Finally! In "Outbreak," the Chester's Mills residents realized and reacted to the Dome isolating them from the rest of the world. The teen parties and jokes about bacon running out were gone and replaced by real panic. Sure, it's only been three days, but the lack of urgency or a emergency plan has been odd.

It took the military leaving the Dome perimeter for the townspeople to react. Why did the military pull out? First, that doesn't make much sense unless there is a health risk. Second, why the continued lack of communication with the Chester's Mills residents? 

The military communications that Dodee picked up indicated that the armed forces didn't know the origin of the Dome, but maybe their presence has been interfering with the Dome's real purpose. Could it be a sociological experiment? Aliens? Man made? Natural occurrence? That remains just as big a mystery as in the premiere.

The first few episodes provided the basics of the main players in Chester's Mill and now it's turning into character study of them and their existence under the Dome. The meningitis outbreak highlighted the town's limited resources and the threats that face them. The main takeaway, though, was it provided the basis for answers to some of the ongoing mysteries of Chester's Mill. 

Big Jim did something illegal with the Reverend to protect the town and it involved large amounts of propane and appeared to be drug related. That secret has yet to be revealed, but it's something bad enough that the Reverend's guilt made him turn over his ill-gotten gains to Jim. And for the preacher to believe the Dome is their punishment.

Big Jim continues to confuse me at times. He's driven by power and control, yet he seems to genuinely have the town's interest at heart. However, at the same time, he has a questionable moral code. He was willing to let the Reverend die in the fire at Duke's house. Now, that he has found Angie, what will he do? ? Will he protect his family's reputation and his son... or save Angie? His reaction to finding her will be key to understanding his priorities and motivations. I fear for her. She probably had a better chance of getting out if Junior showed up.

Junior's actions during the outbreak were not only sane, but inspiring. He clearly has a screw loose when it comes to Angie. His obsession with her and the Dome is just crazy. There's no doubt about it. Up until this point his interactions with her and with his father made him appear to be an idiot. And his fight with Barbie, kidnapping of Angie and even firing the warning shot at the clinic showed an impulsive side. In contrast, his speech to bring calm to the situation showed there is something there.

Junior's facial expressions when Linda and his father were proud of him were creepy. And then again when Linda gave him a badge. Is he a sociopath? Smarter than he has let on? I don't think he's playing Angie. Perhaps he's a little bit of both. Regardless, Junior with a badge is a bad, bad idea!

I'd much rather see Barbie with a badge. After all the build up of Barbie's mysterious background, it turned out that the ex-military man is an enforcer for a bookie and he came to Chester's Mill to collect on a debt from Peter. Slightly anti-climatic.

When confronted by Julia, Barbie lied about Peter's whereabouts, but it appeared to be as much for her as it was to  protect himself. He respected Julia's request and quietly left her home. With his background out in the open, will it help or hurt him in helping the town? He'll fit right in with the other dubious characters in town.

Perhaps now that Julia believes Peter betrayed and left her penniless, she will be focus instead on investigating the Dome and even the mysterious propane issue. I also doubt that the divide between her and Barbie will last long.

The true character of the residents will come out. With the Dome overhead, it's only a matter of time before everyone is forced to make difficult decisions. Whether it's destroying the town's drug supplies as the will of God, foregoing antibiotics to save someone else, hiding the truth about the seizures, or whether to steal insulin. It took 4 days, but that time is upon them.

What do you make of Junior's actions? What will Barbie's next move be? Will Big Jim release Angie? Or will he harm her to protect his family's reputation?

Carla Day is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter and on Google+.