Curtains | |
Season 1, Episode 13 | |
Air Date | September 16, 2013 |
Written By | Brian K. Vaughan & Scott Gold |
Directed By | Jack Bender |
U.S. Viewers | 12.10 Million |
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Curtains is the thirteenth and final episode of Season 1 of CBS' Under the Dome, which aired on September 16, 2013. It is the thirteenth episode overall.
Summary[]
As Barbie's fate is sealed by Big Jim, the Dome blackens and the mysterious Monarch is revealed.
Synopsis[]
In Ben's room, Ben, Joe, Carolyn, Norrie, and Linda watch as a monarch butterfly hatches from the cocoon. Linda becomes hostile, demanding answers from the group. They explain that they believe the egg to be the cause of the Dome, that Joe and Norrie can communicate with it, and that it relayed the message "the Monarch will be crowned".
Big Jim drags Barbie into the Sheriff's Office, demanding to know why Barbie didn't plead guilty as he agreed to. Barbie points out that Julia is still out there, and when she comes forward with the truth, Big Jim's story will fall apart. At the Dome, Junior demands for the Dome to answer why it wants him to kill his father. In the clinic, Julia wants to leave to exonerate Barbie, but is halted by Angie, who informs her that Big Jim will have her killed to silence her. Linda orders the group to back away from the mini-dome, claiming it as police property. As the butterfly flutters inside the mini-dome, the places its wings touch turn black.
Big Jim places Barbie in a cell, where Barbie tells Big Jim that he won't go down without taking Big Jim with him. The group in Ben's room notice the spots created by the butterfly, seeing that they are slowly beginning to spread. The butterfly falls to the floor, and Ben notices that it is getting dark outside, as similar-looking blotches appear on the Dome. Big Jim notices the darkness, and rushes outside to see the light getting blocked out of Chester's Mill. Junior, panics at the phenomenon and asks the Dome what it's trying to tell him as it becomes completely opaque.
In Ben's room, the mini-dome becomes completely black as well. Joe theorizes that they need to get the butterfly out before it dies. Linda calls for backup over her radio. Angie hears the call as she helps Julia out of the clinic, and realizes they are in trouble. Big Jim and Junior each hear the message and head for Ben's house. The mini-dome emits the high-pitched noise once more, and Joe and Norrie attempt to touch it, but are stopped by Linda, who tells them that as it is police property, she will touch it instead. She does, and is thrown back and knocked unconscious. In the clinic, Angie wants to go to the mini-dome, but Julia wants to go to save Barbie. Julia tells Angie that it is their only chance to save him, and she agrees to go with her.
Junior arrives at Ben's house, and the group explains that they let Linda get incapacitated. They tell him that the butterfly is dying, and that they need Angie. Junior lashes out over Angie's betrayal of him by helping Barbie. Ben warns them that Big Jim is nearly there. Norrie and Joe tell Carolyn and Ben to leave so Big Jim can't implicate them. They ask Junior if he is with them, or if he will allow Big Jim to take the egg away, and he agrees to help. Angie and Julia arrive at the Sheriff's Office. While Angie looks for the keys, Julia heads down to the cells to see Barbie. When he asks how she is standing, she tells him something out there really wanted her back on her feet. They kiss, and Angie arrives with the keys, freeing Barbie. Big Jim finds Linda as she is waking up. She realizes that the group has taken the mini-dome, and tells Big Jim that they need to find it, as it is their best chance of bringing down the Dome.
In Junior's truck, Norrie and Joe wonder how to find Angie. Junior tells them that she has a police radio on her, but they are unsure how to communicate with her without alerting the whole police force. As Angie, Julia, and Barbie attempt to flee the Sheriff's Office, they are nearly stopped by Phil. Barbie, still handcuffed, manages to subdue him, but is held at gunpoint by another deputy. Angie knocks the deputy out using a fire extinguisher. Linda picks up Barbie's dog tags, which were torn off in the fight, and Barbie asks her to hold onto them for him. They hear Joe calling to Angie over the radio, telling her that they have the mini-dome, and asks her to meet them where they went to hide when they broke their mother's mirror.
Angie arrives at the cement factory where Joe, Norrie, and Junior have brought the mini-dome. Seeing Barbie, Junior draws his weapon. He is halted by Julia, who tells him that Barbie didn't shoot her, Maxine did. Barbie calls their attention to the mini-dome, where glowing red handprints appear. Leaving Ben's house, Linda is radioed by Phil, who tells her that Barbie has escaped with Julia's help. In the cement tunnels, Angie, Joe, Norrie, and Junior touch the handprints as Julia and Barbie watch. The mini-dome turns bright white before suddenly disappearing completely, leaving it's contents intact. In the dirt, they see the butterfly. First believing it to be dead, it suddenly wakes up and starts flying around Barbie, as Joe again suggests that Barbie is the Monarch.
Seeing a crowd gathering at the church, Big Jim pulls over where he asks Andrea what is going on. Quoting Revelations, she tells him that everyone is repenting before the end. Big Jim attempts to pacify the crowd, but they point out that without sunlight they will starve and freeze. He manages to rally them by attributing the darkness to the lawlessness in town since the Dome arrived. Junior refuses to accept that Barbie is the Monarch. Even Barbie is skeptical, but Norrie notices the egg moving. It begins glowing brightly as the entire area shakes. Julia approaches it, and against Angie's warnings, safely picks up the egg. The tremors stop, and the egg returns to its normal appearance. The butterfly lands on the egg, and Barbie realizes that Julia is the Monarch. Phil arrives in Big Jim's office at his request. Big Jim asks him to find some carpenters for a work detail. He shows Phil an image of a gallows, telling him that Barbie needs to be made an example of. Phil agrees for Dodee's sake.
Linda examines the McAlister's barn, where she sees the constellations they painted from the mini-dome's projection. She calls Big Jim, reading to him "the pink stars are falling in lines". Big Jim is stunned at the phrase. When she asks if it means anything to him, he replies "not for a long time". He asks her to meet him at his house. Norrie asks what they are supposed to do next now that Julia is in charge, but she isn't sure. Junior says that it is because Julia isn't the monarch, and they need to take it to the real authorities. Angie rejects the idea, calling Big Jim a monster, but Junior becomes defensive. Barbie tells him that he watched Big Jim murder Maxine and Otto in cold blood, and Angie points out that it is one of many reasons the Dome told them to assassinate him. Julia attempts to calm Junior, but he draws his gun on her. He says he doesn't believe her, as she is only in Chester's Mill after being fired from her job in Chicago for lying. He orders her to hand over the egg, but she tosses it to Angie and orders her to run. Junior holds his fire, and is tackled by Barbie, who orders Julia away. Barbie, handcuffed, is quickly overpowered by Junior.
Big Jim brings Linda to the art studio of Pauline Rennie. He tells Linda that as Pauline lost her mind, she began to repeat the statement: "pink stars are falling". He shows her a painting of pink stars over a black egg. Angie, Joe, Norrie, and Julia flee into the forest. Angie suggests destroying the egg, thinking it might bring down the Dome, but Joe points out that it might cause another earthquake. Norrie suggests asking it. Julia hands her the egg, and Norrie asks the egg to tell them what to do. She turns to see an apparition of her mother, Alice. Big Jim speculates that his wife knew what was going to happen, and laments that he didn't believe her or do enough to help her. Linda tells him that if his family is connected to the Dome, then he is important to everyone. She is radioed by Junior, who tells her that he has taken Barbie into custody.
Norrie attempts to approach the apparition, but Julia stops her, warning her that it isn't really Alice. The apparition tells her that it has taken on a familiar appearance to "bridge the divide" to communicate with them. Norrie demands to know who it is, and Joe believes that it is whoever sent the Dome, and the vision of Alice nods. Angie asks why it is punishing them, and they are told that the Dome wasn't sent to punish them, but to protect them from a coming disaster. They are told that to get rid of the darkness, they need to earn it, by protecting the egg. Julia asks if they fail, if they will all die, and the vision of Alice nods. When Julia asks how they are to protect it, or who they are meant to protect it from, the vision disappears. Barbie is brought back to his cell, where he witnesses the construction of the gallows. He is approached by Big Jim, who asks him where they took the egg, but Barbie refuses to answer.
Angie brings Joe, Norrie, and Julia to the Sweetbriar Rose, where they discuss how they can hide the egg. They hear a message from Big Jim over the radio, calling for Julia to exchange the egg for Barbie's life. She is given an hour to make a decicion. Junior enters Big Jim's office, warning him that Joe, Norrie, and Angie want to assassinate him, and that they think he is dangerous, and has killed people. Big Jim asks if Junior believes it, but Junior doesn't give a clear answer. Big Jim tells him that he went to his mother's studio and saw the paintings. Big Jim expresses his belief that the Dome was their destiny. Big Jim confesses that he has taken lives, but they were all absolutely unavoidable for the good of Chester's Mill. He tells Junior that they have both been chosen to lead the town.
At the Sweetbriar Rose, Joe, Norrie, Angie and Julia discuss what they should do. Julia tells them that they should do nothing and that if she really is the Monarch, it needs to be her decision, and she tells them to get someplace safe, as they have done enough. Barbie is brought out upon the completion of the gallows' construction. Big Jim addresses the crowd, as Julia boards a boat, where she holds the egg and Barbie's dog tags. She drops the egg into the lake, and pink stars rise up from everywhere. The crowd at the gallows see it, and Big Jim convinces the crowd that it is a sign from God that they should continue their work. As the stars reach the top of the Dome, the blackness disappears, instead turning white. Big Jim orders Junior to pull the lever to execute Barbie, and Junior hesitates.
Credits[]
Main Cast[]
Supporting Cast[]Guest Stars |
Co-Stars
Uncredited
|
Deaths[]
- None
Trivia[]
- Last appearance of Alice Calvert. (Hallucination)
- The title refers to the Dome becoming completely opaque and this way putting "curtains" on the Chester's Mill.
- "The Monarch" is revealed to be Julia and not Barbie as Joe McAlister believed at first.
- This marks the second episode of season 1 to not feature any character dying.
- The first episode to contain no deaths is The Fourth Hand.
- Alice Calvert returns in this episode as apparition created by the Dome.
Episodes of Under the Dome | |
---|---|
Season 1 | "Pilot" • "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" |
Season 2 | "Heads Will Roll" • "Infestation" • "Force Majeure" • "Revelation" • "Reconciliation" • "In the Dark" • "Going Home" • "Awakening" • "The Red Door" • "The Fall" • "Black Ice" • "Turn" • "Go Now" |
Season 3 | "Move On" • "But I'm Not" • "Redux" • "The Kinship" • "Alaska" • "Caged" • "Ejecta" • "Breaking Point" • "Plan B" • "Legacy" • "Love is a Battlefield" • "Incandescence" • "The Enemy Within" |