The 100: Anaconda (7.08) Things of Note

Interesting timing to have the prequel also be the halfway mark for this season! 8 more episodes until it’s over. Let’s jump in!

You look familiar. The episode started with Clarke and company processing the news of Bellamy’s “death” (still think he’s stuck in the Anomaly somewhere). The prevailing emotion was a stunned sadness. Miller couldn’t move from his spot and had to get Jordan and Niylah to hold the room. Raven was on the verge of tears. Clarke took a moment before getting them back on mission. She told Raven that they will do this for Bellamy. The door to the Stone Room opened to reveal Cadogan, Anders, and a crew of soldiers. Cadogan entered the room and the Cipher Team was free to go. Niylah asked who he was in Trigedeslang and Clarke told her he was the “crazy cult leader” who built the bunker. Cadogan understood and immediately interjected to say the Second Dawn was a collective of great minds and not a cult. Well, Bill, you have people worshipping you and forgetting themselves to serve your ends. That’s a cult. Anyway, it turns out Bill had an (ex)-wife (Grace), a son (Reese), and a daughter (Callie, which is a nickname for Calliope). Callie created Trigedeslang when she was ten and it has evolved as languages do. There was some hope in his eyes when he asked Clarke if Callie was in the Key. Gabriel cleared up the confusion and also confirmed my theory. The Key is the Flame. Score one for me! Also, it’s interesting to note that Gabriel was aware that the Flame was not in Clarke’s head but chose not to reveal that detail to Anders. Letting them think that she still has it gives her leverage. So, Gabriel hasn’t totally flipped.

New old protagonist. From the moment Callie is introduced, she is centered as the protagonist for this prequel. She has a strong sense of justice and altruism. She wanted to save everyone whether they were “her people” or not. In contrast, Clarke’s focus has always been saving “her people”. Still, the people Callie went out to save later on become “her people” and Clarke’s “people” has expanded well beyond Skaikru. In a way, Callie’s people became Clarke’s people. Anyway, Callie left MIT to join the Tree Crew movement which eventually becomes Trikru. The flashback to 2052 started with Callie stitching up her friend Lucy after a protest. Similar to Clarke, Callie learned some basic medical skills from her mother. She had such a dim view of her father that she rolled joints on a framed photo of the two of them from when she was a small child. It’s an interesting contrast with Clarke because it seems like Clarke had a better relationship with her father than her mother. It didn’t help that her mother turned her father into Jaha which resulted in his floating.

Apocalypse 1. As Cadogan and Callie were debating the merits of her choice to quit MIT, he received word that the missiles were in the air. He immediately sent a chopper to collect Callie and Grace. They had quit the Second Dawn but Grace still kept the keys and the packs just in case. Callie was skeptical about the missiles but her mom was super frantic. She also said that Cadogan is not a liar (why does that make me think of the Hunger Games?). Lucy came down the stairs and Grace tranquilized her to make dying in the apocalypse easier. Callie was horrified but ended up going on the chopper with her mom. They saw a missile hit the Washington Monument. They met up with Reese in the bunker and witnessed August trying to get his girlfriend a spot in the bunker. She wasn’t a Level 12 so they weren’t going to let her in. 96 Level 12s didn’t make it to the bunker in time so there was extra space. Upon hearing this, Callie wanted to fill those spots so she went to the hatch only to find Reese’s friend Tristan tranquilized and August waiting in the wings. August was an original member of Tree Crew so he had that connection with Callie. The person beating on the hatch door was likely his girlfriend but Reese and Tristan stopped them from saving her. Reese had a lot of resentment towards Callie because she was the golden child. There was a hint of concern on his face for the person on the other side of the hatch door but he allowed his resentment and his desire for Cadogan’s approval override it.

Becca to the rescue. Two years after the bombs, Callie, Reese, and the rest of the Ground Team were returning to the bunker when Becca’s space pod landed. She took off her helmet and could breathe the air without experiencing radiation poisoning. Callie was a huge fan so she recognized her and they brought her to Cadogan. On the way to meet him, Tristan began to seize, a sign of radiation poisoning. Becca gave him the nightblood (named by August) serum which cured him. Thanks to the Flame, she could hear the mathematical harmony of the Space Ball/Anomaly Stone which allowed her to complete the code Cadogan spent 12 years trying to crack with trial and error. The Disciples are back to that strategy now which bored Gabriel out of his skull. It’s safe to assume the code Becca entered was for Bardo. Cadogan was pleased to see the answer he was looking for before his eyes. Becca, being the scientist she is, had to point out that there are many unknowns including whether or not the world on the other side of the Bridge was habitable. She suggested altering the blood of all the bunker inhabitants while they did the science to determine whether the world on the other side could support human life. Callie was all for it. Cadogan vetoed that idea because he was convinced that Bridge was the only acceptable answer. Grace drank some of the Kool-Aid and Reese chugged it all. Cadogan didn’t want the people to think that there was another option for survival so he could maintain control over them.

Not ready for the Last War. Callie deduced that Becca had an AI in her head based on the scar on her neck and her life’s work. Becca referred to the Flame as her penance for, I assume, creating A.L.I.E. and indirectly causing Apocalypse 1. Becca was secretly cataloging the symbols when she noted that 7 of them had no sound. She touched the symbols and a ball of cold white light appeared. When she touched it, she disappeared. Cadogan and Reese entered the room and Becca returned shivering and frightened. Interesting that she was on her knees with her hands in a prayer position. It’s almost as if she was praying for mercy. She told Cadogan that she saw Judgement Day and that they had to shut down the stone because none of them were ready for that code will bring. This must be the last war The Disciples keep talking about and they’re trying to crack the code in order to start it. The Bardoans were likely not ready either because they’re crystal giants now. I wonder if the pollution was something they were “judged on”. Of course, Cadogan insisted that he was ready. I believe Becca could see how arrogant and narcissistic he was so she added that he especially wasn’t ready. Becca was a good judge of character! Cadogan’s response when Callie told him that Becca came to help remake Earth had narcissism written all over it. He and he alone wanted to be the one to save everyone. He was threatened by Becca especially since a portion of his followers were getting tired of being in the bunker.

Keeper of the Flame. 5 days went by and Becca refused to change her mind about revealing the code. Reese found out about the Flame from her notebook which meant that they were going to kill her to get it. She put the notebook in her case and Callie picked it up after she was escorted to the box. How did Reese get it? People are forever losing track of important items on this show! Anyway, Becca told Callie that they had to take The Flame out of her head to stop Cadogan from getting it. The Flame is designed to escape peril but Becca didn’t write down anything about a passphrase to remove it. Smart move! She designed the Flame to amplify what’s already in a person so, in the wrong mind, it can do terrible things. Even if Cadogan got the Flame and put it in himself, his brain would likely have melted before he could find out what the code is since he’s not a nightblood. Plus, he’s an arrogant narcissist so the Flame would do terrible things. The Grounders got a taste of what happens when the Flame merges with the wrong mind when Sheidheda was Commander. I wonder if Becca had a contingency for this or did the Flamekeepers who killed Sheidheda come up with the separation ritual. In the right mind, The Flame can save the human race. The Flame may be destroyed but the information that was on it is still in Madi’s mind. Clarke still has some of the memories but I’m not sure she has all of the information. Maybe she does and she’s the “right mind” Becca was referring to. Becca entrusted Callie with the task of protecting the Flame and selecting the next person to take it. That would make her the very first Flamekeeper and she may have been the second Commander. Reese and his crew took Becca outside to execute her. He seemed to be emotionless about executing Becca but as she burned, he looked visibly shaken and saddened. Again, he had a sense that this was wrong but he was so desperate for his father’s approval that he lost himself and his sense of morals to get it.

The beginning of the Grounders. Callie gathered a group of willing participants and met Reese as he was returning from Becca’s execution. Of course, he refused to give up the Flame so Callie suggested that settle it like they used to in their basement. Reese agreed and said that he had been taking it easy on her previously. Not wanting to take any chances, Callie shot him in the shoulder then pistol-whipped him. She got the Flame back and turned Reese into a Nightblood. I think at that moment, Grace realized that she had to let Callie go. She decided to stay and take her chances with Bardo but she did help seal the inner door so they could leave. Reese and Tristan vowed to get the Flame back. Cadogan was so vexed that he opened the inner door and locked Grace in the anteroom. She didn’t take the serum so she only had a finite amount of time to find Callie before the radiation suit ran out of air. Reese had yet another flash of a conscious as he sadly looked on while his mother put on the radiation suit. I wonder if Reese eventually realizes that chasing his father’s approval is not worth it. I saw a theory that Reese eventually started Azgeda to rival Callie’s Trikru. It’s plausible. Or maybe Reese started Sangedakru which was Sheidheda’s clan. Either way, maybe the Conclave started as a battle between Callie’s clan and Reese’s clan.

Your friends work for me now. Back in the present, Cadogan was desperate to know if Callie was in the Key. He still loves her despite everything. Cadogan is an interesting contrast to Russell. He was willing to sacrifice his family to do what he thinks is for the greater good of mankind. Russell, on the other hand, was willing to sacrifice everyone else for the greater good of his family. Anyway, Clarke told him that Calliope was in the Flame but calling her name doesn’t activate it. Cadogan will do anything for the Key so he agreed to order Anders to bring their friends once the door opened. Gabriel took a deep breath before he opened the door which meant that he was aware of the shock Clarke and co were about to get. Octavia, Echo, and Diyoza were amongst the soldiers at the door so it was just a matter of them walking into the room. Miller cut a confused look as only Miller can do. Clarke’s expression was mostly one of sadness and maybe a little bit of lost hope (?). However, I should note that Octavia didn’t tell Levitt or Anders that the Key is no longer in Clarke’s head. As far as she knows, Madi has it but she didn’t say anything. I assume that Anders questioned her more about Clarke and had she divulged those details, the conversation between Clarke and Cadogan would have gone a little differently. Just saying! Also, where was Hope? Clarke doesn’t consider Diyoza a friend and yet she was sent in along with Octavia and Echo. She may have been there but Clarke doesn’t know Hope so it wouldn’t mean anything to have her come in the room. It looks like we’ll be getting a flashback of their training next episode.

I want more! This backdoor pilot was amazing! I’ve seen a few backdoor pilots and they were mostly awful. This one did a good job of staying relevant to the current show while setting up the new one. It also made me interested in seeing more which is what a backdoor pilot is supposed to do. I want to know what happens to Callie and co and how the Grounders went from one clan to 12. How does Mt. Weather figure into this? When did the Grounders stop using guns? Jason Rothenberg mentioned that he plans to cover the origin of the Ark in several interviews including this one with Entertainment Weekly. I’m interested in that too. Will they go back to when Josephine, Gabriel, etc were on Earth? I really hope the prequel gets picked up because there is so much story there.

Other things. The news stories on Callie’s TV were interesting. The 11th billionth human was born in an internment camp of all places. There was also a public health emergency because of “Ankovirus” so 2052 was hella dark! It’s funny how The Shepherd wants everyone to just call him Bill. He likes being worshipped but apparently hates the titles. Levitt is back next episode and he looks “reeducated”! He also looks older so maybe Anders did send him to Penance/Skrying after all. They’re reairing 7.09 on 7/29 so we have a 2-week skip coming up. Right when it’s getting really good!

Until next time!