So what exactly is the Dome?
Writers at CBS said they changed the cause of the dome that slams down over Chester's Mill. King said he wished he'd thought of their idea to begin with. Did they really change it? What if they just told us they changed it to keep us watching? Probably not.
Some things we've learned about the Dome:
- It gives a first time electrical shock when touched.
- It does not like electrical devices, like hearing aids or pacemakers.
- Small amounts of water can come through.
- The Dome cuts off all communication with the outside (other than visual). So there is no TV, not internet and no cell phones.
- It goes deep. Residents can continue to dig down without striking the Dome. How far does it go? Is it a complete circle? Does it go as deep as it does high?
- It causes some young people to have seizures and say, "The pink stars are falling."
I would like Mr. Monk or Sherlock Holmes to come put those clues together into something reasonable. So, back to the old question -- what is causing a giant dome to cover Chester's Mill?
Give me your suggestions. Here are a few. . .
- An alien force-field
- A Cocoon
- The work of a rogue mad scientist (minions could pull this off, right?)
- A terrorist plot
- A natural phenomena
Frankly, I can't think of anything -- with the possible exception of "act of God" -- that wouldn't be utterly lame. I thought King got it right with the novel, and I really don't know how Brian K. Vaughan thinks he can top that.
ReplyDeleteBut then, Brian K. Vaughan is a talented writer and I'm not, so OF COURSE I don't know how he can top it! I just hope HE knows how he can top it...
So far, none of the clues listed add up to anything conclusive; in theory at least.
ReplyDeleteThere is at least on other possibility mentioned by the Sheriff in the first episode, namely, either that it's a punishment of some sort, or weirder still, that it's all part of some sort of deal we never here about, which sort of complicates things as it implies it's man-made and that people like Big Jim are in on it somehow.
However, Big Jim seems clueless about the Dome.
Does that mean the Sheriff was the only person to know what the Dome is? Or is he just talking about drugs?
The answer they seem to be going with so far is that the Dome is some kind of living organism that caused itself to cover the town, for what reason there's no telling as yet.
However I did have one theory that sort of relates to the Cocoon hypothesis, and it has to do with an aspect of the series that it's good to see being pointed out.
Namely the fact that the Dome is such a social disrupter. The very fact of it's existence is causing the outside world to tilt on it's axis because it shatters so many cozy little worldviews.
To be concluded.
ChrisC
My thought simply is this, what if the Dome's continued existence becomes such a social disrupter for the outside world that it collapses while the world inside remains basically stable?
DeleteI specifically asked myself, wouldn't it be funny for Chester's Mill to wake up one morning to see an all out nuclear war going on outside the Dome, no terrorist attack or anything, the old order has just devolved into chaos because one aberrant factor just won't fit in or go away.
Spooky.
Don't forget the previews for the next episode show it raining inside the Dome, and that raises the obvious question of crop growth and inside provisions.
Either way, so far, it seems like an improvement over the end of the novel. I wouldn't have minded aliens if they weren't so much of an uninspired throwaway.
Call it the Dome as alien children's toy. Sorry, but it just fell flat for me there.
ChrisC
It's a test run by the government with the help of General Mills, some new form of high tech cereal. The pink stars are obviously marshmallows. The voices some of them are hearing is a new form of cereal talking, such as the primitive Rice Krispies with their Snap Crackle Pop. The dome is probably some high tech cereal bowl the government cooked up. Come on, you know this makes sense!
ReplyDeleteOF COURSE! That's it, Derr S. (Our family has been laughing at that answer all morning) LOVEI IT!
ReplyDeleteI think it'd be great if we never get to find out. Or is simply left off to the reader's imagination.
ReplyDeleteThat'd be an interesting approach, and I'd think it was cool. But most viewers would probably think it was the world's all-time biggest copout, so it probably won't happen.
DeleteI think it'd be great if we never get to find out. Or is simply left off to the reader's imagination.
ReplyDeleteYup, it's not cool to think of a plot but have no idea as the story teller as to WHY it happened.
ReplyDeletecoughlostcough
Delete