All my current shows have come to an end, so it's time to return to the backlog of shows I need to catch up on! The 100 is at the top of this list (I'll get to Arrow in due course) particularly since I'm watching three-at-a-time, which means I'm burning through the first season pretty quickly.
When we last saw our intrepid teens they had just confronted a Grounder in his lair, knocked him out, and discovered he was not quite knocked out enough to prevent him from stabbing Finn in the chest. Dragging both of them back to base camp sets up this episode's moral conundrum: the tried and tested narrative device of whether it's ethical to torture a human being to acquire life-saving information. It's 24 for teens!
One of the problems with this scenario is that I'm pretty confident that torture under these types of circumstances never works. Sooner or later, the person getting tortured will say anything to get the pain to stop. Furthermore, this particular scenario is rather clumsily set-up (why did the Grounder stab Finn anyway?) and involves a lot of rather idiotic behaviour (the teens seem to be under the impression that if they yell loudly enough, English will be instilled in the Grounder's brain).
Lastly, it seems a little too convenient that Octavia comes up with a plan to save the Grounder after he's already been impaled through the hand. And despite cutting herself with the poisoned blade, she never uses any of the antidote on herself. And why on earth didn't the kids just nick the Grounder with his own blade and see which of the medicinal bottles he reached for? I'm not sure what spreading the bottles out on the floor with no way of letting him indicate the correct one was meant to achieve.
But hey: teenagers. That's my go-to excuse for all the stupid things that happen on this show, and no – I'm not being facetious here. The danger of immaturity and inexperience in a survival situation is the whole point of this show.
So we watch as these teenagers fumble around the sticky topic of torture, all in an attempt to save Finn's life. To the show's credit, the whole thing is treated as a serious ethical problem, and in subsequent episodes it's clear that the decision to go ahead with it takes a heavy psychological toll on Bellamy and Clarke (not Raven though – it was almost funny, though understandable, that when faced with the impending death of her only "family" member, she would have no qualms about electrocuting the man who poses a threat to him).
A part of me took issue with the fact that despite the seriousness with which the topic of torture is treated, it ends up giving them exactly what they want – but then of course I realized that it doesn't. The torture doesn't give them the information they need; Octavia's plan does. So well played, The 100 writers. You're good at this.
And the most interesting thing about this whole scenario is that despite the fact it was Bellamy who dished out most of the pain, it was very much down to the girls to decide what would happen and how – Clarke gives her consent, Raven ups the ante, and Octavia comes up with the plan that succeeds.
***
So Finn is saved, but the dangers of the environment remain. Winter is setting in, and so Clarke is given co-ordinates from the Ark to an old emergency aid depo that might well hold supplies that will allow the teens to withstand the cold.
Bellamy takes this as an opportunity to grab some supplies and abandon the camp, knowing that as soon as the adults arrive he'll be arrested for the attempted murder of Councillor Jaha. Unbeknownst to him, the conspiracy behind this assassination attempt is tying up loose ends, which means that a guy called Dax (introduced skinning a rabbit – that's a bit heavy-handed!) is engaged to kill Bellamy.
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| He's a bad guy because he's holding a dead rabbit - nevermind that these kids have to eat at some point. |
The aid depo is a bit of a fizz, except for the discovery of guns. Oh dear. In the hands of a bunch of edgy and frightened reprobates, this isn't going to end well.
But the most important part of this entire expedition is the growing rapport between Clarke and Bellamy. Thanks to the hallucinogenic nuts that they've been chowing down on, the two of them experience visions that tap into their subconscious anxieties: Clarke's anger at her mother for betraying her father, and Bellamy's guilt over the deaths of three hundred people who died in the cull because he destroyed the radio.
They're jolted out of their stupors by the arrival of Dax and his attempt to shoot Bellamy, at which point they realize only cooperation is going to keep everyone alive. I'm well aware that Clarke/Bellamy is the big ship of this fandom, and so my natural inclination is to give it a wide berth, but I'll admit that there's something compelling about these two.
Mostly I think it comes down to the fact that it's so guileless in the way it plays out. Clearly the writers have no "shipping" designs on them, which means the relationship can proceed in a way that doesn't have all the usual shipping flags attached to it – no longing looks, no flirty smiles, no close-ups on their hands brushing. These types of clues let the audience know before the characters do that they're going to end up together, and it robs viewers of a certain amount of anticipation. Here, there is no sign of any ulterior motive in throwing Bellamy and Clarke together, and as such the developments in their relationship feel much more organic and interesting.
And if there's one thing I know about shipping, it's that people don't like to be told who to ship, they want to decide for themselves. I suspect that's the reason so many popular fandom ships are not the show's official couple, and why the likes of Zuko/Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender and Stiles/Derek from Teen Wolf are huge, even though the characters barely interact with each other. And when a team of writers is less concerned with making fetch a couple happen as they are with simply getting on with their story, the audience has the space and luxury to decide for themselves who to invest in as a romantic pairing.
So in this case, I don't think that Clarke saying "I need you" is a deliberate shippy moment (she literally meant that she needs him to survive), and neither is Bellamy teaching Clarke how to shoot (his hesitation in touching her seemed more like a reaction to the hallucinogenic nuts kicking in). But it's this lack of intent in what otherwise looks very much like your standard shipping fodder that has fandom so fixated on the possibility of them falling in love. The more two characters don't look as though they'll hook up, the more fandom will long for it.
One of these days, someone will have to work out the psychology behind all this, as I'm sure there's a common denominator to the variety of couples that fandom latch on to.
In another not!shippy (but totally shippy) moment, it's the endangerment of Clarke's life that spurs Bellamy into taking action against Dax, leaving their attacker dead and the two of them resting up against a tree together. Bellamy has been constantly been defined by his role as a protector (even if it's just protecting himself) so this serves as another moment of bonding between the two of them that still allows the writers a degree of plausible deniability when viewers question whether this is meant to be "romantic" (it isn't – but it looks as if it could be, which what really matters).
And as awful as it sounds, Clarke's words to him "we need you" imply that they truly do need a guy around the camp who's willing to take lives to protect others. This however, does not come without a cost – and with all his crimes accumulating in his head, he's on the verge of a mental breakdown. And though I can appreciate Clarke's attempt at offering him a collective clean slate, the concept of forgiveness doesn't exactly work that way. She can't forgive him for things that didn't affect her personally, and so she probably did more good in organizing his official pardon straight from the mouth of Jaha.
And in return, Bellamy gently points out that she's just as culpable when it comes to her not forgiving her own mother.
Yeah, I can see why people ship them. They've become co-leaders of the 100, and they already seem to know each other very well.
***
Meanwhile, back at camp all the nuts that Monty and Jasper have been gathering make everyone high (Nuts though? Not mushrooms or berries?). It gives Octavia the diversion she needs to safely smuggle Lincoln out of the camp, though he's spotted briefly by Finn – the guy he stabbed – who silently lets him go.
I'll admit that I can't quite put my finger on Finn. He did a douchey thing when it came to sleeping with Clarke without telling her about Raven, and he was initially characterized as the mischievous trouble-making type of character, but now it appears they're trying to paint him as the moral compass of the 100. So what is it, writers? Is he reckless or level-headed? Voice of reason or just unpredictable? I really can't tell.
***
And in the ninth episode (which I personally think is the best of the three) we have both the Ark and the teens on the ground celebrating what is known as Unity Day – the occasion in which all the ships floating through space joined together to form the Ark.
Some are more sceptical about it than others; namely Finn, who reminds Clarke that unity only took place after the thirteenth space-station was blown out of the sky (or something – it doesn't really matter, only that unity emerged after a period of violence, and that the story has since been whitewashed into a pretty little skit involving kids with flags). Finn is of the belief that a pre-emptive peace is infinitely preferable to what their ancestors achieved, and theorizes a meeting with the Grounders before things escalate.
But not before glancing at Raven, which made me groan. Please Finn, don't conflate politics with your love triangle!
But the story of Unity Day is a nice little thematic story to build this episode on; that of a sweet little story told to cover up the true violence of history. Who's to say that three generations from now the ensuing Grounder Wars won't be glossed over with talk of the beautiful romance between Lincoln and Octavia?
In any case, Finn has noticed the frequent departures of Octavia into the forest and follows her to Lincoln's love cave. It's there they broker a deal to have their respective leaders meet up for a peace agreement - and I LOVE that Lincoln recognizes that Clarke is the leader of the 100.
In many ways this is a bad idea, not least because Clarke is an eighteen year old girl whose authority will be completely superseded as soon as the adults touch the ground, meaning any terms she promises are dubious at best, despite whatever sincerity she has in agreeing to them in the first place.
But the real trouble starts when she secretly asks Bellamy for backup (with Raven and Jasper tagging along) who consequently brings guns along to the summit.
Naturally it all goes wrong. Of course it does. Jasper notices Grounders in the trees and begins firing indiscriminately. Everyone breaks up and heads back to their respective homes, the animosity between them having worsened.
I get the feeling that a lot of people side against Finn in this instance, namely because they're shipping Clarke/Bellamy and therefore have to insist that Finn must be in the wrong, but on less-biased grounds I do feel as though the writers rather unfairly expected us to see Finn as the wronged party. Which honestly? He really wasn't. Those Grounders in the trees may have been simple lookouts, but that doesn't explain why at least one of them was pulling back on their bowstring. Likewise, telling Clarke: "You didn't have to trust them, you just had to trust me" doesn't make a lot of sense since that's precisely what she did. She trusted him enough to agree to the meeting, but was leery enough of the Grounders to organize some cover.
If they wanted to make it seem as though Clarke had made the wrong call, then they should have had the Grounders spot Bellamy, Raven and Jasper looking through their rifle scopes and assume they were about to open fire, justifying a pre-emptive attack (at least in their minds). That would have put the blame back on Clarke, however innocuously, for requesting backup.
But much like the torture scenario, there's no easy answer – especially not when we find out that the deaths of Roma and those other guys whose names I can't remember were in retaliation to the flares sent up by the 100 as a signal to the Ark. Apparently they ended up burning down a village. Oops.
At least they got to see some horses!
***
Up on the Ark (which I've realized I've spelt as "Arc" in previous reviews – d'oh!) we're introduced to a new character: Diana Sydney. She's not only the ex-Chancellor but the splitting image of Elizabeth Mitchell – not just in appearance but in her implacably serene countenance. Which is a little too serene at times.
That was a nicely structured Red Herring Mole regarding Marcus Kane and the assassination attempt on Councillor Jaha, for as it turns out it wasn't him after all, but Diana. He may be ruthless in his methods, but he's sincere in his belief that he's trying to do the right thing.
Of course, there's every chance we could end up saying the same for Diana. As a spokesperson for the working class on the Ark, she brings up some good points: that the council is lying to them about their options, that they're the ones making the sacrifices for the good of humanity, and that it's their children who have already been sent down to Earth as human guinea pigs. Why shouldn't they take the Exodus ship?
Of course, she's also made at least two attempts on Councillor Jaha's life, one of which ended up seriously injuring and killing other people instead (including children, though the whole thing took place in such close quarters that I question how that bomb could have possibly just disposed of Jaha without killing anybody else).
Councillor Jaha is not without his flaws (his insistence on keeping back vital information from the populace hasn't achieved anything but rancour) but he's also been handed – in the most awful way possible – the ultimate trump card. His son is dead, which means no one can ever accuse him of sacrificing others in his endeavours while keeping his own nearest and dearest safe. Whatever else, he takes responsibility for his actions, whether it's sending Wells to Earth or pushing the button that started the cull.
It remains to be seen whether Diana is of a similar nature or whether this is all an elaborate power grab. For now, I'm not even entirely clear why she wants Jaha dead. To take his place? To cause disruption? To stop his plans from going ahead? Because with a little quick-thinking, she managed to get exactly what she wanted without the need for Jaha's demise.
In any case, the departure of the Exodus ship opens up some new realities, mainly that a completely different set of people are heading down to Earth. Not soldiers who would have posed more of a threat to the Grounders, but simple workers.
And with the Ark likened to the Titanic in which there aren't enough drop-ships for the entire population to reach the ground, this selection may very well change the course of human history.
Miscellaneous Observations:
So as was repeated ad nauseam throughout these episodes, Lincoln saved Octavia's life. But for what? He found her unconscious and carried her to his cave where he chained her to a wall. I facepalmed when Octavia came out with the following statement: "This is all my fault because I freaked out so bad when you locked me up in that cave." Oh honey, no. Look at your life, look at that sentence.
Speaking of which, where did Octavia get all her confidence if she's spent most of her life hiding under the floor of her apartment? Thing is, I really like the concept of Octavia as a girl who has had to hide herself for the duration of her childhood, but there's not much indication of that background in the way she's currently being portrayed. She comes across more as a rebel than a child in an adolescent's body, and it would have been fascinating to watch someone like her try and cope with suddenly being thrown in among her peers for the first time without warning.
Not helping is the fact that Lincoln looks waaaay older than she does.
Lincoln is like a walking symbology lesson: he gets crucified in one hand, he's named after a famous president and he's one half of a Romeo and Juliet love story. Good luck figuring all that out.
Raven, I'm not sure if having sex with Finn is a good idea so soon after he's been stabbed in the side – but I guess she's just marking her territory. (Hey, girls can do this too). Yet between this and Octavia's sexytimes with Lincoln, I'm wondering if any of these kids have access to birth control?
Monty gets the best line: "I'm pretty sure I ate a pinecone – because it told me to."
It seems to me that Bellamy/Clarke/Finn do not make up a love triangle so much as Bellamy and Finn act as foils to each other that are used to explore Clarke's decisions and reactions. Finn is all about optimism and faith while Bellamy is more to do with pragmatism and the potential for violence – it's up to Clarke to find the balance between the two of them. There's no real right or wrong answers to how she responds to their suggestions and ideas, but it's great to have male characters playing the proverbial shoulder angel/devil to a woman for a change.
On a similar note, the fact that women are given key power positions in this drama makes it easily to draw correlations between them. If they had been played by male actors, their actions and personalities would have just been one more among many, but the fact that actresses have been cast in these roles seems to invite deliberate comparison between Diana of the Ark, Anya of the Grounders and Abbie Griffin. All women, all doing what they honestly believe is best for their people, and all put in unique positions of power and influence.
My cynical side would love to point out to Bellamy that the culling of three hundred people probably wouldn't have made much of a difference either way – not if there aren't enough drop-ships to get everyone off the Ark.
If there was one line that really encapsulates Clarke's character, it would be when she tells her father: "I'm trying. I'm trying all the time." I can't even elaborate further. That's just Clarke: she's trying.
I'll admit getting a fright when the bomb went off in the middle of the kids' pageant. This show really doesn't hold back, does it – though it's one of the great ironies that despite human lives being a precious commodity in this post-apocalyptic world, they're very easily lost or destroyed ostensibly for the sake of other lives.
Gonna head into the final episodes of this season tonight – especially fitting since the weather outside is awful.
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