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S03.E04: The Kinship


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So they come with a storyline about the "Lifeforce" and how Christine, who may be an alien, is able to control everyone and they set up these plotlines of Junior now being forceful and smart, Norrie now being cheerful and cheating on Joe, Ava and Barbie having a deep love connection, Sam being a counselor with his whopping 10? 7? 3? days of sobriety.  And now this storyline is already drifitng away.  Last week ended with Christine proving that she can control everyone, and in this episode, people stop being controlled and go back to their old selves.  She didn't even control them for a whole episode, which is like 8-12 hours in Chesters Mill time.  Well, two (main) people are still being controlled -  Junior, which kind of makes sense, he's always been rather gullible, and Barbie, which makes no sense at all, since he has always been a skeptic.  

 

The tent fire was ridiculous.  And the only way to get to the tent was to jump over a fire that covered a 5 ft by 5 ft area and was about 10 feet away from the tent. They couldn't just run around this side fire, all three had to run through it.  And they miraculously have a fire extinguisher handy.

 

Also ridiculous - Norrie's bite of chocolate.  She hasn't had chocolate in weeks, she is so excited about the chocolate, she eagerly unwraps it, and takes a bite the size of a raisin.  Then puts the chocolate bar down.

 

And so much of the Ava and Barbie scenes were ridiculous - she finds corn kernels and explains how they can plant these now to have food for later and he dumps them out of her hand so they can hold hands as they walk through the devastated fields.  Then he is hanging onto the edge of the silo, and, instead of moving the sharp piece of farm equipment out from under him, she climbs up to help him, yet it looks like he pulls himself up anyway.  There is no way she could pull him up by herself.  The only reason she was up there was so that somehow he could pull himself up with such force that he lands on top of her.  

 

This show has flipped into "so bad it's good" territory for me. When Christine made her move on Junior, I was hoping she would be revealed as a vampire. Close!

 

I think they made an attempt at zombies with Melanie, so why not try vampires with Christine?  

 

But my favorite part?  That Junior's little construction rival is none other then Andrew J. West a.k.a. Gareth the Cannibal from The Walking Dead!  Hilarious.  And I am totally on Team Gareth!  I want him to still be a cannibal and start attempting to roast all the Chester's Mill folks.  It would probably take them a couple of days to even figure out what he is up too.

 

Chesters Mill residents could walk past a human revolving on a spit over an open fire and still not figure it out for days.  

 

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.

 

Since when do people flirt by giving someone their sweaty shirt?  If someone gave me a sweaty shirt, I would have thought, "Gross, you jerk." And then she steals his clean shirt?  

 

Maybe she had to come up with the sweaty shirt plan because she couldn't go with the tried and true throw-someone-into-a-wall plan, because the only wall around was a tent wall.   

 

Junior doesn't seem bent out of shape about the fact that Drownsie is dead either, and they were kissing only a couple of days ago in showtime.

 

In three weeks, his girlfriend died, he discovered his mom was alive, then his mom died, and his second girlfriend died, but Junior's biggest issue is that he doesn't like his daddy.  I think the explanation is that Junior believes that everything that happened in the cocoons really happened and so he has had a year to deal with it.  Actually, this is one of the few times, perhaps the only time, the show has been consistent.  Junior started out as being out of touch with reality and really gullible.  And he still is. 

 

I loved Junior's tutorial on how to take down a wall, which proved his vast knowledge of construction - first you remove the drywall and then you cut the studs with a reciprocating saw.  I think they had him use "drywall" and "reciprocating saw" so he would sound like he actually knew something.  Even people who have never seen HGTV would be able to have Junior's knowledge of wall removal - first you take off the stuff outside the wall then take out the stuff you find inside the wall.  If junior really knew anything about taking a wall down, the first thing he would have said was "first, you make sure it isn't a load-bearing wall, then you check for any electrical wiring or plumbing going through the wall."  And then, after all his talk of using reciprocating saws, he knocks down the post with a sledgehammer.  

 

I wonder why the goo that fixed Hunter's vision and Jr's bullet wound couldn't smooth out some of Marg's botox.

 

Is it the botox that makes her upper lip so weird looking, or did she get bad collagen injections? I really want to know - this intrigues me way too much. I can't take my eyes off her lip whenever she has a close up.

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And then, after all his talk of using reciprocating saws, he knocks down the post with a sledgehammer.  

 

Well he proved that the post wasn't load bearing.  The prop guys had it wedged in there so loosely you could have pushed it over with your finger.

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Junior started out as being out of touch with reality and really gullible.  And he still is.

 

And sadly more annoying as well since he's far more of a whiny emo about it this time around instead of just being a psycho asshole at the start of the series.

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Junior doesn't seem bent out of shape about the fact that Drownsie is dead either, and they were kissing only a couple of days ago in showtime.

Assuming he knows that she was behind him getting cocooned, he probably doesn't have any reason to get too worked up over her death.

 

Really, who would be?

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Assuming he knows that she was behind him getting cocooned, he probably doesn't have any reason to get too worked up over her death.

 

Really, who would be?

 

No one seems to care that they got cocooned to begin with.  In fact most of the main characters are too involved with their OOC lifeforce/relationship drama.

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Loved your entire post needschocolate and agreed with all of it. This show is so badly written and yet I have seen every episode. I don't know why I can't stop watching, LOL

Assuming he knows that she was behind him getting cocooned, he probably doesn't have any reason to get too worked up over her death.

 

Really, who would be?

I'm wondering why no one seems to be curious who put them in those cocoons and more importantly why they were put in there. If that was me, i would want to know why someone/thing had me living a fake existence for what seemed like a year and what was the reason for doing it. Not these lemmings. They just go about their day and don't even seem concerned that whoever did this to them could be coming back to conduct more fun experiments on the citizens of Chester's Mill.

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So they come with a storyline about the "Lifeforce" and how Christine, who may be an alien, is able to control everyone and they set up these plotlines of Junior now being forceful and smart, 

 

I wonder if this season is a sly reference to the awful eighties movie Lifeforce. In it, an very hot looking female alien wanders naked around London seducing men so she can suck the life out of them. Just like Christine! And at one point she is wearing a nightgown and looks and talks kind of like drownsie

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Loved your entire post needschocolate and agreed with all of it. This show is so badly written and yet I have seen every episode. I don't know why I can't stop watching, LOL

I'm wondering why no one seems to be curious who put them in those cocoons and more importantly why they were put in there. If that was me, i would want to know why someone/thing had me living a fake existence for what seemed like a year and what was the reason for doing it. Not these lemmings. They just go about their day and don't even seem concerned that whoever did this to them could be coming back to conduct more fun experiments on the citizens of Chester's Mill.

I'm pretty sure they all know it was Melanie who cocooned them.  I'm assuming Julia told them all off-screen.  Plus, they figured out she killed the Asian guy from the premiere.  So yeah, I'm pretty sure they know she did it to them.  Hence why I'm also sure that Junior's not working himself up over her death because of her putting him in one of those things.

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I'm pretty sure they all know it was Melanie who cocooned them.  I'm assuming Julia told them all off-screen.  Plus, they figured out she killed the Asian guy from the premiere.  So yeah, I'm pretty sure they know she did it to them.  Hence why I'm also sure that Junior's not working himself up over her death because of her putting him in one of those things.

You really think that they believe Melanie was the one who constructed all those cocoons and developed that intricate matrix system? I'm guessing they realize now that Melanie's job was to lead them all there but I'm sure they have to know that she's not the one behind their alternate reality experience and was just a pawn for whoever is doing this to them. I know this group is not the brightest but even they aren't that foolish. Well, not all of them anyway. :)

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You really think that they believe Melanie was the one who constructed all those cocoons and developed that intricate matrix system? I'm guessing they realize now that Melanie's job was to lead them all there but I'm sure they have to know that she's not the one behind their alternate reality experience and was just a pawn for whoever is doing this to them. I know this group is not the brightest but even they aren't that foolish. Well, not all of them anyway. :)

Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure they all know she was involved, which is why I wouldn't be surprised the reason she's barely getting mentioned now is because no one misses her anymore.

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I'm wondering why no one seems to be curious who put them in those cocoons and more importantly why they were put in there. If that was me, i would want to know why someone/thing had me living a fake existence for what seemed like a year and what was the reason for doing it. Not these lemmings. They just go about their day and don't even seem concerned that whoever did this to them could be coming back to conduct more fun experiments on the citizens of Chester's Mill.

 

Just the brain dead townspeople, blindly following a stranger as their new leader, not questioning the fact that they just came out of cocoons.

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(edited)

I'm wondering why no one seems to be curious who put them in those cocoons and more importantly why they were put in there. If that was me, i would want to know why someone/thing had me living a fake existence for what seemed like a year and what was the reason for doing it. Not these lemmings. They just go about their day and don't even seem concerned that whoever did this to them could be coming back to conduct more fun experiments on the citizens of Chester's Mill.

 

I'm surprised they haven't gone down in the tunnels with their construction/demo experts and tried to destroy the cocoons.  Or at least look at them a little more closely to see what they can learn about the cocoons and whatever else is down there.  Or how about sealing the entrance to those tunnels?

 

Why do they think they are safe from the cocoons now?  Just because Melanie is dead?  They really think a girl put them all in the cocoons?  And they are satisfied with just being out of them at the moment?  They should be majorly freaking out, and I don't mean having sex.

Edited by izabella
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I'm surprised they haven't gone down in the tunnels with their construction/demo experts and tried to destroy the cocoons.  Or at least look at them a little more closely to see what they can learn about the cocoons and whatever else is down there.  Or how about sealing the entrance to those tunnels?

 

Why do they think they are safe from the cocoons now?  Just because Melanie is dead?  They really think a girl put them all in the cocoons?  And they are satisfied with just being out of them at the moment?  They should be majorly freaking out, and I don't mean having sex.

 

That's what they should be doing, or anyone with any common sense, but no, they continue to not care while being led around by a complete stranger, not caring about the cocoons or anything else.

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It is just surprising that so far this season no one has been trying to escape the dome. Even Big Jim just took a boat to an island (!) in the middle of what must be a huge lake.

 

As for resources, do you think that lake might have fish in it? There's some food right there, dumb townfolks.

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It is just surprising that so far this season no one has been trying to escape the dome.

 

They stopped caring a long time ago.  Barbie and the new characters fell down the pit to Zenith and then went back under the dome, then most of those characters died and all those storylines went nowhere.

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Just the brain dead townspeople, blindly following a stranger as their new leader, not questioning the fact that they just came out of cocoons.

Cocoons they were led into by blindly following a girl who was dead for the last twenty years, which came after following Barbie and Julia blindly, which came after following Big Jim blindly, which came after....... 

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Just the brain dead townspeople, blindly following a stranger as their new leader, not questioning the fact that they just came out of cocoons.

 

Even if they think Melanie was solely responsible, don't they wonder how it was even possible? It's like they're not even curious about it.

 

It is just surprising that so far this season no one has been trying to escape the dome. Even Big Jim just took a boat to an island (!) in the middle of what must be a huge lake.

 

As for resources, do you think that lake might have fish in it? There's some food right there, dumb townfolks.

 

I think they said last season that the fish got contaminated by that time it rained blood.  That's why they couldn't drink it either.

 

About escaping the dome....didn't they already discover a way to do it? Jump off the cliff and end up in a playground? Did that tunnel close up? Because people can still get into the dome through that door into the lake. 

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About escaping the dome....didn't they already discover a way to do it? Jump off the cliff and end up in a playground? Did that tunnel close up? Because people can still get into the dome through that door into the lake.

 

That dome exit was in a pit in the tunnels under the high school -- and yes, it did close up after the egg was tossed through.  So right now, there's no way out of the Dome.

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This may have been covered in the show (I watch, but can't say I pay much attention.), but doesn't Big Jim know that people are getting in the dome? He was there when Barbie's dad crawled out of the lake and the soldiers that experimented on him were from outside. Weren't they? (He was also probably there when they Toyota snuck that new Prius in.)

 

So, despite knowing the dome isn't impenetrable, he decides to just row out to an island and wait it out?

 

I'm kind of liking Big Jim and Julia as frenemies.

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(edited)

That dome exit was in a pit in the tunnels under the high school -- and yes, it did close up after the egg was tossed through.  So right now, there's no way out of the Dome.

 

Thanks, I knew something like that had happened, but the details slipped my mind.

 

This may have been covered in the show (I watch, but can't say I pay much attention.), but doesn't Big Jim know that people are getting in the dome? He was there when Barbie's dad crawled out of the lake and the soldiers that experimented on him were from outside. Weren't they? (He was also probably there when they Toyota snuck that new Prius in.)

 

So, despite knowing the dome isn't impenetrable, he decides to just row out to an island and wait it out?

 

I don't really remember what Big Jim knows, but I think rowing out to an island to get away from everyone is the smartest thing anyone on the show has ever done.

Edited by KaveDweller
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I think the writers are attempting to explain why no one is investigating anything - they are all under the spell of the Lifeforce, except for Big Jim who is too busy trying to evade the wrath of Junior and getting kidnapped by henchmen and scientists, and Julia, who is too busy trying to hold onto her man of 12 days and keep him out of the arms of a woman he shared a dream with. 

 

Of course, we have now witnessed Christine losing control of many residents and I am sure they will soon start investigating the cocoons, or closing off the tunnel, or building a dance hall,l or calling an appliance store and asking if the refrigerator is running, or watching a hockey game on the radio, or learning to read lips in case their parents go deaf, or constructing a combination gallows and windmill. 

 

As for resources, do you think that lake might have fish in it? There's some food right there, dumb townfolks.

 

The fish all probably died or became poisonous when the lake was contaminated with methane.  This is also the likely reason why they can't use lake waster for drinking or putting out the numerous fires.  However, the people who pop up in the middle of the lake, often by going through a red door in a neighboring town, are unaffected by the contamination in the lake, probably because the dome is protecting them, or they are the chosen monarch, or they were already dead once before.   

 

See, this show makes perfect sense (sarcasm, of course). 

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Cocoons they were led into by blindly following a girl who was dead for the last twenty years, which came after following Barbie and Julia blindly, which came after following Big Jim blindly, which came after....... 

 

Sounds like they're getting even worse and it was already a very low bar to begin with.

 

 

Even if they think Melanie was solely responsible, don't they wonder how it was even possible? It's like they're not even curious about it.

 

Exactly, they don't even care at all and they only just got out of it.

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kept wondering why people listened to Christine over people they actually knew their entire lives of Chester Mills then I remembered I was watching Under the Dome and noone ever does anything rational or reasonable.

 

Yep, she just shows up and takes over.  Even gets an office and starts ordering people around and they just seem to go along with it.  

 

And why are they in tents when they could have just set up in the buildings?  Just thinking of dorms now?

 

Under the Dumbness continues to be a parody. 

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The only reason I remotely care about Big Jim and Julia is because they're the only two characters who are at least doing something and trying to figure out their situation.  No one else seems to be.

 

Exactly, they're the only ones actually doing something with the plot and it's not even that interesting, but at least it's something from all the pointless relationship drama they've wasted so much time on.

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ByTor

 

I believe the characters' full name is either Hunter Tyler or maybe Tyler Hunter.   It's been so long since we've heard it that I have forgotten, and quite possibly, no longer care. 

 

Hunter and there's no reason to care, the only things he's done is be a thorn at Joe/Norrie's relationship for a little.  His character added nothing to the show.

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I believe the characters' full name is either Hunter Tyler or maybe Tyler Hunter.   It's been so long since we've heard it that I have forgotten, and quite possibly, no longer care.

Hunter and there's no reason to care, the only things he's done is be a thorn at Joe/Norrie's relationship for a little.  His character added nothing to the show.

 

His full name is Hunter May -- http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0473353-- not sure where I got Tyler from in my original post, but Hunter is who I meant.  My bad.

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Hunter and there's no reason to care, the only things he's done is be a thorn at Joe/Norrie's relationship for a little.  His character added nothing to the show.

He got Barbie back into the Dome last season and used his expertise to help out with something, so it's not like he added "nothing."

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He got Barbie back into the Dome last season and used his expertise to help out with something, so it's not like he added "nothing."

 

And that whole going back to the dome subplot ended up going nowhere.  Most of the new characters ended up getting killed off, including Barbie's dad he was working for.  So yes, it was all a complete waste of time.  And they're adding a new female hacker character, so yeah, that makes it more redundant and it adds nothing, they'll just get replaced by the new character that pops up.  Barbie could've gone back because of any reason without the help of any other character, this show constantly makes things up and drops plot points like this one.

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He got Barbie back into the Dome last season and used his expertise to help out with something, so it's not like he added "nothing."

He also had really lovely hair.

He does look good without a shirt, I'd say that adds something :)

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I watched this a few nights ago but had no motivation to even write down my thoughts.  

 

So I'm thinking the writing team started the meeting with "Our challenge today is for the episode to end with every male character about to have sex, except Big Jim.  Go."  

 

Why is Christine recording her thoughts on tape?  To create even more incriminating evidence?  It was a clunky ass way to "catch us up" on her nefarious plan to seduce everyone mentally (and Junior physically).  And of course, Julia gives the voice recorder back to her.  

 

So they remember standing in the middle of town staring at the sky?  Norrie: "All of us just standing there.  It felt so good."  And that doesn't strike you as weird?  There's no way Joe was looking for her "all night" when the entire town was standing there.

 

That sexist construction guy will be a "shocking death" later this season.  Ditto for alcoholic child abandoner woman.  

 

Is the actress playing Christine given the instructions to act like she wants to mate at all times?  She's hamming it up like crazy.  It's embarrassing to watch.  

 

So why is the magical oxytocin gunk loosening its hold on practically everyone... Norrie, Sam, Joe, etc.  But it's strong as ever in Barbie?  He doesn't even feel conflicted?  Yet he was the one endlessly grieving for Julia in the AU?  Contrived much?  As usual, characters need to act the way the plot wants them to act.

 

As usual, what happens on the Island stays on the Island, and is absolutely pointless time filler.  

 

Julia's solution is to row away?  Are these people stupid?  Wait, don't answer that.

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