Tuesday 30 September 2014

TV recap: the 100 episode 13, We Are All Grounders part two

Last time on The 100, Murphy almost succeeded in hanging Bellamy, who was saved by some clever work by Raven, which resulted in Raven being shot and Murphy escaping. Also escaping were Finn and Clarke, who got away from the Grounders and made it back to camp to warn everyone of an impending attack. Clarke ordered The 100 to get ready to leave, a decision Bellamy was not on board with. Up on the Ark, Chancellor Jaha came up with a plan to get the survivors down to earth by using the Ark as a launch ship.

Earth-bound
The 100 are packing up, but maintaining a guard round their camp, while listening to Raven scream as Clarke cauterises her wound. Raven, ever positive, says it's lucky she was shot by Murphy, rather than him taking the immense amount of rocket fuel that remains on the ship.

Bellamy is still annoyed at Clarke and Finn's plan to run. Finn and Bellamy have a manly bust up over it, but Clarke appeals to Bellamy, telling him they need him. He's not so convinced, citing their quick switch to Clarke's plan as evidence.

And so The 100 leave camp, which happens much earlier in the episode than I thought it would. As they leave, Bellamy reflects on the 18 of The 100 who are dead, Clarke focuses on the 82 that are alive. It's a poignant set of scenes, with the appropriately named The Other Side by Woodkid playing over it all and really adding to the sense of exodus. Poor The 100, first they were chucked off the Ark, now they're running from the only home they've known on earth.

And suddenly the music stops as Octavia hears something. And the an axe comes flying out of the forest and straight into some guy's face. So back to camp everyone runs. I guess that's why it came so early in the episode. Forced back, Clarke realises that The 100 are trapped exactly where the Grounders want them.

Octavia's plan is to fight off the Grounders' scouts and continue running, but Clarke reluctantly agrees to stay and fight, putting Bellamy in his element. Octavia heads into the forest to try and see off some Grounders, while Bellamy sets up a perimeter and decides how weapons will be used. There's only enough ammo to fight for a little while, and then the plan is to hide in the drop ship and hope the Grounders can't get through.

Only Clarke has a better plan, one that Raven gets straight away. The 100 will 'blast off' in the ship, setting a fire that will burn all the Grounders in the vicinity alive. Raven, despite now not being able to feel her legs because of her gunshot wound, somehow summons up the strength to instruct Clarke and Finn into wiring up the ship in the way they need. Finally showing some spine, Finn says he'll head out to Lincoln's cave to get some of coagulant herb that could stop the internal bleeding Raven is suffering from. It's a combination of guilt and more guilt that's making him do this, but it does result in Clarke confessing she can't face losing Finn again.

Now cloaked in darkness, The 100 can hear noises, and get a radio message from another guard station that Grounders are approaching. But the Grounders aren't attacking, even though The 100 are shooting at them. 

Clarke's not having much luck locating the wire Raven is after (cue cute rocket science joke) and then it gets serious, as Raven laments the fact that she used to be the girl picked first for everything, and now she's stuck, dying, on the ground, about to be attacked. It gives the two women the opportunity to bond, and for the first time get on without the shadow of Finn hovering over every interaction.

The 100 are rapidly using up their bullets, and Jasper finally figures out the Grounders are making them use up their ammunition before the real fighting starts. And then we cut to Murphy - turns out he also stole a radio and the Grounders have been listening in to The 100's communications this whole time. Now that they know about the mines, the Grounders decide they'll go straight for the attack. There's a battle but it all happens in the dark, and I couldn't tell what what happening. Lots of gunfire though and Octavia gets injured.

Finn finds Lincoln, who's annoyed that they haven't followed his instructions and left. It took him a while to shake the Reapers, but Finn decides he wants to use them. This is a stupid plan, I can tell already. But it just might work.

The Grounders are pretty much upon The 100 now, but Raven is flagging fast and the drop ship still isn't prepped to be used as a firebomb. And then everything and everyone stops to see a giant fireball in the sky - it's the Ark falling through the atmosphere to the ground.

It's a momentary reprieve, and the Grounders try and break down the gate. Before they get started, they hear Reapers approaching and make a run for it. Finn's stupid plan to get the Reapers and Grounders to attack one another has worked somehow, and he makes it back to camp and into Clarke's arms. 

Bellamy and Octavia are stuck in the forest, with not much hope of escaping, until Lincoln comes along. Octavia's wound is deep, and the only way to save her is for her to go with Lincoln. And for once, Bellamy lets go of his sister, telling her she needs to go with Lincoln. He sends her off, and it's really emotional and I can't talk about it because I have something in my eye.

The Grounders manage to beat the Reapers and head back to The 100's camp. Jasper, against everyone's expectations, has rigged the ship up properly and it's ready to 'go'. Everyone runs inside, apart from Bellamy, who is at the edge of camp. He gets into a fight with the head Grounder dude, and Finn, of all people, runs to his rescue. There's no time for Finn and Bellamy to get back into the ship, so Clarke leaves them behind and locks the doors. Oh goodness. Please survive.

Anya, bent on revenge, manages to propel herself into the drop ship just before the door shuts. Not the best decision she's ever made, although she still tries to fight. True to form, most of The 100 try to beat her up, but Clarke stops them by saying: "We are not Grounders."

And Jasper flips a switch, and the drop ship lifts a couple of feet into the air, spewing great plumes of fire all about. No one outside can have survived that. *sob*

The next morning, The 100 open the door to the drop ship to everything incinerated, covered in grey ash and skeletons lying everywhere. Clarke heads to two skeletons lying close together - are they Finn and Bellamy? Before anything else can happen, canisters of red smoke are thrown at The 100. Anya mutters 'Mountain Men' and then everyone collapses as figures in space suits and with laser beam guns come out of the smoke.

And then Clarke wakes up. She's lying on a white pillow, dressed in white, looking remarkably clean. Our view cuts to that of a camera, and we see Clarke is locked in a fairly well furnished but cold room. She walks to the door and sees out the window that Monty is in the room opposite her. He implores her to look at the sign on the wall - it says Mount Weather. Woah. This is Mount Weather? This is where The 100 were originally aiming for. Looks like they made it, but it's not quite what they thought.

On the Ark
Also planning to blast off are the guys on the Ark. They've got a plan, but they're not sure which parts of the ship will survive and make it to earth, and which will not. It all sounds very dangerous, and there's a lot they can't control, but they're determined to go ahead. 

The population split into different parts of the Ark, with Sinclair, Kane and Abby in one, and Chancellor Jaha in another. They count down to blast off and ... nothing happens. The remote detonation has failed, and Sinclair says the only option is for someone to launch the ships manually. Kane immediately volunteers, with Abby trying to stop him. As they say goodbye and Kane gets up, there is a judder and the ship moves. A delayed automatic reaction? Nope. Turns out Jaha made it to the controls first, and has decided to sacrifice himself to get the others to the ground. Oh man. What a guy. His plan is to reunite Abby and Clarke, while he reunites with Wells (RIP).

Jaha, alone on the ship, tries to radio to the stations that hurtled to earth, and finally hears back from Abby, who was on a ship that survived. Abby and Kane head up, open a trap door, and find themselves on earth. To one side of them is lush greenery and a beautiful lake, and there are blue skies, and mountains in the distance. Abby describes the scene to Jaha, who shuts his eyes and dreams. 

And then Kane notices a plume of smoke in the distance, which they think could be another station. And with Jaha's instructions to find Clarke and the other stations, he signs off, heads to a window, and watches the earth from his lonely ship. And he cracks open the bottle of alcohol that was being saved for when the population of the Ark got back to earth, and toasts the earth: "May we meet again." I wish we could Jaha, I kind of like you now.

Solid ground?
Please don't say Bellamy and Finn are dead. Please don't say Bellamy and Finn are dead. Please don't say Bellamy and Finn are dead. 

Maybe if I say it enough times, it'll be true. To be honest, I don't see how Bellamy and Finn can be dead. Well, I can how they would have died, but there's no way the showrunners of The 100 would kill them off, they're too valuable.

Anyway, what a season finale. There was a lot, a lot, in this episode, yet it didn't feel rushed. Most of it, however, did feel like tying up loose ends or moving people into a position that will make the start of season two interesting - no more Ark (unless Jaha somehow magically survives), so everyone is now on earth; The 100 captured by the Moutain Men; and Octavia and Lincoln escaping to wherever.

I'm sad that this series is over, but it's been a good one, right? Here's to series two.

No comments:

Post a Comment

ShareThis

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...