So the dome talks, that’s nice.

As the first season of “Under the Dome” came to a close we were left with the dome covered in pure brightness.

Here is a short recap of what you need to know heading into next season:

No. 1—The Rennies and the Dome are connected:

Remember the painting Junior showed Angie a few episodes ago? Yea, there’s more. Big Jim showed Linda a picture his wife drew when everyone thought she was crazy. It was of a black egg surrounded by pink stars. He also quotes to Linda the finals words he wife was uttering near the end of her life—“The pink stars are falling in lines” Later in the episode, Big Jim tells Junior that his mother was not crazy and that he and Junior are a part of whatever is happening with the Dome. (I think the Dome may have a different opinion based upon the kid's earlier vision.)

No. 2—All hail, Queen Julia

Yup, it appears she’s the monarch. The “four hands” sneak the mini dome down into the old cement factory, accompanied by Julia and a still handcuffed, but escaped, Barbie. There, they unlock the dome and the butterfly flies to Barbie. However, the black egg begins to vibrate and turn white. While everyone is running away from the egg, Julia picks it up. The butterfly then lands on the egg as she holds it which, the kids assume, makes her the monarch.

No. 3—The Dome speaks

At some point in the factory, everyone agrees that Big Jim is a threat and can’t be trusted—everyone except Junior. He demands the egg and points a gun at Julia. Barbie, still handcuffed, tackles him and the other five individuals escape into the woods. While in the woods Julia advises Norrie to hold the egg and ask the dome for answers so they know what to do next. Who appears? Her dead mom. They soon realize its not her dead mother, as the lady begins to speak and mentions that “we” don’t really know how to communicate with the humans yet. (So Aliens?) She then instructs them to keep the egg safe and that they have to earn the right for the lights to come back on. (Things just got weirder) As for Barbie? Well he’s in custody and is now going to be hanged in front of the townspeople.

As the episode winds down, Big Jim offers Julia a trade—Barbie’s life for the egg. She eventually declines and decides to hide the egg in a lake. Barbie has a noose around his neck and just as he’s about to be hung, the egg lights up the lake and pink stars begin to shoot into the sky. The entire dome begins to turn bright as Big Jim continues to yell for Junior to pull the lever and hang Barbie. As the camera hits black we’re left with the picture of a really bright dome and Junior's hand on the lever.

Did he pull it?

Sigh, guess we’ll have to wait until next summer to find out.