The 100 2x16 Recap: Blood Must Have Blood Part 2

 

The 100

Season 2, Episode 16

(season finale, returns this fall)

8|9c on the CW

 



This is going to be the most difficult recap I've ever written. The season 2 finale was intense, and not your average, every-day popcorn-flick intense (not that The 100 ever is). It was the kind of intense that reaches inside your chest, grips your heart in iron fingers and squeezes the breath out of your lungs, and you let it. Most of you already know that The 100 is my favorite show, and that I am more emotionally in love with and invested in Bellamy Blake (+ Clarke Griffin) than any other fictional characters, ever, period. So bear with me, because I'm probably going to wax poetic and lengthy here.

 

My favorite thing about this show (aside from/including Bellamy) is that none of the characters are static. They're actual people. They grow. They change, not always for the better. They adapt and evolve and they're so beautifully real, and the show really highlights their character development/devolvement.

 

At the end of the last episode, we left Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia facing Mount Weather, each separate, each alone. Lexa had made a deal with Cage to release the Grounders, and she walks away, leaving Clarke. Octavia disobeys Indra's orders and stays when they retreat, realizing that Bellamy is her home. Bellamy knows he has to protect everyone, somehow, but he's not sure how to do it.

 

In this episode, Cage has gathered the remaining kids as well as the newly-captured Kane, Abby and Monroe, and has them all chained to walls while, one by one, their bone marrow is mortally extracted. Cage has moved everyone (except Dante, who refuses to budge from his cell) into level 5, and seems fairly confident that nobody can get at them after the deal he made with Lexa.

 

However, Bellamy opens the door to the reaper tunnels and he, Monty, Jasper and Maya are re-united with Clarke and Octavia. It's a happy few seconds but after that, things quickly take a turn downhill. They get Dante and bring him to the control room, where they watch their loved ones being tortured on camera. Clarke attempts to bargain with Cage, saying she'll spare Dante's life if he lets her people go, but Cage refuses. Clarke shoots Dante and tells Monty to reverse the turbines that keep the mountain radiation-free, which would enable them to flood Level 5 with radiation, killing everyone inside. Monty gets it ready while Jasper and Octavia attempt to find more oxygen tanks for Maya's suit.

 

In the woods, Lincoln is tied up at the Grounder camp, and this conversation happens.

 

Indra: You have to choose; Octavia or us.

Lincoln: I will literally always choose Octavia you should know this by now.

Indra: I was just messin' with ya, give O my love *leaves a knife so he can escape*

 

Back at Mount Weather, there's nothing for it, and Clarke knows that if she wants to save her people she has to destroy everyone inside the mountain - even the innocents she and Bellamy have tried so hard to protect. Before she pulls the lever, she hesitates, but they're running out of time. Gently, Bellamy says, "Together," places his hand on top of hers, and they flip the switch, pulling irradiated air into Mount Weather and killing the inhabitants, including Maya, who, before dying in Jasper's arms, whispers, "None of us are innocent."

 

“When Bellamy put his hand on hers on the switch, that was the ultimate moment of self-sacrifice for him. He knew she was going to have to shoulder this decision and he decides to share it with her.”

—	Jason Rothenberg

 

When Clarke and the others run down to free their people, Clarke fights back tears and tells Abby, "I tried to be the good guy. I really tried."

 

Meanwhile, Murphy and Jaha have reached 'the city of light,' which turns out to be a lighthouse on a small island. Jaha proved that he's officially crazypants when they're attacked by a shrieking eel and he shoves a man out of the boat to give them time to reach the shore. Murphy, shocked and horrified, leaves Jaha once they reach the island and discovers a hatch (Dharma Initiative, amirite? We even have Desmond!) and goes inside to find a bachelor pad and a cryptic suicide/video message by a man who apologizes for the bombs, says it was 'all her fault,' and shoots himself.

 

Jaha follows a drone to a spotless mansion and is greeted by an attractive hologram named A.L.I.E., who thanks him for the missile she found from the Ark's wreckage and tells him she has big plans.

 

Back across the water, everyone makes it back to Camp Jaha (which should really be re-named Camp Maya since Jaha's alive and insane and Maya's dead and martyred). Kane and Abby are holding hands, Wick is carrying Raven, Monty looks sad in an adorable cardigan, and Jasper is in a state of emotional trauma after the loss of Maya, and blaming Monty, Clarke, and Bellamy for what happened.

 

Bellamy walks over to Clarke and says, "We could use a drink." After a moment, Clark says, "Have one for me." She then tells Bellamy that she can't stay; she can't stand to see everyone's faces and be reminded of what she did to protect them. "What we did," says Bellamy, with the most tragic, heartfelt, pleading expression on his face. Hailing back to 1x08, he says, "Look - if you need forgiveness, I'll give that to you. You're forgiven. Please come inside."

 

And then came the moment when everyone's heart broke. Mine broke loudly and into a million irreparable pieces. Clarke presses a kiss against Bellamy's cheek, wraps her arms around him, and tells him to take care of their people. "May we meet again," she says, and walks away. He takes a deep breath, a tear rolling down his face, steels himself, and nods. "May we meet again," he repeats, and they walk separate ways - him into Camp Jaha, and her away, into the unknown.

 

 

 

|TAKES A DEEP BREATH AND REBOOTS|

[ I'll be 21 in a little over a month and then I can drink wine while I write these. Yes indeedie.)

 

THE PARALLELS IN THIS SHOW. The /RELATIONSHIPS/ and the /EVENTS/ and the /DIALOGUE THAT HEARKENS BACK TO TWENTY EPISODES AGO THAT YOU REMEMBER CLEARLY BECAUSE IT WAS JUST THAT GOOD/.

 

Jason Rothenburg told us we would be getting a Bellarke scene, and he was right. They said we'd love and hate them for it, and they were right. We started from the ground up - Bellamy and Clarke couldn't stand one another. They fought, they butted heads. Now, two seasons later, we've reached the point where, as Jason Rothenburg said, they need one another, and they trust one another. It might be more, but they haven't processed that yet. They're not screaming and blaming the other person - they're hugging one another, they're understanding, they're loving and they're letting go.

 

Did Clarke and Bellamy do the right thing? That's an interesting question that this episode addresses, but ultimately leaves us to decide. Would Bellamy have pulled the lever if Octavia would have died? Would Clarke have pulled it if it meant the death of someone she loved? I don't know. When Abby and Clarke are reunited, Abby hugs Clark tightly and says, "Maybe there are no good guys." While I don't believe this to be a true concept - good and evil are most definitely real - situations do arise in which gut-wrenchingly difficult decisions have to be made. If Clarke and Bellamy hadn't pulled the lever, their people would have died torturous deaths - however, they sacrificed 300 'innocent' people in order to save their own.

 

Jason Rothenburg released some hints about season three. Bellamy is going to be in charge of Camp Jaha (!!!!). A.L.IE. is going to be a huge problem. Richard Harmon (Murphy) is going to be a regular rather than a guest-star (WOOOOOHOOOO). But there are more questions that we don't have answers to, such as...

 

WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED TO THIS CHARACTER AND WHY HAS NOTHING BEEN DONE ABOUT IT AND I MEAN IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN/ ADDRESSED/ WHY ON EARTH NOT???

 

Is Clarke going to Polis? Please say no.

 

Is Echo going to be Bellamy's season 3 love interest? Please say no.

 

Is Jaha actually going to become a villain? Because I can totally see that happening.

 

Are we ever going to see Emori again?

 

How is A.L.I.E.'s mansion so clean? Holograms can't clean things.

 

Also, I would like to announce that I spent six freaking hours creating a Bellarke fanvid to /their/ song (aka Superheroes by The Script) and it turned out beautifully. And it won't save. So you can't see it. I apologize.

What did you guys think of the finale? Any season 3 predictions? Any emotional support? If you need me I'll be over here re-watching season one and sobbing over character development.



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The 100 2x14: Lexa No

I apologize for not posting these the last two weeks. One week I totally forgot and the other week I thought it was Friday, not Saturday. I'm a little stressed out lately - and The 100 isn't helping!

The 100

CW

2x14: Bodyguard of Lies

Wednesday 8|9c

 

In the Dead Zone

 

Jaha (who thinks he's Moses. Broses?) is leading the straggling few who decided a hike across a desert to a questionable 'city of light' was a good idea across a desert. Murphy is being gloriously sarcastic about the whole thing. A dude named Harris is cracking jokes about Reapers and Grounders when BAM! - he steps on a land mine, and so does another gal. Blood and limbs rain down, and they realize they're stuck in a minefield with absolutely no idea of how to get out. A sandstorm comes up (because naturally) and they wait it out. When it fades, they see light shining beyond the next mountain of sand. Broses proclaims that this is all a test, and if they have enough faith, they'll make it. Murphy graciously tells him 'you first, Chancellor.' Jaha leads them out of the minefield using his walking stick and they race up the dune to find....

solar panels?

A whole lotta solar panels, reflecting the sun. No city. Murphy, righteously angry, throws a rock at a solar panel and a drone detaches from its perch and flies past them. They follow the drone to the edge of the water, where it continues to fly. Fortunately for everyone, there's a boat! Broses tells them to get in. They do.

....Wow, guys.

To coin a Murphy phrase, 'What level of crazy is too much for you?'

 

In Mount Weather

 

Cage: Where are the 44? (RIP, three kids that Cage killed)

Lieutenant: I don't know.

Cage decides that they'll use the fact the kids killed ten Mount Weather soldiers (in SELF DEFENSE) as anti-propaganda so people will come forward with the kid's locations. In the control room we see via radar that the Grounder Army is camped just outside the range of the acid fog. We see Bellamy (HI BELLAMY) running around trying to stop the acid fog from happening. His keybard stops working, two guards realize he's not Lovejoy, and start firing at him. Now that they know they have an intruder, Bellamy's life just got about 100x more difficult - and it was no piece of cake before, chocolate or otherwise. (Sorry, Monty.)

 

Bellamy catches a guard, beats him unconscious, and takes his keycard. (I love Bellamy so much. He doesn't kill unless he has to, unlike some other characters on the show.) He finds Maya's dad, Vincent, who tells him that they've moved some of the kids to areas that were already searched. Bellamy asks Vincent if there's another way to shut off the acid fog, and Vincent tells him there's a place called the 'retro-fit zone' that's off-limits and HEY! Has no cameras! HOW CONVENIENT!

Vincent gives Bellamy a soddering gun. Why?

...I guess he was out of glue guns, or staplers, or tasers.

 

In the Grounder Camp

 

Lexa attempts to calm down Clarke, who is freaking out over the kids in Mount Weather, specifically - BELLAMY. For the first time on the show, someone acknowledges the existence of Bellarke (a ploy by the writers, I'm sure, to assuage the pain of what happens a bit later) by pointing out that Clarke worries more about Bellamy than the others.

Lexa wants Clarke to be an android-leader without emotions, but Clarke just wants to keep people safe. YAY! CLARKE WITH FEELINGS IS BACK! I missed you, Clarke With Feelings. Clarke and Octavia have a brief conversation where Octavia realizes that Clarke knew about the missile before it landed and killed a bunch of people.

'You'd fit right in on the council,' Octavia tells her.

BURN.

But true, in that moment.

Grounder Bodyguard informs Octavia that she's been re-assigned to guard duty. Clarke, suspicious, tells Lexa that Octavia won't tell anyone about the missile. 'You take care of your people,' she says, 'I'll take care of mine.'

Lexa says sure, yeah, and then tells the Grounder Bodyguard to kill Octavia. Clarke gets wind of it and puts a gun to the Grounder Bodyguard's head before he shoots Octavia, and then she takes him to Lexa's tent. Lexa orders the Bodyguard to stand down and has him leave, and they have an exchange about feelings and doing what's right.

Lexa points out that, while she let 250 people die in the village, she didn't let Clarke die. Clarke, taken aback, tells her that if anything happens to Octavia, she'll tell EVERYONE about the missile. This makes an apparent impact, because later, Lexa calls for Clarke to tell her she trusts her, and she won't harm Octavia.

And then Lexa kisses her.

 

OKAY.

*deep breath*

I mean, I saw this coming (on Lexa's part, anyway) from a mile away.

But I think the writers have a serious apology to make to Bellarke shippers.

A. SERIOUS. APOLOGY. Because while Bellarke might be end-game, HOW MANY MORE DELAYS CAN WE EXPECT? FOR REAL? C'MON.

Clarke backs away from the kiss and says she's not ready for another relationship...yet.

In Camp Jaha

 

RAVICK IS BACK!

 

 

Bellamy has found the Poison Fog Vats (that's fun to say) they're taking turns trying to help him figure out a way to turn it off or neutralize it. This entire scene, while nerve-wracking, is adorable because it's like two teenagers trying to tell their mom how to work a computer. Basically, this is the entire scene:

 

Bellamy goes through every option on the monitor and then Wick has a brilliant idea - they can activate the cleaning solution to neutralize the gas! It seems to work, and when Bellamy announces the PH level has gone down, RAVICK HUGS. And they almost kiss, but....they don't. Sigh.

They send out the flare to let the Grounder Army know the gas is neutralized, and then Raven runs back in and starts making out with Wick.

Wow. Nobody saw that coming since the first encounter. *sideways glance* Nobody. I mean, I ship them and all, but this just seems fairly...abrupt? Sudden? Odd? We find out Wick's real name is Kyle, which changes absolutely nothing. Wick he shall stay.

When they're through, Raven tries to slip away as per her Modus Operandi, and Wick tells her, 'if you want to do this, I'm in, but I don't play games. So figure it out.'

While I admire Wick for being straightforward like this, I don't think Raven is ready. Another sigh.

 

In the Grounder Camp

 

They see the flare, and Lexa admits to Clarke, 'you were right to have faith in him.'  I'm hoping Clarke was feeling a little more than faith, but ahem. Cough. Lexa calls her army to battle.

 

In Mount Weather

 

Bellamy thinks his job is accomplished, but he notices a gauge on one of the vats that says the PH levels are exactly the same, and he realizes none of the acid has been neutralized. FLIPPIN' CAGE. URGH. I HATE YOU SO MUCH.

He tries to contact Raven but it turns out the Mount Weather control room has interrupted his frequency. They send people into the Toxic Waste Room - I mean, Acid Fog Vat Room - and they start shooting at Bellamy.

I start hyperventilating. Again.

Bellamy escapes down an air vent, because he rigged up an Oxygen tank with his soddering gun and it EXPLODES. WELL PLAYED, SIR. I'M SO PROUD OF YOU. (Also this is quite hilarious considering Raven specifically told him not to blow anything up. You got your wish, son.)

Cage tries to trigger the acid fog, but to no avail - the entire room was blown up. No fog, sir, no fog

HA.

He gets mad, because he's a baby.

Cage: WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO?

Lieutenant: NOTHING, SIR.

Cage: NOOoooOOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOOOOO.

 

In the Woods

 

The Grounder army heads toward Mount Weather and Clarke tells Octavia she wants her with the rear guard. Octavia tells her that she takes orders from Indra, and Indra tells Octavia she's staying up front. Octavia tells Indra about the missile thing, but it turns out Indra already knew.

Indra tells Octavia they'll win this war because Lexa is ruthless. Octavia says, 'that's wrong,' and Indra replies simply, 'it's war.'

BATTLE CRY, and fade.

 

QUESTIONS

1. WHERE. IS. THE. MUTANT. THINGY.

2. Are we ever going to see Emori again?

3. Where on earth is Lincoln?

4. Why didn't Broses and Murphy and the others just dive into all that water? Hasn't it been ages since they've had a drink? And they've been walking through a burning desert? Eh? Eh???

5. THERE ARE ONLY TWO EPISODES LEFT. THEY'RE BEING MARKETED AS A TWO-PARTER.

HELP.

 

 

 

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The 100 2x11: Bellamy Blake Is Actually Perfect

The 100

2x11: Coup de Grace

CW 8|9c

 

This episode was basically a tornado of feelings and I was wound up like a spring the entire time. I don't think we've had an episode that stressful since the season 1 finale. My sister and I were practically holding hands the whole time (and I'm not a cuddler). It doesn't pull any punches and opens straightaway with Bellamy being tortured in Mount Weather - scoured, scrubbed, dusted, and drugged.

The Mount Weather people even appear to take a tooth (?) and put into him - whether it's a vacuum or a chip or another drug or what, I hope we find out. They then throw him into a cage to await his turn to be Harvested (i.e. drained of blood) and, Bellamy being Bellamy, the first thing he does is try to physically force his way out of the locked cage. His neighbor is a Grounder gal who realizes he's a Sky Person (how? Does his appearance scream 'I AM NOT A GROUNDER' or something?) and proceeds to spit on his face. He wipes it off and says patiently, 'I take it nobody's told you we aren't enemies anymore.' She tells him that they take the strongest first, so he shouldn't make too much of a fuss.

 

(Side note: Wow, we got to see Bellamy clean. How weird was that?? While I prefer him looking all rugged and scruffy, it was cool to see what he actually looks like. Also, we haven't had shirtless Bellamy in like twelve episodes, so I'm not complaining about that, either.)

The Mount Weather people come back in and start to take the helpful Grounder gal, but Bellamy - again, being Bellamy - makes a ruckus and they take him instead. They shock him, drug him, and hoist him up to drain him of blood.

Meanwhile, Maya makes Jasper promise he won't do anything stupid. He promises he won't, and then sets off to find President Wallace, hold a sword to his throat and demand where his friends are. (Because every President should definitely have a ceremonial sword lying about.) President Wallace is, fortunately, a pretty decent guy (for someone who drains Grounders of all their blood and creates cannibalistic Reapers) and takes Jasper to find Monty and Harper. He releases both Monty AND Harper and tells Jasper to get the other teenagers and pack their things, because they need to leave. Unfortunately, when Wallace goes to confront his son, he's arrested by said son and imprisoned. LEMME TELL YA - hearing a guard call Wallace's son 'Mr. President' is chilling. CHILLING.

 

Maya, snooping around trying to help Jasper, discovers a Weather-woman in the hospital zone, and she's been healed an hour ahead of schedule. Maya, being a lot smarter than I've previously given her credit for, realizes this must mean there's someone unusual hooked up to said Weather-woman and goes into the Harvest area. There she sees Bellamy being drained. She gives him a shot of epinephrine and he wakes up just in time for a guard with Terrible Timing to walk in and ask Maya what she's doing. Maya, being an extremely quick thinker, pulls the plug monitoring Bellamy's vitals so his heart flatlines and tells the guard she was curious, but Bellamy is dead. The guard, unperturbed, lets Bellamy down, and then Bellamy takes action, leaping up and attacking him. With some help from the Grounder Gal (who, still caged, grabs the guard's hand through the bars), Bellamy strangles and kills the guard.

 

I really liked this scene, actually. During season two, we've had Saint Bellamy. He's done a near 180, and I think it's easy to forget that he's actually a strong, trained, lethal man - and now he's desperate and has a mission to save 46 lives. Does he enjoy it? No - his reaction after he's killed the guard (who we discover is named 'Lovejoy') tells us that. But is he capable? Oh, yes.

Bellamy puts on the guard's clothes (Bellamy in a cap. It's adorable. But also, I can't wait for him to get back in his regular clothes. He rocks black pants and a V-neck, but it's hard to rock a khaki uniform. Even for him.) They're almost caught in an elevator, but once again Maya's quick thinking gets them out.

 

They reach another floor and Bellamy sees a string of small children holding hands and walking into a schoolroom. He realizes they need to change their plan, because he won't be responsible for killing children. A little boy walks up to him and asks if he's in a ground unit, because his father is training to be in one. When the boy walks away, Bellamy sees a name tag on the boy's backpack - Lovejoy. With tears in his eyes, Bellamy follows Maya, who asks 'what did you expect you'd find down here?"

 

 

As they reach the dorms, alarms sound and the kids are locked into their rooms, placed under guard. Jasper looks out the window and sees Maya - and Bellamy. Now that they can't get the teenagers out, Bellamy and Maya head to a radio to get word to Camp Jaha.

 

 

Meanwhile, two Mount Weather snipers in full hazmat suits attempt to shoot Clarke and Lexa, but are foiled by Indra and Octavia. They kill one of the snipers but Clarke stops them from killing the second sniper, because they might be able to use him for information. Abby tries to mother Clarke, telling her 'someone tried to kill you, it's okay if you're upset' and Clarke tells her it's just another day on the ground. (I like Abby, but I liked her a lot more on the Ark.) They rush the wounded Weatherman back to Camp Jaha and give him a blood transfusion to heal up his burned skin, then put him in an airlock, thanks to Raven.

 

Then Clarke asks Raven if there's been any word from Bellamy. *happy sigh* Unfortunately there hasn't been, and the two bicker before those in charge (i.e. Clarke, Abby, and Kane) need to decide what to do with the Weatherman, who isn't giving them any information. Abby is pulling a pre-war Clarke and insisting they can't torture anyone, while Abby and Kane are all for it since being nice didn't work.

 

The Weatherman's bloodwork reveals traces of the engineered blood from the people on the Ark, which Clarke knows means her people are already being drained in Mount Weather. She goes back to check on the radio, and just as she and Raven argue about not giving up, Bellamy comes through on the radio. *more happy sighing* The two look so happy to be talking to each other, on respective sides of the radio, and it's adorable and makes me happy. Clarke tells Bellamy 'you came through. I knew you would,' and then we get another BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL, AMAZING writing parallel. THE PARALLELS IN THIS SHOW. EVERY EPISODE. I HAVE A CRUSH ON THE PARALLELS. Because Bellamy, instead of saying they need to kill everyone in the mountain, instead tells Clarke this -

 

Clarke says she'll work on it, and advises Bellamy to use the Grounders already inside Mount Weather. He compares it to a Trojan Horse (which is adorable. Bellamy is the actual resident mythology/history geek) and Clarke promises she'll keep the Weathermen so busy looking outside the mountain that they won't notice him. (Considering there are only 362 people in the mountain, if anyone notices he doesn't belong, he's effectively dead.) As part of this plan, Clarke takes the Weatherman (Emerson) out of quarantine with a message to give to Mount Weather. She tells Mount Weather that they might think they know everything, but the Grounder army is bigger than they've imagined - basically, she tells Mount Weather they're in trouble. Before she can let the prisoner go, however, she's confronted by Abby, who tells her she won't allow this.

Clarke then tells her, "You may be Chancellor, but I'm in charge."

 

AND ALL GOD'S PEOPLE SAID

 





Abby finally has no choice but to allow the prisoner to leave - you can bet there are going to be some enormous repercussions in the next episode, but for now, Clarke is a boss and Abby has been put in her place. Clarke and Raven then discuss how basically everything is resting on Bellamy. No pressure, Bells. No pressure.

 

Questions

1. Where has Wick been!? C'mon! I need some more Wicken, because he and Raven are perfect.

2. Please tell me Abby isn't going to try and lock Clarke up in the next episode. I know that's not technically a question, but still.

3. WHERE. IS. THE. FREAKING. MUTANT.

 

This show. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. IT STRESSES ME OUT SO MUCH. Oh my goodness. I just - I am not looking forward to the finale. I mean, I am. But in a dreading-and-trepidation kind of way. Pretty sure I'll spend the entire hiatus rocking back and forth and writing on walls. Also, I'm a HUGE fan of Bellamy not dying. So. Um. Yes. Until next week.

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The 100 2x10: There Was a Giant Gorilla

 

The 100

2x10

Survival of the Fittest

Wednesdays

8|9c

(note: I'm captioning the episodes with something sarcastic because I can. The real episode title will be at the top of the post. ^ I love this show so much. I really do. I'm now being sarcastic with it.)

 

Previously on The 100 -
- The Mount Weather kids sent out an SOS but Monty got caught
- Clarke took Lexa's remark that 'love is weakness' to heart and crushed Bellamy's soul by sending him and Lincoln to Mount Weather on a suicide mission
- Some unhappy Grounders are feeling mutinous

This show gets better and better. It really does. Season One was a twelve-episode 'time slot filler' and I feel like the writers had something good, but they weren't sure whether it would stand the test of ratings. When it did, and got renewed for a second season, they really upped their game. They shed the cloak of 'sexy teenybopper CW show' and entered into a world that is darker, older, and deeper. I continue to be impressed, I'm more attached to Bellamy Bloody Blake than any other character on television currently (and I'm head-over-heels for a lot of them), and the relationships, plot, and characters continue to just really astound me. That being said...

DID WE NEED A GIANT FREAKING GORILLA IN THIS EPISODE? WHERE ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH DID THAT IDEA COME FROM?

Producer: Hey, so, I've been thinking. This show is just a little too realistic at the moment.
Writers: What do you mean?
Producer: It's just not 'enough,' you know? I know what we should do.
Writers: ...uh.
Producer: I want you guys to throw in a giant gorilla.
Writers: ...is this a joke?
Producer: No, it'll be great.
Writers: I'm not sure our CGI is up to the task of, um, a giant -
Producer: NOPE GO TELL THE DIRECTOR. GIANT GORILLA IT IS. I LOVE THE IDEA.
Writers: But-
Producer: IT'S GENIUS.

Don't know what I'm talking about? We'll get to that. In the forest, we have Lincoln and Bellamy heading to Mount Weather and having a vague bonding moment. Bellamy admits that Lincoln has been good for Octavia, and Lincoln tells Bellamy that the world has been trying to turn him into a monster for as long as he can remember.

They reach the Reaper tunnels - their entrance to Mount Weather - but when Reapers appear, Lincoln suddenly decides this was a terrible idea and tries to run out. Bellamy has a shining moment - shaking and clearly terrified, he snaps sense into Lincoln's head and tells him to stick with it. The Reapers appear and Bellamy acts as Lincoln's prisoner. Bellamy is blindfolded and taken with the other Grounder prisoners to the tunnel entrance into Mount Weather, where Dr. Singh comes out and tags them all 'Harvest.' Then her assistants pull out the Red (the drug that creates the Reapers) and they eagerly accept it. And then Lincoln has a seriously low moment. Where he and Bellamy were supposed to work together, Bellamy watches as Lincoln acts like a druggie in withdrawl and accepts the shot he wasn't supposed to take. Bellamy is then hauled into Mount Weather, a prisoner with no backup. I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS DID YOU SEE THE PROMO FOR THE NEXT EPISODE I CANNOT OVERSTATE MY CONCERN I HAVE BEEN FREAKING OUT FOR TWO DAYS AND IT'S ONLY GOING TO CONTINUE OH MY GOODNESS OH MY GOODNESS OH MY GOODNESS.

Meanwhile, back at Lexa's Grounder camp, Clarke is being all professional and diplomatic and talking strategy and things with the Grounders as they try to figure out their best Mount Weather Attack Plan. An angry Grounder named Quint wants to take Mount Weather by storm, but Clarke insists that they need to wait for Bellamy to get inside and lower the enemy's defenses. Lexa says that waiting for Bellamy is not a plan, it's a prayer. Clarke walks outside to get some air (not her brightest move) and Quint follows. He attacks her and she runs, and then sees Major Byrne. Oh, yay, Byrne is here to save the - well, okay, maybe not, since Byrn turns around and we see she's MISSING AN ARM. She tells Clarke to run and then falls over, presumably dead. Quint catches up to Clarke, but before he can kill her Lexa shows up and gives Clarke the opportunity to kill Quint. Clarke hesitates, but just then they hear a roar. Lexa, hardcore commander that she is, cripples Quint, grabs Clarke, and runs. They run into a place that's apparently a feeding ground (lots of bones and raw meat everywhere) and then who should appear but KING KONG.

Why couldn't it have been Mighty Joe Young? Did we just fall into the set of Congo, or am I missing something? Why is there a badly CGI'd gorilla attacking Clarke and Lexa? *rubs eyes* Nope, still there. Okay. Well.

Lexa breaks her arm but they manage to lock the....gorilla...into a holding pen and escape. Once they're free, Lexa apologizes for telling Clarke 'love is weakness' and says Clarke's heart shows no sign of said weakness. GEE, LEXA, YOU COULDN'T HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE SHE SENT BELLAMY INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH?????????????????????????????????????????? BECAUSE HE'S CAPTURED AND I AM REALLY NERVOUS????????????????????? Clarke wonders what would happen if Bellamy got inside and freed the Grounders already in there? Of course, she doesn't tell Lexa that the Grounders are in no condition to fight. I don't think sheer anger is going to help them much anymore. But we won't mention that, for whatever reason.

At Camp Jaha, the Grounders and the Sky People are doing training exercises together. I'm really not sure why, since they don't seem to be sharing much knowledge. A Grounder starts a fight with Murphy, and Murphy is put on work detail. Octavia fights a hefty, talented Grounder and loses, but she gets back up. And loses. And gets back up. And loses. And gets back up. And loses. And then Indra offers to train her as her Second. Well! Okay, then. (I wonder how Bellamy's going to react to that...)

Jaha gets Murphy off work detail and Murphy grudgingly takes him to the dropship site to see Wells' grave. "Isn't this magnificent?" says Jaha of the scenery. "Oh, just give it a few days," says Murphy. While I have mixed feelings over Murphy, his sass. It's glorious. Everyone gets guilt-tripped.They stay pretty late and end up sleeping there. In the morning about a dozen people from the Exodus Ship show up, ready to follow their fearless leader (read: Jaha) to paradise (read: shady 'City of Light' rumor). They start to walk away, and Murphy says to Jaha, "Hey, camp You is that way." (the saaassss) Jaha, of course, tells him they're going to the city of light and invites Murphy to join. He does. Ugh, Murphy. Have some sense! Does this sound like a good plan to you?

Meanwhile, at Camp Jaha, Kane offers to show the Grounders how to shoot a gun. Indra adamantly says NO. Octavia tells Kane that they're scared of guns-- legend has it that if a Grounder picks up a gun, Mt. Weather will wipe out their entire village. Legend also has it that the 100 writers can make legends up when convenient.

Oh, also, Grounder Commanders are chosen by reincarnation, apparently. But then, we did get a CGI gorilla in this episode, too.

QUESTIONS

Where was Abby in this episode!?
Where was Raven in this episode!? How is she doing? Is she okay? She got cut up pretty bad in the last episode!
Does Murphy have a plan?
Will Lincoln wallow in guilt? Please say yes, because LINCOLN, YOU TWIT.
WHERE IS THE MUTANT THING YOU SHOWED US EARLIER? WHERE? WHERE IS IT?
WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO BELLAMY I AM HONESTLY SO CONCERNED I PRETTY MUCH CRIED MY WAY THROUGH YESTERDAY BECAUSE #BELLAMYBLOODYBLAKE

promo for the next episode

I can't watch it again because I'll have a stroke

literally nothing is okay

 

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In Defense of Bellamy Blake: Part Four (The End!)

I'm cramming tonight because a) I was gone all day and b) my right wrist is still recovering from a mild sprain, but I had to get this post in today. Why? Because The 100 is back, and I'll be returning to recapping the episodes! Everybody, cheer with me! As we round off this last segment in defense of Bellamy, I'm going to cover the obvious advances in his character development.

1. From Selfish to Selfless
In the first episode, the only person Bellamy cared about besides himself was his little sister, Octavia. Now in season two, we see that his experiences on earth have changed his view and helped him see other lives as more important than his own. In season one, Monty refers to Bellamy as a 'power-hungry, self-serving jackass,' but then we see this.

 

and this.

 

 

and this.

 

 

He repeatedly risks his life in order to help others. He traded his life for Jasper's, risked his neck to save Clarke, climbed down a cliff to save a girl he'd never met. Instead of the domineering leader he was at the beginning, he now refers to the rest of the hundred as 'our people' ('our' referring to him and Clarke). When Clarke is feeling guilty over shutting the dropship door and leaving him to get roasted alive, he simply tells her, 'You did the right thing.' There is no doubt that he would willingly lay down his life for the teenagers.

2. From Impulsive to Thoughtful
In much of the first season, Bellamy acted before he thought. He was a 'live in the moment' kinda guy with the motto 'Whatever the hell we want.' Now, we see him acting as a diplomat - doing his best to make peace between everything from armies to people's personal vendettas. Clarke's absence during the first part of season two was good for his character development (even if it was painful for the viewers, because Clarke + Bellamy = package deal) because he had to take over her role as said diplomat.

(It's really hard to type with a brace on, guys)

 

Bellamy covers quite a few stereotypes. He's the Leader, the Older Brother, the Fanatic, the Warrior, and the Love Interest. While Clarke is the head, he's the heart. When she sees the enemy, he sees the person. When Finn - the person who always opposed him, who went behind his back and broke Clarke's heart - is in trouble, Bellamy puts that behind him and steps up to protect him. His view has been broadened - he's no longer Octavia's protector, he's everyone's. Where in season one he was ready to run away from responsibility, he now steps into it with grim determination. What will the second half of season two have in store? I don't know about you, but I can't wait to find out.

 

#bellamybloodyblake

 

 

 

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In Defense of Bellamy Blake: Part 3

(I swear my goal in life is to write a Bellamy-worthy character)

 

We’ve seen a good shift in character development for Bellamy during the first season. At the finale, Clarke is forced to get everyone she can into the drop ship and start the rocket boosters, which incinerate everything within a 100-foot (ish) radius of the drop ship. The horrible part? They ran out of time, and she had to leave Bellamy and Finn outside. When they open up the dropship, everyone inside is taken by the Mountain Men (who prove to be the evil scientists I’ve been recapping about), and that’s the last Bellamy sees of Clarke for quite a while.

 

But of COURSE Bellamy isn’t dead, and neither is Finn. They and a couple others managed to escape the blast, and now Bellamy is looking for the others (read: Clarke). This is when we see that his self-serving intentions have pretty much vanished. He’s no longer out for power or control – he really cares about the rest of the 100, and he even chases Grounders through the forest (and gets captured because the others were NO help) to try and find them.

The adults have landed the Exodus ships on the ground, and they get a hold of Bellamy, Finn, and the other two kids (Monroe and Red Shirt Boy).  Raven and Murphy both survived and the adults find them, and when Bellamy first sees Murphy, he tackles him to the ground (I’d be mad, too, if someone had tried to kill the love of my life and then hang me by the neck) – and consequently is knocked out by Chancellor Kane. (Yeah, he’s Chancellor now – Jaha is back on board the Ark because naturally, someone had to stay behind and do everything manually.) Bellamy is arrested (go, Bell) but he tells Abby that the rest of the 100 are out there, and he needs to go find them.

 

Well, this is apparently not happening with the ‘adult’s’ consent (come on, guys, Bellamy is 23 years old. HE’S AN ADULT, NOT A BABY) – and so Bellamy goes and does it anyway. Abby sends out Bellamy, Murphy, Finn, Monroe and Red Shirt Boy to go scout out Mount Weather and find where everyone was taken…but they’re distracted along the way...

They find one survivor from a crashed Exodus ship – but she’s clinging to a cliff face. We see Bellamy have another dilemma – where, a month ago he would have said leave her, there’s no point; now he’s determined to find a way to save her, even though they’re pressed for time and the situation is dangerous. He’s the one who goes over the side, in the end; and rescues the girl from her precarious position (they lose Red Shirt Boy along the way, which is another blow for Bellamy, who feels it’s his duty to protect the 100). Here he’s reunited with Octavia (who thinks Lincoln is dead – another long story) – and I love it when we get Blake Sibling hugs. They’re much needed.

I love that Bellamy’s love is no longer just for Octavia – he now cares about so many people that frequently, he’s not sure what to do with himself, or how to protect all of them. Bellamy sends Finn and Murphy onward while he takes Octavia, Monroe and the wounded girl back to camp, where he finds the ‘adults’ in a state of serious ticked-off-ness. But Bellamy isn’t about to be deterred – he refers to the 100 as ‘his people,’ and he’s going to go get them. (Help. I’m getting teary just thinking about it.)  

 

What Bellamy didn’t know was that Clarke had escaped Mount Weather and made it back to the Camp Jaha – and when he arrives, we get the most beautiful moment in the show so far. Clarke sees him walk through the gates, and then she gets to her feet and runs across the camp into his arms. Bellamy’s reaction is both adorable and emotional – see for yourself.

They’re back together, and they’re going to get their people out of Mount Weather. Bellamy is no longer a single, autonomous entity - he's a leader. What's more, he's a leader who cares for his people, and is willing to sacrifice his life to keep them safe.

 

 

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In Defense of Bellamy Blake, Part Two

Last week, I covered the first half of The 100's season one, specifically, Bellamy's character development. We're just beginning to see a change, although for the moment, the changes are subtle and less 'HOLY MOLY, DID YOU SEE THAT?' than in Season Two. However, as war is about to break out on all the teenagers and Bellamy's leadership position begins to seem a lot less appealing, his character is going to be tested in an entirely new way, and we'll see if he has what it takes.

 

 

When the scene opens up, we can see Bellamy sitting in the drop ship keeping an eye on the Grounder, and here is another spot where I really appreciate Bob Morley's acting. While he doesn't say anything about it, you can see that torturing someone has done a good job of coming back around to haunt him. He may seem gung-ho about violence, but now he's having to live with what he's done.

I ship it so hard.

 

Raven has rigged up an interstellar Skype so the kids on the ground can talk to the Ark. Clarke goes to tell a guy named Dax that his parents want to talk to him, but when he gets to the screen, the shady guard who gave Bellamy the gun to kill Jaha is on screen. He tells Dax to take out Bellamy, and he’ll have a good life when all of the adults get to Earth. It doesn’t seem to matter that Dax is a literal murderer.

Clarke asks Bellamy to go to a depot with her. When he asks why him, she says, "Because right now, I don't feel like being around anyone I actually like."

 

They head out, with Dax following only semi-sneakily behind, and they find a supply of blankets and guns at the depot. Then they have the moment where Bellamy realizes he's in love with Clarke. (He fell in love with her in episode two, but now he realizes it. Bellarke share a cute moment where Bellamy teaches her to shoot - and suave, confident, womanizing Bellamy gets all flustered. It's adorable.

 

Unfortunately, something fun happens - the nuts that Jasper and Monty gave everyone to eat were hallucinogenic, and it kicks in with Bellamy and Clarke. This is where we get one of the most insightful scenes with Bellamy. We can already guess what's going on inside Clarke's head - she hallucinates her father, who actually turns out to be Dax, and renders her unconscious.

 

Bellamy hallucinates a bleeding Jaha and the three hundred people who suffocated on the ship. Jaha accuses him of their murder, and Bellamy, terrified, says he didn't know it would happen.

 

 

Then we find out how Bellamy really feels about what he's done - because he begs Jaha to kill him.

 

But Hallucination!Jaha tells Bellamy, "You want the peace of death? You're going to have to earn it."

Bellamy realizes he has a gun (which he didn't previously, as it isn't real) but suddenly Jaha becomes Dax. Then Clarke appears, pointing a gun at Dax, and tells him to back off. Dax is determined, so Clarke tries to shoot him - but the gun is wet, and it doesn't fire, and Dax turns on Clarke. Bellamy, still half-tripping but coming back into himself, does possibly the most awesome thing earth has seen in 97 years. Bellamy doesn't have a gun, but he has a bullet - and he stabs Dax in the neck with it and thus saves Clarke's life.

GO BELLAMY.

Bellamy, mentally and physically exhausted, sits down and Clarke joins him. Bellamy looks up and tells Clarke that his mother would hate what he's become. "She raised me to be better," he says. "To be good. I'm a monster. All I do is hurt people." And then, the Bellarke ship picks up wind. Clarke looks at him and says earnestly, "Look...you saved my life today. You're a total ass half the time, but...we need you. I need you."

AND ALL GOD'S PEOPLE SAID AMEN.

They take the guns back to camp and find out Lincoln has escaped (unbeknownst to them, with Octavia's help). Clarke is wary about giving everyone weapons, but she and Bellamy agree they need to give them to the people they think can handle it. Mama Clarke says, "These are weapons, 'kay? Not toys," before they distribute them. Slap a warning sticker on. Good try.

Bellamy comes up behind Octavia and puts a blanket around her shoulders. "I don't expect you to forgive me," he says, "but you'll have to find a way to live with me, because I'm not going anywhere."

On the interstellar Skype, Clarke convinces Bellamy to speak with Jaha. Jaha isn't pleased at seeing Bellamy, but Clarke vouches for his character. "You sent us down here to die...Most of us are still alive. In large part, that is because of him. Because of Bellamy."

And if you didn't ship Bellarke before this episode, you do now.

 

In the next episode, the kids are celebrating Unity Day, which is apparently a big deal on the Ark, and a big deal on the ground - because Clarke and Bellamy actually tease/smile at each other. He tells her she deserves some fun, and for once, she agrees to relax. Ha! Monumental improvement!
Unfortunately, Finn discovers that Octavia and Lincoln (the Grounder) have been gettin' down and dirty, but he uses the situation to suggest a truce.  Lincoln agrees to talk to his leader and see if they can arrange a meeting.

Finn finds Clarke and tells her about the meeting with the Grounders. She’s not a huge fan of the plan, but agrees, and then goes to tell Bellamy—who calls her Princess (I love it when he does that. It went from a jab to a term of endearment) and asks him to be her armed backup. Bellamy conscripts Jasper and Raven to go with him.

Clarke and Finn meet up with Octavia and Lincoln on an old bridge. Lincoln’s leader, Anya (America's Next Top Model/Mad Maxine) shows up a few moments later, on horseback, flanked by two guards. Clarke goes up to meet her, and the two discuss how the 100 have basically been waging war without meaning to (e.g., the flares they sent up as signals to the Arc burnt a village to the ground). The Grounders see the 100 as invaders, and Clarke agrees that it certainly looks that way. She tries to make Princess Grounder see the benefits of peace, but Clarke can’t promise that the adults, when they reach the surface, will hold to any sort of agreement. (As an aside: Bellamy refers to Clarke as 'our princess' to Jasper and Raven during this conversation. Squeeee!)

Suddenly, Jasper spots Grounders in the trees...and shoots. A small battle begins and the kids make it back to camp, but barely, and tension breaks into a full-fledged screaming match between Finn, Clarke, Raven, Bellamy and Jasper. They know that this has been seen as not just an act of war, but the initiation into it.

(Important-for-the-next-segment Note: Meanwhile, due to unimportant (read: non-Bellamy related) stuff happening on the Ark, a ship is forcibly ejected to earth.  Clarke and Bellamy notice the drop ship entering the atmosphere, and Clarke gets excited when she thinks her mom’s on it...but then the ship hits the ground and explodes.)

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