This is The 100 I know and love! I cried within the first three minutes of the episode, which is so on brand for both me and the show.
Just a reminder, spoilers galore!! Like ALL the spoilers- proceed with caution!
We Are Family
The episode opens with the scene that made me sob: Hope learning to live without her mom and O, Hope meeting Dev, Hope and Dev becoming a family in their own right, Dev straight up sacrificing his life for Hope. I have included the full clip below, because I don’t have enough words to describe how lovely it was. Here we are, with two characters we barely know, and somehow are able to fall in love with in just a few short minutes.
If it didn’t make you tear up, then Idk what that says about you and your empty soul, but this song is called “Hymn” by Joel Porter. It was perfection.
The best part is, it gives us some genuine insight on who Hope is now, what she’s gone through, and how these things have shaped her into the person she has become. And in essence, it explains her actions through the rest of the episode. I don’t really know who the five years will be hardest for. Hope’s entire life has been lived with a population of fewer than five other human beings. That is mind boggling. She’s also spent ten years waiting for a chance to escape, so she knows how hard that is. But Gabriel and Echo aren’t used to such isolation and desperation. Even when Echo was on the Ring and Gabriel was in the woods, they had a core group of people with them. Here, they are with virtual strangers, who I suppose aren’t strangers by the end.
They come up with a plan to “pretend” to be a cohesive unit to attract Orlando and “trick” him into helping them. The truth is, they are becoming a family unit, and they won’t be able to trick Orlando (but it won’t matter, because he will come into the fold naturally).
See, bickering like loved ones already!
Hope refuses to miss another opportunity to get her family back. Echo won’t lose Bellamy. Gabriel… well I guess he just wants to know what’s going on and probably to not be stuck on Skyring forever. Problem is, where Dev was willing to help, Orlando is… less so. He eventually begins to come around a little, but it’s a slow start.
Ah, a Level 12, you say? Much like our friend, the late Bill “I ♥ Cults” Cadogan? 🤔
Orlando is super devoted to whatever is happening in Bardo, and also he’s a little off his rocker, so it takes him a hot second to warm up. But he does. He offers to train them on the condition that they try to keep his people alive. And so they train. They learn. Time passes, and we don’t see this time, but they’ve become stronger, more cohesive, and they really may be able to do this.
Adorable, they’re all going to live happily ever after right? Right!?!
And in the time it takes for a few hours to pass on Sanctum, five years have come and gone on Skyring. Orlando’s clock is at zero, and the Disciples have come to retrieve him. He allows himself to be “captured”, but things take a turn. After promising she’d not kill his friends, Echo does just that, and decides that Orlando is going to have to stay behind too.
This betrayal will come at a cost to Echo, make no mistake. She loved him, that was clear. Perhaps not with the same fierce loyalty that she loved Spacekru, but this won’t be easy for her. Especially when she finds out that he took his own life. Really, I think, the moment she saw his affection for the Disciple that Hope killed in self-defense, she knew he would waver. And I really hoped she could be talked out of it, but alas.
I also can’t fully comprehend how Hope and Gabriel allowed it. I guess they are simply more loyal to Echo than Orlando, or wanted their people (or in Gabriel’s case, answers) back more and figured that deep down Echo was right. And I guess it’s possible that she was, but I’d have thought that Dev would have taught Hope that maybe Orlando would have been there for them. Anyway, they’re suited up and off to Bardo, for better or worse.
“This Planet Sucks Anyway”
Nathan Miller, my current hero, telling it like it is. Sanctum sucks but looks like we’ll be seeing less of it! I was super confused at how the Disciples were found in Sanctum, but I guess some Believer found them? Cool story, doesn’t matter. Anyway, no one can get the mask off the Disciple and they have the good sense to wait for Raven, who is currently going through some crap from killing all those EIV folks.
Has he done something different with his hair, or….?
While she tries to figure that out, Clarke is told that they’re waiting for her on the other side of the shield to take her to Bardo and kill her. It goes as you’d expect. They need Clarke, Clarke doesn’t trust them, they’ll meet at Gabriel’s camp. You know, that old story.
Sure, Chad, we’re totally buying what you’re selling. 🙄 Clarke Griffin was not born yesterday. (Also Niylah, never change.)
So off Clarke goes with whatever is left of Earthkru that isn’t baby-sitting Russheda I guess. Raven and Jordan are bonding over that one time he realized Sanctum was a moon and then got stabbed, and sure pal, pour on the guilt, that was totally the fault of Raven and not at ALL that you threw yourself in front of a knife to protect not-your-girlfriend-anymore. But Raven figures out that the helmet is far cooler than Jordan could ever hope to be, and so they’re about to have an adventure!
As Clarke & Friends meet up with the Douchebros of Bardo™, Clarke gets a wee bit sanctimonious on account of her friends hiding with guns. Only oopsie whoopsie, Captain Douchebro has friends with guns too. Only his are invisible and they’re all up in Earthkru’s business. Luckily Jordan picks that moment to show up and allows Also Invisible Raven time to shoot the heck out of the Douchebro army.
Raven’s moral quandary over this most recent massacre will have to wait, because they have to go get their pals back! The gang gets ready to enter the digits in the Anomaly Stone and peace out of Sanctum. Clarke tells them they all have a choice, of course, but I can’t imagine not going!
He is zero percent wrong.
Gaia’s gonna stay back to get Madi on the school bus or whatever. Just kidding, the second everyone leaves, an errant Douchebro grabs her and yeets her to another planet. The rest of Earthkru is none the wiser, as they have just landed on Planet Snowfort or some such thing and are going to need to find a way off, stat.
Nakara sure is lovely this time of year! A balmy -70°, from the looks of it.
Random Thoughts:
- The comparison between Echo on the ring and Echo on Skyring is clear. I mean, it’s very similar. Echo is now presumably just as close with Hope and Gabriel as she was with her Spacekru fam, and that isn’t an accident.
Don’t mind me, my eyes are just leaking. - Where’d Gaia end up? Bardo makes the most sense I guess. Unless they go chasing the others through space and time. 🤷♀️
- Wow Miller should have left a note for Jackson. They’re gonna need couples counseling after this. Goes to another planet without telling his boyfriend? Yikes.
- How the hell is Indra going to tell Madi her moms are gone? I do not envy Indra. It’s like telling both Madi and Lexa that she lost Clarke! Whoopsie!
- I miss Dev and I miss Orlando and now my eyes are leaking again. They keep doing that and it is rude!
Episode 7×05: Welcome to Bardo
I am so very excited to finally get to see Bardo, and hopefully Diyoza, and Nakara, and everything!!
- Bardo looks fun. Just kidding, it looks like a nightmare. Someone send help.
- I swear if anyone touches Memori or Indra there shall be hell to pay. I mean, gotta worry about Memori since they’re the fake Primes, but Indra’s got a bunch of cannibal defectors to handle so I guess it’s a draw.
- Sheidheda looks as stable as ever. And by that I mean not at all. Maybe we’ll finally see what made this dude so freaking angry. Like calm down! You wanted to rule the world, and sure this isn’t the same world, but it’s a world. Take the free cookies and Jo Juice, and be happy! This moon needs a lot of therapists.
- How will our heroes get off Nakara? Raven at least has a snowsuit, everyone else is screwed. I really cannot wait to see what (or even who) is on Nakara!
- Bellamy? I know Bob needed time off. I know, and I get it and it’s totally understandable. But I really need Bellamy back soon, yeah?
thanks for sharing
sherry @ fundinmental
I love the trio of Hope, Gabriel, and Echo! Hope is turning out to be such a great character. The montage of her time with Dev was sweet and sad all at once. Dev was like the older brother Hope never had. Dev was willing to go all-in for Hope. Orlando did grow fond of Hope, Gabriel, and Echo but he might not have been as willing to go all-in for them. Dev had 10 years with Hope and he watched her grow up so that could have resulted in a stronger bond. He was also younger, at a lower level, and possibly much less devoted than Orlando. I see the reasoning behind Echo’s decision but there was merit in sticking to the plan. Orlando knew his way around Bardo and they could have used that knowledge.
I think Gaia is on Bardo and they’ll probably find out about the Flame from her. They shut down the Anomaly stone on Sanctum so no one’s getting back there anytime soon. Miller might be an old man by the time he gets back to Jackson!
YEP yep agreed! They are such an unexpected delight! The montage with Dev, wow, I cried HARD. And yeah, I DO see why Echo did what she did, I just don’t know if I agree with it. Like- you’re right, Orlando was much less easily swayed than Dev for all the reasons you mentioned, but Orlando ALSO could have been the perfect person to negotiate stuff for them! Seeing as he cared about both his people AND those guys!
GAH I know I mean- the hope is, I am sure, that once they realize the stone is “closed” they can re-open it or something from Bardo, I guess, but yeah it;s bad. I will seriously cry if Miller is old and withered by the time he gets back to Jackson! Especially because it means everyone else will be, too. Goodness I just want these people to have a chance at a calm, peaceful life!
I agree, Hope and Dev were so sweet. They did a fabulous job wringing some serious emotion out of a relatively short sequence. This episode was sooo much better than the previous one, I thought. And how about Echo’s haircut??? I forgot they were doing that so it surprised me haha. And the five year thing- man, that would be torture. This whole episode was heartstrings.
I’m worried about Niylah though.
I agree- like we barely know Hope and never even heard of Dev and I cried all three times that I watched it so. And yep, it was definitely the best of the 4 IMO. It would be- especially since it wasn’t like any of them were besties, I think Echo had met Gabriel what, a few hours before at best? And Hope never had! Kind of crazy to think about.
Wait why are you worried about Niylah!? Something I don’t know??
So Hope DID get off Skyring once before, and to Bardo- to work a deal to teleport/track-shank O to get her mom back…or something twisty like that. But I’m guessing that working out a deal was maybe a month of her life (and I imagine, despite her having a laser focus and good knife skills, it was chaotic and confusing to live among a population and deal with someone who has Ultimate Power). I still don’t understand how O could go from being middle-aged on Skyring to fresh-n-sexy when she came back to Sanctum….but I suspect we’ll find out someday soon.
I love how the writers have positioned Hope as a person now. Much applauding to that.
On the other hand, seeing Echo reconnect with her earlier life as the Ice Nation Spy was also a treat…but I was yelling at the screen when she killed Orlando’s compatriots. WTF, Echo. He might’ve helped! Nothing in his behavior said he wouldn’t honor their agreement.
Also, side note: As someone who will be getting a pixie cut in the very near future, I was STOKED to see both Echo and Hope rocking them after their 5-year stint on Skyring.
AND secondary massive props for the writers not taking the tack of “it’s been 5 years, surely there’s a romantic relationship somewhere in among this foursome.” NOPE. Good.
So, was I the only one that thought “the last war mankind will wage” sounded familiar? I swear, we’ve heard that in The 100 at some point before. I don’t remember when, who, where, or why, but my ears perked up.
Yes yes exactly! She got to Bardo when the Disciples came for Dev, then got sent to Sanctum to send O back, and then made another loop around with Gabriel and Echo after they took Bellamy. Octavia was on Skyring for 10 years, so she was really only about 34 (which, ironically, is Marie’s actual age hah) when she came back to Sanctum. Hope was there for 20. And you WILL know more about WHY it happened that way after you watch episode 5!
I agree, they have made Hope VERY well-developed in a very short amount of time! Echo… well, it gets even more hairy. She really lost it on Skyring. And she technically killed Orlando, when you think about it. I am VERY curious about where they’re intending to take Echo from here, like as a character. Ohhh are you going for a Skyring haircut!? I cannot wait to see it! Both of those women ROCKED it and I am sure you will too! I also ABSOLUTELY agree that I am glad that the writers didn;t insist on pairing them up! (Even though I will admit that a tiny part of me was hoping Echo was over Bellamy hahah.)
Hmmmm. I am trying to remember about the “last war” thing. I know when the final Conclave went down, there was a lot of “last battle” talk. I have a very very good feeling that we are going to have a HUGE connection between delegations from Earth and whatever is happening on Bardo, that is for sure!
I am trying to get my thoughts together for Welcome to Bardo, it was another good one, I cannot wait to hear what you think of it!!
It’s just…the more I think about it, the more terrible I feel for Hope. She hasn’t been emotionally fulfilled and at peace since she was…10? I don’t know where to begin counting her age now and how many years she’s lived, but ever since then she’s been on an endless quest to reunite her family. How has she not lost hope (the emotion, or her own sense of self)? I’d be so embittered and cynical after all that work and focus and pain never quite paying off. Ugh. Poor woman. And now I’m eager to see ep 5! And a little concerned because cults.
I love this grey area Echo is occupying, even though I disagree with her choices. She’s been defined by her duty to a larger purpose her entire life. And she’s sacrificed loved one after loved one her entire life in honor of that duty. I feel like she’s now taken on Save Bellamy as her duty, and she’s kind of…reliving her Ice Nation past with this new context as the framework. Her ruthlessness from the pre-Skaikru days may be returning as her security blanket, in a way. It’s sad, because she’s losing the empathy she developed from her time on the Ring, but it’s also a realistic response (I think) to the current trauma. So I’m not sure if her focus on Bellamy is romantic love anymore, as much as it is duty because he’s her tribe. And if Raven and Emori were also there, I think she’d have made different decisions.
And thanks! Yep, Skyring Pixie in my future…though without the training (I’m not bad at axe and knife throwing, albeit rust by now, but I’m a wuss with hand-to-hand fighting). I’m making a note to watch Welcome to Bardo today!
I know, I feel for Hope too. Yet somehow, she still manages to keep herself in check more than Echo. Interesting, that. You definitely should watch 5 ASAP, it was good!
I understand Echo too. I wrote a bit about it in this week’s because her story of course continues, and it;s messy. You’re exactly right about her taking Bellamy on as her task, her duty. That’s it. It isn’t even love at this point, it’s the IDEA that she is responsible for getting him back. Omg that is so funny I read the rest of the paragraph and we thought the same exact thing! It IS realistic- it;’s the only thing she’s really known. Family’s killed? You now fight for Nia. Nia’s killed? You fight for Roan. Roan dies, you fight for Bellamy. And so on and so on, she’s never dealt with anything in ANY other way.
Oh yay I can’t wait to see pictures!! I feel you, I can’t start stabbing folks either hahahah. And YAY I am so so excited to hear your thoughts! I have like 2 more GIFs to finish and then I am hitting publish on the Welcome to Bardo post!!
Okay, somehow I totally missed that Gaia got nabbed (or forgot?). I don’t think I’ve seen her since and she’s only been mentioned like once (I thought Indra was under the impression she was in the room when the criminals took Emori hostage, but maybe I’m wrong?)
NOPE Gaia’s still missing! And I have a theory that I laid out in 7×05 which is STILL my theory and I challenge anyone to tell me differently 😂 They do mention Gaia, several more times, but everyone thinks she’s with someone else. Indra went looking for her, but thinks she’s with Clarke, who she can’t find (because Clarke isn’t there ha) either.