Home Featured TV Shows All TV Shows Movie Reviews Book Reviews Articles Frequently Asked Questions About Us

The 100: Blood Must Have Blood, Part 1

"Catastrophic failure? That's your plan?"

What an incredibly frustrating episode.

All that work on creating alliances, all those deaths at TonDC and elsewhere, Bellamy's amazing Die Hard undercover work, not to mention the devious four-part plan to get inside Mount Weather, and it was foiled because Lexa put her own people before her own personal honor and her passion for Clarke. And I sort of get it. It was very in character for Lexa. But wouldn't the vampires in Mount Weather eventually become a problem again, especially if Wallace's people manage to make it to the ground? Throwing away a powerful alliance with the Sky People feels like a decision that will come back to bite her, too.

It's also sad in a romantic sense. Before the deal with Wallace, Lexa had asked Clarke to go to the Grounder capital with her, probably for a hot weekend. The two of them even pushed the boom button together, essentially holding hands, even though it didn't go off. (No symbolism there, huh?) When Lexa and Emerson confronted Clarke with her decision, Emerson had this smug expression I just wanted to slap off his face, and I could swear I saw Lexa's nostrils flare. I'm sure Lexa was conflicted. Not that that will help the Sky People now.

Then there was The Door. The whole Grounder and Sky army standing in front of a huge door that wouldn't open. For an entire episode. In the end, Clarke was completely alone, still facing that door. Her task does seem insurmountable. (Was that a mountain pun? Sorry.) And that was after so much effort and so much death. Raven and Wick blowing the generators and getting all bloody and captured, after a lot of romantic banter. Octavia gave up her hard won Tree People status and her new relationship with Indra because she wouldn't leave Bellamy. Lincoln got to be cool by taking out the door with a flaming arrow, only to get dragged away by the Grounders; I'm sure he'll be the focus of some future plotline.

Doesn't this pose make Clarke look like an action hero?
Still on the inside, Bellamy continued to kick incredible butt, but the Mount Weather citizens who helped the 44 wound up dead. That nice couple early on didn't notice the suspicious beverage condensation rings on their coffee table until it was too late. (This is why everyone should use coasters.) I was particularly sorry to see Maya's father Vincent die. Ian Tracey did a nice job with a small part, didn't he? I hadn't thought a lot about what would happen to Maya if the Sky People win. She doesn't have a lot of pleasant options if she has to leave Mount Weather. Although what about marrow donation without killing the donor, perhaps?

I did love that Cage realized that he had completely screwed up everything (no shit, Sherlock) and that he finally went to Daddy for help. And got it. Even though Wallace had felt compelled to help Bellamy and the 44 earlier, it didn't surprise me that when it came down to brass tacks, Wallace was there making the hard decisions for his people. I particularly liked that first shot of Wallace in his cell under the outline of a no-longer-there painting – pretty obvious symbolism. Followed by Cage taking off the sheet that was covering Van Gogh's Starry Night and saying everything would be destroyed, hint hint.

Frustrating. And bleak. There doesn't seem to be any way for Clarke and her people to win their freedom and avoid being used and killed as marrow donors. Fortunately, we still have part two to go.

Bits and pieces:

— Bellamy finally got back to that Grounder woman in the cage. I really thought that there would be some half-naked Grounders fighting in the halls of Mount Weather, but no.

— Cage actually told his people to turn in the 44 or be considered enemies of the state. Not Nazi-like at all.

— Is Cage wearing a Nazi eagle pin? Or is it a Mockingjay pin? Come on. If anyone in this story is Katniss, it's Clarke. She should have a revolutionary pin of some sort.

— I didn't realize until I got to the end of the episode that Jaha and his crew weren't in it at all. I'm sure they're working on set-up for season three and we'll see them in the season finale.

Quotes:

Lexa: "The Mountain has cast a shadow over these woods for too long. They've hunted us, controlled us, turned us into monsters. That ends today." Or not.

Raven: "I think I liked you better before we had sex."
Wick: "Right back at you. They can't leave if you push them away first, right? How's that working out for you so far?"

Cage: "I underestimated their commander. Is that what you need me to say?"
Wallace: "It wasn't the commander. It was Clarke. You've killed us."

Wick: "Catastrophic failure? That's your plan?"
Raven: "Okay, when you say it like that, it doesn't sound like a good idea."

Since this is part one, I'm going to hold my rating until the season finale,

Billie
---
Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

2 comments:

  1. When i first saw this episode last year i was speechless..The same kind of speechless that happens after a particular significant Game of Thrones death. I could give this show no higher praise than that.

    I remember perfectly. The casting news of Lexa(Alycia Debnam-Carey) going to the new Walking Dead show and just the way the show was going. Everybody was expecting her to die heroically or awfully for Clarke and her people and redeem everything she had done.

    The episode was magnificent..The build up...The war plan and war cry from Clarke and Lexa...The appearance from side characters that i hadn't realized i even missed, (Monroe, Millers dad) Clarke and Lexa's small moment, Bellamy being badass Bellamy, Octavia and Indra in the tunnels, Wick and Raven in the field, the chaos inside the mountain, Cage and his fathers panic and the the plan just beginning to pay off....
    THEN THE BETRAYAL..WOW..

    I was so shocked and disappointed in Lexa..Then realized it was completely within character (weak-ish motivation and poor future planning from her aside)..The writers achieved a near impossible task..Making that action work from a plot perspective : the surprise of the betrayal the understanding of it if you had been paying attention to Lexa's character and somehow raising the stakes for the people who are the main characters for the 2nd part of the finale. But also they made it work from a character one..

    While frustrated, annoyed and disappointed with Lexa's decision it did not
    make it any less a great piece of TV that flew in the face of everyone's expectations...I didn't agree but i understood exactly where she was coming from...You could argue many ways how it was the wrong choice for the future of her people or that the whole 'blood must have blood' went out the window..She has made the exact same decisions leading up to this just on a smaller less personal scale in regards to Clarke. But Lexa has been flawed from the start and has been consistent since she was introduced.

    The betrayal scene was extremely well acted as well..Alot of emotion with little dialogue.



    ReplyDelete
  2. At first I was mad at the twist but it's completely understandable. The Mt.Men had all the grounder prisoners recaptured and threatened a mass execution so Lexa did what she had to do. This of course will cost her the Reaper rehabilitation program because I can't see the Sky Crew honoring their part of the deal now.

    The episode was also a great exmaple of the Unspoken Plan Guarantee rule: we heard Clarke's entire plan so of course it didn't work, we never heard what Dante and Cage were planning so it went off exactly like they wanted.

    ReplyDelete

We love comments! We moderate because of spam and trolls, but don't let that stop you! It’s never too late to comment on an old show, but please don’t spoil future episodes for newbies.