They really smacked us in the face with this premiere! I even watched it twice. Let’s dive into this rollercoaster ride!
Do Better. Monty’s directive to “be the good guys” and do better will be a driver for this season. It won’t be easy for anyone but I think it’ll be particularly hard for Wonkru. Raven says, “Some of us never lost [our humanity]” to Abby but I have to say that Spacekru had it relatively cushy compared with Wonkru and maybe even Clarke. They didn’t have to eat their people to survive (Wonkru) or spend months on end alone (Clarke). Wonkru was in deep survival mode for that entire six years so it’s understandable that they lost touch with their humanity.
The sting of betrayal is still fresh. I applaud the writers for not absolving Clarke of her mistakes in the eyes of Spacekru and Shaw. I mean, she did hand Raven and Shaw over to psychopath McCreary! Even if she ended up saving them in the end, that doesn’t change the fact that she betrayed her friends. Clarke was completely driven by maternal fear and a refusal to let go which I understand. She was going to protect Madi at all costs like any parent would. Still, she should not be immune to the fallout of her actions. Abby is also not immune from the consequences of her betrayal and torture of Raven. Raven spits venom if Abby even looks her way! The relationship may be repaired eventually but it’ll be a while. I also think that Raven will have to “face her demons” in regards to mother figures letting her down before any repair can begin in earnest. Abby handing over the pain pills after putting Kane (he’s alive!) back in cryo is a tiny step down that road though.
Getting busy makes everything better. Raven and Shaw have a romantic interlude after the grief of losing Monty and Harper and sting of the Griffin women’s betrayals become too much for her. Seeing them bask in their afterglow was the high point of this rollercoaster for me. I chuckled when he was tracing his toy motorcycle on her leg and said “Dangerous curves ahead.” I have shipped this pair from the jump! Shaw is a good match for Raven (much better than her two previous boyfriends!) because he can go toe to toe with her technically while holding space for her to be vulnerable emotionally. For Shaw, Raven was the first person he’s met that he could bond with in over 100 years. She might even be the first person he’s ever met that “got him”. He made a comment to Clarke that he missed his bike more than he missed the people. This makes me think he didn’t leave behind people he really cared about when he took the Eligius IV mission. Also, I can’t ignore the fact that he met Becca (creator of Eligius tech and the cause of the first apocalypse, A.L.I.E.).
Callbacks to the pilot. This episode featured a few odes to episode 1.01. The exploratory team lost communication with the main Eligius IV ship prior to landing much like the Ark lost contact with The 100 prior to landing on Earth. Miller wanted to come up with a better line than “We’re back bitches” to mark the occasion of landing on the new world. Murphy decided to take a swim in the new world lake (much to the chagrin of Jackson) similar to how Octavia took a swim in Earth waters (much to the chagrin of Clarke). Someone dies (I’ll touch on that later). Strange animals (there will be more because we haven’t even met 26-eyed snake yet.) Did I miss any?
Mackson gets some screen time. I loved seeing Miller and Jackson take a moment by the fire. It was really cute when Jackson geeked out over the “alien life” and Miller pointed out that they were the aliens. The conversation also had a heaviness to it as they discussed Miller’s actions and Jackson’s inactions in the bunker and during the war for the valley. I hope we get to see how their relationship grows and changes as they face their demons.
Jordan. I love him! Grief for mom and dad aside, he is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I’m excited to see how he interacts with the new world as well as what happens when he is faced with harsh circumstances. I could actually see him bond with Raven at some point.
It’s not The 100 without somebody dying horribly. RIP Shaw. Radioactive electrocution is a horrible way to go. His last words to Clarke were to tell Raven that she deserves happiness and also to not waste this (5th) chance to do better. Clarke will be blamed. It’s guaranteed! I also think Jackson might catch some hell because it looked like he had something that could have saved Shaw. What a loss! He was a great character and he made Raven so happy. I was really hoping to get more of his backstory, especially after he said he met Becca. I was looking forward to watching his relationship with Raven blossom. Now we’ll never know. Unless, this is a Disney Death and he somehow comes back. Oh how I wish! I know it’s not happening though. I tweeted Jason Rothenberg directly asking if this was the original plan. It was down to scheduling because the actor, Jordan Bolger, got a job as a series regular on David Makes Man which will be on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Series regular vs recurring is no contest so I don’t begrudge Jordan for taking the job. It’s not a good look (shades of Wells in season 1) but I don’t necessarily begrudge Jason for taking the death route either. Some people argue that they could have done what they did for Kane and kept cryo-ing him but it’s possible that the David Makes Man shooting schedule wasn’t flexible enough to allow that. There’s also the Sense8/Fresh Prince/Big Bad Beetleborgs route of recasting but that doesn’t always work. Even if things turn out ok, the characters are fundamentally changed because two actors may have two very different approaches to the character. Plus the chemistry between Lindsey Morgan (Raven) and Jordan Bolger was absolute FIRE. That might be impossible to replicate.
Murphy. He brought the one liners and the jerkiness as usual. His singing was a spectacle!
Octavia vs Kane and Abby (mostly Kane). Niylah decides to do the one thing they told her NOT to do and wake Octavia. I feel like Niylah is loyal to Octavia forever because she saved her life. Anyway, Kane had just been through surgery and looked to be on the mend. Octavia shows up and reads them the riot act. The great thing about this scene is that neither party was totally wrong. Octavia did become mad with power and burn down Monty’s farm to take Wonkru’s choice away. Kane did betray Wonkru and got Jaha’s young friend Ethan killed. Abby did insist on cannibalism as the only way to survive for a year while waiting for the crops to come back. Kane refused at first which may have forced Octavia to resort to stripping people of their choice. The stress of the confrontation leads to popped sutures and internal bleeding. Octavia even helps Abby get Kane onto a table when he goes down.
Welcome to Sanctum. The crew stumbles on an empty mountain settlement. The warm tones remind me of the Amity faction in the Divergent series. Murphy pillages, Emori tries to pick a lock, Clarke and Bellamy talk about her radio calls, Mackson seemingly disappear. Murphy tries to serenade Emori but she isn’t having it. Clarke finds a children’s book detailing eclipse-induced psychosis. As she reads this to Bellamy, Emori falls victim to the psychosis and attacks Murphy. I think it started for her when Murphy was singing. Normally, she eventually gives in to her feelings and obliges him like she did when they went swimming. This time, she was just all around annoyed. I think the psychosis took her to a time when she was attacked or abused. The psychosis makes her think Murphy is the attacker/abuser. That ends the episode.
Other Things. I liked seeing Bellamy and Miller talk. They were close in the early days and it would be good to see them rebuild their friendship. When Shaw was letting Clarke have it by the fire, he was acting partially as an extension of Raven. I think he was more hurt by how Clarke’s betrayal made Raven feel than by how it made him feel. He was “bringing the pain” for his girl more than he was bringing it for himself. Echo and Bellamy weren’t as venomous to Clarke as the rest of Spcekru although Bellamy venom is solely aimed at Octavia. Echo is right when she says forgiveness is necessary to start over. Raven has the longest road in that regard especially now that Shaw has died.
And that’s my take! Until next time.
I didn’t like Raven with Shaw. They need to bring back Wick
The chemistry was there but she didn’t quite let him all the way into her heart. I feel like she was more open with Shaw, as quick as it was. Had the actor for Wick not been fired, I think they could have gotten there.
I agree with you on pretty much ALL of this! Awesome recap, by the way! As sad as it was to see Shaw go, I think it will be REALLY interesting to see where Raven’s character goes after all of this. Because come on, how much can one woman even handle? As for Shaw’s death, I think it WAS the best choice with his new job. I mean- it would have been hokey if they just saved everyone via cryo, you know?
I love your point about how NO ONE in the Kane/Abby/Octavia thing was wrong. Because they weren’t! But I DO think that Kane is more willing to admit his faults and bad choices than O is. I thought we’d made some progress in that gorge when she broke down, and later when she bowed to Madi, and even when she tried to get Bellamy to forgive her. But now she’s back to blaming others. And Kane and Abby aren’t blameless by ANY stretch, don’t get me wrong, but they seem to want to make amends? More than O does, anyway!
I LOVE Mackson, wow we are blessed with those two! And Jordan, my goodness, can he be any more adorable!? Shannon Kook did such an amazing job of being happy yet vulnerable, smart yet naive. Nailed it. When he teared up about Marper, I did too! I am SO excited for tomorrow’s episode!!
Thank you! I agree that Kane and Abby do want to make amends for their actions. Octavia was so far gone that even with the little glimmers of progress, she’s still got a ways to go before she really owns up to what she’s done.