Thursday's episode of CW's The 100 was an hour full of class. Under the excellent direction of Dean White and a script to die for courtesy of Kira Snyder, "Bitter Harvest" delivered some exceptional character growth and further cemented the division of opinions between those in Arkadia and Polis, and finally revealed some tangible facts about the mysterious "City of Light".
Since it was featured first in the hour, let's start atop the tower in Polis, where Clarke and Lexa spent the first of their numerous scenes together. For the first time in a long time, we see Clarke with a pad and pencil doing some drawing. Her subject is Lexa, and although she is abruptly interrupted when Lexa jumps into life after a nightmare, the foreshadowing here is what caught my attention the most. We've seen Clarke tested in multiple ways many times already this season, but we see that a core aspect of her former life on board the Ark is still alive and well, and despite the challenges she has faced, she hasn't lost that part of herself. It foreshadows the significant tests of morality which were to begin moments later in a wonderfully simple way.
Lexa'a wake-up call courtesy of her nightmare was handy too. She recounts to Clarke the visions of the commanders that preceded her, who all died at the hands of war and assassination. Just a fortnight ago we watched as Lexa duelled with Roan but with no concern for her own wellbeing or mortality, but right here we witness a significant change in her thinking. In Episode 4, Lexa hardly spared a thought for her legacy - instead she emphasised the rigorous succession plan that was in place. The nightmare she experienced was the unconscious boost she needed to ensure she actually left her people in a better position than she had inherited, and it definitely played a part in shaping her decisions in this episode.
With the Ice Nation quelled for now, they made sure they weren't far from the front of the minds of Heda and Wanheda. Now the King in the wake of his Queen mother's death, Roan sent a box containing the last remaining Mount Weather resident, Carl Emerson. Australian guest star Toby Levins was excellent throughout the episode, and his character gave Clarke in particular a lot to think about. More on that later.
While Arkadia received decent screen time in this episode, proceedings began in Grounder territory, with a scout force being tailed by Octavia pursuing a young child through forest after he was spotted. A seemingly superhuman Octavia cut the boy off and allowed him to lose the trail of the Arkadia scouts, but this was the least of Bellamy's sister's troubles, with much more to come for her later on.
In last week's episode, we were left to ponder Jaha arriving at Arkadia, and reuniting with his former citizens for the first time since the Ark landed on Earth. We watched as Raven took the pill given to her by Jaha, the get up and walk pain free and with a normal gait for the first time.
I've always been skeptical about this storyline, and I gave it a good panning when I reviewed the third season premiere. However I was pretty impressed with what we saw from Jason Rothenberg and his creative team in this episode. Raven was, of course, the perfect vehicle for this pill, and the contrast between Raven pre-pill and Raven post-pill was blindingly obvious. A tough, take-no-prisoners engineer was either reduced or elevated (I can't decide which) to a smiley, starstruck nerd who looked like she was high as a kite. Raven was more than accommodating of ALIE's request for her to locate version 2 of her code among the Ark's mainframe. It was, in a way, scary to watch, but that's exactly what the creative team wanted us to think.
Abby was the sole point of resistance for Jaha's distribution of the blue, hexagonal pills among Arkadia's population, and she stepped in at the perfect time to prevent Jasper from being Jaha's next conquest.
It was here that we finally got to hear some science on the pill, from Jaha himself. Jaha, under ALIE's guidance, said the following:
Abby didn't miss a beat with her next question:
Jaha slipped up big time here. He didn't remember who Wells was, and with ALIE having to remind him, Abby - and we, the viewers - learned the first side effect of this mysterious pill: memory loss, specifically the loss of painful memories, as Wells' death was to Jaha. Abby confiscated the pills for testing, but unbeknown to her, her right hand man, Jackson, had already taken the pill, and was clearly under the command of ALIE and Jaha.
While the pill may work as directed, the fact that it's made from silicon screams nanotechnology. If it can control aspects of the brain stem, it's no stretch to theorize that the pill may allow ALIE to gain control of the users' minds. The sky is the limit here, which should be quite interesting.
While Kane wasn't involved with the pills Jaha was distributing, he had a significant role in the episode's politics. Though Chancellor Pike featured less prominently than in previous weeks, he held a critical meeting with Monty, his mother, and Bellamy, among others, concerning the future of Arkadia and plans for expansion. Pike proposed clearing land to grow crops for food, but right on top of the most fertile soil sat a Grounder camp.
Through a bug planted in the Chancellor's quarters, Kane learned all this and notified Octavia who rushed to alert the Grounder camp, but they wasted no time revolting, with Octavia's earlier good deed when she saved the Grounder boy paying dividends here. The Grounders didn't want to flee, nor did they want to give up their patch to the Skaikru, so they covered the place in toxic sap from trees, and when Bellamy led his team in that evening to wipe them out, the Grounders launched flaming arrows from the cliffs overlooking the camp, destroying everything including the precious soil Pike was willing to kill for.
Torn between two allegiances, Octavia opted to warn Bellamy that he was approaching a trap, but little brain power was required to surmise that Octavia also warned the Grounders of his approaching party. The casualty count was 2-0 in favor of the Grounders, with one of the more prominent recurring Arkadia members, Monroe, and one other, succumbing to the flames and fumes.
This puts Pike in a difficult position. He was soundly beaten, but only because the Grounders were alerted by Octavia. His unit didn't suffer enough casualties to nullify the possibility of attacking another location again. We saw Pike and Bellamy begin to converse about Octavia, but fortunately she may be spared from any impending sanction. They rightly guessed, however, that Kane is the one sending her information, and you get the feeling he won't be so lucky.
We saw an eye-opening moment between Kane and Abby in this episode though. Kane strongly regretted his decision to call for an election after Abby opted to step down as Chancellor. He was quite rightly kicking himself for not taking the role on then and there.
Abby even kissed Kane, which was surprising but not completely unexpected. Abby's message to Kane was simple and elegant here too:
Let's get back to Polis, which, despite the interesting stuff happening in Arkadia, was where the meat of the episode was for me, and where my favorite scenes and dialog came from.
When asked by Lexa in a formal capacity as to her wishes for the fate of Emerson, Clarke unsurprisingly demanded he die for his actions. In Clarke's mind at the time, this made sense because Emerson's actions had resulted in the deaths of many, whereas by contrast, the actions of a few at Arkadia who wiped out a Grounder camp didn't warrant the death of the community where the responsible parties came from when not everyone was involved or even agreed with the idea to begin with.
Clarke's mind was further set on executing Emerson thanks to a spectacular showdown shortly after the episode's midpoint. Clarke asked for the room to be cleared where Emerson stood tethered to a pole. She removed his hood and the verbal exchange began.
Emerson took the upper hand early and kept it throughout, squarely placing Clarke at fault for the deaths of 381 people and noting two of the dead children were his own.
Kudos to the steadycam operator here who pulled off an superb orbital shot while the actors did the scene in one take.
This clouded Clarke's judgement and she found it difficult to comprehend and justify that from the Grounders' perspective, her seeking revenge via the death penalty on someone who had wronged her was warranted when that option was outlawed by Lexa when dozens of their own were murdered at the hands of the Skaikru. The beauty of all this was it was Titus, Lexa's most prominent advisor (also the one most frequently told to stand down or shut up) who had a few quiet words with Clarke about this. It was an excellent scene that was executed with incredible elegance.
The stage was set for an epic scene in Polis, and that is exactly what we got.
Lexa called Clarke forward and handed her the dagger. Emerson was tethered to a pole, awaiting his fate.
Clarke paused for several moments.
These were two of the best and most important lines in The 100's history. Not only did they have deep inward meaning to Clarke in terms of her morals, values and identity, their meaning to those around her proves that the same, if not better, result can be achieved in terms of punishment by sparing a life. Sheer guilt has already claimed casualties in this series - remember Charlotte, who jumped to her death in Season 1's fourth episode. For the mass murderer from Mount Weather - the last of his kind who thought he had nothing to lose, and was awaiting his death with glee under the assumption that it would scar his killer for life, he got nothing except humiliation and embarrassment. It was an incredible piece of storytelling with ramifications which will surely be significant.
What sealed the deal here was Lexa capitalizing on Clarke's example and delivering a rousing speech to those in the chamber. This was her legacy in the making, right here, right now. Whether her "Blood must not have blood" stance continues on via her successors after her death isn't her concern, because it will always be her legacy. Her legacy is her new motivator as she continues on her journey as Commander. For now, Clarke and Lexa are a much more united front. Though seeking vengeance by death won't go down easily with her people, a revolution that is initiated by a leader at the top is almost always in a better position to succeed than one that begins at the grassroots and gathers a following.
The final minute of the episode featured some excellent parallel editing. The first and only time Murphy appeared was while being interrogated and beaten by Titus as he sought leverage on Clarke and queried the pill Jaha had given him. Alongside that, Raven and Jaha along with ALIE had a game-changing conversation after Raven's search for ALIE 2.0 failed to score.
Jaha then reveals that the Ark was made up of 12 stations but it was supposed to be 13. That third station was called Polaris, and a module from it can be seen sitting inside the chamber Titus is torturing Murphy inside.
This was a spectacular ending to a spectacular sixth episode of The 100. Along with the excellent character development we saw through Clarke, Lexa, Octavia, Kane and Abby, we learned a ton of new stuff about Jaha and ALIE's purpose, along with how the pill works. With a 13th station now on the cards, this now lines Jaha and ALIE up with a head-on collision with Polis. Could the power of the artificial intelligence be unleashed on Polis in the near future? I'd say the chances are fairly good at this point.
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I feel a sense of refreshment and rejuvenation having seen what the rest of the season may have in store and I'm more excited than ever to get amongst it. Don't forget to share your thoughts and theories on the episode in the comments below, and to check out next week's episode promos and promotional photos here.
Since it was featured first in the hour, let's start atop the tower in Polis, where Clarke and Lexa spent the first of their numerous scenes together. For the first time in a long time, we see Clarke with a pad and pencil doing some drawing. Her subject is Lexa, and although she is abruptly interrupted when Lexa jumps into life after a nightmare, the foreshadowing here is what caught my attention the most. We've seen Clarke tested in multiple ways many times already this season, but we see that a core aspect of her former life on board the Ark is still alive and well, and despite the challenges she has faced, she hasn't lost that part of herself. It foreshadows the significant tests of morality which were to begin moments later in a wonderfully simple way.
Lexa'a wake-up call courtesy of her nightmare was handy too. She recounts to Clarke the visions of the commanders that preceded her, who all died at the hands of war and assassination. Just a fortnight ago we watched as Lexa duelled with Roan but with no concern for her own wellbeing or mortality, but right here we witness a significant change in her thinking. In Episode 4, Lexa hardly spared a thought for her legacy - instead she emphasised the rigorous succession plan that was in place. The nightmare she experienced was the unconscious boost she needed to ensure she actually left her people in a better position than she had inherited, and it definitely played a part in shaping her decisions in this episode.
Your legacy will be peace.
With the Ice Nation quelled for now, they made sure they weren't far from the front of the minds of Heda and Wanheda. Now the King in the wake of his Queen mother's death, Roan sent a box containing the last remaining Mount Weather resident, Carl Emerson. Australian guest star Toby Levins was excellent throughout the episode, and his character gave Clarke in particular a lot to think about. More on that later.
While Arkadia received decent screen time in this episode, proceedings began in Grounder territory, with a scout force being tailed by Octavia pursuing a young child through forest after he was spotted. A seemingly superhuman Octavia cut the boy off and allowed him to lose the trail of the Arkadia scouts, but this was the least of Bellamy's sister's troubles, with much more to come for her later on.
In last week's episode, we were left to ponder Jaha arriving at Arkadia, and reuniting with his former citizens for the first time since the Ark landed on Earth. We watched as Raven took the pill given to her by Jaha, the get up and walk pain free and with a normal gait for the first time.
I've always been skeptical about this storyline, and I gave it a good panning when I reviewed the third season premiere. However I was pretty impressed with what we saw from Jason Rothenberg and his creative team in this episode. Raven was, of course, the perfect vehicle for this pill, and the contrast between Raven pre-pill and Raven post-pill was blindingly obvious. A tough, take-no-prisoners engineer was either reduced or elevated (I can't decide which) to a smiley, starstruck nerd who looked like she was high as a kite. Raven was more than accommodating of ALIE's request for her to locate version 2 of her code among the Ark's mainframe. It was, in a way, scary to watch, but that's exactly what the creative team wanted us to think.
Abby was the sole point of resistance for Jaha's distribution of the blue, hexagonal pills among Arkadia's population, and she stepped in at the perfect time to prevent Jasper from being Jaha's next conquest.
Pain is pain.
It was here that we finally got to hear some science on the pill, from Jaha himself. Jaha, under ALIE's guidance, said the following:
It's a silicon based device. Once ingested the filaments reconstitute in the brain stem and interrupt the pain receptors, inhibiting certain neural pathways from firing.
Abby didn't miss a beat with her next question:
Would you have given it to Wells?
Jaha slipped up big time here. He didn't remember who Wells was, and with ALIE having to remind him, Abby - and we, the viewers - learned the first side effect of this mysterious pill: memory loss, specifically the loss of painful memories, as Wells' death was to Jaha. Abby confiscated the pills for testing, but unbeknown to her, her right hand man, Jackson, had already taken the pill, and was clearly under the command of ALIE and Jaha.
While the pill may work as directed, the fact that it's made from silicon screams nanotechnology. If it can control aspects of the brain stem, it's no stretch to theorize that the pill may allow ALIE to gain control of the users' minds. The sky is the limit here, which should be quite interesting.
Whatever it is, it's eliminating more than just pain.
While Kane wasn't involved with the pills Jaha was distributing, he had a significant role in the episode's politics. Though Chancellor Pike featured less prominently than in previous weeks, he held a critical meeting with Monty, his mother, and Bellamy, among others, concerning the future of Arkadia and plans for expansion. Pike proposed clearing land to grow crops for food, but right on top of the most fertile soil sat a Grounder camp.
Through a bug planted in the Chancellor's quarters, Kane learned all this and notified Octavia who rushed to alert the Grounder camp, but they wasted no time revolting, with Octavia's earlier good deed when she saved the Grounder boy paying dividends here. The Grounders didn't want to flee, nor did they want to give up their patch to the Skaikru, so they covered the place in toxic sap from trees, and when Bellamy led his team in that evening to wipe them out, the Grounders launched flaming arrows from the cliffs overlooking the camp, destroying everything including the precious soil Pike was willing to kill for.
Torn between two allegiances, Octavia opted to warn Bellamy that he was approaching a trap, but little brain power was required to surmise that Octavia also warned the Grounders of his approaching party. The casualty count was 2-0 in favor of the Grounders, with one of the more prominent recurring Arkadia members, Monroe, and one other, succumbing to the flames and fumes.
This puts Pike in a difficult position. He was soundly beaten, but only because the Grounders were alerted by Octavia. His unit didn't suffer enough casualties to nullify the possibility of attacking another location again. We saw Pike and Bellamy begin to converse about Octavia, but fortunately she may be spared from any impending sanction. They rightly guessed, however, that Kane is the one sending her information, and you get the feeling he won't be so lucky.
We saw an eye-opening moment between Kane and Abby in this episode though. Kane strongly regretted his decision to call for an election after Abby opted to step down as Chancellor. He was quite rightly kicking himself for not taking the role on then and there.
I let this happen.
Abby even kissed Kane, which was surprising but not completely unexpected. Abby's message to Kane was simple and elegant here too:
Let's call it hope.
Let's get back to Polis, which, despite the interesting stuff happening in Arkadia, was where the meat of the episode was for me, and where my favorite scenes and dialog came from.
When asked by Lexa in a formal capacity as to her wishes for the fate of Emerson, Clarke unsurprisingly demanded he die for his actions. In Clarke's mind at the time, this made sense because Emerson's actions had resulted in the deaths of many, whereas by contrast, the actions of a few at Arkadia who wiped out a Grounder camp didn't warrant the death of the community where the responsible parties came from when not everyone was involved or even agreed with the idea to begin with.
Clarke's mind was further set on executing Emerson thanks to a spectacular showdown shortly after the episode's midpoint. Clarke asked for the room to be cleared where Emerson stood tethered to a pole. She removed his hood and the verbal exchange began.
Emerson took the upper hand early and kept it throughout, squarely placing Clarke at fault for the deaths of 381 people and noting two of the dead children were his own.
I don't want mercy. I want revenge.
Kudos to the steadycam operator here who pulled off an superb orbital shot while the actors did the scene in one take.
This clouded Clarke's judgement and she found it difficult to comprehend and justify that from the Grounders' perspective, her seeking revenge via the death penalty on someone who had wronged her was warranted when that option was outlawed by Lexa when dozens of their own were murdered at the hands of the Skaikru. The beauty of all this was it was Titus, Lexa's most prominent advisor (also the one most frequently told to stand down or shut up) who had a few quiet words with Clarke about this. It was an excellent scene that was executed with incredible elegance.
The stage was set for an epic scene in Polis, and that is exactly what we got.
Lexa called Clarke forward and handed her the dagger. Emerson was tethered to a pole, awaiting his fate.
Vengeance is yours.
Clarke paused for several moments.
I don't know if your death would bring me peace. I just know I don't deserve it.
I wouldn't be killing you for what you've done. I'd be killing you for what I've done.
These were two of the best and most important lines in The 100's history. Not only did they have deep inward meaning to Clarke in terms of her morals, values and identity, their meaning to those around her proves that the same, if not better, result can be achieved in terms of punishment by sparing a life. Sheer guilt has already claimed casualties in this series - remember Charlotte, who jumped to her death in Season 1's fourth episode. For the mass murderer from Mount Weather - the last of his kind who thought he had nothing to lose, and was awaiting his death with glee under the assumption that it would scar his killer for life, he got nothing except humiliation and embarrassment. It was an incredible piece of storytelling with ramifications which will surely be significant.
What sealed the deal here was Lexa capitalizing on Clarke's example and delivering a rousing speech to those in the chamber. This was her legacy in the making, right here, right now. Whether her "Blood must not have blood" stance continues on via her successors after her death isn't her concern, because it will always be her legacy. Her legacy is her new motivator as she continues on her journey as Commander. For now, Clarke and Lexa are a much more united front. Though seeking vengeance by death won't go down easily with her people, a revolution that is initiated by a leader at the top is almost always in a better position to succeed than one that begins at the grassroots and gathers a following.
The final minute of the episode featured some excellent parallel editing. The first and only time Murphy appeared was while being interrogated and beaten by Titus as he sought leverage on Clarke and queried the pill Jaha had given him. Alongside that, Raven and Jaha along with ALIE had a game-changing conversation after Raven's search for ALIE 2.0 failed to score.
I remain certain Becca went into space. Unfortunately it appears she wasn't on any of the 12 stations that made up the Ark.
Jaha then reveals that the Ark was made up of 12 stations but it was supposed to be 13. That third station was called Polaris, and a module from it can be seen sitting inside the chamber Titus is torturing Murphy inside.
This was a spectacular ending to a spectacular sixth episode of The 100. Along with the excellent character development we saw through Clarke, Lexa, Octavia, Kane and Abby, we learned a ton of new stuff about Jaha and ALIE's purpose, along with how the pill works. With a 13th station now on the cards, this now lines Jaha and ALIE up with a head-on collision with Polis. Could the power of the artificial intelligence be unleashed on Polis in the near future? I'd say the chances are fairly good at this point.
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I feel a sense of refreshment and rejuvenation having seen what the rest of the season may have in store and I'm more excited than ever to get amongst it. Don't forget to share your thoughts and theories on the episode in the comments below, and to check out next week's episode promos and promotional photos here.
