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The 100: Join or Die

"Keep fighting at all costs, against all odds. The minute you give up, you’re dead."

I don't know what to say here. Blah blah blah.

The blood in the streets of Polis was appropriately horrifying. I kept cringing watching people walk through it in what I can only assume are their only pairs of boots. And it has to smell great.

Let's start on a lighter note. I loved loved loved the flashbacks on the Ark. It was like a nod to the return to season one that we've been experiencing this season. And not just in the way that Clarke and co. are the only hope against ALIE. Abby and Kane are now back to following Jaha, too. While I'm talking about that, is he ALIE's errand boy or the mastermind? As far as we know, ALIE wasn't strong arming people into taking the key before Jaha so it has to be his influence, right? But she is the all powerful AI that destroyed the world. How likely is it that she'd take orders at all?

Of course not everything is exactly as it was. (I hated the thin excuse for why Monty wasn't there and how Finn wasn't even mentioned. Continuity, people, get on this.) While everyone is growing and evolving, Murphy and Octavia in particular are leaps and bounds from where they were when we first met them. Murphy was right, he will survive, but he has to be impressing even himself at this point. I don't think he spoke up to save Pike because he cared if Pike lived or died. Although it was wildly clear that Pike's suffering didn't roll off his back and he certainly wasn't relishing it the way the grounders were. I think he saw that Pike could be useful in getting out of grounder jail so he convinced Indra to stop the torture. In Pike's classroom Murphy only saw what was right in front of him, but now he is a master strategist and chameleon. Octavia has changed, too. No longer timid or apologetic for existing, she's brave and strong and has the ability to take charge. She drank the roofie cocktail right away because she was able to trust her instincts and her faith in Lincoln. When the drop ship first landed, she probably still would've downed it, but out of impulse.

I have a confession to make. When the grounders started coming out of the water, there was a brief moment when I got excited about mermaid grounders. How great would that be? I mean radiation gave that deer two heads, couldn't it have given people gills and fins and magical flowing Ariel hair?? But no. No mermaids. Just scuba gear and and an oil tanker(?).

And in true The 100 fashion, after spending half of this season making sure that we hate Pike, it's time to turn him into a whole character now. Seeing him fret about whipping the 100's earth skills into shape and even trying to go down with them was very sweet. It was the first time any of the adults acknowledged how ridiculous their plan was. All that was well and good, but I'm getting a little tired of characters being made out as devils incarnate only to be expected to forget the horribleness that they've inflicted.

2.5 out of 4 mermaid grounders

Bits and pieces

There is an insane parallel between Jasper's reaction to Maya's death and his blame/hatred for Clarke and what Octavia is going through now. Octavia blames Bellamy and hates him for it, but she isn't self destructive. She isn't batting between flying off the handle and wallowing in self-pity.

In another parallel, Kane was strung up in almost the exact same manner that he had Abby strung up to be shocklashed in Camp Jaha last season. And he was coerced into taking the key in the exact same way that Abby was. Are they trying to say something about these two characters or are they running out of ways to tell this story? Plus, Abby practically jumped Kane's bones out of nowhere trying to get him to find out where Clarke is. Did ALIE make her do it? Was it a way for Abby to show Kane that it wasn't really her? It just seemed too insanely out of character.

I like peace loving Luna already. What are the odds that she turns out to be Lincoln's sister in yet another parallel? In this case to the Octavia and Bellamy relationship.

The percentage of unchipped people is 3. I think. Right?

Kane: "This is madness."
Abby: "This is unity."

Pike: "Perhaps you'd like to tell us the key to surviving on the ground."
Murphy: "No, not really. No."
Pike: "Ms. Blake, how about you? The key to survival on Earth, what is it?"
Octavia: "Not dying?"

Indra: "You killed 300 of my people. Now you'll take 300 cuts by my hand."

Murphy: "Listen to me! Our real enemy is out there. Jaha has an army of chipped soldiers. They don't feel any pain. That means they're not gonna stop until all of us either join them or die."

Murphy: "Go float yourself. Everything I learned, I learned on the ground."

Bellamy: "C'mon, O. How long?"
Octavia: "I don't know. I can't even look at you. Because every time I do, I see Pike putting that gun to Lincoln's head. I hear the gunshot. I see him fall."

5 comments:

  1. OMG, Laure! Desmond (I can't help but think of Kane as my Desmond from Lost was freaking crucified! With huge spikes and everything! This show is almost too brutal for me. I was almost relieved when he gave in and took the chip to save Abby's life. But he's going to be such a formidable enemy now. Damn.

    I loved the Pike flashbacks, too. Great character work, making us care about him. Maybe they should have done that flashback sooner. You're right that the changes in Murphy and Octavia were the standouts.

    Mermaids. Lol.

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  2. Alie does not understand human behavior..She is all logic which is one of the differences that made her destroy the world in the first place and the reason why the flame ALIE2/LEXA) is so important.
    She has no insight or understanding of the variables that make humans human. Remember she has not interacted with Humans since she was created.
    She couldn't comprehend why Raven was fighting against her, why Monty would not except the key from his mother. Sacrifice , Love etc these things ALIE knows the concept of but does not understand it. Rewatch the episodes when she is featured, her subtle acting when Humans show emotions she does not understand is frightening and intriguing.
    Jaha is a formidable Ally for Alie. He understands humans so he is the one who comes up with the suggestions in situations like Kane or Abby or even when Raven first began resisting.

    I thought the flashbacks were done perfectly and the reasoning was solid...There was no need for Finn, who didn't really change on the ground more that he just broke. While Monty's story looks like its just entering its dark period. That's quite a nitpick..They went to great detail in those scenes bringing back many teens who have died....The continuity was good.

    Showing that Pike was 'good' before isn't trying to make him sympathetic..Its just showing you his Journey same as everyone else...While some (Kane, Octavia) Have taken to the ground and changed for the better others have done the opposite.
    These flashbacks just made Pike a deeper character, but it does not change what he did. This show is not about redemption, most of the characters cant be redeemed...Kane is the only one who came to this conclusion early...he has realized all he can do is build a better future. Although he is distracted right now.

    ''I'm getting a little tired of characters being made out as devils incarnate only to be expected to forget the horribleness that they've inflicted''.

    Nobody is expecting you to forget or forgive..The show certainly does not...Otherwise Indra would not have been in the cell...Same with Bellamy...He is not forgiven despite his attempts and Clarke's refusal to be mad at him...It does nobody any good right now. But Octavia is there to remind us where Bellamy stands with her.

    Like i mentioned earlier...Having Abby throw herself at Kane was ALIE's prompting..The same way she used Raven's knowledge to probe at the 100's emotions in 'Nevermore'. The problem is ALIE does not understand WHY Kane would see through Abby's 'affection'.

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  3. I enjoyed this episode, but does anyone else feel like they're trying to get their GOT on too hard with all the blood and sacrilege and what not? No? Just me? Okay. The flashbacks were cool, mainly because of the parallels we got between Then Octavia/Murphy/Jasper and now. Jasper was merely a comedic character and now I would be surprised if he even cracked a smile. Timid Octavia is now determined and badass and she isn't afraid to speak her mind, to serve the smokin' hot truth, and fight for what she believes is right. Murphy's... more or less the same, on one hand he's a little less of a dick, but he's still an A grade asshole - an A grade asshole, i must admit, who I have come to love and admire. The survival instinct on that boy! My oh my! And he really is smart too, with the stunt he pulled to keep Pike alive, just bc he knew that he needed him. He does know how to play people like a fiddle. Murphy is seriously one of my favorite grey-area characters, and I love all the development he's gotten from then to now.

    I kinda don't care about Clarke anymore, she's become whiny and overdramatic, and so far, I'm underwhelmed by the Luna plot, too predictable and shaky for my tastes. Also, I missed Raven this week. I don't enjoy Ravenless episodes half as much as I enjoy episodes with Raven in them. Bob Morley deserves gold acting stars for that scene with Clarke by the ocean. I just love the way he looks at her okay, it's all in the EYES. THEM GORGEOUS GORGEOUS EYES... Wait, what was I talking about?

    Mermaids. Right. Seriously. I wish they dug deeper into the whole 'mutation' arc, they just dropped it as a whole but I would love to see cool mutated humans and a zoo full of mutated Godzilla-like creatures and lizards with wings. Too much to ask for? I don't think so!

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  4. The final scene is on an oil drilling platform rather than a tanker - mostly because it's been bugging me why the same oil platform randomly appeared in the title sequence this season for no apparent reason until now.

    The whole thing with Abbie's behaviour is that everything she's doing is totally out of character at this point - that's what taking the chip does, lets ALIE use personal knowledge with no emotional ties. At this point Abbie's helping them torture Kane for Clarke's location so that they can go murder her daughter. There's no way she's remotely in control or really aware of what she's doing. Seeing as Abbie only took the chip to save someone else in the first place, it's more that they're using the torture to highlight how nobody with the chip is really there anymore. Making Kane do the exact same thing Abbie did - take the chip knowing what it will do to him and how horrific it is - is more mirroring than just being repetitive, plus highlights how similar he and Abbie have become (and makes what ALIE is doing to them even worse as it's destroying their relationship). It's a little on the nose but it's symbolic more than the writers being lazy (which makes a nice change seeing how much of a mess this season has been...).

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  5. I found the crucifixion of Kane mildly funny because Henry Ian Cusick played Jesus in 2003 in some random movie i saw while channel hopping lately. I guess the writers knew and that's why we got the scene. But yeah for some reason torture feels like it's present in every episode now.

    All those flashback made me think someone is going to die. Good for the show to break the mold. I like being suprised even if it means that Pike is now part of Team Free Will.

    The oil rig was too obvious for me because of the opening sequence featured it since the first episode so sadly I felt no awe in the final moment of the episode.

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