(Check out The 100 on my website, www.seriesmonitor.com/the100)
"It's an incredibly dark episode and very disturbing in many ways" were the words showrunner and Executive Producer Jason Rothenberg used to describe last night's episode of The 100, the tenth episode of the season.
He was right on the money with that statement. This episode, written by T.J. Brady & Rasheed Newson and beautifully directed by Omar Madha, had plenty of dark and disturbing moments while packing an immense amount of storytelling into just 43 minutes.
"I Am Become Death" was all about the 100 on the ground. Rather surprisingly, scenes on board the Ark were absent, an interesting move given the events of last week, however I'll give credit to the creative team here for leaving two significant questions pestering the minds of everyone in a way that doesn't seem to have annoyed viewers. More on those later.
Numerous theorists, including myself, predicted the return of Murphy in some way, shape or form, and this came to fruition in last night's episode. A fairly bashed up Murphy activated a tripwire outside the camp walls where he was promptly captured and brought inside the drop ship for further questioning. Clarke ascertained that he'd been deliberately let free, but it wasn't until the bodies started piling up that that became clear. I thought the idea of biological warfare was an excellent one, and one of the best ideas the creative team have come up with so far this season. The type of infection was, in Lincoln's words, a "softener," but I can't get my head around how Octavia and Finn didn't succumb at all. Aside from that, the staggered infection timetable was well thought out, and was used to shift leadership roles and other key responsibilities to other characters throughout the episode.
The status of several relationships between characters changed markedly in this episode. Unfortunately the 100 don't have Facebook's new 'Ask' feature for relationship updates, so they have to do things the old fashioned way. For starters, the moment I saw Finn rush to catch Clarke, I knew the relationship between Raven and Finn was all but over. Finn is now single, but with Clarke growing closer to Bellamy in this episode thanks to their closer and more coordinated leadership approach, Finn might be left out in the cold. That's a pity really, especially because Finn almost certainly saved the group with his bomb idea. He may eventually grow tired of the group and the trouble they cause him, so I'm watching the character pretty closely now.
Monty and Jasper's characters have been used chiefly as comic relief so far this season, though in last night's episode we saw them fall out in the wake of Jasper's fame only to reunite following Monty's lifesaving gun run. Siblings Bellamy and Octavia also grew closer despite the latter's trip outside the walls to meet Lincoln. Octavia quelled her brother's fears after he was struck down with the infection by saying "I won't let anything happen to you." Those words were ushered by Bellamy in a flashback in an earlier episode when he was holding baby Octavia moments after she was born. This, along with the reference to the late Charlotte, was really good continuity that I'm hoping we see more of in the last three episodes of the season.
The final relationship status update is between Octavia and Lincoln. I've never been sure what to make of the relationship between these two, but I've enjoyed watching it unfold. Lincoln, it appears, is now a marked man by his tribe, and opts to abandon them but not before extending an invitation to Octavia to join him. I was surprised when she declined, given how close the pair had become, and the impression I was getting that the character was being written as somewhat of a rebel for this very reason. One wonders now whether Lincoln does in fact abandon ship, or use the information he has to secure his wellbeing among his own people and seek some sort of revenge.
In what I thought was the darkest scene of the episode, Clarke stood in the makeshift graveyard containing the bodies of those who had perished. Bellamy stood at her side. "Fourteen graves" she said. Fourteen of the 100 are already dead. One wonders whether that includes the likes of Charlotte who jumped off the edge of a cliff into the abyss, or those who died while being pursued by Grounders in an earlier episode. This scene really hit home the fact that the 100 really are isolated, and it's likely to remain that way for some time. I wouldn't be surprised to see that graveyard double in size by the end of the season. Here's hoping it's not a main character who joins them.
I hinted at two big unanswered questions hanging over viewers' heads near the beginning of this piece, but I didn't address them directly. The first one is, obviously, the fate of Clarke's mom Abby. I am almost certain she's not dead. What hit the ground was clearly man-made and came from the Ark, but it was damaged almost beyond recognition. Add to that that we only saw a couple of burnt corpses out of the several dozen that should have been on board and you have enough evidence to suggest something isn't right. It looks as if my theory is correct, with Paige Turco slated to appear in the next 2 episodes thanks to press releases.
The second question is the fate of the Ark itself. In last week's episode, the damage caused by the launch of the second drop ship looked rather catastrophic, and this was reinforced by the inability to make radio contact with the Ark by Raven. The creative team are pretty fearless and like toying with the viewers (I'm a fan of both traits) but it seems a bit extreme to decimate an entire half of the series' plot this early on. Fortunately, next week's episode press release and promo indicates the return of Isiah Washington and Henry Ian Cusick as well as the aforementioned Paige Turco. Of course, the circumstances they're in won't be unveiled until next week, though the Ark is shown in a dire state in the promo.
Before I wrap this up, a quick word on realism. I was pleased that hydrazine was used as the name of the rocket fuel Raven used to blow the bridge, because hydrazine is, in fact, real life rocket fuel. However it is clear, not pink in color, but is highly toxic and, of course, dangerously unstable. Raven's use of her space suit when handling the stuff was wise, though I'm unsure how any of it managed to not blow up with an impact that strong with the ground. That's reinforced by the massive mushroom cloud that we saw after the bomb was detonated by Jasper. And do infections like what we saw tonight actually exist? In a post-apocalyptic world, I'm sure something would have mutated - I just hope it won't be the common cold. Finally, a shout-out to the set designers, make-up and special effects teams who did a really nice job in their respective roles in this episode.
On next week's must-watch episode, titled "The Calm", with a low food supply at camp, Clarke and Finn lead a group out to hunt for food and wind up in a compromising position. With Finn’s life in danger, Clarke makes a game-changing decision. Meanwhile, Raven makes Bellamy an offer he can’t refuse. On the Ark – Kane risks his life and is reunited with Chancellor Jaha
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to share your thoughts and theories in the comments below, and check out The 100 on my TV ratings website, www.seriesmonitor.com/the100. View next week's press release and promo.
Jimmy.
