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The 100: Ye Who Enter Here

"She will always put her people first."

That was good. The best out of the three so far. Layers upon layers of juicy television goodness. I liked it so much that I forgot about missing Clarke's red hair.

Lexa is really feeling the heat from all sides. Ice Nation won't fall in line anymore, no matter how icy Lexa's glares get or how far down they are pushed. Clarke was able to get a knife to the commander's throat.

No no no no no no no. I hated seeing Clarke bow to Lexa. I think I hated it even more than Clarke did. Bellamy said that Lexa will only put the needs of her people first. I sort of disagree. I think she made the decision to abandon Clarke at Mount Weather not because it was best for her people, but because she thought it would look weak if she didn't. Or at the very least, she would have felt weak. Clarke is the one that won't save face if it means protection for the people that she loves. Clarke is the one that will sit at the feet of the person that betrayed her on every level. Clarke is the one that always puts her people first.

As much as I hated Clarke being manipulated into backing Lexa's plan, I hated seeing Lexa bow to Clarke even more. Mostly because it seemed like other manipulation on her part. There are times when Lexa seems genuine. Like when she apologized for breaking Clarke's spirit after Clarke couldn't kill her, and she was set on getting Clarke to bow her special powers away even when counselled to kill her for them. But I'm with Bellamy here, I can't trust someone with that kind of smoky eye game without access to a Sephora.

Echo is Ice Nation. She was in the cage next to Bellamy and she showed up in the nick of time to trick Bellamy into leaving the mountain and heading to Polis. Why? Did the queen think that Bellamy was too great a threat to leave at the mountain? That he might stop the assassin? He is very tenacious. It just seems like Clarke is getting all accolades for the genocide. She's the commander of death, after all. Not Bellamy. Did Echo spare him as a favor?

Emerson is back and working with Queen Nia. Characters on this show vacillate so strongly between powers of ultimate forgiveness and Olympic-level grudge-holding that the audience can never really know what side characters will fall on. How Echo can work alongside a guy that kept her in a cage and experimented on her friends is beyond me as is blowing up a mountain of useful supplies. I guess they have their reasons. I am a sucker for continuity, though, and I love how Emerson being in the queen's pocket makes so many things come together. Like her assassin having the code and Emerson's survival outside of the mountain.

Something this show has done before that makes me laugh is make villains physically ugly. They want to be sure that we know who we are supposed to root for. When the grounders started showing up and killing the original 100, they were in masks. It wasn't until the possibility of them becoming allies to the Arkers that they started showing up in super dramatic eye shadow warpaint. Echo's face was even a little battered when she came to warn Bellamy. The assassin is the least physically appealing person we've seen so far.

3.5 out of 4 launch codes.

Bits and pieces

The complete quote the title references is 'Abandon hope all ye who enter here.' A supposed inscription on the entrance to hell. This is the second reference to Dante's Divine Comedy that we've gotten this season. The first being Maya's favorite painting depicting a circle of hell. Hi, symbolism, good to see you again.

Did the assassin put his blood in an Altoids tin?

Gina, Bellamy's girlfriend, is dead. Clarke's lady friend is apparently staying at the trading post in the woods and wasn't even mentioned this week. Weird that they would give us love interests for both and then immediately cast them aside. Wick is MIA, Maya is dead, there is a kill order on Lincoln and Monty hasn't even gotten a first date. The CW usually embraces the wayward romance tropes. I'm not complaining.

Bellamy told Octavia that if she needed to leave, he understood. He told Clarke to come back with him. Possibly very telling. He told Gina to stay in the mountain, for whatever that's worth.

Lexa: "It's easier to hate me than to hate yourself."
Clarke: "I can do both."
Lexa: "What would you have done, if their leader had offered you the deal – save your people at the price of mine? Would you really have chosen differently?"
Clarke: "I don't betray my friends."
Lexa: "But you did. You had friends in Mount Weather."
Clarke: "Those deaths are on you, too. The only difference is you have no honor and I had no choice."

Bellamy: "She left us to die on that mountain. She will always put her people first. You should come home to yours."


Too bad Kane didn't get a chance to flex his negotiating muscles for Abby.

5 comments:

  1. I really don't see why you would assume that Clarke's lady friend was there to stay - in fact, it seems pretty clear something is going to happen with Lexa, no? At least, that's what I think, which is probably why I did like Lexa bowing before Clarke ;)

    I did dislike Bellamy's girlfriend dying, why give him a girlfriend if she's immediately going to die? That he immediately believed Echo seems also somewhat contrived. But, like you, I did like the episode :)

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  2. I was apprehensive about season three when two ended with that AI thing, but I'm really happy so far. They finally paid off the woman in the next cage thing. Kane has grown as a person so much that I'm finally down with the idea of him taking over as Chancellor. And Lexa is back in a big way, although I'm completely confused about her motivations. Is she actually in love with Clarke?

    It's so silly, but I'm completely distracted by Clarke's hair. In the first two seasons, it looked so little girl. I liked the dirty red look in the last episode, but what I've always wanted to see is Clarke in one of those massive grounder hairdos. And she finally got one! The red may be mostly gone, but I think there are still a few red locks in the back she missed. :)

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  3. I wouldn't say that Lexa was manipulating Clarke into backing her plan. There were no tricks, no coercion, she told Clarke what she wanted and Clarke, who is too sharp to be manipulated by anyone, knew exactly why she wanted it. Clarke made the decision to bow to Lexa and join the coalition because she knows it is the best thing for her people. As they say, better the devil you know.

    I also disagree that Lexa betrayed Clarke because she didn't want to seem weak. That doesn't really scan with what we've seen of Grounders. This is a warrior culture that values strength and one's skill as a warrior. They are basically Kilingons without the bad opera. Lexa is now seen as weak by her enemies and allies because she will make deals rather than fight. If she wanted to be seen as strong she would never have accepted that deal.

    I really don't like that Gina was shoved n the fridge for the sake of Bellamy's manpain. I thought this show was above such lazy writing.

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  4. There was no manipulation, in regards to Clarke Lexa has always been truthful in her words.
    Lexa tried to convince her to bow at first but Clarke's saw through it all. I think you forgot that it was Clarke's idea to bow..By that point Lexa was going to let her go.
    That is what makes Clarke's such a great character and even in her anger understand the betrayal.
    I also disagree with the reasoning for Lexa leaving the mountain. I don't see how it was to save face...If anything the opposite has happened and she has lost respect in the eyes of the Ice Nation for taking a deal rather than fighting....Right or Wrong she felt she was doing the right thing for her people.
    Remember how many Grounders have died technically by Lexa's orders( I think people overlook how that impacted her decision at the mountain)...In terms of lives and casualties she was right, but the decision was wrong and she is paying the price now. Not only is she losing her power but she has to win Clarke's trust and affection back.

    Lexa while being a warrior is also a big picture thinker as is Clarke, which is why she realised taht her best option was to submit to Lexa (Better the devil you know)...But Lexa is limited by the grounders way of thinking...Remember even now the Ice Nation is angry not because she betrayed Clarke and co but simply because she chose to deal rather than fight. Lexa is not as brutal and bloodthirsty as the average grounder but she also has a long way to go before she is like Lincoln...She can make mistakes, morally corrupt ones, but who hasn't on this show.

    Lexa obviously loves Clarke (Was Clear last Season) but she also respects Clarke's way of thinking/leadership and she knows that Clarke is a better leader than she is...This became clear to me in that private talk she had when she referred to Clarke as special. Whether Clarke wants to admit it or not she is a great leader and Lexa recognised this immediately...and ever since she has been trying to almost groom Clarke.

    Lexa bowing to Clarke was a big moment and gesture. It was also more important than Clarke bowing to Lexa which was just a formality...This was something private between them.

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  5. After a lot of setup has been done in the double premiere it's time for a really strong episode with only one flaw. I thought the writers would be above creating a red-shirt girlfriend just to fridge her 3 episodes in, but I guess noone is perfect. I bet just to fuel Bellamy's arc.

    But that just one gripe in a sea of excellence. I love the Grounder politics, the return of Echo and Emerson and all the Clexa interactions. Too bad Echo betrayed the Skaikru. Or did she save Bellamy's life? Maybe both.

    Speaking of the trading post girl. It screamed one night stand with a one-off guest star just to remind us that Clexa is a possiblity.

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