It's been a bumpy few weeks for The CW's The 100 both on and off the screen, but last night's truly epic hour saw the series' youngest characters unite as one to save Raven, and to set themselves a massive new goal: stop ALIE from running rampant with their people.
"Nevermore" was wonderfully written by Kim Shumway and directed by Ed Fraiman. Picking right up from last week's cliffhanger which saw Clarke nearly run over by Jasper as he fled Arkadia in the rover with Raven while under attack, the actions resumes with the trio heading to the hidden cave where Monty, Sinclair, Octavia and Bellamy were waiting.
It became clear early on that the group were going to make it their mission to defeat ALIE which was running rampant through Raven's mind. Picking up on what Raven - in her right mind - had been trying to do in Arkadia, the group set off for Niylah's trading post in the hope of obtaining the now scarce wristbands to aid in generating an EMP to fry the embedded chip. A further trip was required to source an electromagnet from the drop ship, which led to a devastating turn of events for Monty. Nevertheless, him and Octavia got the job done, and Sinclair delivered the pulse to his prized colleague, with Clarke's delicate hand slicing the back of Raven's neck which allowed the remains of the AI to ooze out.
While that's the basics of the episode in one paragraph, the deep character development and interaction and consistent intensity and uncertainty throughout made this episode something special. The younger cast members did a superb job, helmed by Lindsey Morgan's series best performance as Raven. Some significant new knowledge about ALIE's abilities - and weaknesses - were also gained.
Raven's mental overtaking led to some painful moments for Clarke, Bellamy and Jasper which were powerful and heart-wrenching to watch. The memories Raven could speak about caused Clarke to lose the plot when she was forced to recall the numerous deaths she's been party to - her father, Wells, Charlotte, Finn, and most recently Lexa.
Clarke is the only character to have continually kept all people's best interests at heart, and her understandable anger at this statement reminded us that she's still just a teenager, doing the work that all but the tiniest percentage of adults would fail at. It's one of the few examples of typical teenager behavior we've seen in the series from her. It was powerful stuff, and one of the episode's highlights for me.
In Bellamy's case, he had three sources of hatred coming at him, initially from his sister Octavia, then Niylah, and also from Raven. Bellamy knew very early on into his dealings with Chancellor Pike that his habitual use of force was excessive, but in this episode he finally realized that by not acting against Pike sooner, many more people paid with their lives which left his conscience scarred far more deeply. It's been a long, bloody lesson for the guy who was an arrogant, self-centred law unto himself when he first set foot on the ground.
ALIE, through Raven, took an unexpected line of questioning as she asked Bellamy whether he was happy to forgo receiving credit for the Mount Weather mass murder and the culling aboard the Ark. He was also forced to recall the death of his mother, and to question whether she would be proud of the person he has become, given he has been much more of a follower of late, instead of the leader he has been in days gone by.
The only other person who understands this emotional turmoil is Clarke. Maybe he now understands why Clarke decided to leave Arkadia in the second season finale for some space and solitude. Clarke and Bellamy spent little time together in this episode - which was a good thing in the end, but one thing Clarke now needs to do is convince Bellamy that further punishing himself isn't the answer. That's a lesson she has already learned, but is yet to pass on.
Jasper's role in this episode was fascinating, and very enjoyable to watch. His continued antipathy for Clarke and volatile state made him easy picking for the mentally infected Raven:
Fortunately for him, Bellamy was present to help quell his anger, even if that was a tad hypocritical on his part. Jasper eventually came around and effectively forgave Clarke after she removed the AI from her neck, which made the huge risk he took to extricate Raven from Arkadia in last week's episode worthwhile. It would have done his self-esteem a lot of good knowing that he did something right. He also finally got to grieve Maya's loss properly, so hopefully he will begin to contribute to the group's audacious plan to destroy ALIE.
While Monty wasn't subject to Raven's wrath, he now has the truly unenviable burden to carry as a result of killing his mother. After retrieving the electromagnet needed to save Raven from the drop ship, his mother, under ALIE's influence, pretended to have fled from Arkadia when in fact it was her mission to kill her son and Octavia if necessary.
After a brutal scuffle she had Octavia at knifepoint. Monty fired once, striking his mother in the shoulder, but because people in the City of Light feel no pain - just as Raven didn't when she dislocated her shoulder - Hannah Green was unwavering, forcing Monty to fire again, this time fatally, meaning Octavia was spared but his mother was dead.
Like the other main characters from Farm Station, Hannah's lifespan was always going to be limited, but this was not the way I expected her to meet her end. Showing incredible fortitude, Monty repeatedly told himself that his mother was already dead, and he killed ALIE instead. Monty will have faced few, if any, challenges in his life that are tougher than this. It will be interesting to see who he turns to for support, whether that be his good friend Jasper, who also suffered a painful loss, or someone else.
Octavia underwent the least character development in this episode, with her identity coming into question at one point, but what she did do was unanimously unite her friends. As Raven recovered from ALIE's wrath, she told everyone she now knew why ALIE was so desperate to retrieve the updated version of her code. ALIE 2.0. is the only thing that can stop her.
Octavia barely hesitated in ushering the above words. A core part of her personality is her willingness to attack a challenge head-on. Clarke, Bellamy, Monty, Jasper, Raven and Sinclair all agree. For the first time this season, this core group of characters are going to be working together, on the same side, to accomplish the same goal. The episode closes out with the only appearance by Jaha in this episode, as himself and ALIE discuss the ramifications of Raven's recovery.
If this wasn't a kick-ass ending, I don't know what is. The stakes just grew immeasurably larger. The group's answer to the challenge now has to be rapidly scalable, otherwise they will be the only people of their kind left. Jason Rothenberg and his creative team know how to create mass casualties, but this would be something on another level should the unthinkable occur.
A couple of other thoughts before I wrap up. Firstly, could Niylah be a new threat to the group, particularly Bellamy? When the group left her trading post she looked as if she had other things on her mind. Also, a big part of the group's solution to terminate ALIE will be whether the EMP they used on Raven initially will be needed. Was the EMP needed to destroy the chip in Raven's neck, or could the group just get away with surgically removing the intact chip just as Titus did after Lexa was killed?
But perhaps the biggest question I have is why ALIE 2.0 - the version implanted in Lexa and entrusted to Clarke as Flamekeeper - causes people to behave so differently. I'm sure I don't need to detail the differences in behavior between Lexa and those with the ALIE 1.0 chip given to them by Jaha. Lexa at no stage mentioned any 'City of Light'. And how the hell did the Grounders get hold of the ALIE 2.0 chip in the first place? My highly speculative theory connects back to the criticisms I often see here and there about how a society so medieval and twisted as the Grounders could have grown in just a century. Could ALIE's creator, Becca, first seen in the third season premiere, have used the AI to create a world similar to a massive real life experimental game with the people who weren't able to board one of the 13 stations before the nuclear apocalypse on Earth? It's certainly speculation, but I don't think it's that far fetched.
Speculation and theories aside, this was an outstanding episode of The 100. The writing was brilliant, and the character development was moving to watch, with its method of delivery very innovative. The cast were all excellent too. There's just five episodes to go in this third season, and with the formidable hexa now united with a singular goal of stopping ALIE destroying their people, things are sure to happen. How they all manage their ties with Arkadia and Polis simultaneously will be fascinating to watch.
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this episode just as much as I did. Please do share your thoughts and theories in the comments below - I'd be especially interested to hear what questions and theories you might have pertaining to ALIE's purpose. You can check out the promo for next week's episode, titled "Demons" here.
"Nevermore" was wonderfully written by Kim Shumway and directed by Ed Fraiman. Picking right up from last week's cliffhanger which saw Clarke nearly run over by Jasper as he fled Arkadia in the rover with Raven while under attack, the actions resumes with the trio heading to the hidden cave where Monty, Sinclair, Octavia and Bellamy were waiting.
It became clear early on that the group were going to make it their mission to defeat ALIE which was running rampant through Raven's mind. Picking up on what Raven - in her right mind - had been trying to do in Arkadia, the group set off for Niylah's trading post in the hope of obtaining the now scarce wristbands to aid in generating an EMP to fry the embedded chip. A further trip was required to source an electromagnet from the drop ship, which led to a devastating turn of events for Monty. Nevertheless, him and Octavia got the job done, and Sinclair delivered the pulse to his prized colleague, with Clarke's delicate hand slicing the back of Raven's neck which allowed the remains of the AI to ooze out.
While that's the basics of the episode in one paragraph, the deep character development and interaction and consistent intensity and uncertainty throughout made this episode something special. The younger cast members did a superb job, helmed by Lindsey Morgan's series best performance as Raven. Some significant new knowledge about ALIE's abilities - and weaknesses - were also gained.
Raven's mental overtaking led to some painful moments for Clarke, Bellamy and Jasper which were powerful and heart-wrenching to watch. The memories Raven could speak about caused Clarke to lose the plot when she was forced to recall the numerous deaths she's been party to - her father, Wells, Charlotte, Finn, and most recently Lexa.
Everywhere you go, death follows. You always want to save everyone. What you don't realize is you're the one we need saving from.
Clarke is the only character to have continually kept all people's best interests at heart, and her understandable anger at this statement reminded us that she's still just a teenager, doing the work that all but the tiniest percentage of adults would fail at. It's one of the few examples of typical teenager behavior we've seen in the series from her. It was powerful stuff, and one of the episode's highlights for me.
What more do I have to do to prove that I am on your side?
In Bellamy's case, he had three sources of hatred coming at him, initially from his sister Octavia, then Niylah, and also from Raven. Bellamy knew very early on into his dealings with Chancellor Pike that his habitual use of force was excessive, but in this episode he finally realized that by not acting against Pike sooner, many more people paid with their lives which left his conscience scarred far more deeply. It's been a long, bloody lesson for the guy who was an arrogant, self-centred law unto himself when he first set foot on the ground.
ALIE, through Raven, took an unexpected line of questioning as she asked Bellamy whether he was happy to forgo receiving credit for the Mount Weather mass murder and the culling aboard the Ark. He was also forced to recall the death of his mother, and to question whether she would be proud of the person he has become, given he has been much more of a follower of late, instead of the leader he has been in days gone by.
The only other person who understands this emotional turmoil is Clarke. Maybe he now understands why Clarke decided to leave Arkadia in the second season finale for some space and solitude. Clarke and Bellamy spent little time together in this episode - which was a good thing in the end, but one thing Clarke now needs to do is convince Bellamy that further punishing himself isn't the answer. That's a lesson she has already learned, but is yet to pass on.
Jasper's role in this episode was fascinating, and very enjoyable to watch. His continued antipathy for Clarke and volatile state made him easy picking for the mentally infected Raven:
You can't save me. You can't even save yourself.
Fortunately for him, Bellamy was present to help quell his anger, even if that was a tad hypocritical on his part. Jasper eventually came around and effectively forgave Clarke after she removed the AI from her neck, which made the huge risk he took to extricate Raven from Arkadia in last week's episode worthwhile. It would have done his self-esteem a lot of good knowing that he did something right. He also finally got to grieve Maya's loss properly, so hopefully he will begin to contribute to the group's audacious plan to destroy ALIE.
While Monty wasn't subject to Raven's wrath, he now has the truly unenviable burden to carry as a result of killing his mother. After retrieving the electromagnet needed to save Raven from the drop ship, his mother, under ALIE's influence, pretended to have fled from Arkadia when in fact it was her mission to kill her son and Octavia if necessary.
There is no pain in the City of Light.
After a brutal scuffle she had Octavia at knifepoint. Monty fired once, striking his mother in the shoulder, but because people in the City of Light feel no pain - just as Raven didn't when she dislocated her shoulder - Hannah Green was unwavering, forcing Monty to fire again, this time fatally, meaning Octavia was spared but his mother was dead.
Like the other main characters from Farm Station, Hannah's lifespan was always going to be limited, but this was not the way I expected her to meet her end. Showing incredible fortitude, Monty repeatedly told himself that his mother was already dead, and he killed ALIE instead. Monty will have faced few, if any, challenges in his life that are tougher than this. It will be interesting to see who he turns to for support, whether that be his good friend Jasper, who also suffered a painful loss, or someone else.
Octavia underwent the least character development in this episode, with her identity coming into question at one point, but what she did do was unanimously unite her friends. As Raven recovered from ALIE's wrath, she told everyone she now knew why ALIE was so desperate to retrieve the updated version of her code. ALIE 2.0. is the only thing that can stop her.
Then lets stop her. We survive together.
Octavia barely hesitated in ushering the above words. A core part of her personality is her willingness to attack a challenge head-on. Clarke, Bellamy, Monty, Jasper, Raven and Sinclair all agree. For the first time this season, this core group of characters are going to be working together, on the same side, to accomplish the same goal. The episode closes out with the only appearance by Jaha in this episode, as himself and ALIE discuss the ramifications of Raven's recovery.
With Raven's abilities she will be able to understand what she learned here. They'll know the second AI can stop me. We'll have to kill them all.
If this wasn't a kick-ass ending, I don't know what is. The stakes just grew immeasurably larger. The group's answer to the challenge now has to be rapidly scalable, otherwise they will be the only people of their kind left. Jason Rothenberg and his creative team know how to create mass casualties, but this would be something on another level should the unthinkable occur.
A couple of other thoughts before I wrap up. Firstly, could Niylah be a new threat to the group, particularly Bellamy? When the group left her trading post she looked as if she had other things on her mind. Also, a big part of the group's solution to terminate ALIE will be whether the EMP they used on Raven initially will be needed. Was the EMP needed to destroy the chip in Raven's neck, or could the group just get away with surgically removing the intact chip just as Titus did after Lexa was killed?
But perhaps the biggest question I have is why ALIE 2.0 - the version implanted in Lexa and entrusted to Clarke as Flamekeeper - causes people to behave so differently. I'm sure I don't need to detail the differences in behavior between Lexa and those with the ALIE 1.0 chip given to them by Jaha. Lexa at no stage mentioned any 'City of Light'. And how the hell did the Grounders get hold of the ALIE 2.0 chip in the first place? My highly speculative theory connects back to the criticisms I often see here and there about how a society so medieval and twisted as the Grounders could have grown in just a century. Could ALIE's creator, Becca, first seen in the third season premiere, have used the AI to create a world similar to a massive real life experimental game with the people who weren't able to board one of the 13 stations before the nuclear apocalypse on Earth? It's certainly speculation, but I don't think it's that far fetched.
Speculation and theories aside, this was an outstanding episode of The 100. The writing was brilliant, and the character development was moving to watch, with its method of delivery very innovative. The cast were all excellent too. There's just five episodes to go in this third season, and with the formidable hexa now united with a singular goal of stopping ALIE destroying their people, things are sure to happen. How they all manage their ties with Arkadia and Polis simultaneously will be fascinating to watch.
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this episode just as much as I did. Please do share your thoughts and theories in the comments below - I'd be especially interested to hear what questions and theories you might have pertaining to ALIE's purpose. You can check out the promo for next week's episode, titled "Demons" here.
