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The 100: Echoes

"Can I plead the chip?"

Never has the phrase out of the frying pan, and into the fire been more relevant. The only way it could fit better is if ALIE's City of Light actually took place in a giant pan that everyone had just escaped.

I like picking up right where we left off. I like that Clarke and Bellamy were still in sync and kept trying to hit the ground running to save the world only to have the world keep stopping them short. First, the angry Polis survivors. Then Echo and Ice Nation. Then needing to save Roan and convince him that they were necessary. And I liked how dark and dreary Polis was. I kept wondering how they would clean the blood from the streets without running water. It helped bring me back to just how bleak this version of the world has proven to be, and man, was this episode dense. There are already so many balls in the air and it's only episode one. Something I wasn't a huge fan of last season were the splintered storylines. I don't want to spend another season bobbing around different factions, but maybe I'm being a bit judgy for episode one.

How interesting that Clarke is now in the exact position that her father was in many moons ago and didn't opt to tell everyone the truth. At least not yet. She isn't the same person that was willing to do whatever it took to tell the truth. She hasn't been that person since Charlotte jumped off the cliff in season one (bet you didn't see that reference coming, huh?). Abby, Kane and Jaha are all in familiar places, too. Will they repeat the decisions made on the Ark? I guess time will tell, but didn't the culling prove that the people should be trusted? In a lot of ways, it's a question that keeps getting a reset to be asked again from a slightly different angle. Come to think of it, the 100 is pretty much at its best when asking and forcing its characters to answer questions with no pretty answers.

Echo, the namesake of the episode, didn't get too much accomplished other than the promise of probably being a pain in the ass. I mean, she tried to take over, but Roan woke up. She tried to sway Roan's decisions, but Clarke worked her magic. Even at the end she seemed like she was trying to get back on Bellamy's good side, but I think she is seriously overestimating his capacity for forgiveness. Does she have an evil plan? Is the episode title implying that Echo has an army of clones somewhere? So many questions.

Clarke seeing the sparks fly between Abby and Kane and silently approving was lovely. Although it might have been fun to see the commander of death throw a tantrum about who her mom dates, but if Clarke Griffin has taught me anything it's that the high road can be fun, too. And I loved Kane and Indra coming together for a hug. I'm almost positive he will be working on a BFFL friendship bracelet for her as soon as he finds suitable string. And while I'm harping on friendship goals, I can not tell you how happy I am that Clarke and Bellamy are back to working together. It is a partnership that I love watching. My greatest fear is that The 100 powers that be will insist that Bellamy won't be fully atoned for his sins last season until he sacrifices himself. Ugh. Don't do it. I need Clarke and Bellamy. I just do.

Do you ever laugh when you know you shouldn't? Some things happened during Echoes that should not have made me laugh, but I did. Poor, poor Jasper. He can not catch a break. There was something about his suicide getting interrupted to be told that the world is ending that brought so much levity to the moment. It's no secret that Jasper was supposed to die last season. I mean, from what I heard, they even shot his death scene, but at the last minute they decided to let him live. Maybe this is why. I can't imagine another character that could have pulled that scene off. It's what every good apocalypse needs... a class clown.

And finally, that whole Egyptian pyramid scene at the end. It was like the writers were worried that Roan had made too good a point about surviving the first nuclear holocaust and they didn't want the audience to start questioning the severity of the situation, so they melted that beautiful woman. Are we going to watch a new CW beauty melt in a different vacation hot spot every week? Will they inch closer and closer across the map to Polis and Arkadia? And why why why would you climb to the top of a pyramid during the end of the world? Was she not the least bit winded? Maybe she takes a spin class.

I missed you, 100. 3 out of 4 friendship bracelets.

Bits and pieces

Bellamy and Jaha will probably be walking parallel roads of redemption this season, which I'm fine with. But see above, there needs to be another path to atonement other than self-sacrifice. For Bellamy at least. I'm with Murphy on Jaha. Sacrifice away. Float yourself. Or whatever. Ugh, they're going to make me like Jaha, aren't they?

Raven's brain got an upgrade. Will she be the answer to fixing the world or are we waiting for her to short-circuit? Ugh. Stop hurting Raven.

Speaking of Jaha. Does he remember Wells now that ALIE and the City of Light is gone? He does, right?

Octavia's season four body count: 3 (2 guards and a healer)

Bellamy: "I could use a break from keeping you alive. You don't make it easy."

Jasper: "Sorry about the..."
Harper: "Smashing my face into the wall or pistol whipping me?"
Jasper: "Can I plead the chip?"

Murphy: "Go float yourself. These dead are on you too, Chancellor."

Kane: "The youth have inherited the earth."
Abby: "And they have six months to save it."

Echo: "Do you think we'll ever be able to trust each other?"
Bellamy: "I doubt it."

Bellamy: "Okay, princess, what now?"
Clarke: "Now, we survive."

4 comments:

  1. ''Clarke seeing the sparks fly between Abby and Kane and silently approving was lovely''
    and this is why this show is ahead of everything on the CW..Alot happens with simple looks or gestures..
    Indra and Kane's hug
    Bellamy's face when Clarke says she loved Lexa.
    Abby's face after seeing what Octavia did to the guards
    Even Echo attempting to get back in Bellamy's good graces. Way more examples but those were my faves.
    My fave scene was Clarke and Roan..The way he halfway admires and respects Clarke but is also exasperated and irritated by her.
    That Wanheda nickname remains cool. I just wish it was reference to Clarkes awesomeness rather than evoking fear and mistrust on all grounders.
    Raven will save everyone..Again.

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  2. What a terrific review, Laure. The frying pan reference right out of the gate made me lol.

    Honestly, you said pretty much everything I was thinking. I absolutely do not want Bellamy sacrificing himself in any way, shape or form. I also laughed when Jasper's suicide was interrupted by the announcement that the world was ending. I liked Clarke's glance of approval at her mother and Kane's connection, Clarke telling her that she loved Lexa, and I particularly liked that Lexa's chip thing was what saved the day.

    And that mess o' blood crucifixion square with all the bodies couldn't be more different than the City of Light. Bleah.

    So glad The 100 is back.

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  3. This was a very good season opener. It had a lot of what we have seen already – Clarke tries to convince the grounders they should all be together, some of the grounders are not having it –, but the dynamics were different enough that it wasn’t repetitive. I enjoyed it a lot, it made me realize how much I missed this show.

    About Bellamy, I don’t care if they kill him off. Frankly, I don’t know what could possibly redeem him. He participated on the slaughter of three hundred people, how do you come back from that? I used to love Bellamy but I’m afraid the terribly handled Pike storyline damaged him permanently. I won’t mind to be proven wrong, though. He was a lot better on the second half of last season, and I do love his friendship with Clarke.

    I expected Jaha to be a lot worse emotionally, overloaded with guilt. He felt guilty but it didn’t look like enough. I like Isaiah Washington, so I hope they give him good material this season.

    Raven is awesome. Awesome! She independently found out the levels of radiation are increasing. Raven. Rules. If anyone would ever say “well, at least something good came out of ALIE, it told us the world is ending”, they can’t anymore. Because Raven is the absolute queen of the world.

    Octavia and Clarke rule too. Abby’s face of horror to what Octavia had done to the guards said a lot. Those aren’t kids anymore, Abby, and as much as violence is terrible, this is the world that you have right now.

    I too liked Clarke’s subtle approval to her mom and Kane’s relationship. Eliza Taylor was very good there, conveying a little sadness too, probably of Clarke remembering Lexa. In fact, I liked a lot of the Clarke and Abby’s moments, from Clarke telling her mom she loved Lexa to the two of them saving Roan together. And their goodbye, of course.

    It looks like the younger ones, sans Octavia, will be reunited next episode. Please, let them stay together for several episodes. That is one of the reasons the second half of season three was the superior one. Now, why Octavia stayed behind? She loves Indra, sure, but I’m asking from a story perspective. My guess is that Octavia and Roan will become an item.

    Now, Roan’s crown... May we never meet it again.

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  4. I guess the writers should have made Echo Bellamy's girfriend last season. Then the betrayal and the entire arc would feel better. Their interactions in this epiosde were good though. The 100 always knows how to use even the most minor of characters and expand them.

    Good to see the plot mostly back on track after the ALIE hijacking. Raven did figure it out by herself that the power plants are going into meltdown but ALIE still said one more important bit of info. She said 98% of the Earth would become uninhabitalbe. Unless the 2% is Antarctica or the middle of the ocean there is still a safe zone to be found.

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