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The 100: Fog of War

"The massacre must be answered. Blood must have blood."

Normally I'd skip over any b-plot centred around Kane and Jaha as they are currently the show's dullest characters. And their storyline in this episode was pretty dull. But I'm giving it some special attention because, boring as it was, it finally introduces us to a character we've been hearing about since the end of last season – Lexa, also known as Heda (that's Grounder for "Commander").

It was obvious from the moment she entered the scene that Lexa was not all she appeared to be. It's at times like these that I wish I could've gone into this series completely blind, with no foreknowledge whatsoever. But season two was halfway done by the time I started watching and several details, such as Lexa's true identity, were already known to me. Would I have guessed that she was the Commander? Or would I have thought she was another sympathetic Grounder, like Lincoln? Or simply dismissed her as just some random character of no real importance? I'll never really know.

I think it was a great move on the part of the writers to make the leader of the Grounders a teenage girl, just like the unofficial leader of the Arkers, Saint Clarke of Griffin (we've elevated her to sainthood now, right?). Interestingly enough, the first time we saw Clarke was also in a jail cell. Hmm, coincidence or deliberate parallel? And I can't help but notice that Lexa's deception in this episode wasn't that dissimilar to the methods Clarke used to escape Mount Weather. Not only that, but Eliza Taylor and Alycia Debnam-Carey are both Australians pretending to be Americans. Okay, I may be reaching for parallels at this point. Still, it does seem as if Lexa has been created to act as a contrast to Clarke. Although a very capable leader in her own right, there's still an air of reluctance when it comes to Clarke. You get the sense that she'd rather be off painting a landscape and leaving all the big decisions to someone else. But no one in authority is making the right decisions, the decisions that will help her friends, so she has to take charge herself, not because she wants to, but because she feels she needs to.

Just from what we see in this episode, Lexa seems to be the type of leader who is not only comfortable with her position (on the surface at least) but who also commands (no pun intended) complete obedience from her troops. They were practically kissing the floor when the charade was over and her true identity was revealed. Was it out of fear, respect, or both? You do have to wonder how someone so young, who was previously Anya's second, rose to such a position. Did she inherit it, or did she kill the previous Commander and take their place? Judging by how effortlessly she took down Jaha I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were the latter.

This has all got me wondering about the different power structures in the three main factions – the Grounders, Mount Weather and the Arkers. The Commander seems to be the ultimate authority amongst the Grounders, although how one becomes Commander is still unknown. In Mount Weather, leadership seems to be hereditary, with the presidency passing from parent to child. It's a monarchy in everything but name, with Arlo as the current King under the Mountain. Interestingly, Mount Weather is the only faction with a dominantly male leadership, all the other factions are (currently at least) lead by women.

"Either we call it Operation: Fraggle Rock or I'm out."

The Arkers have some semblance of democracy with selected representatives forming a council lead by a chancellor. Abby is the current chancellor, but she doesn't have nearly as much power as Lexa and Arlo. I think Abby would be a good peacetime leader, but I don't think she, or even Kane or Jaha, is cut out to be a leader during wartime. The leaders they need are Clarke and Bellamy. I had to laugh when Abby said that Clarke and co aren't soldiers. Not only did those kids became soldiers the day they were all shoved into a ship and shot towards the ground, they have seen more combat than any of the guards on the Ark. Abby might not fully realise it yet, but Clarke and Bellamy are their best and most experienced battle commanders, they are their Grant and Sherman. Does that make Arlo Lee or Jefferson Davis? And how many of you am I confusing with my American Civil War references?

Because these kids are incapable of sitting still for even a day, Clarke is getting ready for a mission to take out Mount Weather's communications. Unfortunately, someone thought it was a good idea to bring Finn along. Okay, let me get this straight. Finn kills 18 Grounder civilians, risking further retaliation and endangering the entire camp, and he's not even given so much as a slap on the wrist? Are you kidding me? Worse still, they put another gun in his hand and send him out into the field. What? Are you guys nuts? He went Tony Montana on an entire village just two days ago. He needs to be in therapy, not sent back to the trenches. Even if they don't care about all the Grounders he killed (which they should), it is obvious that he is not mentally stable. He doesn't seem to be all that broken up about the 18 people he killed, only that his girlfriend is avoiding him.

Clarke currently wants nothing to do with him, a understandable reaction to mass murder. So of course the show contrives a scenario where they are forced to take shelter in the love bunker together. Luckily, there's no risk of a sudden reconciliation, not while another of Finn's victims is still rotting on the floor. Not that that stopped Finn. He tried to have a sweet moment by returning her father's watch to her, the same watch he got off the dead guy on the floor before he killed him. Well done, Finn, you've tainted the only thing Clarke has left of her father. You continue to fail as both a boyfriend and as a human being.

While Clarke was trapped in an uncomfortable situation and Raven was proving once again how amazing she is, the Blake siblings found themselves trapped in a buried car park with a couple of red shirts, re-enacting a scene from a horror movie, all set to the creepiest Christmas song of all time. In the past I would've groaned loudly at having to watch any episode with a b-plot centred around Bellamy and Octavia, but now it doesn't bother me so much. Maybe they are starting to grow me. It does help that Bellamy is no longer creepily over protective of his sister and Octavia isn't acting like it's summer camp.

Now this is a Charlie's Angels reboot I would watch.

Notes and Quotes

— I suspect that Arlo's plan to reclaim the surface by getting the 47 paired up with Mount Weather's own horny teenagers and letting nature run its course may be too slow for First Douchebag and Dr Cylon. I smell a coup d'état in the recycled air.

— The song that played during the garage scene is 'Carol of Bells.' This was originally meant to be placeholder music, but the writers liked it so much, they kept it in.

— What's going to happen to Lincoln now? More painful medical treatments to undo his reaperness? That guy just can't catch a break.

— As well as the literal (acid) fog of war that Mount Weather uses as a defence against attackers, the title of this episode refers to the metaphorical fog of war, a state of ignorance during battle where military leaders struggle to know the real strength and position of their enemies and allies.

— You're seriously trying to tell me that Abby Griffin wouldn't know what "crack the encryption" means? A classic example of writers making smart characters dumb so someone can explain something that doesn't really need explaining. I mean, "crack the encryption" isn't exactly impenetrable technobabble.

— Why do so many Grounders look like Bane is their one and only fashion icon?

"When Camp Jaha is ashes, you have my permission to die."

Clarke: "I don't know what to say. He just kept shooting."
Bellamy: "We're at war, Clarke. We've all done things."

Murphy: "Well, it looks like our pardon for surviving includes our time on the ground. Now bigger fish to fry, I guess."

Jasper: "Who else knows about this?"
Maya: "Everyone, but nobody talks about it. We learn not to ask questions. Look, without the treatments, we'd die. What are we supposed to do?"
Monty: "Die."

Raven: "We all have battle scars, Finn. Suck it up and build a brace for yours."

Thelonious: "I have a message from the commander. Leave or die. We have two days."

Three out of four creepy Christmas songs.
--
Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011. More Mark Greig.

7 comments:

  1. Great review, Mark. I nodded through the whole thing and kept laughing.

    It continues to frustrate me to no end that Clarke and Bellamy get no respect for all they have contributed to the arkers survival on the ground. Kane, Abby, blond guard lady are all grating on my nerves but I guess that just means that the show is good. If I weren't engaged, I wouldn't care.

    Does it make sense for Bellamy to defend Finn to Clarke? On the one hand, I can see how he might see himself in that situation and wonder if he would've acted differently. But how can he trust Finn around Octavia and Clarke after he's proven how unstable and un-Finn-like he behaving?? I thought it was confusing.

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  2. If it helps any, I knew Lexa had to be important and she wasn't just hanging around to clean up the cell, but I had no idea she would turn out to be the Commander. I really do like the female teen leader versus female teen leader dynamic.

    And I just don't get why Finn isn't in a cell. Good God.

    The scene in the parking garage with the Carol of the Bells was terrific. I was absolutely waiting for car alarms to go off. :) Poor Lincoln. Was he eating that guy on the floor?

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  3. Also, terrific review, Mark. I especially loved the captions for the three photos. :)

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  4. I had absolutely no idea the ''limping village girl'' was the Commander when I first watched it. I was already groaning at another annoying, histrionic Jaha scene when she came in and thought to myself ''great, cue in another person he can lecture about something. poor girl!''. My jaw literally dropped to the floor when she dropped kicked him, which made me cheer out loud with my jaw still on the floor! Never in a million years did I suspect her and I'm usually pretty good at predicting things like that.

    When I rewatched that scene again months later, I thought it was even more epic. Especially right before the reveal, when they ask her what would happen if they didn't take the dagger and fight each other to the death, she deadpans and simply says quietly 'then the commander will use it to slit both your throats'. Gives me awesomeness goosebumps everytime, knowing she was talking about herself. God, I love her!!!

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  5. I’m really glad you addressed how lightly they seem to be treating what Finn did, Mark. It intensely bothered me that everyone but Clarke pretty much brushed it aside as “shit that happens during war.” He massacred a whole village of relative innocents! Old people and children. And not because they were a real threat, just because he lost his damn mind. That’s some serious war crimes stuff right there. He definitely should not be back in the field with a gun, and I hope they don’t just let this go. The fact that Clarke still seems really bothered by it gives me hope.

    Other than the Finn stuff, I’m really enjoying S2 --- and all the reviews! --- so far. Lots of unexpected twists and surprises, and the darkness just keeps ticking up. That mad science stuff in Mt. Weather is seriously disturbing, and the dilemmas faced on the ground have lots of great shading (for the most part). I’m definitely getting that healthy dose of strong women with agency that I was craving a couple weeks ago. And it looks like we just added another to the mix. Woot!

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  6. From a today's perspective all I can say is: finally Lexa arrived. She's basically the only part of the show I knew about at least beyond the basic premise beforehand. Should be an even better ride from here on out.

    It figures that the fog was another mt. Weather weapon. Wonder what they saw that made them unleash the fog. If it was the Sky People mission then why didn't they lift the fog and search for Abby's group.

    Lets hope Linc will be de-reapered but I bet it will turn ugly.

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  7. "We'll split up. Meet back here in 15."
    (Nobody checks a watch.)

    "Tough call. I know what Clarke would do." Oh Raven, the shade, the shade!

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