New Solar System, New Graphic!!
Goodness, I am so happy that The 100 is back! Honestly, hiatuses are hard. And now it is over, so we shall celebrate! And, we get to do so in this gorgeous (and sure okay maybe deadly, but shhh) new world!
Just a reminder, spoilers galore!! Like ALL the spoilers- proceed with caution!
Rise and Shine
I have no idea how this particular gang of sleepy travelers was chosen to wake up. They make sense, don’t get me wrong, but still. We weren’t privy to that conversation, so let’s move on. Obviously everyone has a pretty solid case of the sads upon hearing that their buds are dead and also they’ve lost a century. And you know, a planet, I guess. What I’m saying is, there’s a lot to take in.
Plans need to be made, so of course Raven and Shaw… go have sex? Look, it seems a weird choice to me but since he’s not long for this (or any other) world, I’ll allow it. (But uh, seriously what is with this show and barely pre-mortem coitus? I am sensing a strange pattern.) Everyone meets back up to decide if they want to head down. Of course, they do, because what is the other choice exactly?
Also, this glorious voice of reason. When exactly did she become my fave?! Don’t know, but she is.
Details are being made, Raven and Jordan are staying behind to run things from Eligius IV’s end. But wait! That silly scamp Jordan forgot that he had a nice, fresh brew of Smol Algae™ to somehow help Kane. I understand exactly none of the details behind this but okay cool. Only this means that Abby’s going to stay behind and try to fix him, and they need a doctor.
Enter Mackson! Bellamy basically tells Miller that he understands, and he forgives/trusts him. Which is really powerful, and I think something Miller needs. His arc this episode is incredible and can someone please remind me why the everloving fuck Jarod and Sachin aren’t main cast? They earned it, especially in this episode.
And we’re off! Raven is none too happy about being left behind, but Raven’s none to happy about anything these days, so. Just wait until she sees this episode, she’s gonna be really pissed. ?
Planetary Lunar Adventure Team
So Shaw takes us down. And look, it’s goddamn glorious. I love how they have changed the entire color pallet on this moon. It makes sense, too. Not everywhere is going to look the same, right? Anyway, our gang is rightfully amazed by what they see.
To be fair, no one told him it was a moon. ?♀️
I loved more than anything the parallels from Season One, and especially, “Pilot”. The reason is twofold: One, who doesn’t love a stroll down memory lane, and two, it really goes to show how far they’ve come since then. Also, this particular opening of the Gagarin door is a lot more pleasant than the last time, when we wondered who the hell was going to start shooting at Clarke and Madi.
Shaw gets to go again, fun!
Clarke wants Bellamy to go first (because of course you’re going to tell the dude you love to go first, pshh) but he decides they should all go first. I am legitimately surprised that no one was “that guy” who jumped out before the rest of them- I mean, Murphy was there after all. And in what has to be the best callback of the episode (out of a lot of really epic callbacks!), Miller alludes to O’s trademark “Pilot” moment.
I mean… he’s not wrong ???
At first, the Lunar Adventure Team just wanders around and explores. They’re thrilled that the air is breathable and not full of radiation, and they take in all the sights and sounds. I am pretty sure I had the same exact expression on my face as our faves did while the camera panned out to the world. It’s lovely, and even though you know shit is absolutely hitting the fan, might as well enjoy it while you can, right?
Because soon enough, it’s getting real. By nightfall, they’re setting up camp, and you know that there is still bad blood here. And look, on a certain level, I get why Shaw is so salty. But on the other… does he not remember who ultimately saved his damn life? Also, he’s been part of the group for what, three days? Know your place, my dude. Clarke apologizes, and cites Monty giving them another chance.
Clarke, saying what we’re all thinking!
I feel like Murphy especially doesn’t have a reason to hate on Clarke here. No one has caused more havoc than him, and again, Clarke saved his ass how many times? Yes, Clarke made some pretty significant mistakes last season, but she’s also been trying to do better ever since. And every single person was yelling for her help when things started going south, but sure, be more hypocritical. Also, can I please just talk again about how much I love Echo in this episode? She’s my MVP. Reasonable and rational but still badass, love it.
Jackson and Miller share an adorable moment with bugs, that probably should have been the first clue that the shit was about to o down, but I was so busy being completely enamored with them that I didn’t know or care.
Should they even be allowed to be so freaking wonderful?
But the bugs are a warning sign, as it turns out. Jackson’s been playing with his little buddy, when suddenly… his little buddy loses his damn mind. And then there is a swarm of bugs and wow bugs are weird. So everyone has to run! They’re going to go to this beacon thingy that Shaw found the coordinates of, so he leads the way. Partly because he knows where it is, but mostly so he can be electrocuted by a radiation force field.
Ouch. Maybe they just don’t tell Raven. “Shaw? Never heard of him…”
Clarke is able to go through it because of nightblood, and turns it off so everyone can run in, then back on before the swarm gets in. Jackson tries to inject Shaw with what I assume is anti-radiation medicine, but Shaw knows he’s a goner. He tells them to do better, and to tell Raven that she deserves to be happy (aw, he really was a decent dude, wasn’t he?) and then dies.
Which presents a problem that of course Murphy would be the first to broach: How exactly are they going to get back to Eligius IV, now that their pilot is dead? Clarke and Miller are both about to pounce on Murphy, but Bellamy has the wherewithal to break it up.
At least someone is being realistic here!
And that’s when they see that there are steps, which must mean that they’re getting close to some kind of humanity. Sure enough, they walk up the steps and into… well, whatever this is.
Lunar Disney, anyone?
“Hello? Invaders From Earth, Can We Come In?”
Only, it looks like no one is home at this mystical castle village. The gang cautiously looks door to door, scoping out the scenes. Creepily enough, Emori spots the “symbol of the commander”, aka, Becca’s symbol. Clarke is in awe, but then remembers that Becca’s company did all the tech for Eligius, including Eligius III, so there’s a mystery solved.
Everyone has a mission, whether it’s looking through the houses for signs of life, or breaking open gates, to hanging out on playground equipment, or putting on a karaoke performance. Clarke and Bellamy have a little heart-to-heart about their “children” (I won’t tell either of them they aren’t actually parents if you don’t!), and then they finally have The Talk™ about Clarke’s radio calls. Clarke is embarrassed which is adorable because you know she wants Bellamy to think she’s not a dork but we all know she is and he loves her for it anyway.
Murphy’s scrolling through a playlist while Emori tries to pick a lock, and he is excited to find that he knows a lot of the songs from the Lighthouse Bunker. So he puts on one that he thinks Emori will love, and starts singing and dancing. It’s adorable, and it it leads us straight through the end of the episode.
You’re welcome.
But it isn’t just fun and music, because the group is finding some unsettling things. A children’s story that seems to be a sinister warning. Clarke realizing that an eclipse isn’t just an eclipse. Someone taking off with the Gagarin. And you know, Emori stabbing the hell out of Murphy like she’s lost her damn mind. Because she has.
Well crap.
Meanwhile, on Eligius IV….
Wow okay so none of these people should be around each other, let’s start with that. Raven is not exactly being warm and fuzzy to Jordan (who literally just found out that his parents, the only two people he has ever known, are dead) and I kind of wanted him to yell at her but he doesn’t because he is the sweetest. He does discover that Alpha is a moon, not a planet, but gets so choked up by the thought of Monty and Harper that he needs some space. Which, I am glad he got out of there, but I really wish he had someone to give him a big old hug. I bet Marper gave the best hugs.
Abby wakes Niylah, who I imagine isn’t so keen on Abby at the moment, to assist with Kane’s surgery. Girl, should’ve pulled Jordan, you know he wouldn’t have killed Kane. Just saying. Abby needs Skaikru blood, so she has Niylah wake up all of them (though Niylah mentions there aren’t many left- wonder how few it is?) but specifically says not Octavia, and Abby heads to deal with Raven. Raven isn’t even in the ballpark of forgiving Abby, which I get, but she is being extra awful which I don’t? Like yes to being mad, but no to telling Abby to OD and kill herself is where I am at. It’s an addiction, Raven. A disease, and she’s trying to make amends here. But Raven does give Kane the blood, so I guess that’s something.
But Kane is awake, thanks to Monty’s algae (which I still don’t get but whatever), and Abby and Niylah’s surgical effort. Oh right, and the Skaikru blood. Only, oopsie, Niylah woke up Octavia. Just… why Niylah? Sigh. But at the moment, Kane’s head has to be spinning, because well, not only has more than a century passed, but they’re in a new damn solar system.
Get ready because that is about to be a very false statement, friend.
But oh noes, Octavia is here and she is mad. I really hoped that after the business in the gorge she’d be a bit more… reserved? Contrite? Less Blodreina-y? Whatever the case, she isn’t. She’s pissed and she feels like Kane thinks he’s better than her. I think Kane disagrees with her decisions, yes, but I also don’t think he feels superior. He knows he’s made mistakes. But he is not letting Octavia out of hers, which I think is fair. O isn’t really up for anything but vitriolic fighting, so they yell until blood spurts from Kane’s vampire bite wound. Abby races to save him, but Niylah thinks he is a lost cause. O looks like she could not possibly give any fewer fucks.
Abby refuses to admit defeat. So they race to cryo, where they are somehow able to save him until Ian is done filming The Passage there is more algae and maybe some better tech or whatever I guess? Idk, but Jordan tells Abby that it worked, that he is nice and frozen and alive. So… there’s some hope I guess? See you a bunch of episodes from now, Kane!
Random Thoughts:
- Why the actual fuck did everyone keep thanking Monty and omitting Harper? My girl sacrificed her damn life for these people. Just as much as Monty did. And I know she died before Monty found it, but do you think she wasn’t a huge motivator in this? I swear, they better get it together.
- What is the deal with Shaw’s Motorcyle-themed stateroom? There is some significance, right? Or was it just to connect us to him so we’d remember how he used to drive too fast on his way from Detroit to Saginaw, back when those were still things? And then, you know, be sadder when he died?
- Primes! They must mean something too!
Are they the people who are immune to the effects of the eclipse? But also, if they are, then why? Obviously it isn’t nightblood since they all have nightblood? I also saw this little nod to the Primes, which sounds interesting! - Why didn’t they wake up Indra? She wasn’t loyal to O at all at the end and I thought she and Bellamy had become besties. And not sorry, she could out-warrior Miller any damn day of the week. (The obvious reason is “Adina was filming another show”, but shhh.)
- While I am salty at Octavia and Niylah, I absolutely noticed a spark of… something. I will never give up on Octylah, but maybe they could calm down a little?
Song of the Week:
I picked out Smile by Mikky Ekko before the show even aired tbh. Because ummm listen to it. Cheery undertones, telling you to “smile, the worst is yet to come”? Couldn’t be any more perfect! Especially after the adorable frolicking in the sea, karaoke, reading children’s stories… yeah, the worst is totally yet to come.
(Also totally cheating because I used Murphy Karaoke’s version of The Waterboys’ This Is the Sea above. I am zero percent sorry.)
Episode 6×02: Red Sun Rising
I’m not going to lie to you, that trailer told us pretty much nothing, which I am fine with.
- We gonna see everyone who spent the episode hanging out in cryo? Diyoza, Indra, and Madi, among others. Obviously they’re fine but goodness, Diyoza might be pregnant for an actual millennium at this rate!
- Clearly, everyone has gone batshit. Thanks a lot, weird eclipse phenomenon.
- Uh, who’s that dude trying to kill O? I have watched it like 7 times and I have no idea. Is he new? Am I losing my mind? Is he the guy who stole the Gagarin?
- Apparently we will find out who stole the aforementioned Gagarin. I mean, talk about rude. No wonder Lunar Adventure Team doesn’t like these people, goodness.
- This is probably not going to be a factor until 6×03 (as it’s titled “The Children of Gabriel”), but the Writer’s Room post I linked to above mentions someone named Gabriel being missing from the Prime photos. Was Gabriel banished or something? Is Gabriel the dude who created/lead the NuReapers™? I could see that being a thing. Though whoever he is, guess he’s dead by now ?
That’s a good point- they don’t really mourn Earth much, do they? I mean, they don’t have time I guess, and they have a new world to meet, so I get it… but still, there should be some reaction to that, maybe? I guess they had an hour t process it. Thanks Bell. 🙂
Seriously though, this was a pretty amazing first episode. I’m cautiously optimistic for the new season. 🙂
Thank goodness Clarke put Murph in his place too- the ganging up on Clarke was pissing me off somewhat.
And thank you, thank you re: Echo lolol.
Yeah I mean, I guess it makes sense why Skaikru doesn’t care too much, it isn’t really their home, but like- you’d think the Grounders especially would be freaking out! Though maybe the fact that they were in the bunker or space for so long kind of meant they already HAD mourned it a bit? Who knows.
PSHH “cautiously optimistic” be COMPLETELY OPTIMISTIC because this is THE 100.
I agree- it pissed me off too because okay, girl makes ONE mistake and bam, she’s no good. And you KNOW the reason it was so easy for them to jump all over her is BECAUSE she was alone for 6 years, which makes it even shittier of them. Like okay cool, she sacrificed herself for you assholes to go to space, but yeah, let’s pretend that never happened.
YES I love Echo, but she needs to go away from Bellamy still. I hate though that them breaking up is so unlikely though- have there been ANY actual breakups on this show!? Or does everyone’s partner just die? Like I honestly just really want to see a nasty breakup, ala Emori and Murphy (except for more than half an episode!)
Great write-up! I enjoyed the premiere for the rollercoaster ride it was. Even when she was alive, everyone forgot about Harper! I’ve said this to a few people but I think Shaw’s attitude towards Clarke is driven more by how Raven feels about her than by how he feels about her. It hurt him to see Raven so upset and since Raven wasn’t there, he took the chance to let one of the sources of her upset have it. I was upset that he died not only because he was great for Raven but also because he had great potential as a character. I was really interested in his backstory in relationship to Eligius. Oh well, I still have Miller and Jackson to root for!
The guy beating up on Octavia was part of Wonkru. Abby had Niylah wake up members of Skaikru to give blood for Kane. That included people who were also in Wonkru. I don’t think the hijackers would know anything about Octavia and the bunker. We’re definitely going to see Diyoza because Raven needs her to fight the hijackers. On Gabriel and the Primes, I’m thinking Gabriel didn’t agree with the rest of them about how to build the new world so he ran off and started Grounders 2.0 (NuReapers). I think they are the ones who stole the transport ship, not the Sanctum folks.
Aww thank you so much!! And YES- you are so right, one of my biggest gripes with Season 5 was how little Harper factored in. She was WAY more than “just” Monty’s girlfriend for goodness sake!
I definitely think that makes sense about Shaw! Because of course he was more worried about what McCreary was going to do to Raven than he was about himself. And I guess since he *doesn’t* really know any of them but Raven, it made it pretty easy for him to unleash on Clarke. I was sad that he died because he was a decent guy (and I absolutely agree about his potential backstory!) but I didn’t love how fast he and Raven got together- it kind of seemed to go against her character, for me? But still, it WAS nice to see her happy! I hope she gets that again. I wonder if he would have survived if he hadn’t gotten a lead in another show?
AH gotcha! I had never seen this guy before, so I couldn’t work out where he came from but that makes sense! You’re right, when I watched it again I caught the part where he said something about “the queen” so YEP you must be right! I did see Ivana’s name on the cast list so I am VERY excited! I miss Diyoza! ANd I am kind of thrilled to see her working WITH the gang instead of against them for a change!
YEP that is my thought on Gabriel too! Ooooh you may very well be right about that- especially since Clarke and company seem to meet Russell and the Sanctum people on the ground, at least that is what it looks like from the trailer- and I assume they couldn’t have made it back up to Eligius sans Gagarin! Thank you for sharing all your awesome insight!! 😀
I was also surprised to see the group who was suddenly awake–guess we had to skip a little bit for story’s sake and I’m okay with that. I’ll confess that I had forgotten some stuff over the summer (like, honestly didn’t remember Shaw and Raven for a long time—oops! Guess I should have reread your recaps). Still, I was pretty darn satisfied with this start to the new season, and I can’t wait to see the crazy that unfolds. Oh, and I knew as soon as I saw Clarke reading that book that it was going to say something important about what was going on (and the crazy handcuffs were definitely a clue too). Guess I don’t have to wait long to see the next installment now. 🙂
HA that is because SHaw and Raven had the chemistry of cousins ?? I know a LOT of people loved them, and I liked them as individual characters, but I just never enjoyed them as a couple. Sad Shaw’s gone though- but onto a new big series that Oprah produces or something which… good for him! (Also, reading my recaps is always a good life choice 😀 )
I mean, I knew from the trailer what the deal was, but still. I love that it all happened IN the first episode because I have NO IDEA what to expect from the rest of the season, which is exactly how I like it! Now, we must wait a few hours til Red Sun Rising, eeeeep!
Hey, I FINALLY watched this epi. Yay!
OK, who is Gabriel, who is apparently continually missing from the Primes portrait gallery? I do not remember this detail at all. :/
Also, Emori’s end-of-episode ragefest is one of the most gorgeously primal things I have ever seen. Huge props to the actress, who nailed it. Holy crap, her fighting!
And YES why is it all Monty, no Harper? Some serious bullshit there.
Also, TBH, I had a little problem with Niylah being the errand girl, yet again. I feel like she’s always “that useful girl who will fetch and carry”- in every episode we’ve seen her in, she’s basically a function, not a character with agency. Honestly, I even feel like O would use her rather than see her as a human…..although O doesn’t appear to see anyone as human. That girl is still so damaged.
And bummed they didn’t wake Diyoza right away. She’s Eligius, which would be helpful, and also 100% capable and not crazy. She should’ve been helping Abby help Kane. I mean, can you imagine the tension? But also, no way would Kane end up in quasi-coma again if Diyoza was there.
My understanding of the algae’s purpose was that it was being used like anesthesia to put Kane under (and slow his heart) so they could operate. The blood donations were probably for infusion during the surgery, as I’m sure he would’ve still bled a lot.
YAY I am so glad you are on this season now! AH Gabriel becomes a big old thing. BIG. And also old. So get ready! It means something that he isn’t there, and I think you’ll see some of it in the beginning of the next episode!
ALSO just wait for Emori! Luisa is just… beyond phenomenal this season, and they definitely are taking full advantage- Emori won’t be on the sidelines like that time they did Harper/Chelsey dirty (still salty, I won’t lie!)
You’re right about Niylah. I don’t really get what is going on with her this season, unless they just don’t know what to do with her? Because she really has just been kind of in the background, doing random meaningless junk.
I would have paid actual money to watch Diyoza and Abby try to save Kane together omgggg. It would be PERFECT! But Diyoza has an equally fabulous function this season, and I promise, she does NOT disappoint. She’s the best!
The blood donations I understood, but why did they need Octavia’s? I don’t think ONE person makes or breaks a transfusion! The algae thing never really comes back into play oddly enough, so I suppose we’ll never know. I mean- I get that it was to basically knock Kane out, like it did to O last season, but like- that isn’t helpful if he’s just going to bleed out the second they pull him out of cryo! I still call shenanigans on the whole Kane thing UGH my least favorite storyline of the season by FAR.