TV Recap: The 100, Wanheda Part 2

Another week another episode of The 100. I somehow forgot how quickly and completely my life utterly devolves when this show is on air. Ever since they dropped The Illiad in last week’s episode and it was hinted that the book would be this season’s big thematic parallel I have been (literally nonstop) studying the story and speculating various ways it could play out (although a certain character reveal completely fucks about half of my working theory so, back to the drawing board) (also, sorry to disappoint the maybe one person who wanted to hear what I had to say about that in this episode, I’m too overwhelmed to get into it right now).

So, yeah. Last night’s episode aired and I am a complete and utter TRAINWRECK of a human being.

Last week I separated out spoilers and episode specific information but honestly I don’t know how to talk about this episode without actually talking about it so let me just say I AM VERY INTO ALL THE THINGS HAPPENING HERE (except Jaha, fuck Jaha) AND SUPER TERRIFIEDNERVOUSEXCITED TO SEE WHERE THIS SEASON GOES.

Everything after here contains spoilers, you have been warned.

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OKAY HERE WE GO.

Jaha/ALIE/Murphy/City of Light:

The City of Light is virtual reality. Fucking called it. I am reluctantly interested in this not so much for the city itself but to see how it plays out for the characters I love so dearly. Based on some leaked finale stuff I have Theories. Murphy continues to make me grudgingly like him, not because he’s done anything to earn it but because there’s Jaha being so awful I want to tear my hair out for comparison. This is such a godamn cheat code on the writers’ part and I hate that it’s working on me so well. Shout out to Emori though, she’s cute as hell and she hates Jaha so consider me officially pro-Emori. I am deeply curious about the seemingly throwaway “We have other buyers” line. I would confidently put money on us finding out about these other buyers and them playing a role at some point down the road.

Notable quotes:

(Gideon in robot voice): “There is no pain in the City of Light”
Creepy af.

(We can all see where this is going, yes? Oh look, a magical virtual reality where your dead loved ones can be with you and there’s no pain and fighting and horror. Compared to that why would you stay in this shitty reality where there’s nothing but pain and endless blood on your hands and no end in sight? CHOOSING BETWEEN FAKE BLISS KNOWING IT ISN’T REAL AND PAINFUL REALITY. THIS IS DEFINITELY ONE OF MY FAVORITE NARRATIVE QUANDARIES AND FUCK IT APPARENTLY I ACTUALLY AM EXCITED ABOUT THIS I DIDN’T REALIZE.)

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Abby/Jackson/Lincoln/Octavia/Jasper/Mt Weather:

I loved the Jackson/Abby/Octavia/Lincoln scene so so so so much. First, the part where Octavia and Lincoln IMMEDIATELY offered their blood for Nyko’s transfusion, no questions asked. They’re both so loyal to the people they love. Secondly, the should we use Mt Weather debate is an interesting one. On the one hand, it has state of the art medical facilities and as the Nyko situation illustrates, by not using them they’re indirectly condemning people to death. On the other hand, that’s where the mountain people slaughtered untold numbers of Grounders and asking survivors of genocide to go back to the scene of said genocide, even for good reasons, is SQUICKY AS FUCK. My practical brain wants to shout get over it and just go with it but everything else in me is like BAD. PLAN.

Jackson’s line about how maybe Abby should just be a doctor gave me chills. Again I’m torn because on the one hand, with the obviously bad news Pike on the way, the Arker’s need a thoughtful, mediating leader. On the other, in the immortal words of Ron Swanson, better to whole ass one thing than half ass two things.

And can we talk about how Lincoln more or less immediately goes back on his stay away from the mountain stance from last week? Hats off the Ricky Whittle who let that entire struggle play out on his face in a single, brief shot (seriously what school of facial acting did all of these actors go to because it is TOP. NOTCH.). It really drove home to me how isolated Lincoln is. He has so few people he cares about and seeing one of them in jeopardy causes him to throw all caution to the wind. His world has been pain and war and he clings to the bright spots and people because there are so few of them and they’re precious to him.

I can’t tell if the scene where Abby compares Jasper’s inability to deal with Finn’s inability to deal is foreshadowing Jasper dying or if that’s too obvious. It’s very clearly setting up a parallel between the two and how they process trauma (more directly than was already set up and I can’t tell if this show’s tendency to explicitly point out themes and parallels in case the audience wasn’t catching them irritates me or not) but how it plays out we have yet to see. Honestly I hope he dies. I said last week that I’m not feeling Jasper as the extreme PTSD example and I stand by it. I’m over Jasper. I’m over his grief. I’m a callous bitch, what can I say?

Notable quotes:

“Don’t do anything stupid”
“You mean like coming back here?”
Hey look, for once I actually agree with Jasper.

“Places are not evil, bother. People are.”
Theoretically I feel you Nyko but I have a really bad feeling about this and what this will ultimately end up meaning for Lincoln. You are asking your people to get over A. LOT. and I don’t see it going well.

“It’ll get better.”
“When?”
Grudging points awarded to Devon Bostick for the scene with Octavia in the art storage room at Mt. Weather. Congratulations Jasper, you gave me genuine emotions. That was very, very well-played. I also loved the subtle reminder that Octavia also lost someone she briefly “loved” (apologies for the sarcasm quotes but for fuck’s sake, you barely knew Maya). Definitely believe that was a deliberate point.

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Bellamy/Monty/Indra/Kane/Pike:

How much do I love that Monty is doing things and they’re things that have nothing to do with Jasper? BACKSTORY! FEELINGS! Chris Larkin fucking nails it and I am SO. EXCITED. to see what he’s going to do this season.

I also love seeing Indra trying to be diplomatic. It’s a new look for her and I am absolutely here for anything that adds to Indra’s character.

I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT BELLAMY SAVING NIYLAH. I can’t tell you how happy I am that they’re leaving Niylah coming back later as an option. Also Bellamy’s little nod to her at the end of the scene. Can we talk about that nod? I’m going to talk about that nod. To me that nod is not only a thank you to Niylah for pointing them in Clarke’s direction but also an acknowledgment and thank you for caring about Clarke. Look at the scene, Niylah just got he ever loving shit beat out of her and was about to get her hand cut off all because she wouldn’t give away Clarke’s location. It clearly illustrates that she cared about Clarke and I think that part of that nod was Bellamy thanking her for caring for Clarke when he and the rest of her friends and family couldn’t. It has to help his peace of mind in some small way that she wasn’t totally alone out in the wild.

Alright, so, Bellamy’s face when Pike asks him what happened to the common enemy and Bellamy says ‘we won’ opens up a thing I want to talk about in regards to how the mountain played out and Clarke as Wanheda. As much as it hurts me, I am SO. FUCKING. INTO. how Bob’s playing Bellamy’s reactions to any mention of Wanheda and the massacre of Mt. Weather. Everyone (including Clarke herself) is looking at the events in the season 2 finale as a thing that Clarke did. Clarke is the Commander of Death, Clarke killed the mountain. Everytime it comes up in Bellamy’s presence you can tell he is not cool with it. Obviously part of it is the reminder of what happened, obviously part of it is a reminder that it wrecked Clarke so bad she had to leave, and obviously part of it is deep concern over how it’s affecting Clarke wherever she is (sob).

But I think part of it is also that when everyone is focused so hard on what Clarke specifically did, they’re dismissing the part Bellamy played in it and his sacrifice and his pain. It’s super weird for me to advocate for elevating dude feelings over the lady main character but god I want somebody to acknowledge the part Bellamy played? I know it was Clarke’s move but from his point of view he sacrificed a massive piece of himself to support her and pull that lever with her and by her leaving and everyone acting like Clarke was the only one in that control room, they’re inadvertently saying ‘your sacrifice didn’t matter’ and it’s killing me and obviously hurting Bellamy.

I am so terrified and excited for his arc this season. Bob shows you through a million subtle physical cues that Bellamy is holding himself and his feelings in as hard as humanly possible for the sake of everyone around him (and, I believe, because his character is fundamentally self sacrificing in the extreme and he doesn’t want to make it about him and give everyone the responsibility of dealing with his feelings). You can see the stress written all over him and you can see the cracks in the facade. Bellamy is unquestionably going to break soon and when he does it’s going to be messy as fuck and I, for one, will probably not survive it.

Btw, speaking of Pike, I don’t think I really need to tell anyone he’s going to be really bad news, right? That was already pretty clear from interviews and such but this ep drives that home. He deeply hates the Grounders (one could argue for good reason based on Farm Station’s experiences though obviously blanket hating an entire nation of people based on the actions of one group is A SHITTY AND TERRIBLE WAY TO LIVE) and that is very obviously going to have major repercussions for Arkadia.

SHOUT OUT TO CANON ESTABLISHMENT OF BELLAMY AND CLARKE AS ACADEMIC NERDS (for reference, see Pike telling Bellamy that Clarke was one of his best Earth Skills students and Bellamy’s grin and familiarity with Pike indicating he was an active participant in his classes as well).

Notable quotes:

“Not all the Grounders are the same.”
“They are to me.”
Oh yeah, Pike is going to be swell.

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Roan/Clarke:

LET’S TALK ABOUT ROAN. I am so godamn into him and his dynamic with Clarke. I like how there’s this immediate mutual respect in spite of the animosity and I love how the characters work with each other. If there was a spin off of Clarke & Roan: Bounty Hunters, I would watch the shit out of that in a heartbeat. And given the big Roan reveal at the end of the episode, I am VERY VERY interested to see how he shakes things up. He’s clearly going to have a massive role to play in the coming events and I cannot wait. Lexa had sure as shit watch her back ESPECIALLY if Clarke and Roan end up being the dynamic duo I’m hoping they will be.

I really really really liked their conversation in the subway tunnel about the similarities and differences of their positions. I genuinely do believe that if Roan could he would bring Clarke back to her people. I am fully convinced he is the Hector in this thematic Illiad parallel they’re doing.

Notable quotes:

(Roan re: Clarke being blonde again) “There, that’s better”
Lolololol, love when the writers do audience inserts. Roan is all of us.

“Another inch and I’d be dead. Maybe you’re not the Commander of Death.”
Cue me whisper-shrieking she’s just a giiiiiiiiiiiiirl.

Also, shout out to Clarke’s face while she watches Roan limp around and deal with his stab wound. How much do you want to bet that during her time away she has gone to great lengths to avoid hurting another person or doing anything to add to her body count? I would put a lot of money on that. This isn’t to say she doesn’t have a mental list of people who need to pay, the end of the episode clearly shows she has not sworn off the thought of killing another person ever again, but in this scene I think she’s pretty clearly upset that she hurt a new person, especially one she has some level of respect for. Then again, what do I know. Maybe she’s just like fuck, should’ve gone for that extra inch.

“I’m no one.”
Chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiills.

—

Lexa/Polis

I don’t have too much to say about the final scene with Clarke and Lexa and Roan (aside from OH SHIT ROAN’S THE PRINCE OF THE ICE NATION and CLARKE SPITTING IN LEXA’S FACE GAVE ME LIFE. SAME TO HER FINALLY LETTING LOOSE ALL OF HER RAGE. THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD and AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH PAN SHOT OF POLIS PAN SHOT OF POLIS). I really don’t want to shit on anyone’s ship so I’m just going to say that I don’t think you can argue that the writers very deliberately set up the parallels to how Bellamy and Lexa have gone about finding Clarke and I think they are VERY ILLUSTRATIVE.

I’m not saying they’re trying to show that one of them cares more than the other but I do think they are very pointedly driving home the extremely different positions the two of them are in when it comes to Clarke and their feelings for her and their ability to act on said feelings. Lexa will always have the concerns of an entire nation standing in between her and Clarke. It’s a huge part of what makes that ship so tense and tragic. Bellamy is able to throw everything away (including his life) to find her. That is all.

Notable quotes:

“YOU WANTED THE COMMANDER OF DEATH? YOU GOT HER”
Oh god this is going to be so good.

—

Bellamy and Clarke

Okay guys. It’s time. I’m going to talk about the Bellamy and Clarke stuff. I’ve made absolutely no secret of my extreme, undying allegiance to team Bellarke and this episode was feelings fucking central so brace yourselves, it’s about to get emotional and probably incoherent up in here.

It is ON from the minute Bellamy sees Clarke through his scope and processes that what he’s seeing is her and she’s real and she’s RIGHT. THERE.

(AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT HIS FACE AS THAT REALIZATION HITS HIM AND SINKS IN? CAN WE CAN WE CAN WE? ACTUALLY I LIED I CAN’T TALK ABOUT IT I CAN ONLY LAUGH HYSTERICALLY AND CRY).

He immediately goes tearing off to get to her. He’s been relatively calm and together (though clearly high key stressed and trying to be low key about it) up until now but this is the pebble that kicks off the avalanche. He yells at Pike for getting in his way and from this point out his low key visible stress moves into unarguably high key territory. THE WAY HE BITES HIS LIP AND HIS JAW TWITCHES AS HE WATCHES FROM AFAR AS ROAN DRAGS HER AWAY.

For real though, the physical acting in this episode, especially from the halfway mark on, is so. fucking. good. Every one of Bob’s movements is abrupt and frantic. He paces, he shakes, he scrubs his hands through his hair. He camps out at the front of the cave, as close as he can possibly be to where he last saw her, jumping out of his skin to go after her. His tension is so real and so present I’m getting anxious just writing this. And then when he finally snaps. BELLAMY BLAKE. THROWING HIMSELF INTO THE PATH OF AN ARMY. WILLING TO THROW AWAY HIS ENTIRE LIFE (WHICH PS INCLUDES HIS SISTER WHICH GIVES ME VERY VERY COMPLICATED AND TRAGIC EMOTIONS). ALL FOR JUST. ONE. GIRL.

Oh god guys, guys, guys. That reunion. THAT FUCKING REUNION. IT WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND SO MUCH MORE THAT I THOUGHT WE WOULD GET. I’m legitimately shaking right now and I can’t slow down my brain enough to type. From the moment Monty saw Bellamy sneaking out of the cave, I started screaming and didn’t stop until the end. I’m honestly shocked none of my neighbors called the cops (so glad I don’t live in an apartment anymore).

What was my favorite part? I don’t even know. HIS FACE WHEN HE SEES HER TIED TO THE POST. THE WAY THE SCORE CHANGES TO EMOTIONAL STRINGED INSTRUMENTS AS HE COMES AROUND TO FACE HER. HIS SMILE WHEN TAKES IN HER FACE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MONTHS. THE SITUATION IS DIRE AND HE CANNOT STOP HIMSELF FROM GENUINELY GRINNING AND TAKING A MOMENT TO BRUSH HER HAIR OUT OF HER FACE INSTINCTIVELY NEEDING TO SEE ALL OF HER CLEARLY AND TAKE IT IN. THE WAY HER EYES GET BIG. THE WAY THEY SAY EACH OTHER’S NAMES. THE WAY SHE HICCUPS WHEN HE SAYS HE’LL GET HER OUT, DESPERATELY NODDING. THE TERROR IN HER VOICE WHEN SHE SHOUTS LOOK OUT. THE WAY CLARKE HAS BEEN FIGHTING ROAN EVERY STEP OF THE WAY AND IMMEDIATELY GIVES UP AND BARGAINS HER FREEDOM AND MOST LIKELY IN HER MIND HER LIFE WHEN BELLAMY HAS A SWORD TO HIS NECK. THE WAY HER VOICE BREAKS AS SHE BEGS, BEGS, FOR BELLAMY’S LIFE. Don’t get me wrong, I fully believe that Clarke would have made that bargain for every one of her people but choose to believe she would only make it with that level of sheer, unadulterated desperation for Bellamy.

And then and then and then there’s more, as if this wasn’t already too much. CUT TO BELLAMY BLEEDING PROFUSELY FROM A MAJOR LEG WOUND COMPLETELY UNABLE TO WALK BUT COMMITTED TO DESPERATELY HOBBLING HIS WAY TO CLARKE. UNWILLING TO LET ANYTHING INCLUDING HIS OWN BODY STOP HIM FROM GETTING TO HER.

This still gave me a lot of emotions pre episode but now that I know the context it is utterly decimating.

AND HOW COMPLETELY HEART SHATTERING IS THIS: “I ALMOST HAD HER” ALMOST. I HAVE NEVER FELT THAT TUMBLR BAIT QUOTE ABOUT ALMOST BEING THE WORST WORD MORE. THE WAY HIS VOICE BREAKS WHEN HE ASKS IF KANE PLANS TO JUST LET ROAN KILL HER. THEN SHOUTING “I CAN’T LOSE CLARKE” AND REPEATING SOFTER, FUCKING BROKEN AND CRYING, “WE CAN’T LOSE HER” (and don’t even get me started on Monty being the only one that can talk him down because I just cry) (lots of crying happening in my life right now).

THIS IS IT FOLKS. WE ARE SEEING THE START OF THE GREAT BELLAMY BLAKE BREAK DOWN OF 2016 AND IT IS GOING TO BE FUCKING EPIC.

I am also completely convinced that this marks the beginning of the show deliberately laying the foundation for the two of them coming together for real. There have been moments before (again I direct you to my bellamy x clarke tag on tumblr) but this. THIS. THIS FEELS INTENTIONAL. YOU DO NOT HAVE A SCENE WITH TWO PEOPLE LOOKING AT EACH OTHER AND REACTING TO EACH OTHER THE WAY BELLAMY AND CLARKE LOOKED AND REACTED THIS EPISODE WITHOUT IT MEANING SOMETHING HUGE. Do not get me wrong, I am in no way saying I expect them to confess their love and make out or bang against a tree anytime soon, there’s a long, hard road ahead of them and it is absolutely going to get so much worse before it gets better but do not tell me this isn’t the official beginning of the road to something major because I. WILL. FUCKING. FIGHT. YOU.

For more feeling’s, please see the brilliant and ever eloquent Natalie Crown’s thoughts on the bellarke in this ep.

Notable quotes:

Literally all of them.

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In conclusion, I will leave you with this gifset. I will watch this scene on repeat until it is burned so deeply into my brain it is the last thing I see before I die.

HIS FUCKING SMILE IN THAT FIRST GIF. THE FACE STROKING. THE WHIMPERED NAMES. THE I’LL GET YOU OUT OF HERE. THE EVERYTHING THAT COMES AFTER. JUST THE EVERYTHING OF IT ALL IN GENERAL.

LEAVE.

ME.

HERE.

TO.

DIE.