UNDER THE DOME 3.04 ‘THE KINSHIP’ EPISODE RECAP – MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS
Under the Dome’s fourth episode of the season ‘The Kinship’ proves to be just as wild a ride as the first three episodes have been. Like Big Jim and Julia, we are all trying to figure out what is going on with Marg’s character, the mysterious Christine Price — Who is she and why is she trying to take over the town?
The episode opens with Big Jim, who has exiled himself to Byrd Island, watching the recording of Christine touching the egg again. As he watches, he ponders “What the hell is that? What is she?” but then the recording abruptly ends. He then pulls out a pair of binoculars and spies on his son, Junior, who has set up a tent just across the water from him. He witnesses Christine jog up to Junior’s camp and watches what appears to be a pretty flirtatious encounter.
The viewer gets a little more up close and personal with the exchange between Christine and Junior. After some initial small talk, Christine suddenly notices just how wet and sweaty she is and asks Junior for a clean shirt. It’s a rather intimate move for someone who is supposed to just be the town therapist, but Junior immediately goes to get her a shirt and seems to enjoy the show while she strips down to her sexy white tank top and then changes into his shirt. It’s obvious Christine has come on a mission as she then, reminding Junior of the construction skills he learned while in the alternate reality, implores him to come to town and help her with a dorm building project. He readily agrees, and so mission accomplished, Christine departs. As a parting gift, she tosses Junior her wet t-shirt, again a rather intimate gesture for the town therapist. As she leaves, Big Jim remarks from his vantage point: “Normally I’d applaud you kid, but that woman…that thing?” Big Jim has obviously seen enough on that recorder to know that Christine’s encounter with the egg has unleashed something in her that isn’t human.
We next catch up with Christine in her new office where she is documenting the progress of the formerly cocooned Chester’s Mill residents. She seems quite pleased overall: “It’s amazing how quickly they’ve begun to gather. Last night they heard my call. Today more have set up camp. One by one they’re completing their journeys.” Christine is most pleased with Junior’s progress: “James is furthest along. He has let go of the fear that held him back. Today I’ll assess his progress and see if he’s ready to take the next step.” She is also very pleased with how Sam and Norrie are coming along. Joe, on the other hand, has her very concerned as he did not respond to her ‘call’ the night before. She is worried that his resistance could be contagious if it’s not “snuffed out” and vows to pay him a visit to get him back on track. Another question mark on her progress report is Barbie, who is still hanging around with Julia, even though he seemed so bonded with Eva the night before. She concludes her recording with the rather ominous statement that “the moment he’s ready to move on, there won’t be any reason for her to exist.” The ‘her’ in question, is of course, Julia, who was not cocooned and who is therefore considered to be a weed in the ‘garden’ that Christine is trying to cultivate.
Christine focuses her attention on Junior next as he readily responds to her request for assistance in the dorm building project. Their encounter is even more intimate than the encounter at Junior’s camp. Christine caresses Junior again in this episode and in a breathy, seductive voice, convinces Junior to take a sledgehammer to his father’s old office. She tells Junior that not only would this gesture show the townspeople that Big Jim is no longer a threat to them, but that it could also be very cathartic for him in his quest to let go and move on. Junior grabs the sledgehammer and quickly goes to work, with Christine contently observing in the background. I’d say Junior is scoring high marks on his assessment thus far.
While Christine is making great strides with Junior, Eva is a different story. She comes to Christine to tell her that the recorder is missing. The exchange between them becomes quite tense as Eva lashes out at Christine: “Why are you assuming it was my fault? Maybe someone’s suspicious of you. I don’t understand why you’re still pretending to be a therapist.” When Christine tries to explain once again that she is following the path that was set out for her in the alternate reality, Eva continues her rant: “Do you hear yourself? You sound crazy.” Christine pulls the ‘pot calling the kettle black card’ and says that she doesn’t look any crazier than Eva does pointing to Eva thinking she’s pregnant and running around holding hands with Barbie in front of the whole town. She then directs the conversation back to the fact that they need to find that recorder and surmises that either Big Jim or Julia must have it, with Julia being the most likely candidate as she is staying two doors down from them at the hotel. Eva’s response “With Dale?” shows that if Christine was trying to find a way to effectively distract Eva, she has hit her mark. Any thought Eva had about questioning Christine’s actions or motivations goes right out of her head as soon as she thinks about Julia and Barbie together.
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