Following Lexa's death, The 100 completely focused on Arkadia in its latest episode. The episode finally saw a major turn-around of a certain character, while the resistance inside the camp continued to fight against the dictator that is Charles Pike. Let's have a look at the main storylines of "Terms and Conditions".
Bellamy
And let's immediately start with Bellamy. Finally, the normal Bellamy seems to be back. After two Grounders urged him at the beginning of the episode to choose the right side, Bellamy reacted by shooting both dead and responding: "I do that everyday". Throughout the episode, it was made clear that Bellamy was still very much on Pike's side when he arrested Sinclair, attemped to shut down the Grounder mutiny and stopped Kane from delivering Pike to the Grounders. It was in that last moment that something changed in Bellamy. I will talk more about the relationship between Kane and Bellamy in a bit, but it seemed that Kane had finally gotten through to Bellamy. When Pike ordered Kane's execution, Bellamy finally saw the real threat inside the walls of Arkadia. I still think this character development of Bellamy from good guy to seemingly bad guy went all too soon this season, but I'm just happy that we have him back. Seeing the old Bellamy is definitely something to look forward to for the rest of the season. And Bob Morley was amazing in this episode, especially when he realised what Pike is doing.
However, we should also take Bellamy's turn around with caution. Yes, Bellamy finally sees Pike for the real danger that he is. Still, Bellamy has not admitted that he was wrong about the Grounders. He has not said that the Grounders aren't a threat anymore. For all we know Bellamy could still see the Grounders as a big threat, only Pike is the bigger threat at the moment. It's possible that, once Pike is gone, Bellamy will still clash with Kane and see the Grounders as dangerous. Of course, we only got a glimpse in this episode of Bellamy returning to the good side, but I hope that future episodes will address his actions against the Grounders and his current opinion of them.
Kane
Oh Kane, you know I love you and that you are one of my favourite characters on this show. But really, could you not just have killed Pike yourself? Remember, you shocklashed Abby just a season ago for something I barely even remember. You could have and should have shocklashed Pike as well (preferably to death), who deserves it 1000 times more than Abby did back then. Even Pike said it: "You should have killed me yourself". I am frustrated that Kane didn't do exactly that, but I understand why he didn't. He wouldn't be any better than Pike and the democracy Kane so badly wanted earlier this season would be gone. Plus, Kane killing Pike would be way quicker than the Grounders letting him suffer the pain of 300+ deaths. Kane genuinely thought he could make it out of Arkadia and deliver Pike to the Grounders. To be honest, I thought so too and I certainly hoped so. Until the very last moment, I really thought it could go either way and it made the scene all the more suspenseful. Tensions were running high in this episode, but the scene where Bellamy jumped in front of Kane's car was the absolute top. I really hope Kane will make it out of the next episode alive (and the rest of the season as well of course), but Pike sentencing him to death does not look good.
Bellamy and Kane
What is interesting about Kane's and Bellamy's decisions, is that these decisions were made because they care for one another. When the series first premiered, I actually thought Kane was Bellamy's father since they actually look quite alike. I kept waiting for that twist to happen, but it never did. However, even if they have no blood relation, their relationship still looks like that of a father and son. And frankly, I believe both see it that way as well. Kane could have easily driven over Bellamy to deliver Pike to the Grounders. I think if it was another guard that stood there holding a gun, Kane would have run him or her over. But this was Bellamy, the man he cared for and fought so hard for to get him back to the good side. Similarly, Bellamy lowered his gun at the fence, because he could never shoot Kane. Also, Bellamy saw Pike for the danger that he is after he ordered the execution of Kane. Bellamy even cried. Again, I think if it was another person that Pike wanted to execute (like, say Sinclair) Bellamy would not have had the strong reaction that he now had.
Pike
Maybe I can just copy and paste what I wrote in my review of episode 5, since nothing has really changed since then. I still hate Pike and I still want him dead (we were so close this episode!). However, somewhere beyond all that anger of his and him wanting to kill every Grounder there is, I can see a tiny little bit of a human side to him and the motivations why he is doing this. Still, that 0.01% of good there is does not make up for the other 99.99%.
Monty
Monty has always been of the most underdeveloped characters of the show. That was the case in season 1, it happened in season 2 and now again in season 3. We weren't given any insight as to why he joined Pike and Co other than his mother being Pike's right hand. His turn-around also happened in this episode, but whereas we got some insight into Bellamy's turn-around we didn't know why Monty suddenly had a change of heart. Monty has also been a character I feel largely indifferent about and, despite him joining Pike, continue to do so. That doesn't mean his actions in this episode didn't frustrate me, but they frustrate me less than Bellamy's actions. I'm glad Monty is back to the good side, although his mother is suspicious of him. Speaking of Monty's mother, she is just as bad as Pike and I'd prefer her to die soon as well. Sorry Monty, you just got her back, but I want her dead.
The resistance
I love that the resistance includes some of the longest recurring characters of the show. We spent a lot of time with Sinclair this episode and it was great seeing him work with Kane and Lincoln. I am afraid this might kill Sinclair. With Pike willing to execute Kane, he might execute Sinclair and Lincoln as well. I liked Lincoln's fight scenes, he fought really hard against all the guards. I actually thought he was going to die this episode, but it seems he will live on for at least one more episode. I hope that Lincoln's inevitable death will do his character justice. Anyway, the resistance also includes the always reliable Harper and Miller. I feel bad for Miller since his boyfriend betrayed him, although the boyfriend at least showed regrets.
Raven, Jasper, Jaha and ALIE
Besides Bellamy, Raven also came to her senses. And Jasper helped her with that. When Raven realized that she couldn't remember Finn, she decided that losing her pain was not worth losing her good memories. Lindsey Morgan was awesome in the scene where Raven panicked when she found out she couldn't remember Finn. I also love that Finn has not been forgotten even though he has been gone for a season. So badass Raven is back, and she gave ALIE a problem she hadn't dealt with before. Of course, Jaha is still crazy as ever and has a plan to gain more followers. I wish they would flesh out Jaha a bit more. Also, the episode hinted that Jasper might be the next to join ALIE's cause. He doesn't want to forget Maya, but he does want to get rid of all the pain.
General conclusion
This was a decent episode with a lot of tension. I think it was good to have an episode focused on Arkadia and we also got a bit more insight into the characters. Some character developments are still going too quickly, but that's the downside of having only 16 episodes each season. Something that really bothered me about this episode was the lack of Abby. I know the show has a big cast and I don't necessarily need to see every regular in every episode, but really, no Abby in an episode that entirely takes place at Arkadia? She was also practically a part of the resistance against Pike so it was not that difficult to write a scene for her. Fortunately, we will see her again in the next episode.
What did you think of "Terms and Conditions"? Are you happy Bellamy is finally back to the good side? Do you think Kane should have killed Pike himself? What will be the resistance's next move? Will Monty and Bellamy help them? And lastly, who do you think will die in the next episode: Kane, Lincoln, Sinclair, or all three of them? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
The 100 returns with an all-new episode on March 31. Watch a promo for the episode below.
And let's immediately start with Bellamy. Finally, the normal Bellamy seems to be back. After two Grounders urged him at the beginning of the episode to choose the right side, Bellamy reacted by shooting both dead and responding: "I do that everyday". Throughout the episode, it was made clear that Bellamy was still very much on Pike's side when he arrested Sinclair, attemped to shut down the Grounder mutiny and stopped Kane from delivering Pike to the Grounders. It was in that last moment that something changed in Bellamy. I will talk more about the relationship between Kane and Bellamy in a bit, but it seemed that Kane had finally gotten through to Bellamy. When Pike ordered Kane's execution, Bellamy finally saw the real threat inside the walls of Arkadia. I still think this character development of Bellamy from good guy to seemingly bad guy went all too soon this season, but I'm just happy that we have him back. Seeing the old Bellamy is definitely something to look forward to for the rest of the season. And Bob Morley was amazing in this episode, especially when he realised what Pike is doing.
However, we should also take Bellamy's turn around with caution. Yes, Bellamy finally sees Pike for the real danger that he is. Still, Bellamy has not admitted that he was wrong about the Grounders. He has not said that the Grounders aren't a threat anymore. For all we know Bellamy could still see the Grounders as a big threat, only Pike is the bigger threat at the moment. It's possible that, once Pike is gone, Bellamy will still clash with Kane and see the Grounders as dangerous. Of course, we only got a glimpse in this episode of Bellamy returning to the good side, but I hope that future episodes will address his actions against the Grounders and his current opinion of them.
Oh Kane, you know I love you and that you are one of my favourite characters on this show. But really, could you not just have killed Pike yourself? Remember, you shocklashed Abby just a season ago for something I barely even remember. You could have and should have shocklashed Pike as well (preferably to death), who deserves it 1000 times more than Abby did back then. Even Pike said it: "You should have killed me yourself". I am frustrated that Kane didn't do exactly that, but I understand why he didn't. He wouldn't be any better than Pike and the democracy Kane so badly wanted earlier this season would be gone. Plus, Kane killing Pike would be way quicker than the Grounders letting him suffer the pain of 300+ deaths. Kane genuinely thought he could make it out of Arkadia and deliver Pike to the Grounders. To be honest, I thought so too and I certainly hoped so. Until the very last moment, I really thought it could go either way and it made the scene all the more suspenseful. Tensions were running high in this episode, but the scene where Bellamy jumped in front of Kane's car was the absolute top. I really hope Kane will make it out of the next episode alive (and the rest of the season as well of course), but Pike sentencing him to death does not look good.
Bellamy and Kane
What is interesting about Kane's and Bellamy's decisions, is that these decisions were made because they care for one another. When the series first premiered, I actually thought Kane was Bellamy's father since they actually look quite alike. I kept waiting for that twist to happen, but it never did. However, even if they have no blood relation, their relationship still looks like that of a father and son. And frankly, I believe both see it that way as well. Kane could have easily driven over Bellamy to deliver Pike to the Grounders. I think if it was another guard that stood there holding a gun, Kane would have run him or her over. But this was Bellamy, the man he cared for and fought so hard for to get him back to the good side. Similarly, Bellamy lowered his gun at the fence, because he could never shoot Kane. Also, Bellamy saw Pike for the danger that he is after he ordered the execution of Kane. Bellamy even cried. Again, I think if it was another person that Pike wanted to execute (like, say Sinclair) Bellamy would not have had the strong reaction that he now had.
Maybe I can just copy and paste what I wrote in my review of episode 5, since nothing has really changed since then. I still hate Pike and I still want him dead (we were so close this episode!). However, somewhere beyond all that anger of his and him wanting to kill every Grounder there is, I can see a tiny little bit of a human side to him and the motivations why he is doing this. Still, that 0.01% of good there is does not make up for the other 99.99%.
Monty
Monty has always been of the most underdeveloped characters of the show. That was the case in season 1, it happened in season 2 and now again in season 3. We weren't given any insight as to why he joined Pike and Co other than his mother being Pike's right hand. His turn-around also happened in this episode, but whereas we got some insight into Bellamy's turn-around we didn't know why Monty suddenly had a change of heart. Monty has also been a character I feel largely indifferent about and, despite him joining Pike, continue to do so. That doesn't mean his actions in this episode didn't frustrate me, but they frustrate me less than Bellamy's actions. I'm glad Monty is back to the good side, although his mother is suspicious of him. Speaking of Monty's mother, she is just as bad as Pike and I'd prefer her to die soon as well. Sorry Monty, you just got her back, but I want her dead.
The resistance
I love that the resistance includes some of the longest recurring characters of the show. We spent a lot of time with Sinclair this episode and it was great seeing him work with Kane and Lincoln. I am afraid this might kill Sinclair. With Pike willing to execute Kane, he might execute Sinclair and Lincoln as well. I liked Lincoln's fight scenes, he fought really hard against all the guards. I actually thought he was going to die this episode, but it seems he will live on for at least one more episode. I hope that Lincoln's inevitable death will do his character justice. Anyway, the resistance also includes the always reliable Harper and Miller. I feel bad for Miller since his boyfriend betrayed him, although the boyfriend at least showed regrets.
Besides Bellamy, Raven also came to her senses. And Jasper helped her with that. When Raven realized that she couldn't remember Finn, she decided that losing her pain was not worth losing her good memories. Lindsey Morgan was awesome in the scene where Raven panicked when she found out she couldn't remember Finn. I also love that Finn has not been forgotten even though he has been gone for a season. So badass Raven is back, and she gave ALIE a problem she hadn't dealt with before. Of course, Jaha is still crazy as ever and has a plan to gain more followers. I wish they would flesh out Jaha a bit more. Also, the episode hinted that Jasper might be the next to join ALIE's cause. He doesn't want to forget Maya, but he does want to get rid of all the pain.
General conclusion
This was a decent episode with a lot of tension. I think it was good to have an episode focused on Arkadia and we also got a bit more insight into the characters. Some character developments are still going too quickly, but that's the downside of having only 16 episodes each season. Something that really bothered me about this episode was the lack of Abby. I know the show has a big cast and I don't necessarily need to see every regular in every episode, but really, no Abby in an episode that entirely takes place at Arkadia? She was also practically a part of the resistance against Pike so it was not that difficult to write a scene for her. Fortunately, we will see her again in the next episode.
What did you think of "Terms and Conditions"? Are you happy Bellamy is finally back to the good side? Do you think Kane should have killed Pike himself? What will be the resistance's next move? Will Monty and Bellamy help them? And lastly, who do you think will die in the next episode: Kane, Lincoln, Sinclair, or all three of them? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
The 100 returns with an all-new episode on March 31. Watch a promo for the episode below.
