The military returns, bringing civilians with them, for Chester's Mill first visitor's day. But what the townspeople think is a nice gesture that bodes well for the future turns out to be a farewell party, what with the government's plan to bomb the dome into submission (and taking out every resident as well). Barbie uses his top-secret military connections to get wind of the plan, and the town's core group of guardians decide that the residents' best hope for survival is to gather in the abandoned cement factory, an evacuation that manages to happen with remarkably little concern over the fact that the government is dropping a huge bomb on them. The people in Chester's Mill do get over things pretty quickly. Meningitis, the fact your husband has disappeared shortly after a bookie's enforcer who you're flirting with comes to town to collect on a debt… You know, no big deal.

During visitor's day, Julia waits in vain to see her husband, but instead sees her sister-in-law, who has a Dear John letter from him that apologizes and says she deserves better. Linda sees her fiancé but has difficulty telling him about the death of his brother. Fortunately, Microsoft has a useful dome-proof tablet that helps them communicate, which is nice. Oh, and Linda and Rusty are already on the cover of People magazine somehow and there's already plans for a reality show about them, which is hilarious and somehow noticeably implausible in a show about an invisible, indestructible dome that suddenly cuts everyone off from the outside world.

Meanwhile, Lester's getting crazier and crazier, hearing voices in his head coming through his hearing aid — one of which is a military broadcast mentioning "Moab," which he mistakes for a biblical reference but is actually MOAB, or "mother of all bombs," which helps the Chester's Millers figure things out. While this is going on, Big Jim — who, as predicted, didn't release Angie immediately — is trying to figure out to deal with his psycho, now-deputized son. Distressingly, it involves not immediately asking him about the young woman he has chained up in the bomb shelter but giving him the authority to deputize more assholes, ostensibly to help prevent a riot during Visitor's Day at the dome. That's hilarious, considering what a docile bunch the people of Chester's Mill are. Just give 'em a stirring speech and they'll go right back to burning gas, food and batteries while they're cut off from any source of replenishment.

At any rate, he does free her, figuring everyone's going to die today anyway, but then he doesn't tell her about the impending doom and she winds up getting caught by Junior again, who now has a gun and a badge.

Thankfully, Joe is full on looking for his sister, with Norrie, who freaks out when she meets through the dome her biological father, and discovers her moms may not have been completely honest about his involvement, a development I'm sure will be riveting f-ZZZZZZZ. Joe and Norrie don't find Angie but share a kiss when the bomb goes off, the fact they didn't start seizing up making them then forget again that Angie has been missing for days.

Anyway, obviously the bomb doesn't have any effect on the dome and does not kill everyone inside, since that would make for a rather short series. It does turn the world around a charred hellscape, though, so I hope no one has big plans for the Linda-Rusty reality show. Lester takes credit for the town being spared, attributing it to his repentance. Big Jim, though, takes a dimmer view, and presses Lester's ear (with its hearing aid) against the dome until it explodes, killing him. Be honest: You all cheered a little bit at that too, right?

Daniel is a writer in Newfoundland with a wife and a daughter. He loves Julia's revolutionary journalism, the kind where she doesn't worry about citing her sources. Follow him on Twitter (@DanMacEachern) or email him at danieljdaniel@gmail.com.