie's death is a blip. If they had taken Eddie's body out of there then there'd be a bigger problem with the story. So, if Barry is still the Flash and he's still at STAR Labs then a different set of events happened to lead to that being true. It may or may not include his mother still being dead. Though if Barry's dad is still in prison that would point to her still being dead. So, I think the case is that Thawne just ceased to exist at that point in time. He was there. He even got off a villain's monologue saying how he had influenced Barry's life. It's all comic booky. And, I'm willing to roll with it until Rip Hunter pops up and explains Everything and ties it up with a bow.

Oh, the science is wacky. There's no doubt about that. And, I don't know a lot about physics or quantum bananas. The reason why I got the notion in my head that Barry's dad got killed in the "new past" is because I thought this timeline was really that different. I do think that one of the key points is that episode[s from March 17th and 24th where Flash goes back in time and then reverses what happened to everyone just a short time before that tidal wave almost struck Central City. In that timeline, a lot of bad stuff happened and then by the next episode didn't happen. Instead of Cisco getting killed by Harrithawne, the changed timeline found that Harrithawne killed that reporter who was going to publish a story about Wells killing Simon Stagg. In the first timeline, that same reporter also told Iris about Wells. Iris also found out Barry loved her/ vice versa and that he's the Flash. Afterwards, it took a while for Iris to learn either thing. Then there's Joe getting taken hostage and the tidal wave. Neither of those things happened in the new timeline. However, when Harrithawne checked with that computer Gideon to see if the "future" changed, the computer said, "Nope. It's all good, boss!" Obviously, something changed. What didn't change is that Barry still became the Flash and went missing in the future, according to the newspaper they showed. So, Barry changed the timeline then. Then when Eddie offed himself and Harrithawne vanished...okay, I got it. Harrithawne just vanished but he didn't cease to exist. Instead he ceased to exist doing what he was doing at that point in time. Why? To go off the deep end of conspiracy, I bet Eddie hooked up with Barry's then girlfriend, got her pregnant and THAT changed EVERYTHING! Now, Eobard is in the future going, "Nuts! I'll get back at you Flash, if it is the last thing I do!" Nine months from now when Eddie Junior is born, Eobard will show back up! j/k (I have no idea what the answers are but I will say rewatch the episodes from March 17 and 24. Everything that got reversed and flipped around, like a sign spinner spinning a sign is shown to us)

Duh! Of course I knew that but I willingly overlooked that bit of silence. Now that you mention it, why weren't there bars on his cell window? It was just a glass window that looked like he could have busted it open at any time. I laughed at that. Do'h! Why was I willing to overlook him in the prison cell? Thanks.

Has anyone else brought up that Barry's dad might be dead in the new timeline? That time travel scene in the finale where the Flash takes Young Barry away has Barry's dad standing right next to Young Barry. Then Young Barry is carried away and the dad vanishes. POOF! Remember, Peeping Tom Flash closed the door when Reverse Flash was stabbing his mom...but what if Reverse Flash also stabbed Barry's dad? [After the stabbing, Peeping Tom Flash opened the door to look over the living room and he sees his dad laying there on his back. His dad is at the very least unconcious. Then he scans to the left to see his mom. So, does anyone remember if in the previous flashback scenes to the murder they ever showed the dad unconscious in that room or did they just show him yelling at Young Barry to get out and then showed him getting arrested?] What I'm wondering is if Shipp does play anyone next season then he might be the Earth 2 Flash [Jay Garrick] and not as just as Barry's dad in flashbacks (no pun intended).