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The 100: Bodyguard of Lies

"Maybe life should be about more than just surviving. Don’t we deserve better than that?"

Where do I even begin with this episode?

This was a good episode. Like really good. The kind of really good episode I didn't think the show was capable of when I first started watching it. It wasn't flawless, mind you. Jaha and his ever decreasing number of disciples continued their long, boring walk towards the fabled City of Light only to discover... yawn, sorry, I just don't care about this storyline any more. Not even landmines or Murphy's snarky remarks can make it entertaining. If we're lucky that boat will have a hole in it and we'll never have to be bothered by another boring Jaha story ever again. Luckily the rest of this episode more than made up for their storyline's continual failings.

This week's edition of Die Hard in a Mountain saw Mount Weather security finally get wise to the fact that one of their security guards is missing. And just as Bellamy was about to take his final test before achieving full action hero status. Talk about bad timing. In typical action movie style, there was a desperate race against time to stop a bomb from going off, or in this case the acid fog from being released. Raven and Wick provided tech support via the radio, and as is always the case with tech support their help was mostly useless because Bellamy didn't understand half of what they were saying.

"Has he tried turning it off and on again?"
After much pain and suffering, tech support is able to come up with a clever plan that neutralises the acid fog, making it possible for the Grounder army to attack. Boy, that was easy. Like really easy. Almost too easy. Oh my god...


Yes, it was all a trick. Cage and his Number 2 figured out what Bellamy was planning and allowed him to think he had succeeded so they could lure in the Grounder army and wipe it out. With no time to lose, Bellamy had to quickly figure out a new way to disable the acid fog and save his friends before the guards stopped him. This meant that Bellamy Blake got to be the star of his own little action movie featuring such clichés as...

Running.

"Tom Cruise ain't got nothing on me."
People staring intensely at monitors.

Cage takes playing Blockbusters very seriously.
Twin gun action.

John Woo-hoo motherfucker! 
Completely random sex between two aesthetically pleasing people that served no narrative purpose whatsoever.

Bow chicka wow wow.
Improvised explosive devices.

"And I was just one week from retirement." 
And people outrunning an explosion they just caused without getting so much as a singe on their clothes.

That really should've roasted him
Well done, Bellamy Blake, you've graduated from the John McClane School of Advanced Ass Kickery with flying colours. The only thing stopping you from being valedictorian is the fact you didn't kiss the girl. That's because the girl was in a tent several miles away kissing another girl.

Long before we even got to the kiss that sent Tumblr into meltdown, things were already looking pretty domestic between the Grounder Commander and the Princess of the Sky People. While Clarke was busy fretting over their battle plans (do all armies have a division devoted to building miniature scale models of battlefields?), Lexa was looking more casual than we have ever seen her before. She just wanted to kick back and relax and encouraged Clarke to do the same. Lexa's feelings for Clarke were more obvious than ever during this scene. She's always had this "I want to have your adopted babies" look in her eyes when it came to Clarke, but when Clarke started worrying about Bellamy her eyes practically turned green. Well, greener. Damn, Alycia Debnam-Carey has some pretty eyes.

Octavia has worked out that Clarke and Lexa knew about the missile. Clarke, ever the peacemaker, wants to reason with Octavia and explain to her why they did what they did. Lexa, ever the pragmatist, wants to shut up Octavia before she can blab. Luckily for the younger Blake sibling, Clarke figured out what Lexa had planned and put a stop to it. Even if Octavia wasn’t her friend, Clarke was never going to allow someone to be killed simply to save her own skin. She’ll allow an entire town to be bombed to maybe keep one person safe, but she won’t allow anyone to be assassinated to avoid an awkward situation for herself.

Finally fed up with all of Lexa’s little speeches about what it takes to be a strong leader, Clarke literally backed her into a corner until she admitted that she is not the cold hearted warrior she claims to be. And it worked, but not in a way that Clarke was expecting. She was completely thrown by Lexa’s confession (but not so thrown that she didn’t use it to keep Octavia safe). She clearly had no idea that the Commander felt that way about her. She put on a brave face in front of Lexa, but once she was outside Clarke looked like she was about to have a panic attack. Did she realise in that moment that she felt the same way about Lexa? Or was she worried about what would happen to her and her friends if she told the Grounder Commander that she only thinks of her as a friend? Judging by how she reacted to that kiss, my guess is the former.

Oh yes, that kiss.

I feel Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture should've started playing about now.
Lexa threw caution to the wind and kissed the girl, and Clarke, no doubt eager to let go of the world on her shoulders and find comfort in someone else's arms, let herself get swept away by the moment. But only for the moment. She's not ready for a relationship. Not yet, anyway. It's only been a few days since she had to kill whatshisface. Give her another week, Lexa. I'm sure she'll be over him by then. But will they even have that long? They are both marching off to war and only one of them has star billing status.

Notes and Quotes

— The title of this episode is part of a famous World War II quote by Winston Churchill: "In wartime, truth is so precious that she must often be attended by a bodyguard of lies." It is an appropriate title as the situation with the missile is similar to the myth surrounding the devastating bombing of Coventry during WWII. It was alleged that Churchill knew about the bombing in advance thanks to code breakers at Bletchley Park breaking the Enigma cipher, but did nothing to defend the city so that the Germans would not learn that their cipher had been broken.

— I loved that Clarke barged in on Lexa while she was putting on her war paint. Her "Do you mind" face was just perfect.

— Clarke has added some Grounderish touches to her wardrobe.

Murphy: "A shower would be nice right about now. Wash off the rest of Harris."

Wick: "I’ll have you know I was a god at fluid dynamics."
Raven: "You think you were a god at everything."
Wick: "Empirical evidence doesn’t lie."

Murphy: "Tell me what level of crazy is too much for you? I'm just curious."

Lexa: "Once Bellamy shuts down the acid fog and the battle begins everything will be clear."
Clarke: "What if he can’t? What if it was too dangerous and I sent him in there anyway?"
Lexa: "You care about him?"
Clarke: "I care about all of them."
Lexa: "But you worry about him more?"

Clarke: "250 people died in that village. I know you felt for them, but you let them burn."
Lexa: "Not everyone, not you."

Three and a half out of four games of Blockbusters.
--
Mark Greig is Brian and so is his wife. More Mark Greig.

11 comments:

  1. Mark Greig, what a fun review! I laughed several times, thank you! :)

    Bellamy taking center stage on his own little action movie was great, especially since a good chunk of the season severely underused him.

    That kiss. Hee. I read an interview with Jason Rothenberg in which he said Clarke is bisexual and, if I remember correctly, sexuality is no big deal in the future. Good job, Rothenberg.

    This was an exciting episode that made me even more excited for the two-part season finale. Those final moments with the army marching to the Mountain’s gate were epic. It did made me think, though, that the Mountain Men stood no chance and the final battle would last thirty seconds. Well, enter the season finale.

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    1. You have no idea what is in store these last few episodes. Epic doesn't even begin to describe it.

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    2. I already watched all the season. :) My comment was about what I thought when I first watched this episode.

      And you are right: it's an amazing finale.

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    3. You know I kinda realized that you had said you had all of it before after I posted that reply.

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  2. And you are right about Jaha’s plotline. It has “staging next season” all over it. Did it need to take place in half of the current season’s episodes, though?

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  3. It wasn't the kiss it was the build up. Which has been going on since they met so when it happened it was earned and in character for both of them.

    Thought the beginning was hilarious...Lexa just wanted to snuggle while Clarke was making war plans and thinking of a boy..Her "Not everyone, not you." line was excellently delivered. Really enjoyed the Lexa and Clarke scenes in the 2nd half of this season...Was majorly pissed when Anya died in episode 4 and didn't think they would be able to successfully replace her. Glad to say i was wrong.

    Jaha's storyline is bearable if you just focus on Murphy's one liners and Jaha's increased wild eyed crazyness

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  4. Logan, most of the writers covering this show have already seen the finale. (I haven't, but I know Mark definitely has!)

    It's just that we have a time machine policy here at Doux Reviews. We always review an episode as if we're seeing it for the first time, even if we're not. We never include spoilers, and don't allow them in the comments. This is because a lot of our readers read along with our reviews if they're discovering a show for the first time. It's one of the things that makes us unique. I hope. :)

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    1. I didn't know that most of you have already seen the episode before you review it, but I do always try to avoid spoilers as much as possible. Thanks for the heads up, and sorry if any of my previous comments got a little to cles to spoiler territory.

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  5. And I just saw this one. Mark, I absolutely loved your review. Witty and fun. Especially this:

    Well done, Bellamy Blake, you've graduated from the John McClane School of Advanced Ass Kickery with flying colours. The only thing stopping you from being valedictorian is the fact you didn't kiss the girl. That's because the girl was in a tent several miles away kissing another girl.

    I was thinking wow, Bellamy has come all the way from annoying male lead I wish would disappear, to a real honest to god action hero. That's not easy.

    The Jaha subplot was actually pretty hilarious. When did I start loving Murphy? "Tell me what level of crazy is too much for you? I'm just curious."

    I have to watch the final two tonight. I was holding off so I could stay current with the reviews, but I can't stand it any more. :)

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  6. No worries, Logan. We watch the comments for spoilers pretty carefully and would have deleted anything with a real spoiler in it. Your comments were all fine. And this show is definitely amazing.

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  7. LOL, that part of the review about action movie cliches should be read in the Epic Voice Guy's voice from Honest Trailers. Damn, now I want to see an Honest Trailer of the 100. :D

    The Jaha and Murphy storyline for now should be taken as comic relief (apart from obvious season 3 setup). Very bloody comic relief so completely fitting for this show.

    Can't wait for the finale. Expecting my mind to be blown beacuse so far the show exceeded the praises I heard and my own expectations.

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