Heda the Class.
By Eric Goldman
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Lexa’s back! Lexa’s back! And she needs Clarke!
Oh, wait, Clarke just spit in her face and screamed at her. Well, you know, these two crazy kids do have some stuff to work out, after all.
As cool as it was to see Lexa again, I will go a bit outside the show to say I wish it had been a better kept secret that this is when she would be back and not so telegraphed by aspects that weren’t actually part of the storyline. I saw this episode several weeks back, long before so much info had been released, and the fact that Roan was not taking Clarke to the Ice Nation, but to Lexa, played as a nice surprise. But with it firmly being known at this point that Lexa was back in the second episode (and if you didn’t know going in, Alycia Debnam-Carey’s name in the guest list would have let you know), it probably was a lot easier for people to suspect what might be happening as we reached the final moments and we still hadn’t seen her – and I really hate that the preview for this episode included Clarke screaming her big (cool!) line, “You wanted the Commander of Death, you got her!,” considering it was her final line of the entire episode. It reminds me of when Showtime’s Dexter previews got super spoilery and I would purposely stop watching them. Which is to say… don’t watch the previews, people!
While Lexa’s return no doubt (and understandably) has Twitter tweeting and Tumblr tumbling, I was also very excited to see this episode give us something truly surprising… a storyline for Monty!! The reveal of Monty’s mom, Hannah, was a suitably big “What?!” moment, and it was good, after all this time, to see perennial buddy Monty get to deal with his own issues and loss here, as he discovered his father had died.
We want to hear it.
Along with Hannah, we also met Pike (Michael Beach, quickly bringing gravitas to the role), who adds another complication, as the joy over finding more survivors from the Ark is balanced by the fact that these people really hate Grounders and clearly aren’t making any distinctions between the Ice Nation and anyone else. It’s another nice way for The 100 to create conflict, even in the midst of a sign of hope.
This was a standout episode for Devon Bostick, who did excellent work as the oh-so broken Jasper. The moment when he took Abby’s warning to not follow in Finn’s footsteps and twisted it with “Your daughter killed him too” was quite an effective line. Even more impactful was seeing Jasper completely break down inside Mount Weather, looking at the painting Maya loved. It was also a great touch to have Octavia be the one there to comfort him too, giving these two their first big moment together since the long-gone Season 1 days when he was crushing on her.
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
Advertisement
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
Advertisement
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
The 100: “Wanheda: Part Two” Photos
[I will say though Abby insisting Jasper accompany them to Mount Weather was shaky. There were reasons she could have, including feeling he needed to do this to get past his pain and/or simply needing extra help getting Nyko from Arkadia to Mount Weather, but none of it was articulated, and it played as a odd moment as a result, given it was in the midst of the “We have to save Nyko” crisis.]
While the City of Light storyline is currently off on its own, it continues to be engaging. We actually saw the City of Light here in a bigger way, and learned that, apparently, those who are followers of Alie’s continue on (and leave their physical deformities behind), even after death. Murphy deciding to bail on Jaha was certainly understandable and Richard Harmon and Luisa D’Oliveira play well off each other – with D’Oliveira making Emori quite likable, despite her duplicitous and sometimes just not so smart ways (Seriously, trying to rob the freaky-looking giant guy when he’s siting right there? Come on, Emori!).
On an episode that gave us a “Clexa” reunion, there was plenty for the “Bellarke” contingent to love as well, as Bellamy was incredibly determined to rescue Clarke – even sneaking off on his own and disguising himself amongst the Grounders to do it. Roan so effortlessly stopping him though (another leg wound on a show filled with them!) was a good way to once more show his abilities — and willingness to show mercy, since he spared Bellamy — after he took out those Ice Nation guys earlier, and Zach McGowan is another great fit on this show.
It was also a cool reveal finding out Roan is the Prince of the Ice Nation, who apparently has been banished or left them – but believes, in some roundabout way, that his deal with Lexa can get him back by his mother’s side.
We’re just two episodes in and Season 3 of The 100 has been jam-packed, with a ton going on for just about every character. It’s a lot to juggle, but so far, so good, as this episode managed to move several players around on the board and give Clarke notable encounters with everyone from her captor, Roan, to (briefly) her would-be rescuer, Bellamy, to her long-awaited reunion with Lexa.
Meanwhile, Mount Weather came back into the story, as Abby decided to finally officially begin using the place, while we saw both Pike (simply from hearing about it) wanting to use it too, while Lincoln seemed to think no good could come of it.
On the bright side, at least someone cleaned out all the corpses!
