This episode was crazy! Let’s just dive right in.
236 years ago. The Eligius III crew (or at least some part of it) arrived on the moon. Josephine Ada Lightbourne, author of the children’s book detailing the psychosis, was part of that crew (edit: Gabriel’s actually the geneticist). Her father, Russell (edit: I could have sworn I heard his name but I don’t think it’s mentioned. I wouldn’t be surprised if his name really was Russell), was an astronomer on the crew and the first victim of the psychosis. He killed just about everyone except Josephine (although she was hurt), her love interest Gabriel, and a few other people. He kept saying “Sanctum is mine” which seems to indicate that he wants to rule the world. On the rewatch, I noted that his wife used “megalomaniac” to describe him. His psychosis was fueled by his desire for power so that word makes perfect sense. This segment raised more questions about how they got to what Sanctum is now. I’m looking forward to finding out but I do have some guesses that I’ll share in the theory post.
Bellamy has two targets. He went after both Clarke and Murphy. Both hurt him in some way. Clarke left him in the fighting pits and Murphy tried to kill him a while back. This might be wild woman guessing but I think part of Bellamy’s psychosis stemmed from wanting to be respected as a capable leader. He kept telling Clarke he didn’t need her anymore. He assumed the leadership role on the ring and showed that he could do it without her. With her back, he doesn’t get the same recognition. On some level, Murphy doesn’t respect Bellamy as a leader. Bellamy mentioned the ring while going at him so I think he did something to undermine him. Just a thought
“How could two people have the same hallucination?” Good question, Bellamy! I was right about Miller and Jackson! Win! They both thought the bugs had gotten into Miller and were going to kill him like the worms did Okiba last season. To Bellamy’s question, I wonder if it’s indicative of where Miller and Jackson are in their relationship. They’ve been together for 131 years (chronologically) and have been through a ton together! I think they have forged such a strong connection that their “stuff” is interconnected. None of the other couples had that. Miller feels guilty about his actions as Blodreina’s right hand and Jackson wants to be able to take that away from him. The worms Miller “feels” are a manifestation of that guilt.
Murphy…wins immunity! Another one of my theories was right! Some people have immunity to the psychosis. I just didn’t think it would be Murphy! It did seem like he turned the jerkass up to 11 though. His words had more malice behind them especially when it came to Clarke. It was like he was trying extra hard to hurt her. Still, Murphy was the one to snap Clarke out of it long enough for her to realize they had to save Bellamy. You cannot say Murphy isn’t loyal! Anyway, Murphy didn’t wake up when Raven, Abby, Octavia, and Jordan showed up. I will get into this more on my theory post but lets just say a certain 26-eyed animal is involved.
Clarke’s inner turmoil. We all know Clarke bears the burden of leadership and keeping people alive. She’s been taking barbs from Murphy, Emori, Raven, and Shaw for betraying them even though she saved them at the end. You could tell they were getting to her. It hurts her that her actions have resulted in her friends getting hurt or killed. Her psychosis stemmed from the belief that she is the problem and on some level, she feels responsible for the deaths of her dad and Lexa. There’s also the fear of hurting Madi. I thought it was an interesting creative choice for the voice telling Clarke to go end herself was Abby’s and not her own. Having mom “telling” you exactly what to do to end yourself? Painful! It may stem from the feeling that she is a disappointment and a burden to her mom too. I’m curious to see where they take this with Clarke as it seems to be setting up her arc in terms of her demons.
Diyoza. When hijackers take the bridge, you call someone who’s done it before. Enter Diyoza! She is a trained military tactician who stops at nothing to accomplish her goal. She ended those hijackers and leveraged them without blinking! Contrast that with Raven who wanted to show a little more mercy. Buddy cop comedy waiting to happen! I also find it interesting that she saw a little of Shaw in Raven, both of them being “soft” and all. Knowing what we know, it was bittersweet when Diyoza referred to them as cute couple. We saw a little of how Raven reacted to Shaw’s death but I’m interested to see how Diyoza will react. She obviously respected him but she may even be fond of him on some level despite him being “soft”. Anyway, I loved seeing Diyoza in action and I’m looking forward to seeing more of her.
Octavia wants to die. Underneath the delusions of grandeur (she thinks psychopath McCreary would have surrendered to her!) lies a broken person who just wants it all to be over. She was willing to let James and the rest of those Wonkru folks kick her to death. Niylah caught on to this immediately. It was there last season too because she really wanted that warrior’s death. Octavia seems to see death as a sort of salvation that will wash away her sins. Abby seems to think that she should have to live with pain and turmoil of her decisions. It doesn’t seem like a lot of progress had been made in Octavia’s redemption arc but it was going to be a long haul anyway. She was long gone by the time season 5 ended.
Hijacker identity. Looks like I was wrong about this one. The surviving hijacker was able to walk through the radiation fence and addressed one of the children by name (Rose). This would indicate that she’s part of Sanctum rather than Grounders 2.0. I’m curious to know more of her story and the beats leading up to the hijacking.
First hints of Echo’s backstory. Echo was probably taught early on the importance of obedience and not showing weakness. Negative reinforcement was likely used to cement those two ideals. Also interesting was that Emori was taunting her to be “good” and “do what she is told”. I don’t know if that was actually Emori talking or Echo’s hallucination. Could actually be both.
Madi takes command…and yet is still a child. Madi let Diyoza know who was boss! You don’t speak unless the commander speaks to you. On the flip side, Gaia is essentially her babysitter. The pre-teen in Madi came out when she sarcastically said “I’m so glad I woke you.”
Other things. I get the sense that people expect Jordan to be a complete spaz and have big reactions to everything new he encounters. Jordan is a reserved person so I think it’s perfectly in character for him to have more subdued reactions to new experiences. Why did they bring a child to a hijacking?! They had to know it was going to be dangerous. Unless their plan was just to take it over and then fly back to Earth. I was really hoping we’d see King Russell at the end of the episode but we didn’t. I’m inordinately excited to meet him next week! And also Russell’s wife (not Jade…) who asks Clarke how many people has she killed like it’s a topic of casual conversation. Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the amazing acting on the part of Marie Avgeropoulos and Eliza Taylor! Really, the whole cast has been on fire but these two stood out!
And that’s my take! Until next week!