"Outbreak" is the fourth episode of Under the Dome, airing on CBS on 15 July 2013.

The episode was written by Peter Calloway and directed by Kari Skogland.


An epidemic breaks out in Chester’s Mill, and the Clinic is running out of medicine to treat people.

"Chester's Mill is a place like any other. At least it used to be. Until we were cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious Dome. Invisible; indestructible; inescapable. We don't know where it came from or why it's here, but now that we're all trapped under the dome together, none of our secrets are safe."
Julia Shumway

Julia examines Barbie's map of Chester's Mill with the handwritten symbol reading "2428-#,2 ⓍPB," but hides it inside a newspaper as Barbie wakes for breakfast. Julia claims to have a stress-headache, and Barbie notices that she has taken her last Alprazolam pill; he questions whether the Gas & Grocery will have any aspirin, since Dee's Pharmacy is closed. Julia remarks on Barbie's knowledge of the town, but he dismisses the question even as Julia transfers Barbie's map to her purse and leaves for the radio station building. Outside the invisible barrier, a military unit packs up equipment in preparation to leave the Dome while the townspeople protest and Ollie spraypaints DON'T LEAVE US HELP US on the inside of the Dome. Linda arrives and attempts to pacify the crowd even as Coggins and Rennie arrive. Coggins begins ranting before the crowd, claiming that "this Dome is His wish for a new Eden"; nearby, Julia drives off in her Toyota Prius. Linda explains to Rennie that the military is leaving, and Rennie manages to disperse the crowd, but Linda nearly collapses before Rennie and Barbie rush her to her squad car. In the Rennie's fallout shelter, Angie separates the two blades of the first aid scissors she had previously hidden and sharpens one of them against the metal frame of her cot before hiding it. Moments later, Junior arrives with a bag of clothes, including Angie's junior prom dress, and Angie hugs Junior; when he notes that she is acting like she had before the Dome came down, she takes the dress and suggests that he turn around. He does, and she attempts to stab him with the sharpened blade, but he fends off the attack and subdues her, accusing her of only pretending to get "better." She tries to apologize, and then pleads to be released; Junior claims that Angie "can leave whenever [she's] ready, but not before," then exits the shelter. On the road, Julia follows Barbie's map to an RV park where she visits a trailer before being approached by a man who recognizes Julia's voice from the radio. Julia identifies the car at the trailer as her husband's, and the man identifies the trailer as Phil Bushey's; Julia confronts Phil, who claims that Peter sold the car to him. Phil then collapses on his front steps. At the Chester's Mill Clinic, Alice and Carolyn bring Joe and Norrie in for "a full work-up" despite both teens claiming to "feel fine"; Alice instructs a nurse to conduct a series of tests including an MRI, which the nurse explains can only be done at a facility outside the Dome in West Lake. Alice volunteers to run the tests, having done her internship in medicine. Joe spots Junior having his hand bandanged, and asks after Angie; Junior claims to have last seen Joe's sister "around" "a couple of nights ago." Joe leaves to catch up with Norrie as Barbie and Rennie deliver Linda to the Clinic; Junior spots his father and asks after Linda even as more patients arrive at the Clinic "with fever and headache," and Rennie sends hsi son with Barbie to bring in additional cots. Moments later, Julia arrives with Phil, and discovers that Linda is suffering from a similar illness; Rennie laments the absence of Julia's husband, then hurries to help the nurse. In the Rennie's fallout shelter struggles against the chain on her ankle before spotting a vent near the ceiling; she climbs onto the top bunk, bracing herself on a water pipe, and screams for help until the pipe bursts, allowing water to rush into the shelter. Angie slips off the bunk, hitting her head on the floor and knocking herself unconscious.

At the Clinic, Alice draws Norrie's blood and sends Carolyn to the lab with it before conducting an EEG scan on Joe. Norrie suggests that Joe is "a mutant like Wolverine," but Alice assures him that his EEG is perfectly normal. Rennie arrives moments later to retrieve Alice, showing her to a waiting room filled with dozens of sick townspeople. Barbie and Junior carry cots up from the basement, encountering Julia as she accuses Barbie of knowing Phil; he denies it, but she reveals that she has his map, revealing that she knows he lied about his fight with Junior and demanding to know the truth. Barbie storms away just as Julia suffers another headache, agreeing to allow Alice to examine her. In her room, Linda discovers her third-grade teacher Mrs. Moore being wheeled in beside her, and the two consider whether their illness may be related to the Dome. In the waiting room, Alice explains to Rennie and Barbie that the patients appear to be exhibiting the symptoms of meningitis, expressing concern over the possibility of an epidemic, especially given that the Clinic does not have enough antibiotics to treat all of the patients. Alice gives Rennie a list of the medications that she'll need, and Rennie gives Junior a shotgun, ordering him to quarantine the Clinic; Rennie and Barbie then head to Dee's Pharmacy as Junior returns to the waiting room, announcing that no one is allowed to leave the Clinic.

In the Rennie's fallout shelter, Angie regains consciousness after several inches of water have accumulated on the floor. She searches for something to use to block the pipe, but is unable to stop the flow of water as she screams for Junior. At the Clinic, Julia asks Phil how he ended up with Peter's car, but Phil mumbles about not being able to "make it to the cabin." Julia questions him about the cabin as Alice instructs her to go back to her bed, but Phil grabs Julia's arm, calling her Dodee and telling her not to go. At Dee's Pharmacy, Barbie uses bolt-cutters to enter the building, but he and Rennie find the medicine counter ransacked and empty. At the Clinic, Alice tells Carolyn that she is treating nearly five dozen patients, and claims that she has at least a few days worth of insulin left for herself. Carolyn leaves to get food for Alice, who is soon called to treat Linda, whose fever is spiking, and Mrs. Moore, whose blood-pressure is dropping. With only one dose of antibiotics, Mrs. Moore instructs Alice to treat Linda, and Alice agrees. Junior guards the doors as more patients are brought in, and Julia approaches him, appealing to him to let her leave so that she can investigate the cabin where Phil claimed to be meeting Peter. Junior explains her that he found Barbie at a cabin on Sparrows Lane, but refuses to allow Julia to leave. Instead, Julia heads for her husband's office to find his Clinic ID badge, which she uses to enter a restricted area of the Clinic. On the road, Barbie and Rennie discuss the robbery at Dee's Pharmacy, and Rennie suggests that Reverend Coggins may be responsible. At the Coggins residence, the Reverend lights a fire-pit, and begins emptying medications into the blaze even as Rennie and Barbie arrive to stop him. Coggins claims that "those people are supposed to die" because "it's God's plan," but Rennie retrieves the medicine from Coggins' hearse as Barbie restrains the Reverend. At the Clinic, Linda recovers and finds Mrs. Moore still sick, and the two discuss how much Linda has changed since Mrs. Moore taught her. Linda insists that most of the credit is due to Duke; Mrs. Moore tells Linda not to sell herself short, but flatlines moments later, and Alice rushes into the room to perform chest compressions.

Julia arrives at the cabin on Sparrows Lane, and finds the broken furniture in the living room. At the Clinic, Linda overhears patients becoming restless, and witnesses Ollie and several patients attempt to rush Junior, who fires a warning shot into the ceiling. Linda manages to calm Junior, who explains that he's in the Clinic not to hold them hostage, but because he is one of them, and because they all have "to fight through this thing together" and trust one another. He tells the people that he believes in them before setting down the shotgun and heading back into the Clinic. Ollie briefly considers the shotgun, but decides agaisnt taking it or leaving. At the cabin, Julia searches through the wreckage and finds an envelope containing papers; she reads them before collapsing and succumbing to her illness. At the Clinic, Norrie takes cellphone pictures of herself as Joe returns with food for them both. They consider the possibility of a food shortage before discussing their seizures; Norrie theorizes that the episodes might have been triggered by their physical contact. They set up Norrie's cellphone to record themselves testing the theory by clasping hands. Nothing happens at first, then the two suddenly collapse. Outside the Clinic, Rennie and Barbie arrive and unload the antibiotics, and Junior assures his father that he encountered no problems with the quarantine. In the Rennie's fallout shelter, Angie screams for help as the water level rises slowly. At the Clinic, Phil recovers and is approached by Barbie, who explains that he vaguely remembers Julia asking about her husband. He assures Barbie that Peter is gone, claiming that a month previous, Peter had asked if Phil knew any hitmen before selling his care to Phil instead; Phil had told Peter to take the money and leave town, and tells Barbie that whatever Peter owed him, he is unlikely to get any of it back. At the cabin, Julia suffers a hallucination of her husband, and asks him why he didn't tell her; he promises to tell her soon. At the Clinic, Joe recovers from his seizure and wakes Norrie, and the two watch the cellphone recording of their experiment, discovering that after they collapsed, they both mumbled that "pink stars are falling in lines." On the recording, they watch as Joe sits up twitchily, looks directly at the camera, places a finger to his lips, and shushes them before falling back to the floor. Joe claims that he doesn't remember the incident, but theorizes that they shouldn't tell anyone about the experiment "because the Dome doesn't want [them] to."

Outside the Clinic, Junior helps carry medications inside until he is approached by Barbie, who asks where Julia is; Junior admits that he last saw Julia several hours before, when Julia asked about the cabin. Barbie demands the keys to Junior's truck, claiming that Julia left the hospital during Junior's watch, making her Junior's responsibility; Junior hands over his keys, and Barbie leaves. Barbie arrives at the cabin, finding Julia delirious on the floor; she calls him Peter as he carries her to the truck. In the Rennie's fallout shelter, Angie huddles in the cold as the water reaches the bottom of her bunk. At the Clinic, Junior helps pack up supplies, and Rennie assists patients before visiting with Linda, who explains that Junior successfully diffused "what could have been a full-blown riot." Rennie congratulates his son, asking if Junior would consider "a career in law enforcement." In a hospital room, Julia recovers and asks Barbie if he saved her life; he doesn't answer, and Julia admits that she learned that Peter had emptied their accounts and let their house go into foreclosure. Barbie admits that after leaving the military and working a series of odd jobs, he went to work as an enforcer for a bookie in West Lake. Julia claims that Peter never gambled, but Barbie plays a voicemail message of Peter making arrangements to meet with him. When Julia asks where her husband is now, Barbie claims that Peter must have skipped town because he was in too deep. He e tries to apologize, but Julia calmly instructs him to get his things out of her house, and Barbie leaves the Clinic. Alice informs Norrie and Joe that the outbreak is over, and they both claim to be seizure-free; as the four leave the Clinic, Joe invites Carolyn, Alice and Norrie to stay at his house, since both of his parents are outside the Dome. They agree. At the Shumway residence, Barbie collects his pack and leaves the house. At the Clinic, Alice catches Carolyn stealing a supply of insulin, and Carolyn admits that she's scared, wondering what will happen "if the Dome lasts forever." Alice assures her that it won't, and returns the insulin. Junior gives Linda a ride to the police station, assuring her that Mrs. Moore's death was not her fault, because Mrs. Moore sacrificed herself knowing how important Linda is to the town. Linda congratulates Junior for his handling of the crisis at the Clinic, and deputizes him on the spot. At the Rennie residence, Jim returns home to find Coggins waiting on his porch; the Reverend turns over a bag containing his "share of the profits" in order to "wash [his] hands of [their] dirty little business." Coggins assures Rennie that he will pay for defying God's will; he reminds Rennie that Rennie can't hurt hurt without hurting himself, and leaves the property as Rennie heads inside. In the Rennie's fallout shelter, Angie climbs onto the top bunk again, screaming for help into the vent as the water continues to rush in. Inside the house, Rennie takes a drink before hearing banging and screaming through the plumbing. He heads outside into the backyard with a flashlight, and opens the fallout shelter hatch to find a foot of water on the floor. He climbs down inside, opens the door to the bunker, and discovers Angie huddled inside as the water reaches her bunk.




Guest Starring





See Also

Under the Dome Season One episodes(S2)
"Pilot" "Into the Fire" "Manhunt" "Outbreak" "Blue on Blue"
"The Fourth Hand" "Let the Games Begin" "Speak of the Devil"
"Exigent Circumstances" "Curtains"