Friday, January 23, 2015

The 100, Season Two, Episode Nine: Remember Me


Clarke cries tries to scrub Finn's blood off of her hands.  Abby enters and tries to comfort Clarke and Clarke says repeatedly that she had to.  Gustus enters the tent and says that the commander is ready to talk and he is quickly followed by Lexa and Indra.  Lexa makes it clear that though blood has answered blood, some on her side feel that this is not enough because Finn didn't suffer as their tradition demands.  Lexa says that she pacified her people by pointing out that Clarke's suffering will be more than enough because Clarke's actions will haunt her for the rest of her life.

The plan is for Finn's body to be delivered to the tribe of the 18 slaughtered.  Marcus feels that the Grounders have done enough and that Finn should be buried by his own people.  Of course, Indra has to jump in and say that the sky people have not done enough and that they deserve justice.  Abby tells Indra that what she wants is not justice but vengeance, causing Indra to snap that the Sky People have not seen what her vengeance looks like.   It's Clarke who stops the argument by agreeing to Lexa and Indra's demands, adding that when it's over, they have to discuss how to get all of their people out of Mt. Weather.  When Lexa and Indra leave, Abby tells Clarke that she doesn't have to do this but Clarke makes it clear that if the truce doesn't hold, then she killed Finn for nothing.

When Clarke leaves, Marcus tells Abby that Clarke is right because this is the only way they will ever achieve peace.  Abby asserts that the Grounders don't know what peace is and are being led by a child.  Marcus points out that they are being led by a child as well.

Outside, Clarke approaches Raven, who is kneeling by Finn's dead body.  Clarke tries to apologise but Raven tells her to go away.  Clarke acknoweldges that this must be hard for Raven but informs Raven that she is leaving with the Grounders and that Raven needs to continue her work on the communications.  While the backs of the two women are turned, the Grounders try to take Finn away, which causes Raven to get more upset.  Clarke explains that Finn is being taken to the village where the massacre took place because it's the only way to get their people out of Mt. Weather.  Raven tells Clarke that she is coming as well and promises to bring her damn radio.  Clarke watches, as Finn's body is picked up but as they take Finn away, he opens his eyes and appears to be staring directly at her.

At Mr. Weather, the Arc people are gathered and are discussing their failure to find Clarke. Nathan is not pleased with Maya's presence and when he objects, Jasper declares that Maya is risking more than any of them.  Nathan questions if Maya is going to end up in a kennel as well, if she gets caught.  Quick question, how does Miller know about the kennels? Monty reveals an antenna that he has found and suggests that if they can access it, they can send a message on the arc wide channel.  Maya tells them that the only radio is on the highly restricted area of level seven.  Monty adds that they don't need the radio but the wires which run into it.  As Monty starts to list what they will need, the task seems insurmountable. 

Clarke is leading people through the woods and she keeps getting visions of Finn.  Bellamy tells Clarke that she did the right thing.  They argue briefly about whether or not the truce is a good idea. Bellamy believes that what they need is an inside man and argues that if Clarke can make it out, he can make it in.  Clarke is adamant that this is not going to happen, so Bellamy tells Clarke that since he doesn't take orders from her, he is going to need a better reason.  Clarke tells Bellamy that she cannot lose him as well.

Gustus and Lexa talk about the alliance they formed with the sky people and Lexa's safety.  Lexa simply tells Gustus to do his job and protect her and that all alliances mean some sort of risk.

At Mt. Weather, Cage is looking at security footage. He learns that the Grounders didn't attack the Arc.  Cage questions if an alliance has been made.  It is suggested that the alliance should be broken, so that the Arc people and the Grounders will kill each other and forgo coming to Mt. Weather to take their people back.  Cage says that no matter how many men they have, no one is getting through their defenses, adding nothing is going to stop them from getting to the ground. 

The Grounders and the Arc people have made camp for the night.  When Clarke lies down near the Grounders, Bellamy suggests that it is safer on the Arc side of the camp, causing Clarke to say that there are no more sides. 

Marcus sits down with Abby saying that they need to talk about Jaha.  Abby snarks about shock lashing him Jaha and Marcus suggests a pardon.  Marcus looks at Clarke and says that she is a survivor.  

Lincoln walks through the camp and as Indra passes near, she calls him a traitor.  Lincoln makes his way to Olivia and tells her that he is being called a traitor and that people are afraid of him.  Olivia suggests that Lincoln can talk to her about what happened but Lincoln believes that he cannot.  The two kiss.

Clarke wakes suddenly from her sleep and we get a vision of Finn lying behind her.

The coalition of Grounders and Arc people have made their way to a Grounder camp.  The Grounders demand that everyone disarm themselves before they enter.  Gutus takes special care to disarm Raven who it seems is loaded for bear. There are cries of welcome back commander and death to the Sky people when they enter the tribe.  When one of the tribesman declares that the sky people killed his son and are not welcome in the village, Lexa nods at Gustus who then attacks the man. Clarke begs Lexa to stop the beating, citing that the sky people will be blamed for this as well.  Lexa calls off Gustus and tells the people that the sky people march with them now and that anyone who tries to stop that will pay with their life. 

The crew has started work on their plan.  Miller is still not impressed with Maya and she tells him that he doesn't have to like her but she is helping them.  When the alarm goes off, Miller hammers  the walls to get at the radio wire.


Lexa makes a speech to the people about cleansing the pain of the past and it is Lincoln who translates for the sky people.  Finn is laid out on a pyre and Lexa hands the torch to Clarke, who steps forward but pauses and is only able to light Finn's body on fire, when she gets a vision of him.  Clarke lights the funeral pyre saying in the Grounder language, "your fight is over." 

Back at Mt. Weather, Monty is working on the radio and trying to get it to transmit.  Monty realises that the Exodus ship was crashed and the group wonders whether the message is still being interfered with.

As Finn's body burns, Lexa tells Clarke about her former lover.  Lexa's partner was tortured, killed and decapitated.  Lexa says that she got over the pain by recognizing it for what it is - weakness.  Lexa reveals that love is weakness and Clarke makes it clear that she cannot stop loving.  Lexa warns that if not, Clarke puts the people she cares about in danger because the dead are gone and the living are hungry. 

The Sky People and the Grounders gather at a banquet and Marcus offers up a bottle of booze, explaining that they drink it at special occasions.  Lexa thanks Marcus and suggests that she and Clarke should drink together.  Before Lexa can drink,  Gustas tastes it first.  Lexa gives a toast but before she and Clarke can drink, Gustus collapses, saying that the drink is poison.  Indra immediately draws her weapon, as Clarke denies that her people poisoned Gustus.  Lexa tells Clarke that Gustus warned her that the Sky People could not be trusted.  Lexa asks Clarke if she wished that it had been her, instead of Finn, who had been stabbed to death.  The Grounders search the Sky People and find a vial of poison on Raven, who quickly declares that it is not hers and was planted on her when she entered.  Lexa announces that no Sky People are allowed to leave the room, before marching outside.  Olivia asks Lincoln to do something so, he calls to Indra and asks to speak for the Sky People.  Indra tells Lincoln that he is one of the Sky People, before closing the gate and locking him in with the others. 

Monty continues to work on the radio and says that their message is broadcasting  but it is on a jammed frequency.  Monty says that he needs five minutes with the source to unjam the message.  Jasper is quick to point out that it's too dangerous.  Maya rushes in to say that there are guards coming and the hole has to be covered.  The team quickly rush to cover the hole but the guards are too close for them to escape, so as a distraction, Jasper kisses Maya. 

Clarke approaches Raven to question whether or not Raven tried to poison Lexa.  Raven tells Clarke to back down, and when Clarke does not, Raven sucker punches Clarke.  Raven tells Clarke that she is the only murderer here.  Abby and Olivia rush forward and Clarke gets a vision of Finn.  Clarke tells the vision to leave her alone and that he gave her no choice. 

Clarke sits by herself lost in thought, when Abby approaches to tell her that she knows how she feels and that the pain will fade.  Abby reveals she got through it by loving Clarke.  Clarke moves away and tells Abby that what she did to Finn, was nothing like what Abby did to her husband.  Abby pleads that she trusted Jaha to talk to Abby's father and convince him to stop but Clarke argues that Abby knew that her father would never stop and so turned him in.  Abby says that she was protecting everyone too - specifically protecting Clarke.  Clarke stands and tells Abby that they are the same.

Back in their bunker, Jasper, Maya, and Miller, realise that Monty is missing.  Monty is at the command center dressed in a contamination suit.  The guard leaves believing that Monty is going decontaminate the area.

Marcus approaches and tells Clarke that tearing herself and others apart is not the way to get through this.  Marcus then points out that Lexa needs this alliance as much as they do and that she listens to Clarke.  Clarke says that Lexa believes they tried to kill her.  Marcus wonders who would want Lexa did and Lincoln responds that there are too many to count.  The group realises that it had to be someone trying to break the alliance.

Indra, Gustus and Grounder guards burst in and try to grab Raven.  Raven again declares that she is innocent and Lincoln backs her up.  Indra says that she argued for all of the Sky People to die but Lexa was generous and said only one.  Raven is hustled away and Indra announces that the rest of them are free and that when Raven is dead, so is the alliance.  Indra suggests that the Sky People run.

Raven is tied to a pole and Lexa says that she takes no joy in this and that this time, justice will be done.  Indra and Lexa takes turn cutting Raven, as Olivia begs Lincoln to talk to them because the Grounders are his people.  Lincoln steps forward replying, "not anymore."  Nyko tells Lincoln that he is no longer safe there and promises to do his best to help him get away, as Raven continues to scream.  The two men embrace, as Abby calls out for Clarke.

Clarke gets another vision of Finn, who looks down at the chalice which held the poison.  Clarke realizes that it wasn't the liquid which was poisoned and instead was the chalice.  Clarke storms outside, calling for the bottle and tells Lexa that one of the Grounders tried to kill her and not the Sky People.  When Clarke says that she can prove it, Lexa asks how.  Clarke is handed the bottle and she takes a big swig.  Lexa asks for an explanation and Clarke says that the poison was not in the bottle but in the cup.  Gustus warns Lexa not to trust the Sky People.  Bellamy then accuses Gustus, pointing out that it was Gutus who tested the cup and Gustus who searched Raven.  Lexa says that Gustus would never betray her and so Bellamy responds that Lexa was not the target but the alliance was.  Lexa turns to confront Gustus  and he says that he could not allow the alliance to cost Lexa her life.  Lexa orders Gustus taken into custody, announcing that his treachery will cost him his life.  The Arc people rush forward and release Raven.

At Mt. Weather, Monty is working on the computer furiously to stop the radio jamming. 

Cage is walking with the Lieutenant when they come across the Sergeant guarding the control room. Monty steps outside wearing his decontamination suit and starts to move away, when he is stopped by the Sergeant because there is no log of the supposed decontamination which just happened.  Monty rushes forward and grabs the clipboard and signs.  The Sergeant notices that the entry Monty wrote indicated contamination.  Monty says that he will fix it later and starts backing up but the Sergeant grabs Monty, removes the mask and twists his arm. 

Gustus is now tied to the same pole that Raven was and the Grounders are now cutting him.  Raven realises that this is what would have happened to Finn, had Clarke not killed him.  Lexa approaches Gustus, who tells her to remain strong.  Lexa unsheathes her sword and tells Gustus that his fight is over, before sliding the sword deeply into his abdomen.  Abby remarks to Marcus that the two groups are not so different.

At the campfire, Lincoln asks Bellamy how he knew it was Gustus and Bellamy replies that Gustus would have done anything for Lexa to protect her.  Olivia points out that Gustus received a poor thanks.  Clarke hears the message from Monty and rushes forward to tell the group.  Clarke says that before they move forward, they need a man on the inside to turn off Mt. Weather's defenses because otherwise, their alliance is useless. Clarke instructs Bellamy that he should go ading that she is no longer going to be weak, as she hands over her map of Mt. Weather.  Lincoln volunteers to help Bellamy get through the tunnels.  Olivia starts to object but Lincoln says that he needs to face what he has done.  Olivia suggests that they should face it together but Lincoln believes that Olivia needs to stay because she knows the Grounders way.

Clarke gets another vision of Finn and she tells him that love is weakness.  The specter does not speak but simply walks into the woods.  Clarke is then joined by Abby, who  attempts to give her some of her fathers ashes, so that Clarke can say goodbye.  Clarke replies that she already said goodbye and walks away to join Lexa.  The two women enter into a dwelling and close the door.

Monty regains consciousness to find himself in a kennel.  In the kennel above Monty is Harper, who tells him that they built a cage for each Arc kid. 

This week we learned that Lexa, the leader of the Grounders, is it the very least bisexual because she had a female lover. Lexa graphically detailed how her partner died and this is juxtaposed to Clarke's loss of Finn.  While I like the idea of Lexa's partner being seen as an equal, it is yet another case of gay death.  That it happened off screen and before the Grounders and Sky People interacted, does not make it any less problematic. 

I very much like that Clarke continues to act in a leadership position, though the adults from the Arc have now landed.  It was clear in earlier episodes that the adults, particularly Marcus, expected to land on the ground and lead, though they sent The 100 to their deaths.  Marcus and Abby stepping back and Marcus in particularly recognizing that they are being lead by children, is actually a step forward.  Simply by landing on the earth first, The 100 have a greater understanding of the Grounders and the situation.  The downside however is that Jaha has been supplanted by both Abby and Clarke.  If Jaha had been a White male character, I wouldn't have had a problem with his because he is an ineffectual leader at best, but as it stands, though The 100 does have Bellamy, (who while played by a MOC, is clearly not meant to be read that way)  Monty, Dr. Tsing, Indra, Raven, Miller and Jaha, none of them are in real leadership positions.  It is subversive to see so many women in power but why couldn't at least one of them have been a WOC?  I suppose that at least we should be thankful that at least the characters we do have seem at this point to be necessary to the plot. It is also worth pointing out that so far, Indra is nothing more than the angry Black woman.  We know nothing about her and everything she says and does is infused with rage.

I do like that Clarke is deeply disturbed by having to kill Finn.  It would have been easy to have the writers have something like that simply be filed away as unimportant.  What will be interesting  to see, is how long they continue to have Clarke be haunted by her actions.  Is this something she will just push aside, as Lexa has done and move on?  The truth of the matter is that having seen so much violence since landing on the ground, the Sky People should all be having issues at this point.  PTSD and other forms of mental illness don't wait around for a situation to stabilize to occur.

Clearly, The 100 is building up to something huge.  I am actually getting excited to see the coming confrontation between the Alliance and the Mt. Weather people.  At some point, all of these factions are going to have to come together to live.  I am also really looking forward to seeing where this is going and of course, seeing that Cage gets what's coming to him.  The pacing this season has been excellent and for a CW show, at least whatever angst does appear, makes perfect sense.