”May you live forever.”
By Eric Goldman
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Some are taking Jaha’s chips and going to Alie’s City of Light, some are following Pike and agreeing to kill a bunch of people, but man, a lot of people are sure drinking the Kool-Aid – whichever flavor it may be – in Arkadia.
That being the case, it was good to see the bit of stealth resistance being offered now by Kane, Octavia, Abby and Miller (nice to see him involved in such a notable way, after his role in Mount Weather last season). Hopefully they can get more on their side soon though, because right now, these are terrible odds.
I was glad to see Monty back in the thick of things, considering Hannah’s role in Pike’s regime, but it felt weird to skip over seeing him learn about the massacre. Does he condone it? Is he aware of his mother’s actions, and if so, is he disgusted by them? (He wasn’t there for it, but she ordered a kid killed in this episode! Damn you, Hannah!) Even though he did speak out against the decision to clear the village, he ultimately still accompanies the group, but hopefully upcoming episodes will give us more of his exact perspective and opinion.
Bellamy continues to be Pike’s right hand man and enforcer. He’ll speak up when he has some issues with a potential plan, but once Pike tells him to do it, he does it. It’s a frustrating situation to see unfold and I do wonder if Bellamy truly believes he can ever convince those he cares about he was doing the right thing or has resigned himself to perhaps losing them forever.
Bob Morley as Bellamy on The 100
Henry Ian Cusick as Kane and Bob Morley as Bellamy on The 100
Jarod Joseph as Miller and Jonathan Whitesell as Bryan on The 100
Isaiah Washington as Jaha on The 100
Devon Bostick as Jasper, Paige Turco as Abby, and Isaiah Washington as Jaha on The 100
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Paige Turco as Abby and Isaiah Washington as Jaha on The 100
Paige Turco as Abby and Isaiah Washington as Jaha on The 100
Erica Cerra as Alie and Isaiah Washington as Jaha on The 100
Eliza Taylor as Clarke on The 100
Neil Sandilands as Titus, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Lexa, and Eliza Taylor as Clark on The 100
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Neil Sandilands as Titus, Alycia Debnam-Carey as Lexa, and Eliza Taylor as Clarke on The 100
Alycia Debnam-Carey as Lexa, and Eliza Taylor as Clarke on The 100
Alycia Debnam-Carey as Lexa on The 100
Meanwhile, Raven’s gone all pod person! It was both fun and spooky seeing Raven, after being so distraught and in pain for so long, return to a version of the upbeat, plucky girl we first met – but one that is most certainly off, as she does what Jaha and Alie ask in an off way that indicates she has no real say in the matter. Alie trying to use Raven to find the second version of herself, which her creator, Becca, left the Earth with, was an interesting twist, as was finding out that the name Polis is in fact taken from Polaris, the lost, thirteen space station – a revelation that gave us The 100’s first echo of Battlestar Galactica in awhile, but perhaps one of the most notable.
We’re starting to get a lot of gratifying plot intersections here, as Jasper nearly took Jaha’s chip, only to be stopped by Abby, while Murphy was taken to (and beaten by) none other than Titus – as we began to understand that Grounders from Polis recognizing the “sacred symbol” may go back a long way, and a long distance into outer space.
We also finally got the other shoe dropping in terms of the effects of the City of Light here as well, as Jaha had… forgotten Wells! Alie coaching him through that moment was a nice touch, even as Abby wasn’t buying his excuses for what occurred. So now we see Alie takes away your pain but can also take away more, which is a cool Monkey’s Paw-type revelation.
Clarke meanwhile was given a compelling moral dilemma, as she needed to prove if she could practice what she preached when it came to sparing Emerson. The final encounter between Clarke and Emerson was terrific, with Clarke not only telling Emerson that she realized she would really be killing him to make herself feel better, but that she didn’t even think she deserved the peace that maybe could come along with taking him out. Finding out Clarke had killed Emerson’s own children and then seeing how much he truly seemed to wish for his own death also gave this villain some appreciated nuance.
Last year, I joked about how the whole idea of the Commander being a reincarnation of sort reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Well here, Lexa revealed the previous Commanders speak to her in her sleep, which makes the Airbender echoes even closer. Which I still have no problem with, because The 100 and Avatar: The Last Airbender are both awesome
The problematic part of The 100’s current storyline continues to be the difficultly in fully seeing the perspective of anyone assisting Pike, as it just feels like we need more time to explain some of what is occurring – which this week included not quite exploring how Monty feels about what has happened and his mother’s direct involvement. Still, that side, there’s still a lot of compelling material here, as Octavia and Kane are now in Pike’s sights, while the cult of Alie continues to spread across Arkadia. Pike and Alie’s influence on Arkadia don’t seem like they have much overlap, so it’ll be interesting to see if this leads to yet another confrontation soon.
This was also a notable episode for how it deftly used The 100’s ever-growing group of important recurring characters, including Emerson’s reunion with Clarke, Miller stepping up as an ally to Kane, Jackson joining Team Alie (oh no!) and Monroe meeting her maker – shortly after we finally learned her first name.
RIP, Zoe.
