UNDER THE DOME 3.09 ‘PLAN B’ RECAP – THE KINSHIP STRIKES BACK…OR NOT

As if the first half of season 3 wasn’t a wild enough ride, Under the Dome has really kicked it into high gear now. ‘Plan B’, the ninth episode of the season, opens with the Kinship attempting to strike back against the Resistance. Christine has sent Barbie and a team of armed men to ambush Big Jim and his own team at the Aktaion house. Their mission fails, however, because anticipating that there would be retaliation for the bombing of the caves, the Resistance has relocated to a new safe house, the town’s funeral home.

When Barbie reports back to Christine that the Resistance is nowhere to be found, she is visibly agitated by their failure. Flinging her walkie talkie to the floor, Christine suddenly clutches her abdomen and doubles over in pain, crying “Oh no! No, I’m not ready yet”. She clearly has bigger problems than the Resistance to worry about at this moment. Her cries bring Eva rushing to her aid. Eva gets Christine to lie down and sees that the knife wound inflicted by Sam has apparently become infected. Christine interrupts her examination when the amethyst she is grasping in her hand begins to pulse and glow. The closer Christine moves it to Eva, the more the stone pulses with light. Christine, suddenly looking much happier than she did earlier, tells Eva the good news: she and Barbie are going to have a baby. Eva can’t believe it and wants to know how it’s possible since she and Barbie only slept together the previous day. Christine replies that “You’re carrying the new Queen. This isn’t any ordinary pregnancy.”

Leaving Eva to share the news with Barbie, Christine gets back to business. Junior reports to her that he has had the last remaining amethyst brought into town so that they can better guard it. He then tells Christine that he’ll keep searching until he finds and eliminates the Resistance. Christine tells him that he needs to spare Joe. Junior questions her because in his mind, Joe is just as guilty as the others, but Christine says that their plans have to be adjusted because of what happened to the amethysts and she now needs Joe’s help. Junior notices that she is holding her side and is obviously in pain and questions this because he thought the cocoon had healed her. Christine lies to Junior and tells him it did, but then tells him she needs to see the Dome wall.

While all of this has been taking place, Hunter has managed to crack the code on Christine’s recorder and access her entries. He learns that the recordings are some kind of diary addressed to Barbie and Eva’s unborn child, the new Queen and she begins the entries by saying “It’s a shame we’ll never meet…” With that statement, we can assume that Christine will die before the baby is born.

As Junior and Christine approach the Dome wall, they see several dead animals lying nearby. It is as Christine feared, the Dome’s surface has started to calcify. She tells Junior that soon every living thing will suffocate unless she can bring down the Dome with Joe’s help. Junior questions Christine again at this point because he doesn’t understand what the Dome calcifying has to do with her increasing weakness and pain. Christine finally admits to him that what is happening to her is because she is connected to the Dome. With the egg destroyed and only one remaining amethyst, the Dome has no power source and is starting to shut down. She then collapses again and Junior carries her back to town.

Once back in her office, Junior examines Christine and sees the now huge wound spreading across her abdomen. Determined to do whatever needs to be done to help his Queen, Junior looks to Christine for guidance. Her answer? Sexual healing, of course. Oh, the healing powers of that oxytocin! Once she is feeling better, Christine gives Junior some bad news: “James, this is temporary. Every one, every thing has a cycle and mine is coming to an end.” Junior expresses his confusion because he thought she was his mate for life. She tells him no, that she has actually envisioned Junior as being someone who will have many mates.

Now that she is feeling better, Christine gets back to work. As she and Junior walk through the town hall, Junior eagerly scopes out potential new mates. When he zeroes in on the girl that he wants, Charlotte Chastain, Christine shoots him down: “The younger ones I need.” For the first time, Junior rebels against Christine and tells her no, that he wants Charlotte. Christine finally concedes: “Fine. But you’ll need to find me a suitable replacement. I need at least twelve girls.” She orders Junior to have them waiting for her when she gets back from introducing herself to Harriet, the young woman she has chosen to be Eva’s midwife.

Once Christine has secured Harriet as Eva’s midwife, she takes her to meet Eva. Eva is again confused as to why she already needs a midwife since she only just found out she was pregnant. Come on, Eva. Get with the program! Christine yet again has to remind her that this is not an ordinary pregnancy – she’s giving birth to the Queen – and tells her that she needs to pack her things because they’re taking her to a place where her baby can receive the special care she deserves.

At first Eva is reluctant to leave since Barbie isn’t there, but a surprise attack by Big Jim changes her mind. Christine and Junior take Eva to a barn where Harriet and at least a dozen young women dressed in white are waiting for her. Surprisingly, among them is Junior’s choice to replace Christine. As soon as he spots Charlotte, Junior confronts Christine: “I told you I wanted Charlotte.” Christine tells him that Charlotte came to her and said that she wanted to be a part of this: “Don’t worry. I promise she won’t feel a thing.” She then orders that “No one comes in or out” and the doors are closed in Junior’s face. Two things appear to be at play in this scene: 1) Based on Christine’s ominous words, these young women are about to be sacrificed for the new Queen, and 2) I suspect Charlotte’s inclusion in the sacrifice is probably Christine’s way of punishing Junior for rebelling against her and for being a little too eager to select a mate to replace her. After all, she is still the Queen.

It saddens me that we are seemingly nearing the end of Christine’s, and therefore Marg’s, time on Under the Dome. I hold out a little hope since Under the Dome is always unpredictable so anything can happen. I think it would be great if she did survive because it would be interesting to see how the real Christine would be and how she would cope with knowing all that she had done while her body was taken over by the Dome and its agenda. As of right now, though, I just can’t see any way that she comes out of this alive. Whatever the outcome, I will enjoy Marg’s performance until the bitter end.

HD Screen caps from Under the Dome ‘Plan B’ can be viewed HERE.