Okay I cheated. I couldn't resist the siren-song of the third season's trailer, so I went ahead and marathoned all the remaining episodes of this season. As such, from this point on I'll be reviewing with foreknowledge of how things pan out, which eliminates the chance for any speculation, but at least lets me examine these three-episode portions from within the context of the entire season.
A lot of these episodes are devoted to ramping up the evil of Cage Wallace and Doctor Tsing, presumably to establish them as a very real threat to the forty-seven teenagers, and to demonstrate to the audience why any sort of alliance between the Mountain Men and the people of the Ark is an ethical impossibility.
Case in point, a young test subject has been stranded outside the bunker while Cage and Tsing dispassionately watch surveillance footage to see how long it takes for the radiation to kill her. Well, not totally dispassionately – Cage acknowledges that she's in pain and wants to let her back in, but Doctor Tsing convinces him to let her do a full reading.
And though some might want to give Cage points for his momentary prick of conscience, the fact that he's willing to be talked out of it ultimately damns him. Doctor Tsing is a creature of pure science, but Cage knows it's wrong and chooses to do nothing as the girl dies in agony.
(Speaking of whom – who is this girl? Isn't she one of their own? Won't she be missed considering the limited population of the mountain? Where are her parents?)
So the Mountain Men now have a reason to harm the forty-seven teenagers in their care, with an ethical quandary laid before them. They can reclaim the surface by extracting bone marrow from the teenagers, but it's a long and painful procedure that they're not likely to willingly agree to.
The Ark population is also facing a tough decision: to run away from the Grounders (and by doing so abandon the kids in Mount Weather) or stay and fight (certainly at the cost of many lives). The choice is embodied by two characters: Thelonious is all for leaving the territory for the City of Light, and returning for the teenagers at some later time, but Abbie is still in command, and she's more reluctant – especially as she's surrounded by the parents of the missing teens.
This point-of-view is showcased by David Miller, who tells Abbie that he and the other parents aren't willing to abandon their kids, and that she has the power to let them stay. It's his rather pointed comment about how she's got her daughter back that makes her waver – and though she initially gives the order for them all to move out, it's clear that after this she's just waiting for a reason to stay.
The reason turns out to be Lincoln, who has ended up right where he started: restrained in the drop-ship. Only this time the teenagers are trying to help him, with Clarke coming up with an idea to negotiate peace with the approaching Grounders. In exchange for help in freeing the prisoners in Mount Weather, the Sky People can return the Reapers to their original state, as Abbie demonstrates on a dying Lincoln. He's miraculously (though somewhat ludicrously) saved, and a deal is brokered.
There are some interesting parallels in this sequence, such as both Clarke and Abbie using an electric prod to resolve a situation, and that the ability to heal is what makes the Sky People such a precious commodity to both the Mountain Men and the Grounders – the difference being that Abbie is willing to share her medical expertise with the Grounders, while the Mountain Men plan to take bone marrow forcibly.
Knowing what the Reapers truly are only exacerbates the worry about what could be happening to the missing teens, and so Thelonious is ordered forced to take a seat while Clarke and Lexa discuss their newfound alliance. There's only one catch: Lexa (somewhat understandably) wants Finn handed over for execution.
Here's where it gets weird, for as a viewer my first response was: "sure, hand him over!" though within the context of the show this is clearly meant to be another really tough decision. Even the writers seem to realize they have to up the stakes if they want the audience to care about the fate of an unpopular character – thereby guaranteeing that Finn will suffer a long and painful death if he's given to the Grounders.
Unsurprisingly most of the Ark want to see him gone, but I'm glad that the show refocused on Finn/Raven in the lead-up to his death (I don't care how many times he says it, I never bought that he was in love with Clarke, or visa-versa). Of course, the flashbacks can't resist softening him a bit by retconning the original crime that got him put on the drop-ship. Turns out he wasn't a daredevil rule-breaker after all but just a sensitive boyfriend trying to give his disappointed girlfriend the gift of a spacewalk.
Of course, this means that his Character Establishing Moment (floating around in the drop-ship for a lark) doesn't make much sense, but hey – nothing about Finn's characterization has been consistent.
It would appear that the writers never really knew what to do with this character, jerking him from wild-child to pacifist to creepily obsessed with Clarke, so perhaps it's best they opted to kill him off. And he's given a pretty decent send-off: showing mercy to a Grounder, saving Clarke's life in the forest, and willingly giving himself up in order to protect the others.
(Though honestly, the most interesting thing in this sequence is Raven asking Murphy to accompany them so that they might give him up to the Grounders in Finn's place. It's a pity this wasn't explored more, particularly since everyone seems to have forgotten that Murphy SHOT Raven. I can't condone her plan, but I won't say that I don't understand where she was coming from, or that she didn't have every right to prioritize Finn over her would-be murderer).
Finn's death is as predictable as Lincoln's survival, though that doesn't mean the lead-up to Clarke's Mercy Kill wasn't effective. It's hard to pull off a sincere Big No these days, but Lindsay Morgan nailed it, and Eliza Taylor did a lot with the way her frantic pleading quickly dissipated into quiet resignation.
In fact the only thing I question is the Grounders choosing to execute Finn in front of the Ark and all its inhabitants. Torturing and killing one of their own is really not the best way to begin a truce, only sow seeds of animosity and disgust.
Shakespeare motifs are the theme of the next episode, with Clarke having an Out Damned Spot with Finn's blood on her hands and being haunted throughout the episode by his image. Hey, there's even a poisoned chalice thrown in. The immediate aftermath is handled well, though as much as I liked Abbie hugging her daughter, it's Kane's reaction to the scene that's really interesting:
He knows better than anyone what's really happening among the teenagers, as evidenced by his response to Abbie saying: "they're being led by a child," in replying: "so are we." And so begins the Lexa/Clarke relationship – and however you want to define it, Clarke now has a very deep investment in making their alliance work. If it crumbles, then Finn died for nothing.
Naturally, the alliance is upset almost as quickly as it gets started – though there are pros and cons in the way it plays out. I like that Gustus was foreshadowed early on as a possible culprit, with his Character Establishing Moment telling Clarke: "if you so much as look at [Lexa] the wrong way I will slit your throat." As it transpires, he plants a vial of poison on Raven as he searches her for weapons, then drinks from Lexa's contaminated cup (in his role as taster) to make her believe the Sky People are trying to assassinate her.
And yet it's not an attempt to harm Lexa in any way – but to protect her from the mistake he thinks she's making in agreeing to an alliance. In watching Clarke and Lexa interact it's clear that if it was up to just the two of them (or any small group of leaders) they would manage things brilliantly – but all are subject to the will of their people.
So Gustus took it upon himself to protect Lexa from her own people, and by the time they've tied up Raven and are each taking a turn to cut her with a knife, I'm wondering why the Ark people are bothering with the Grounders at all. I realize there are deliberate parallels between the Grounders' brutality and the Ark's tendency to float people out the airlock, but even at this early stage it's clear the alliance is going to be more trouble than it's worth. (And I'm not sure I buy Abbie and Kane just standing there while a girl in their care undergoes a long and painful death right in front of them).
***
Meanwhile Jasper and his cohorts come to an obvious realization: they're all delinquents, and so need to start using their special skills to their advantage. They tumble to the possibility of putting out a radio signal to the Ark, though while Jasper gets to enjoy a Fake-Out Make-Out with Maya, Monty ends up disappearing for the second time.
Having run into the only security guard in history to check records, Monty is captured and joins Harper in a room full of cages that have been prepared for all of them. I know that later we get to see the gruesome procedure of extracting bone marrow (and in fact, have already seen it with Harper) but it's the sight of the empty cages waiting in anticipation of the teenagers that's truly horrifying.
***
I suppose there's some question of whether Finn was a hallucination or a real visitation, though it is worth noting that ghost!Finn points out the poisoned cup lying on the ground, thus leading Clarke to the answer of who's to blame for the assassination attempt.
In any case, his appearances throughout the episode bring Clarke to the inevitable Love Is a Weakness conclusion, that old idiom which fictional leaders everywhere grapple with: to be effective at your job you have to stop caring for anything but the greater good. As such, she sends Bellamy off to sneak into Mount Weather as their inside man...
Miscellaneous Observations:
It's interesting to note the different types of faith inherent in various characters. I can understand the power of Thelonious's faith in his mission after the experience he had with his son (whether it was real or not) but Abbie and Clarke carry the day with their faith in each other and their personal skills in healing and mediation.
There's also a possible correlation to be made between Thelonious and Dante: each are faced with a moral decision that's rejected by their followers, and because they won't change their minds, each are incarcerated as a result. Of course, their stories conclude in completely different ways – but we'll get to that...
I wondered at Bellamy's insistence that Finn should be protected considering the two of them have never been particularly close – perhaps it wasn't personal attachment so much as a general attempt at atonement that drove him.
Alycia Debnam-Carey plays Lexa beautifully. She's emotionless and tough as nails, but every now and then lets a flash of vulnerability shine through: when she asks "did [Anya] die well?", the glance at the dead bodies around the drop-ship, her act of killing Gustus, and opening up to Clarke about Costia. (Which is also our first indication of her preferences – I wonder how many viewers assumed she was talking about a friend or little sister before dropping the phrase: "she was mine.")
Hey, Clarke and Abbie actually discussed their late father/husband! I thought that plot-strand had been abandoned, though I have to admit to still not having a clear idea of what exactly happened. Abbie told Thelonious about Jake's discovery in the hope he would talk Jake out of going public? But then ended up floating him instead? C'mon writers, this subplot deserves more than this!
Of course, there is a lot of idiocy prevalent throughout these three episodes. The movement of Jasper's team relies entirely on there being no security camera in places where there should be. Like all fictional hackers, Monty's abilities are practically supernatural. The Grounders don't bother searching Clarke for any weapons as she approaches Lexa (even though she had a lethal blade up her sleeve).
The security guard is smart enough to double-check Monty's clipboard, but no attempt is made to figure out what the heck he was doing in the control room? How did Gustus know the Sky People would turn up with an offering of wine? (If they hadn't, there would have been no reason to suspect them). And why does it never cross Cage's mind to reach out to the remaining Ark residents and broker a deal with the adults to get bone marrow?
Thing is, Gustus was right when he said the Mountain Men and the Sky People are more alike than either are to the Grounders, and the latter two are not natural allies considering their culture differences. I wonder if there's a meta to be written on the way the Grounders are portrayed. Though the show avoids any of that Noble Savage nonsense, it's clear they're meant to be "other" in a lot of ways – and I find it interesting that there are more POC among the Grounders than there are in any other population.
On the other hand, I think the integration of Ark adults and teenagers is being handled surprisingly well. It's the natural inclination for the adults to want to take over, but things are playing out in such a way that it's equally understandable that the likes of Bellamy and Clarke are able to keep calling the shots when it comes to their negotiations with the Grounders. That Abbie and Kane are quietly acquiescing to their leadership feels like something that could actually happen.
I've realized that in these types of "impossible moral decision" stories, there are always three courses of action that the plot offers: to act for the greater good, to move on behalf of an individual's welfare, or to find a clever third option that solves both problems. The 100 always takes the first, toughest option – and I'm continually surprised at just how far they're willing to go with it.
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