The 100 is just 20 episodes old.
Let that sink in for a moment. It really is staggering that a series this accomplished, and producing consistently incredible hours of television each week, hasn't event reached what would be considered a bog standard number of episodes for a single season on one of the big four networks.
In its freshman season, The 100's seventh episode was the one where those on board the Ark finally received confirmation from the ground that the 100 were alive. In this season, the seventh episode gave us a real sense of direction as to where the remaining nine episodes of this Jason Rothenberg developed masterpiece are headed.
Last night's episode, titled "Long Into an Abyss" was written by James Thorpe and directed by Antonio Negret, who are both first timers in those roles on this series. The hour began inside Mount Weather, with the infamously experimental Dr. Tsing and Mount Weather President Dante Wallace's son Cage watching one of their own perish at the hands of the outdoor radiation that they have been trying to cure through the blood from caged Grounders firstly, and now with the captured members of the 47.
At Camp Jaha, an increasingly worried population were addressed by their current and former Chancellors as the colony learned that a Grounder army were approaching, with the race being on to either get the hell out of there, which meant abandoning the incarcerated Kane, along with the 47 inside the mountain. Clarke was a busy girl throughout the hour, with Eliza Taylor taking it in her stride alongside excellent performances from Paige Turco and Isiah Washington. The elder Griffin put all of her her faith in her daughter for the first time in the series as Abby left it to Clarke to negotiate the colony's survival.Meanwhile, fresh from discovering a heavily corrupted, incredibly violent Lincoln in last week's installment, Bellamy and Octavia, with help from Finn, rallied Clarke to help keep him alive, with a handy cattle prod to the chest from Abby saving the sky people from slaughter at the hands of the revenge seeking Grounders. Thumbs up to Ricky Whittle who was superb as Lincoln too.
Inside the mountain, it wasn't just the medical experiments that were occurring - Monty and Jasper finally made the call to get off their backsides and do something about their situation. Tired of buying time that may only be playing into the hands of the Mount Weather population, the duo with help from a couple of others, went snooping, and hit the jackpot with Monty managing to nab the engineering schematics for their place of residence. Their presumed next move may be too late for Harper, who became the first guinea pig for the next set of off the record experiments at the hands of Dr. Tsing, this time involving bone marrow. Cage was unsuccessful in convincing his Presidential father to authorize said experiments, but what moral compass he does have looks like it only needs the weight of a flower to break it.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that a hell of a lot went down in this episode. It really is incredible how the creative team manage to pull this off without the hour feeling rushed or crammed. I've already highlighted a few outstanding actors in earlier paragraphs, but the special effects and cosmetics teams did another wonderful job. This series is worth watching for the beautiful set design and makeup regardless of whether you like the story or cast.
There are two scenes in last night's episode which will change the course of the series and have helped set up what looks to be an incredible midseason finale, due next week, in addition details from the promo and press release. Both scenes feature Clarke and Grounder Commander Lexa, with their first interaction giving Clarke the chance to pass on her experiences with the late Anya, who was killed in episode 4. It was great to see Anya's death finally proven valuable, as her final mission with Clarke was to negotiate a truce. We learned of the relationship Anya and Lexa had, and Clarke offered a lock of Anya's hair to Lexa as proof of their time together.
But it was the hour's final moments that muddied the waters between the two young leaders, as Lexa demanded Finn be handed over for execution following the massacre by his hand at a Grounder camp a couple of weeks ago, that really rocked the boat for me. Ironically Lexa's demands make sense, but I wonder if Anya would have opted for the same course of action had she been alive.
Online debate has been weighted heavily against Finn, but last night's episode showed he has genuine remorse and regret, but more importantly in the long term, sparing his life will make the fledgling bond between the sky people and the Grounders much stronger, as every ounce of strength will be needed to win the impending war against the Mountain Men, with both parties having stakes to play for in terms of lives to be saved. Needless to say I'm siding with Clarke on this one - she is willing to see the best in the guy, while taking into account his good intentions. It's also worth remembering that manpower is very hard to come by, and Finn has proved invaluable, especially last season, with his discovery of the doomsday shelter continuing to pay dividends. The guy has earned a chance to redeem himself. Have a little faith.But don't forget there's now a power struggle at Camp Jaha that will undoubtedly cause some disruption. We saw Abby win the war of words over her former Chancellor Jaha, and she ordered his incarceration after he wouldn't sideline his preference for immediate evacuation while she chose to attempt to negotiate. With Kane absent last night, could he be the one who would have the last word upon his return, or will the contenders opt for a democratic election?
Either way, Long Into an Abyss was absolutely outstanding, and I'm already counting down to next week's midseason finale, and final episode of 2014, titled "Spacewalker. As usual, thanks so much for reading, and please do share your own thoughts and theories in the comments below! Don't forget to follow The 100's ratings on my TV ratings website, www.seriesmonitor.com/the100.
Jimmy.
Great review, an what an awesome episode. I still keep my hopes up for Finn, even though I cannot think of a way to save him that doesn't mean the writers have one in store for us. Love what they have done with Finn's character his season and he really should get an redemption arc like so many others. His death would be the first predictable thing to happen on this show, and so far the show hasn't been like that at all.
ReplyDeleteThe impending death could well be Jaha - he has backed himself in a corner. They don't need him for anything anymore, he might have done what had to be done on the Arc, but a lot of people also suffered under his strictness and the won't obey anymore. If they have Kane and Abby as leaders, I wonder what Jaha's role might be. It is gonna be a long week until next Wednesday.
Glad you enjoyed the review. Agree with the predictability thing about Finn. Clarke and Finn still have too much chemistry (we saw the touching last night) and she hasn't displayed anything with Bellamy aside from the hug when she returned. I'm confident Clarke will be able to engineer something. If Finn dies it'll virtually destroy this new relationship with the Grounders.
ReplyDeleteJaha could die, but so could Kane, but that would leave only 2 main adults (the remaining one and Abby). That seems a bit unbalanced in my opinion, but who knows.
I am still not over Anya's death, so I don't want any body to die. I hate that when the writers but those rumors out. If it is not Finn, who else might it be? When Clarke touches Finn, was there a needle mark on his neck? Or did he just compare himself to Lincoln that they came back both from a dark place?
ReplyDeleteYeah I couldn't make sense of the mark on Finn's neck. I couldn't recall when or how he may have sustained that injury unless it was at the camp where he shot those Grounders
ReplyDeleteThe marks were bruising from when Nyko tried to strangle him. They weren't needle marks.
ReplyDeleteOh of course, why didn't I make that connection, lol
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite characters is Finn. He was such a good guy last season. As much as I don't like what the writers have done with his character this season, it's actually perfect. It shows what a war can do to people, good people. They have been through so much that it can't be expected for them not to be affected. Finn and Clarke have great chemistry together and it was shown last night. As far as Bellamy and Clarke, why can't they be just really good friends. I love that part of them. They are there for each other because they respect each other. Why do they have to be romantically together, like some people what. Bellamy and Clarke can teach the adults how to work together not against each other.
ReplyDeleteGreat review Jimmy! I also loved the episode and I'm really amazed by the amazing performance the cast is giving and and the strength of the script every week.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, the stuff at Mt Weather is keeping me at the edge of my seat, Harper's scream left me numb. And the whole Grounder vs Sky People dynamic was treated with the right amount of tension and a balanced pacing that allowed us to feel this was coming together naturally.
This show is really, REALLY Great
Of COURSE they would think the best way to start a truce is by an execution! *eye roll*
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree...maybe there is hope for Finn after all.
ReplyDeleteClarke and Finn's conversation had me convinced that Finn was somehow a part of the Cerberus program. I mean the way she looked at his neck, I swear there are needle marks there. But I can't for the life of me figure out when/how or anything...
ReplyDeleteI think those marks come from the grounders who squeezes his neck...
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