The moment the fandom has been waiting for has arrived! Let’s get into it.
Bellamy lives (doy!). The M-Cap has been fixed so now they can probe minds again. Yay. A witness to Bellamy’s “death” with suspected PTSD was in the chair and an operator named Shoana was getting him situated. Levitt came in to take over. Anders probably forgot to tell Cadogan that he had stripped Levitt of his M-Cap privileges. Shoana expressed surprise that no one was being punished for Anders’s death, Levitt’s torture, and the Gem9. She was incredulous that Clarke and co were staying in The Shepherd’s quarters. Levitt really doesn’t give a toss about any of it! He is ticked! Once Shoana got the hint and bounced, Levitt told the witness to imagine being in a desert with an insect buzzing in his ear. His tone was cold and terse which is not like the Levitt we’ve come to know and love. As soon as he gave the scenario, Levitt heard Octavia’s voice and his expression turned a bit wistful. He’s hurt but I think he still cares about her. Anyway, the scene played out as we saw in Welcome to Bardo. But wait! Levitt noticed that Bellamy had jumped into the Anomaly at the exact moment of the blast. Loved the transition between Levitt watching the witness’s memory and Bellamy falling out of the Anomaly.
Welcome to Etherea. Immediately, Bellamy knew he wasn’t on Sanctum. This place is full of mountains which Sanctum doesn’t have. Doucette, the conductor Bellamy had held hostage, made the journey as well and was ready to take revenge. He ambushed Bellamy and they fought. I didn’t think the Disciple scientists could fight but Doucette held his own for a while. Bellamy ultimately prevailed by breaking his leg and knocking him out with a rock. The Anomaly was on top of a very tall mountain so Bellamy made his way there to start the climb. He couldn’t even make it up the first wall. He was going to need Doucette after all. By the time Bellamy got back to where the fight was, Doucette had dragged himself into a cave. He attempted to strangle Bellamy so Bellamy hit him in the leg. Doucette believed that The Shepherd was coming to save them so he seemed content to stay in that cave and wait. Bellamy had a better plan: Survive and get back to Bardo together. They weren’t going anywhere with Doucette’s broken leg so Bellamy set the bone. Bellamy also drew on Pike’s Earth Skills lessons to make an antibiotic from tree sap. Bellamy meditated on the irony of having to nurse his enemy back to health to get back to the ones he loves. This was going to be tough because he was going to have to endure constant talk about The Shepherd. I loved it when Bellamy slapped Doucette upside the head when he started reciting The Shepherd’s prayer!
Begin the climb. After a week, Doucette’s leg was healed enough for him to walk so it was time to climb. They headed to the first wall and Bellamy suggested he go first and then pull Doucette up. Doucette decided it was better that he go first because of his leg so they went with that. He made his way up and then took his sweet time getting the rope down. For a moment, Bellamy thought Doucette had abandoned him. When the rope did come down, Doucette told Bellamy to “have some faith”. Once Bellamy made his way up the rope, they trekked on. The higher they climbed, the more the snow picked up. They reached the Cave of Ascent and a big storm was coming. Doucette wanted to stop and take shelter but Bellamy insisted on continuing. Bellamy continued on alone but the storm was too much so he passed out from the cold. Doucette dragged him towards the cave. This was going to be a long quest.
I don’t want your Kool-Aid! While Doucette was laid up, “The Shepherd’s Passage” fell out of his coat. Bellamy was bored so he started reading it while Doucette was recovering. It read like a typical cultist manifesto to him. He also called BS on the Last War being the key to transcendence and peace. They’ve been to war so many times and so far, it has only brought more war. According to Doucette, the Shepherd teaches that each person is but a subatomic blip in the grand scheme of things. Not very on-brand for Cadogan as he clearly thinks he is special. Doucette believes that the Shepherd will guide him home. Now, that is more on-brand for Cadogan! Anyway, when they got to the Cave of Ascent, Bellamy found a picture of Cadogan, Grace, Reese, and Callie. A mysterious glowing light was coming from the back of the cave. Bellamy went to investigate and Doucette followed behind. Golden light surrounded three stick figure looking things. According to The Shepherd’s Passage, the figures were evidence of a species that had transcended. It could just be a natural phenomenon of the planet. Doucette was in awe of them but Bellamy remained skeptical. He became even more so when Doucette recited “From the Ashes We Will Rise”. Upon looking at the photo again, he realized that The Shepherd and the leader of the Second Dawn are one and the same. At that point, he was really skeptical. Doucette went on and on about “selfish love” being problematic and his greater purpose. Bellamy had had enough at that point. Doucette could take his transcendence and Shepherd talk and go room with the glowing stick figures!
Fine, I’ll have a sip of that Kool-Aid. Over two months had passed and Bellamy was beginning to despair. The snowstorm showed no signs of stopping and he was scrounging for scorpions. Doucette, however, was chillin’. He had been reciting The Shepherd’s prayer constantly. He was “lighter than he’s ever been” because of his faith in The Shepherd and love for all mankind. If you ask him, Bellamy’s bonds with Octavia, Echo, and Clarke are the root of his current suffering. Doucette offered to show him how to get that chillin’ vibe going for himself. Bellamy agreed and joined Doucette in reciting The Shepherd’s prayer. He still didn’t believe it would work but just as he was going to tell Doucette, he was alone. His appearance had reverted to his Sanctum look. He looked around and who should appear but Cadogan. He proclaimed that faith, rather than the “pieces of metal” that are guns and swords, was the true weapon. Cadogan led Bellamy back to where the glowing stick figures were. There stood Aurora Blake. Cadogan disappeared and Bellamy was overcome with emotion. His mom caressed his face and told him to “Go to the light. The light is the way.” Bellamy touched the golden light and was back to reality. The storm had cleared. Time to climb again.
We made it! Darkness was falling and Doucette wanted to go back to the cave. It had taken them all day to get to the final wall so Bellamy insisted that they had to make that final climb right then. “Have some faith”, he said. I loved how Bellamy said that to Doucette after he had said it to Bellamy earlier in the episode. So they climbed and everything was going smoothly until Doucette slipped. Doucette insisted that Bellamy cut him loose and save himself but Bellamy wouldn’t hear of it. They’re bros now apparently. As Bellamy was pulling Doucette up, he recited The Shepherd’s prayer. First sign that Bellamy drank more than a little Kool-Aid. They eventually made it to the stone and Doucette put in the code. The Anomaly descended from the sky towards the ground. Bellamy was confused but Doucette “trust fell” into the Anomaly. Bellamy hesitated, admitted he was afraid, and jumped in. Bellamy arrived on Bardo where Doucette and another conductor were waiting. Doucette and Bellamy shared a hearty hug. They really are bros now! Cadogan was in the room as well and he welcomed Bellamy back to Bardo. Bellamy walked over and kneeled before Cadogan, addressing him as “My Shepherd”. Second sign that he drank more than a little Kool-Aid. Cadogan was kind of excited about pilgrims returning from Etherea. He wanted to hear all about it, probably over a Hipster Millennial Dream MealTM. However, they had to tend to the matter of Clarke and co first.
Reunion…and betrayal. Clarke and co were getting the VIP treatment because she (allegedly) has the key. Gabriel was chowing down on another Hipster Millennial Dream MealTM. Nothing like açaí bowls for breakfast. Octavia was perplexed that he could eat after the events of the day before. Echo knows Gabriel can eat at all times! I loved that callback to Gabriel, Echo, and Hope’s time on Skyring! Anyway, Clarke decided to help Cadogan if he agreed to send everyone else back to Sanctum. Cadogan walked in with Doucette and the guards. Clarke told him she would help him but Cadogan brought in Bellamy before she could lay out her condition. Everyone was stunned but happy to see him. You can’t keep a Blake down! Octavia moved to hug him but the guards pulled their lasers. Ok. Cadogan allowed Clarke to hug him because she has The Key as far as he knows. Clarke whispered to Bellamy that the Disciples think she still has the Flame in her head. Bellamy looked very sad. As Cadogan was leaving, Bellamy stunned everyone again by addressing him as “My Shepherd”. He then spilled the beans about The Flame being destroyed. He has chugged all the Kool-Aid! What a gut punch for Clarke, Octavia, and Echo! Their leverage is gone and so is Cadogan’s “goodwill”.
About the timing of this episode. To be honest, aside from the ending scene, this episode was a bit weak for me. I feel like I’m supposed to love this episode but I just don’t. I think part of the problem was placement within the season. While Bellamy’s absence didn’t bother me as much as other fans, I think it would have been better to intersperse the scenes throughout 7A. If it really had to be its own episode, I might have liked it better had the episode (minus the opening and the ending) came earlier in the season. Maybe around 7.07? A Little Sacrifice was so balls to the wall with the action and the emotion that this one falls flat next to it. Also, the story didn’t move that much. I didn’t have a problem with the backfill episodes earlier in the season but now we’re getting down to the wire. There’s a lot of ground to cover in 5 episodes. I’m worried that it’ll be a blur sprint to the end with 50 million loose ends. I might feel a bit better if I knew the series finale was going to be a two-hour episode.
What is the deal here? I’ve seen several theories about Bellamy’s experience in the cave being a simulation. I’m not sure I buy it entirely. I think there is another explanation for Bellamy’s vision. Sanctum has whole areas that make you hallucinate your greatest fear, deepest desire, or both. It’s possible that the glowing stick figures could be that kind of phenomenon. Also, Bellamy was starving and dehydrated which can also make you hallucinate. Sure, Etherea could be some sort of “pilgrimage” planet for the Disciples. They make a big deal out of “The Shepherd’s journey” there so it might be a good Level 12 test. Maybe the Cave of Ascent was rigged up with holograms and lights. If they were using holograms, though, it would likely have to be pre-rigged each time they sent a Disciple to Etherea. Getting back to Bardo is pretty arduous so I doubt that the Disciples would waste that manpower just to set up holograms. Maybe the Disciples have technology that allows them to alter someone’s reality on another planet. In this case, though, it would require them to know the location of the person. The only technology they have for that is the locator tags and the codes used to pull people out of the Anomaly. Based on how Cadogan greeted Bellamy when he returned to Bardo (“welcome back”), one might suspect that he knew for a while that Bellamy was on Etherea. I think that’s possible. Unless the explosion was capable of altering the course of the Anomaly, Anders intentionally put the code in for Etherea. Anders may have been at a vantage point where he could see Bellamy going into the Anomaly. If so, he withheld that information from Octavia and Levitt. I don’t believe sending Bellamy to Etherea was the original plan. I think the original plan was to put him in M-Cap but Anders saw an opportunity when Octavia agreed to tell them everything about Clarke if they sent Bellamy back to Sanctum. It’s also possible that Doucette had been there for at least 5 minutes, enough time to tell Cadogan that Bellamy was alive and coming in behind him. All of this to say that while I think it’s possible Anders planned to send Bellamy to Etherea, I don’t think what happened in the cave was a simulation. I also don’t believe that Bellamy is playing some kind of long con. He was affected on a spiritual level so I think it’s more likely that he really believes in The Shepherd’s teachings. That doesn’t mean he can’t be torn about betraying his sister, girlfriend, and friends (best and otherwise) though.
Other things. Despite my feelings about the episode, I did enjoy the dynamic between Bellamy and Doucette. Cadogan is cool with kneeling but wants Bellamy to call him Bill. He’s still trying to act like he doesn’t enjoy being worshipped. We still don’t know where Gaia went! Is she still in transit? Bellamy and Doucette didn’t experience memory loss in either direction so time on Etherea and Bardo must run at the same speed. I wonder what the Disciples who are not in Cadogan’s inner circle eat. No way they serve Hipster Millennial Dream MealsTM in the regular cafeteria! Doucette is a Level 10 but maybe he’ll be an 11 due to his pilgrimage and unwavering devotion. Apparently, it’s standard procedure to use M-Cap on Disciples who are suffering from PTSD. In that case, might they stick Levitt in there due to his torture at Echo’s hand? He might fight it though because he wouldn’t want them to know he slept with Octavia. The writers released the script pages for the final scene and they cut out a section where Levitt tries to get Octavia to M-Cap. The way it was written, it appears that he still wants to help them. Well, mostly Octavia.
The Stranger (7.12). The new foe in the description is apparently Bellamy so I want my prize! I have a receipt for that! 😁 Looks like Jordan and Hope will connect and I’m all for it! Clarke is going into M-Cap so my guess is this where they find out about Madi. Maybe the Sanctum and Bardo storylines will finally start to converge. Sheidheda wasted no time building a throne with the bones of the Primes’ hosts.
That’s it. Until next time.
Yeah I agree with you fully about the pacing and timing of this episode! Like you said, they could have littered little bits of it in 7A and saved the end bits for now or something. Because it WAS slow, even though I too appreciated Bellamy’s connection with Doucette. We don’t know Doucette, but had we seen him week to week… Alas.
And yeah I thought it was some kind of altitude sickness (mixed with desperation) that lead to Bellamy’s conversion, but I figure with this show, you just never know. They *can* put people in simulations, so. But it is 100% NOT because Bill Cadogan is an actual god, nope. You made such a good point about how Bill pretends to not LOVE being worshiped… because we all know he lives for it.
I also think you’re right about them finding Madi in Clarke’s mind now. Because the storylines HAVE to converge at this point, right? And as much as Bellamy is on Team Cult at the moment, I don’t think he’d rat out Madi on his own (especially since he knows she doesn’t have the Flame, and has no idea about her drawings and such). I high key hope that Sheidheda won’t “let” Madi be the one to go, and that will be how he dies? Like- he’ll not actually know the code (I can only assume the other commanders would have tried to protect it from him?) and they’ll kill him. I really want it to happen, even though i DO love JR’s portrayal of him!
Bellamy’s vision could be a result of Cadogan manipulating some Etherea phenomenon with technology like the Primes did with the red sun toxin.
I wonder Sheidheda actually knows the code now because Gaia never did the separation ritual on Madi. Then again, they did “isolate” themselves from him so maybe they took the code with them. Sheidheda probably doesn’t care about it anyway unless it leads to more people to rule. I’m thinking he goes down in 7.13 though. The endgame seems to revolve around the Bardo storyline so the Sheidheda storyline needs to be out of the way fairly soon.