#it goes on my list of bellamy always had the ability to use his head im tired of this dichotomy list

[lingeringscars]

I'm having a lot of feelings about 1x11 as is to be expected. Bellamy saying what he wants to say and then saying but I'm not the guy who says stuff like that to keep up his selfish asshole image despite clearly Caring So Much the entire episode. Immediately asking raven if it helped, knowing it didn't but hoping it did anyway. How clarke says only people who can be spared should go hunt, but when clarke, finn, and myles don't come back, it's raven, Octavia, Bellamy, and monty who go search for them, all arguably essential personnel.

And then when they find myles, Bellamy does exactly what he would have done if he had been there when they were attacked. He says they need to get myles, who is extremely injured, back to camp. He immediately says he's sorry to raven when he finds out that clarke and Finn were taken, because he assumes that means they're dead or worse, but he can focus on and save this one person, myles, who is in direct danger and in need of help.

[truthbeetoldmedia]

The 100 6x02 "Red Sun Rising" Review

Phase 1: Survive. Phase 2: Populate. It seems like such an easy charge to fulfill but this is The 100 and if this show’s taught us anything, it’s that nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Red Sun Rising opens up 236 years in the past (for those trying to track the timeline: The current in show year is 2281, which means that we are in the year 2045 at the beginning of this episode; 7 years before the apocalypse, 3 years after Diyoza launches a terrorist attack in Washington D.C., 2 years after the Eligus III is sent to the Asteroid Colony and 104 years before the show’s own pilot episode), with Josephine (later revealed to be Josephine Ada Lightborne-and that sounds mighty familiar) and Gabriel Santiago taking in the eclipse.

I can’t emphasize enough how much I loved everything about the opening for this episode. While we spent the Season 6 premiere, Sanctum, waking up our main characters and getting them into their places for the rest of the Season, Red Sun Rising sets up the beginning of a mystery that will, I hope, propel the plot for the episodes to come-and it’s all done in a masterful six minutes of screen time. We discover several important facts in this time:

The Lightbornes are a family of 3: Simone (Mom), Russell (Dad) and Josephine (daughter), a makeup exactly the same as Clarke Griffin’s.

Simone is a doctor, Russell is an astronomer and Josephine is a taxonomist (a biologist that groups organisms into categories).

They’ve only found three evolutionary species on the planet when they arrive: Insecta (insects), Rodentia (rodents) and Reptilia (reptiles).

Jospehine names the planet-Sanctum

Gabriel Santiago is a geneticist (a biologist who studies genes and heredity).

The need for sex for reproduction is implied to be unnecessary as there are “embryos”.

They’ve been on Sanctum for 21 days before the first eclipse happens.

Josephine and Gabriel hear a sonic anomaly.

Russell, the first affected by the eclipse, kills his wife, his daughter and several others.

Gabriel escapes.

Josephine mentions to Gabriel “We both know you’re obsessed with me.”/ Mr. Lightborne states “The last thing I need is a broken-hearted geneticist.”

Whew! That’s a lot of information crammed into a relatively short amount of time, and I believe that it’s all relevant to a broader theory that I’m beginning to develop. I’ll get back to that soon enough, but for now, read on below for my review of Red Sun Rising.

On Planet Alpha (AKA Sanctum):

Sanctum doesn’t seem like much of a refuge for our homeless buddies as we crash back into the present day. Within hours of their arrival our group is attacked by locusts, Shaw is killed in a radiation barrier and Emori is stabbing Murphy in a fit of rage. We return to them in this episode, discussing what made Emori fly off of the handle and almost murder Murphy in the process. They quickly discover, thanks to the book found in the school room in the episode prior (written by one Josephine Ada Lightborne-interesting that), that the plants emit a toxin that causes psychosis in most inhabitants of the planet and Emori was likely the first affected because she fell directly into a pile of them early on. Miller’s immediate solution is to...somehow prevent the air from entering the building they’re in and Echo is quick to help him-handing him jackets to seal the open spaces around the door. The tactic is humorous in its absurdity because that’s not how air flow works, but Miller and Echo (and later Murphy) aren’t the science guys so I’ll give them a pass. Eventually, they come up with a plan to use the cuffs located around the compound to secure themselves, and it’s a solid one, I hope they’ll stick to it (can you tell that they don’t?).

I found it interesting that Echo chose to stay with Emori while Bellamy, Murphy and Clarke are together in the school room and Jackson and Miller are in an upper level, but I’ll explain why in just a bit. Everything about Bellamy screams “Dad!” during the time they spend getting situated, from forcing Murphy to put his cuffs on to holding on to everyone’s keys (although he does entrust his own to Clarke). Bellamy seems to have forgiven Clarke for her betrayal in Season 5, notable when everyone else around her is determined to hold on to their (deserved) anger towards her, after learning from Madi-and confirming with Clarke in the premiere of Season 6, that she did indeed call him everyday to maintain her sanity, but he does seem aware that he can’t force the others to forgive her, even as he comes to her aid.

Murphy’s attacks on Clarke have been relentless and it seems that he and Raven are the angriest at Clarke. I hate to say it, because I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but I don’t believe that their anger is unfounded. There’s been a lot of noise in fandom about the fact that Clarke is owed forgiveness (a lot of times the complaints almost read as Clarke being owed deference) because she’s saved everyone’s lives countless times, but there are issues with this idea. As we listen to Murphy begin his listing of Clarke’s crimes, we see that he is not talking about just the issues they ran into in Season 5, when Murphy is shot by one of the Eligius prisoners after Clarke provides intel to them, but reaching all the way back to every sin Clarke has committed against him and Emori, whom he loves. Murphy reaches back to Clarke’s  willingness to force Emori into being a test subject in Season 4, stopping at the last minute when an attack of conscious hits her and her role in his Season 1 hanging (Clarke led the charge when she falsely accused Murphy of murdering Wells, riling up an already unstable crowd of teen delinquents), even as Bellamy steps in to take credit for the latter (“In fairness that was me.”). Murphy even goes so far as to label Clarke’s apparent disregard for the lives of others, he uses the word “disposable”.

Unfortunately for our girl, it’s not an unfair charge. Clarke has often been lauded for her ruthlessness, her willingness to do whatever it takes to save the people she claims as her own, no matter the cost to herself or others. It becomes a central piece of her character during the Season 2 finale when she takes on Dante Wallace’s advice of “bearing it so they (her people) don’t have to, although I hesitate to say that Clarke has ever actually born the weight of the choices that she’s made alone even if she feels she has. Although Clarke usually formulates the idea for the people-saving win each Season, an idea is nothing without implementation (usually handled by Monty or Raven) and execution (usually handled by Bellamy). Usually Clarke’s ruthlessness works in her favor, people are-seemingly-grateful for her ability to make the life or death choices, but in Season 5, Clarke’s “people” have boiled down to Madi and Madi alone after a Season spent ostracized by a combination of choice and force and thus, her actions to save Madi (at any and all costs) pit her directly against her friends-even as they were working to find a solution that saved everyone. It’s a bitter pill for them all to swallow and, although Clarke isn’t the only one who has betrayed people that she cares or will eventually come to care for, the others have had the opportunity to hash out their differences with each other because they’ve spent six years trapped together in space. What else was there for them to do? Now, it’s Clarke’s turn to face the music and it seems harsh and unrelenting because they’ve all ganged up on her at once, but their charges are not unfair and the open discussion of past hurts will hopefully be a catalyst for real development of relationships Clarke has not had the time to build since Season 1.

With all of that said, I still cheered when Clarke finally got fed up with Murphy’s barrage and accepted responsibility-however harshly-for her own failings. Eliza’s delivery of the line: “Is that what you want to hear? That I’m the bad guy? Fine, I’ll be the bad guy. When I’m in charge people die, isn’t that what you said?” is phenomenal. There’s so much anger in the line, but there’s also guilt and grief and pain. In this moment, Clarke is lashing out at everyone, not just Murphy but also Bellamy. Like Murphy she’s still upset about words spoken in anger years ago, back in Season 3 for us, but over 130 years ago in canon (even though for our characters, it’s been 6 years since that moment) and it’s telling that in this moment, where Bellamy is actively supporting Clarke and Murphy is on the attack, Clarke’s anger is reserved for Murphy’s words but her pain is reserved for Bellamy. Perhaps Bellamy’s words-years old-hold more weight for Clarke because her relationship to Bellamy has always been central to her journey and as such it’s harder to shake his truths off.

The argument is interrupted by banging and yelling overhead where Jackson and Miller are chained and Bellamy immediately prepares to head up and ensure everything is OK. Clarke isn’t going to let him go off by himself and after a quick key swap, our resident power couple is charging off to save the day, differences temporarily cast aside. When they rush up the stairs and finally get Jackson to open the door, we see Miller in the throes of a hallucination.I’d previously speculated that the dead bugs in the terrarium were meant to be used as an early warning system in the event of an eclipse,and Jackson confirms that thought process before saying that Miller, in checking out the terrarium had accidentally knocked it over and now believes himself to be infested with bugs. Miller doesn’t want to die like the Grounder Octavia experimented on with the worms in Season 5 and it initially seems as though Jackson is fine and just wants to be released to check on Miller, but as soon as he’s uncuffed it becomes evident that Jackson was caught in Miller’s hallucination from the get go. He finds a knife and makes quick work of stabbing into Miller to free him from the illusory bugs, but Bellamy and Clarke manage to subdue them.

There’s a brief pause and it’s fitting that Clarke is the one who realizes they “have no idea how to survive down here.”. She’s spent 6 years alone surviving in conditions less than favorable, have her small piece of safety destroyed, find a new haven and have it begin to destroy them immediately. They’re both mystified by the idea of joint hallucinations (which is a recognized phenomenon-called Folie a deux or shared psychosis) and, although showrunner Jason Rothenberg has stated the hallucinations are far less important than we believe them to (and I do believe this as we were saturated with psychosis from the first trailer and The 100 traditionally buries the lead), I would love the opportunity to see more episodes of shared psychosis.

Ironically, although Miller and Jackson have been tranquilized and are now out of commission, Bellamy and Clarke are now the bigger danger, both of them are uncuffed and we see Bellamy beginning to unravel as they return to the school room to find Murphy missing. Bellamy-having used his tranquilizer on Jackson-goes down to gather Echo’s in order to decommission Murphy, but Echo (probably wisely) refuses to open the door, instead injecting herself with the tranquilizer when the psychosis starts to sink in for her. This leaves Murphy on the run and our first glimpse of him is huddled on the roof of one of the buildings,clutching a gun and muttering to himself and it’s easy to believe that Murphy has also been affected by the psychosis, but Josephine’s book tells us that “ So few are safe” implying that some people are immune to the effects of the eclipse and I believe Murphy is one of them. Although Murphy has run, it makes sense that he would. Bellamy and Clarke have gone up to check on Miller and Jackson and all the others can hear is screaming and banging. Having been attacked by Emori under the effects of the psychosis and realizing it’s spreading with Bellamy and Clarke completely unchained, it’s logical that Murphy would free himself and hide to prevent being a sitting duck. He even goes so far as to shoot at Bellamy (and Clarke) when he realizes that Bellamy is trying to get into the room where Emori (and Echo) have been chained up, perhaps in a bid to protect her from Bellamy who is spiraling.

When Clarke realizes how out of control Bellamy is, she takes herself off, in an attempt to find another way to subdue him and winds up hearing Abby’s voice crackling through the radio. It’s evident from the beginning that this is the psychosis as we know the radios haven’t been working and there are specific events taking place in space that would prevent Abby from reaching out to Clarke. This is our first glimpse into Clarke’s mindset in quite a while, I’d wager we haven’t seen her this emotionally vulnerable since Season 3, and she breaks my heart. We know that Clarke has been struggling with the weight of her choices since killing Finn in Season 2 and that each additional act she commits only adds to the burden she carries, letting the bomb fall on Ton D.C., abandoning her people in Season 3, guilt related to Lexa’s death, guilt related to almost using Emori as a test subject, and so much more. All of this weight seems to erupt out of her at once, releasing a perhaps long pushed down belief that Clarke herself is the root of the problem, or in the voice of HallucAbby, the toxin. It’s striking to see how far gone Clarke is and when she holds the knife to her throat, even though I know her status as the lead keeps her safe, my heart still leapt into my throat. Luckily, Murphy comes upon her before she carries out the act and it seems that, just as Bellamy getting the insight from Madi into Clarke’s mental state during the six years she was virtually alone has helped him to reevaluate his feelings for Clarke, Murphy realizing that Clarke is hurting and lost and does carry guilt for her actions is what it takes for him to begin the walk down the road to forgiveness for her. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the two of them forge a deeper bond this Season based on their shared experiences with feeling worthless and unneeded (see Season 5 Murphy).

Because Clarke is only a danger to herself Murphy is successful in convincing her (appealing to her logic) to help him save Bellamy before he hurts himself or others. That turns out to be easier said than done. Bellamy is deep in psychosis by the time they manage to begin putting their plan into action and he’s a formidable foe, especially with Murphy already weakened by gunshot and stab wounds, and he’s determined to “keep us safe” even from Murphy. He deals handily with Murphy, almost drowning him before he hears Clarke-desperately fighting the hallucination as she tries to get to Murphy and Bellamy. It’s clear immediately that Bellamy sees Clarke as a threat while mired in his hallucination, stating “Here we go again. How many times have you tried to kill me now?”, before he advances on her. It’s such a turn from Bellamy’s previous behavior with regards to Clarke that it’s shocking. Since learning of Clarke’s radio calls he’s been kind and friendly to her, openly trying to make her feel more comfortable and a part of the group. If we’re to believe that the psychosis has something to do with inner demons (“Face Your Demons” and all that), it’s a hurtful moment when you realize that means Bellamy is not nearly as OK with Clarke’s actions as he’s tried to be, but it also makes sense.

I have a working theory that the psychosis is directly triggered by conversations that you might have had prior to the onset. Miller’s psychosis manifests as being infested with bugs and he expressed guilt in the premiere for the cruel acts he performed under Octavia’s command. Jackson’s psychosis is a byproduct of Miller’s which also fits with the conversation they’d had the previous day where Miller says that “I did things, you didn’t stop things.” This time Jackson is going to stop what’s happening. The trigger for Emori’s psychosis has thus far eluded me (if you can think of it let me know in the comments below!), but Echo’s is clearly brought on by Emori taunting her by calling her a “Good little spy,” who is “always following her master’s orders” as she is besieged by voices (that I assume to be Nia and perhaps Roan), telling her to “bring me her head” and “slit her throat”. The triggers for Bellamy and Clarke are some of the most interesting for me. I believe that Bellamy was triggered by Murphy’s use of the word “disposable” as it relates to how Clarke treats people. We hear Murphy recite Clarke’s crimes going back into Season 1 and it appears that that might have forced Bellamy’s mind to darker times.

Even though Bellamy and Clarke have had conversations about her seemingly dismissive treatment of him and logically Bellamy has even acknowledged that at times she’s had “no choice” that doesn’t mean that he’s actually fully thought out or processed the harm her actions have done him. In each Season there’s an instance we can pinpoint where Clarke has done something that would indicate that she might see Bellamy as disposable:

In Season 1, she closes the Dropship door on both him and Finn (Bellamy later acknowledges that she had no choice, but it might be something that’s still paining him).

In Season 2, she sends Bellamy into Mt. Weather after rejecting his “Inside Man” plan on the premise that he would get himself killed saying “It’s worth the risk”.

In Season 3, she apparently sides with the Grounders after they’ve arranged an attack that has left almost all of Farm Station dead and after Bellamy has just risked his life attempting to save her from Roan.

In Season 4, she holds a gun on him and even fires a warning shot after he decides he’s going to open the door for Octavia, consequences be damned.

In Season 5, she literally leaves him behind knowing that death is an option because Octavia has gone power mad.

In every Season, Clarke has shown Bellamy’s subconscious that she views him as disposable even if we as the audience understand that these actions cost Clarke a great deal. Because they’ve never actually had the time to really sit down and flesh out the actions (unlike the Space Squad with their six years in space) there’s a lot left unsaid between them. Bellamy is determined to separate himself from Clarke, even mentioning when the psychosis first began to sink it’s hooks into him that he “didn’t need her anymore”, which I believe is also a callback to Bellamy himself believing that he does need Clarke, which is strongly evident in 2 instance in Season 4, when Jaha tells Bellamy that he keeps Clarke centered to which Bellamy responds “You’ve got it backwards.” and when Clarke advises Bellamy he needs to be both head and heart and Bellamy says “I’ve got you for that.”. Bellamy has managed over the course of the past 6 years to lead with both his head and his heart, but it’s a burden to carry all of the leadership on his own and I believe that perhaps Bellamy saying “I don’t need you anymore.” is an expression of Bellamy’s own upset that he does still need her.

I believe Clarke’s psychosis was triggered by herself, which is perhaps why she’s only a danger by herself. In that speech I mentioned above where she states: “Fine, I’ll be the bad guy. When I’m in charge people die, isn’t that what you said?”, which aligns with her psychosis manifesting as a voice (her mother’s at that) telling her that she is the toxin, because Clarke had already accepted that herself earlier in the episode. It also makes sense that it’s Abby’s voice-not just because Abby as her mother is someone who we would expect to love Clarke no matter what, but also because the moment Clarke really delved into “Survival at all costs.” was in Season 2. Season 2 had two large scale instances of Clarke deciding that the few are worth the many, the first being when she, influenced by Lexa decides that it’s better to save themselves and allow the majority of the Grounder leadership to perish in the bombing of Ton D.C. (a moment which causes Abby to view her daughter in a horrified light-even if only momentarily) and when she suggest that the only way to save her people is to irradiate the others. It’s after this moment that Abby tells Clarke that “Maybe there aren’t any good guys” a moment reference directly by HallucAbby over the radio. If we are making Clarke delve deep into her treatment of people as “disposable”, Season 2 is a really good place for that. I hope that the exploration of the feelings everyone has for each other and-importantly-giving them all the opportunity to express them and work through them together continues. It’s been an aspect of the show that’s been vastly underdone until now.  (Heather over at TVSource also has some clever ideas about Clarke’s hallucinations-find them here: https://bit.ly/2HiCUk3)

Aboard Eligius III:

Our first moments with Eligius are spent watching Octavia and Niylah spar. Initially it appears they are just training, trying to pass the time now that they’re both awake, it quickly becomes something ugly when Octavia misses Niylah and rams her fist into the interior of the ship-although its obviously painful she keeps hammering into the object until her fist is raw and bloodied. It’s not even close to our first clue that Octavia is severely damaged, nor is it our first clue as to how Octavia deals with her damage, but we’ll return to this because that transport ship that was stolen in the premiere? Well it’s docking, and the four masked intruders immediately gas their welcoming party (Jordan, Octavia, Niylah and Abby), checking Octavia’s hand and realizing that these individuals are not Nightbloods. As descendants of the original Eligius mission to Alpha (also all Nightbloods-as we see when Russell attacks his family),they are familiar with what to expect of the Eligius crew and-although they don’t encounter them-they still proceed with an almost rehearsed ease to take the ship and head directly to the bridge.

They manage to corral almost all those who are awake on the ship into the cafeteria, perhaps not the best place for Octavia to be at the moment considering almost all of her former bunkermates hate her, and Abby realizes they have an advantage-Raven is somewhere out there and, because Raven is clever, she immediately wakes Charmaine Diyoza. Poor Diyoza is still pregnant (“She kicked!”) and honestly-I’m going to have an entire bottle of wine for her this coming Mother’s Day because, wow. The banter between Raven and Diyoza is a gift! Diyoza’s first line of the Season being “How bad is it?” is something that I’ll be chuckling about for the rest of the year. Ivana Millicevic is uniquely talented and she brings an instant excitement to every scene she’s in, no matter her scene partner. Raven questions her decision to wake the former leader of a terrorist group, but she’s also smart enough to know that she doesn’t just need her brains-she also needs a military strategist and Diyoza puts her smarts to work immediately, taking care of two of the intruders (who had thus far been using non lethal force) with a simple but effective ploy-luring them into the cryo bay and stealing one of their weapons. The initial plan works but their foe aren’t fools and realize quickly that something isn’t quite right.

Meanwhile, The Breakfast Club (this is what I’ve chosen to call our cafeteria group) is calmly having lunch (the fact that Monty kept the algae on tap is another clever invention of his and a quirky glimpse into Jordan’s childhood). Jordan is willing to provide Octavia with food but Abby says that “Serving Octavia is how we got into this mess.” which is an interesting way of ignoring her own culpability, as one of the most drastic things that happened under the bunker was the forced cannibalism-something Abby not only suggested to Octavia but also encouraged-because Kane had to survive, at all costs. Octavia is tired of waiting around and decides to kick her way out of the cafeteria-which clearly isn’t very effective and when Jordan points out why, she’s quick to snarl at him-insulting his father.

Thus far, Jordan has been played as a soft-spoken, gentle man, very reminiscent of his father, but the change in him when Octavia insulted his parentage was swift and I was immediately reminded that, while his father loved peace, Harper was his mother and I’m sure she taught her son some tricks. The way he slowly unfolds his body from the bench as he stands up is threatening and it’s exactly what Octavia wants. When Jordan chooses not to engage, she eggs on one of her former followers and he lashes out harshly, slamming Octavia into the stair rail. The others join in and Octavia is brutalized but she seems to be enjoying it. We find out soon enough why-Octavia hoped they’d kill her. It’s what she wanted (in that moment). Unable to die as a hero in Season 5, it appears that Octavia is still determined to die, but unable to do it herself. It’s clear that we’re supposed to begin to feel sympathy for Octavia in this moment. I’m unable to. Octavia has spent years on a downward spiral and was honestly at her best as a character when she was an unrepentant villain. There’s nothing appealing to me about a character who has committed atrocities for personal gain (of her own accord-simply to maintain power) only to lapse into a huge well of self pity when her plan doesn’t work out. Octavia needs to own what she did and begin to make apologies and work to be better or go away. Even as she craves the pain she’s decided is her punishment, she’s unable to inflict it on herself, forcing others to sink to her level in a depraved game of “You’re just as bad as I am.” It’s unsettling and sickening and not a plot line I am actively looking forward to.

Back on the bridge, Raven and Diyoza have managed to temporarily hold the bridge takers at bay by pretending that Raven is one of them. It’s a clear fakeout and they don’t buy it at all as Raven is smaller than the person who’d originally been in the suit. Just as things are getting tense, Madi makes a hell of an entrance, dropping from the ventilation system and shooting one of their would-be hostage takers. There’s an odd exchange here as Faye lays dying. She implores the older woman (who is perhaps her mother) to “take care of” the bodies. The response? “I know. I’ll take care of it.” It’s an interesting statement and one I believe ties into a theory I’m going to share with you all at the end of all this-so stay tuned for this. In the wake of Faye’s passing and severely outnumbered, the lone Sanctum resident surrenders and is forced to take a search party out to find the missing members of the Eligius group. Jordan’s face when they land is perfect-he’s a space baby, just like our original group in the pilot episode and the awe and wonder he expresses at his first sight of land is beautiful and heart wrenching. Our original group didn’t maintain that sweet innocence for long-let’s hope that Jordan gets the opportunity to. Octavia has snuck aboard the transport ship-once again imposing her presence on a group who had no desire for her, with Raven rounding out the group. Initially our Sanctum resident doesn’t want to go with the group-she’s unwilling to leave her family, claiming it’s “not safe for them”. Interesting comment considering they’re all dead now. What other threats can harm them now?

Another offhand comment is made as they walk towards the castle. “The trees have probably consumed your friends.” and I’m sorry but what? We know the plants emit toxins but they’re also eating people? I don’t have time for that. It’s not long before they come across Shaw’s grave and Raven’s reaction is so depressingly minimal. Although she initially tries to run to him, her single tear at seeing his grave is...it’s unfair. Raven has been so beaten down that she is apparently unable to do more than cry silently at the loss of one more person who she’d permitted herself to love and be loved by. She deserves a measure of real happiness.What does she have to do to find it?

Reunited and It Doesn’t Feel That Great...

It doesn’t take them long to reach the castle and the initial panic at finding Bellamy, Clarke and Murphy splayed out in the red dirt (Bellamy and Clarke with legs draped over each others almost forming a heart) is taken care of quickly. It takes a simple caress to wake both Bellamy and Clarke, and Bellamy’s face when he feels the pain in his leg from Clarke stabbing him and then realizes why she’d felt the need to do so-call 911 because my heart is breaking. Now we know that, after the psychosis is ended, you are still aware of what you’ve done. That means those affected will need to talk to each other and hopefully make amends for what they’ve done. Bellamy’s guilt quickly falls to the wayside however, as he notices Octavia there and his “What’s she doing here?” is a reminder to all and sundry that he has in no way forgiven her for her actions last Season and doesn’t seem close to doing so either. Murphy isn’t waking up, and his veins have gone black, perhaps this is the price you pay for being able to withstand the toxins? But before we can deal with that, Bellamy also catches sight of the mysterious newcomer, but before his query about her identity can be answered-a rush of children, climb the stairs towards the castle. They are initially disquieted by the new visitors to their world, but an older girl, Rose, asks a question that sends Clarke and the others reeling: “Are you here to take us home?” It looks like they’ve been waiting on Sanctum for the Earth to be habitable again-they’re going to be massively disappointed when they realize that’s a crapshot.

And now...a Theory:

You’ve already read my theory on what triggers the hallucinatory subject matter of the psychosis (and because it’s not meant to be a huge part of the Season, I won’t add on to it here), but I hinted at another theory-sparked in the first six minutes of the episode, and I am hoping that I’m right, because if I am, The 100 will have really pulled a game changer. Keep reading for what is potentially my favorite theory ever:

When Josephine first tries to get Gabriel to have sex with her, he brushes her off, stating that they have the embryos, clearly stating they don’t need to have sex for population efforts. As a geneticist it’s likely a part of his job to maintain and develop these embryos. We also have Josephine state that “he’s a bit obsessed with her” and Russell state that “he doesn’t need a broken hearted geneticist.” In that same scene Russell also chides Josephine for twirling her hair-the camera even zooms in on her doing it. Shortly thereafter, Russell succumbs to the effects of the toxin and-in a fit of possessiveness, begins murdering the other residents of Sanctum. Gabriel is one of the only ones we see get away. My theory is that, after the effects of the toxin have worn off and Russell comes back to himself-aware of what he’s done, he finds Gabriel and the two of them work together to recreate their massacred colony. I believe that-using genetic material taken from their dead colony members, they introduce it to the embryos, thus creating clones of a sort. I think that Gabriel does indeed develop an obsession for Josephine, if he didn’t have one already, and in his grief is determined to recreate her, down to the quirk of her hair twirling, and that he will keep trying until he succeeds.

I think this is supported by the title of the next episode “The Children of Gabriel” (points to Yana of TVFanatic for catching some hints about this-read more about that here: https://bit.ly/2Ye0gOw) and the label of “Primes” for the founding families of Sanctum. Human DNA is made up of two “primes”, we know DNA to be a double helix, but when unraveled they are two clearly distinct strands, both have distinct sides, one referred to as 3’ prime and the other referred to as 5’ prime. The fact that there is a bowl in front of a picture of the Lightbornes-in which blood has been dropped is another possible clue. Perhaps this blood belongs to the clones of the Lightborne and they perform the ritual of the blood drops as a way to pay homage to their successors. This would also explain how Josephine Ada Lightborne wrote the book Bellamy finds in the school room “Red Sun Rising” in after she’s already died, because she’s been cloned. I also believe this is why Faye’s last words are about recovering the bodies and why our Sanctum Guide is unwilling to leave her family initially-saying it’s not safe. They want to get the bodies back to the lab where the embryos are kept before the genetic material is unusable because they too are clones.

I hope that this is the direction they’re going in, because if it is? We’re talking about a fun and exciting twist that would really help me believe that this new Season actually is a new “book” for us to enjoy. This might have been my longest review ever, which says a lot about how exciting this episode was for me personally.

Random Observations:

Bellamy has a choking kink: He’s now choked the Mt. Weather guard, Echo, Murphy, Clarke, an Eligius crew member and more. It’s getting out of hand sir.

Echo felt forced this episode. It seemed like-because they’d removed her from the main equation early, they felt they needed to have her verbalize her concern for Bellamy by yelling. It came off...oddly.

I’m all the way here for a Murphy/Clarke friendship and I hope that’s what’s going to develop after their shared moments in this episode.

I need all the Jordan Jasper Green. He’s a delight.

Hopefully Diyoza is delivered of that baby sooner rather than later. It’s got to be exhausting being pregnant for over a century.

It’s interesting that Octavia was able to survive walking into the radiation field (and yes, I’m aware she was pulled back), but Zeke wasn’t. Qwhite interesting.

Madi isn’t too pleased about being stuck aboard the Eligius ship, I’m guessing she’s going to wind off sneaking away soon.

Just because Josephine only discovered 3 Orders of life in their first 21 days, doesn’t mean there aren’t more.

Love it or hate it? I’d love to know more-tell me all about it in the comments below.

The 100 airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

April’s episode rating: 🐝🐝🐝🐝.5

[chasholidays]

Bellarke super villain/super hero au where Bellamy is the villain and Clarke is the hero. I'm thinking Captain Cold/Flash vibes from the Flash show, but idk if you've watched that and am not super torn if you go a different direction.

definitely ended up going a different direction

Bioshock ranks about second or third on the list of Boston-area superheroes Bellamy respects, which is why, when she lands next to him one night while he’s on a stakeout in Dorchester, he doesn’t immediately pick a fight.

“Isn’t your company in Brighton?” he asks instead. “Please tell me you didn��t come all the way out here to bust me. Are you on the BPD payroll now?”

She doesn’t even crack a smile. “No. I came all the way out here to ask for your help.”

That’s a surprise, and from the pointed way Bioshock is looking forward, watching the intersection and not him, she feels about as weird about it as he does.

Bellamy and Bioshock are, nominally, not really on the same side. Bioshock is a corporate super, on the payroll of, last he heard, Polaris, a fairly new tech company with a lot of expensive equipment just waiting to be stolen. This makes Bioshock, at least in common parlance, a hero, someone who has registered her real name and powers with an agency, and who offers her services to anyone who wants to pay her to protect their goods from, well–

From people like him.

“You know we’re not on the same side, right?” he asks. “Isn’t this what Ark is supposed to do for you? Don’t you guys have a union?”

“Umbra,” she says, and it’s not as if they know each other, not as if they’re friends, but something in her tone makes him sit up and take notice. “You think I’d be here if I thought I had a better choice?”

It’s hard to be offended, when he knows she’s right. He can think of a few reasons he might go to a corporate for help, and if he did, he’d know what he was asking. Bioshock must too.

“Okay,” he says. “So, you want my help. What’s up?”

“You know I’m working for Polaris now, right?”

“That was what I heard, yeah.”

“My roommate is too. Not as a super, just as a regular employee. And I’m worried about her.”

“Worried about her how?”

“She hasn’t been acting like herself. She’s been spending a lot of time at work, which–she’s always been a workaholic. But not like this. And everything Ark told me about the job has been true, so–if there’s something going on, I think Ark knows about it.”

He lets out an actual cackle. “Holy shit, are you going rogue?”

But she’s serious. “Not yet. Not until I have more information.”

“So where do I come in?”

“You can get information I can’t. You’re unaligned, and I know you break into corporations and get stuff to sell. If you can steal tech, you can steal information.”

“And you can’t?”

“I’m a guard. I can give you information, but if they catch me inside, I’m fucked.”

That’s true too. Corporates going rogue is a big deal; Ark knows everything about her, and if they knew she turned against them, they’d blast her real identity everywhere. She has protection Bellamy doesn’t have, but only as long as she does as she’s told.

“So you want me to get fucked instead.”

“Better you than me,” she teases, but it actually lands as a joke. “It’s not like your powers aren’t more suited to espionage than mine.”

“True.” He looks at her, the slick profile that gives almost nothing away. Like most corporates, her costume is top of the line, military grade protection. Even through all the layers of disguise, he thinks she looks tired. “Why should I trust you?”

She must have been expecting the question, because there’s no hesitation. She leans forward, pulling off her cowl and exposing her face. She’s pretty, but unfamiliar, not that that’s surprising. This city is full of people he doesn’t know. He could have walked by her a hundred times and he probably still wouldn’t know her. “My name is Clarke Griffin,” she says. “I’ll give you my address too, if you want.”

It takes him a moment to recover from the shock. “Why do you trust me?”

“I did my research. Will you do it?”

It could still be a trap, but, honestly, it feels like a lot of work to trap him. Especially from Ark, whose companies Bellamy rarely hassles. Even Tempest probably doesn’t care enough to run a long con on him. They have to have better things to do with their time.

“I want some more proof of identity. Not your address, something that links you to the name.”

“I’m on Facebook and I work at the MFA. I’m doing tours tomorrow from noon to five.”

“Okay. If I’m in, I’ll meet you back here tomorrow. Same bat time, same bat channel.”

She nods, pulls her cowl back on. “Thank you.”

“I haven’t agreed yet.”

“I know. But thank you anyway.”

And then she’s gone.

He goes to the MFA the next day and walks past Bioshock in the galleries. She’s at the head of a tour, with a name tag reading Clarke on her chest.

So that’s that. They’re doing this.

*

“So, what am I looking for, exactly?”

Bellamy’s superpower is pretty awesome, if he does say so himself. Like most powers, it started manifesting when he was in high school, and he found he could just blend into and through things. He can’t just hide in shadows, he can melt into walls.

Like Bioshock said, he’s really good at espionage.

Her voice crackles back through the communicator. “My roommate’s name is Raven Reyes.”

“Is she here?” he asks.

“Right now? No, she should be at home.”

“Where does she think you are?”

“She knows what I do.”

“Wow.”

“Does no one know about you?”

“No one I’m not related to.”

“Is that hard?”

“If I wanted people to know who I was, I’d be a corporate. If your roommate isn’t here, why do I care about her name?”

“Because I think whatever she’s working on is doing something bad to her. She started off telling me all about it, and now every time I ask she says she’ll tell me when it’s ready.”

“Ominous.”

“Yeah. I might just be paranoid, but–”

“Better safe than sorry.”

“Yeah. Her project is called ALIE, A-L-I-E.”

“How’s she acting different? Just not talking about it?”

“Not just that. She’s–she was in an accident a few years ago. Her leg. She’s been living with chronic pain, and now she’s just–not. Which would be fine if I thought she was–it feels like she was replaced by an alien that doesn’t understand what pain is.”

“So, creepy as fuck?”

“Pretty much.” She sighs. “I know I sound like an asshole.”

“You don’t. You sound worried.”

“Worried that my friend isn’t in constant pain.”

Bellamy melts through a wall into a room with a bunch of files, which is a good start. He’s not much of a hacker, but he’s found most places keep at least some hard copies. “She would have told you if she was getting treatment, right?”

“Yeah. All she says is that it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Yeah,” he says, pulling open the A drawer and scanning for ALIE. “That’s creepy as fuck.”

Bioshock snorts. “Thanks for the validation.”

“Any time.” He pauses, but they’re sort of friends now. After a fashion. “What are you going to do? If you’re right about all this. Polaris is dirty, Ark is in on it. What’s the plan?”

“Figure out how to get Raven out, and then–she’s good with computers. I’m pretty sure she could make us new identities.”

“So you’d leave?”

There’s a pause. “My mom’s a corporate too. I registered with Ark before I really knew what it meant. I’m not saying I regret it, but–I didn’t really think about what it would mean.”

The ALIE file is thick, and if Bellamy takes it someone might find out. “I’ve got something for you, but it’s on paper. You think we can make copies and bring it back tonight?”

“I’m imagining you going into a Kinkos in costume. It’s cute.”

“I was just going to go to the library, they tend to have less security. How long are you on patrol here? Can I leave and come back?”

“Yeah, I can stick around.”

The room has a window, which means he can just slide through the wall and out of the building. “Doesn’t this suck with your day job?” he asks. “Late nights?”

“Can you afford to not have a day job?”

“I work from home,” he lies. “And I don’t have a night job, remember? I just do what I want.”

“Brag about it. I see you,” she adds.

“Huh, didn’t know you were on this side of the building.” He finds her, floating in the sky. “Are you strong enough to carry me?”

“Nope.”

“Then I’ll see you soon.”

He takes his bike over to the library and makes copies the old-fashioned way, with the ancient copy machine that doesn’t keep any records. It’s too late by the time he’s getting back to Polaris, but Bioshock is still there, sitting on the roof, waiting. He gives her the copy and returns the file, and suddenly realizes that this might be it.

He might have done all she needs him to do.

“Thank you,” she says.

“Sure.” He looks her up and down. “Can I trust you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to see how this goes,” he admits. “But I don’t know if I want to give you my number.”

That makes her laugh. “You know where to find me.”

“Just until you break your roommate out of this and drop off the map.”

“I’ll leave you a note.”

“You might need help,” he says.

“And you want to help me?”

Before this, Bellamy knew a few things about Bioshock. She’s only ever worked with Ark, not Tempest or any of the right-wing, conservative super agencies. When she talks about super affairs, she’s fair and thoughtful. She’s put some villains behind bars, but they’ve been ones he considers bad, the ones who hurt people, not just independent thieves like him.

And she came to him, and she trusted him. That means something too.

“I do, yeah.”

“Then it kind of sounds like you trust me,” she says, and he has to smile.

“I guess so. So, uh, I’m Bellamy. If you roommate’s home, do you want to come back to my place to look at that?”

She smiles. “That would be great, yeah.”

*

It’s not exactly an easy project, but it turns out the two of them are a good team. Clarke brings in a rogue corporate she knows named Monty, who fills the very important role of actually knowing something about technology, and between Clarke’s access to Polaris, Bellamy’s access to everything, and Monty’s hacking abilities, they manage to figure out what Polaris was trying to do (some kind of creepy mind control), how to get Raven out of it (incomprehensible technology), and how to get them all to somewhere new (Bellamy’s friend Miller’s place in Seattle) with new identities.

Which is actually kind of awkward.

“How did you get involved in this again?” Raven asks him. She’s still a little hazy, in the memories. “Like–where did you come from?”

“I actually don’t know,” he admits, looking to Clarke. “Why did you ask me?”

Her neck goes a little pink, but her expression stays neutral. “I found a list of villains and picked one who’d never killed anyone or made any decisions I disagreed with.”

“Romantic,” says Raven, and Clarke’s neck goes pinker. “What was your code name again?”

“Umbra,” Monty supplies.

“Oh,” says Raven. “Now I’ve got it.”

Bellamy wants to press, but there’s no way Clarke’s going to talk about it with everyone else around. So he waits until Monty and Raven go off to do their own thing before settling next to her. “So, why did you really pick me?”

“Hm?”

“Clarke,” he says, nudging her shoulder. “Come on.”

She catches her lip in her teeth, looking over at him with a somewhat shy smile. “I liked you.”

“Liked me?”

“Fair fights, the few times we had them. Good statements, when you made public statements. Great ass,” she admits, and he laughs.

“You liked me,” he teases, and she glares.

“Shut up.”

He leans closer, feeling a smile growing on his face. He’d been hoping, honestly. “Do you still like me?”

In lieu of answering, she fists her hand in his shirt, pulling him in, and he’s still smiling when she kisses him.

“You’re my favorite super,” she tells him, and he bumps his nose against hers.

“Right back at you.”

[hawthornewhisperer]

Could you give us your thoughts on Clarke and compartmetalization? I find it to be one of the most interesting trait of hers and also something that, even though it has negative effects on her, it has also "saved" her in a way, because how the fuck someone with so much burden on her shoulders is even able to walk at this point?

So we know Bellamy is in love with Clarke but is Clark in love with him? I have been Shipping Bellarke since season one and tbh Bellamy reveals way more than she does. Especially the way he looks at her when she isn't looking

I’m combining these two anon asks, because they actually cover the same topic: how Bellamy and Clarke show their emotions.  I also think how they handle emotions is very closely tied to how they function as leaders and their relative strengths.

As you point out, nonny #1, Clarke’s ability to compartmentalize has saved her because she’s able to put things aside that really would crush someone else.  Since early season one, Clarke handles emotions one of two ways: she either handles it directly and straightforwardly, or she locks that shit up tight and doesn’t look at it until absolutely necessary.  We see the latter with her anger towards her mother and Wells and L.exa, and it’s no coincidence that all three of those grudges were deeply tied to personal traumas as well.  We also see it when Raven lands and Clarke figures out that she’s the other woman-- she tells Finn it’s done and doesn’t allow anyone to see how hurt she is.  When she’s hurt, she channels it into anger and coldness because anger is always easier than pain.  It’s maybe not the healthiest way to handle things, but it’s certainly an effective one.  

Clarke is very good at processing positive (non-romantic) emotions, though, she’s not just terribly demonstrative.  A lot of that comes from her parents because as Emori pointed out, Clarke has always been loved.  So when it comes to giving and receiving (non-romantic) love, Clarke is very comfortable.  In fact, she’s so comfortable that she doesn’t always realize that her love isn’t apparent, because in her mind, it’s  not something she really needs to explain.  If she loves you, she loves you, and because Clarke has never really felt the absence of love she struggles with understanding why someone would need that concretely demonstrated.  She’s always known that she’s loved and cherished and so the constant doubt that plagues someone like Bellamy is utterly foreign to her.  As a result she’s not always good at reassuring him of her love, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love him deeply-- it just means she shows it differently.  

(I’d also like to note that this season (and in 3B), Clarke’s been much more cognizant of recognizing when Bellamy needs to hear that he’s valued.  In season two she took him a little for granted, but after 305 (well, after 310) Clarke has been very careful about showing him that she cares about him, either verbally (I trust you, she’ll see how special you are) or physically (the beach hug and the hand nuzzle).  She’s recognizing that how he processes love and how she shows it are different and she’s adjusting to make sure he knows she loves him.  And you don’t do that for just anyone, btw-- you do that for people who are precious to you.)

But Clarke’s ability to lock shit up makes her an effective leader because she can make terrible, heartbreaking choices and then keep going. It’s not that the choices don’t cost her or hurt her-- they do, and so deeply it threatens to break her-- but for people who don’t want to make those choices it’s a relief because it seems like not only is she willing to make them, she’s able to bear the weight of them.  That’s a bit of an illusion (and one that Bellamy sees straight through, hence why he was there while she wrote the list) but she sees not letting people see you’re breaking as a part of leading, especially when the stakes are this high.  Letting Bellamy in when she’s vulnerable is part of how she shows she loves and trusts him.

Bellamy, on the other hand, can’t lock anything up.  He tries so fucking hard, but it’s just not in his nature.  Every damn thing he feels is written on his face the second he feels it, and the one time he did suppress everything was when Clarke left and that was mostly because he didn’t feel like he was allowed to feel angry about it.  It all came exploding out of him after he suffered yet another trauma in losing Gina, but even before that he was doing a terrible fucking job of hiding his feelings.  While Clarke either ignores her hurt or channels it into rage, Bellamy usually just...sits with it.  He broods, and I want to emphasize that there’s no value judgment here on either Bellamy or Clarke’s methods for handling pain-- they’re neither good nor bad, they just are.  Bellamy’s emotional reactions, however, tend to make him a good front-line leader, because people trust him to feel their pain too.  Clarke can take the long view because she can compartmentalize the pain later until it’s more convenient to feel it, but Bellamy can convince people to follow them in the moment because they can see everything he’s feeling.

Bellamy had a childhood that may have been full of love but it was love that felt like it came with conditions (protect your sister, keep your family safe), so he’s far less emotionally secure than Clarke when it comes to positive emotions.  He’s actually quite comfortable being sad and hurt and scared, but something like “someone else loves me outside of my utility to the group” is utterly terrifying for him. He’s not sure he deserves that sort of love and he’s constantly worried it will be taken away from him, just like how his family was taken away from him on the Ark.  Because she had a fairly emotionally healthy upbringing, Clarke is comfortable with positive emotions-- except for romance.  With romantic feelings, Clarke locks that shit up tight just like she does with her hurt.  It’s scary for her to feel so vulnerable (for all of us, really), so she just...doesn’t deal with it until she’s absolutely forced to.  

Bellamy, however, because he’s so used to feeling vulnerable and exposed, just fucking goes with it.  Unrequited love is right in his wheelhouse, so we see how much he loves Clarke in every single look.  He doesn’t bother to hide it because he honestly can’t, and I actually think it will be harder for him once she reciprocates because love being returned to him openly and honestly will be far more difficult than loving someone without any hope of reciprocity.

So to tackle nonny #2′s question head on: I think right now we see more of Bellamy being in love with Clarke because right now, Bellamy is in love with Clarke.  She’s not quite there yet and there’s nothing wrong with that because she loves him fiercely and she has for months now and love doesn’t come in a hierarchy.  Platonic love is not below romantic love-- it’s just a different type of love.  And while I do think Clarke is making baby steps towards falling in romantic love with Bellamy, I also think it will take her some time because she does not like to look at those feelings head on.  I also think that Clarke will always be less demonstrative when it comes to romantic love simply because that’s who she is, and that doesn’t make her love for him any less powerful or profound.

[lonerangerinspace]

Bellarke Fic Rec 2/?

[Part 1]

More Bellarke fics to share!  Need something to get through the month long break.  Lots of wonderful and creative authors in this fandom :)

Genres: Modern AU, Soulmate AU, Celebrity AU, Cannon Divergence/AU, Grounder AU, Historical/Fantasy AU

Modern AU

Better Winter Wrap It Up

Octavia drags Bellamy to a My Little Pony tournament. Bellamy is deeply upset about the whole thing, but then the girl running the tournament is really cute.

Ghost Watch: Season 3, Episode 4

“Hey guys, it’s me, Bellamy Blake, and tonight on Ghost Watch we’re going to be investigate a house owned by Clarke Griffin. Her roommates, Monty Green and Jasper Jordan, called us in to investigate their home. Now, you guys know that to prevent contamination and suggestibility, we don’t know anything about what has happened in this home or its history. But me, my sister Octavia, and our friend Nathan Miller aren’t going in blind, either. Our tech whizzes, Raven Reyes and Kyle Wick, will have our backs in the tech center.  Welcome to Ark, Virginia. Welcome to Ghost Watch.”

And Tell My Name To Distant Ages

Trying to escape her past, Clarke accidentally stirs up a friendly but determined ghost. Luckily, local historian Bellamy Blake is there to help her uncover crimes of the past and present and bring justice to those who have been wronged. And if in the process she falls for him just a little bit - well, that’s just how life goes.

omoi ga subete wo kaete yuku yo (kitto)

Inasmuch as anyone can be prepared for a magical creature to appear in front of their eyes and tell them they need to help save the world from evil, Bellamy Blake is ready for it. Which basically means he has Hulu and Crunchyroll set up on Miller’s old Wii, and his little sister really likes magical girl anime.

vulgar when brought to light, vulgar the lie

Clarke goes into policing because it’s in her blood.

Soulmate AU

I should ink my skin with your name

Prompt: “Soulmate au where when you write something on your skin with pen/marker/whatever the hell you want, it will show up on your soul mates skin as well.” Or Tattoos, assholes, greek/roman mythology and everything else that could make Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin soulmates.

Omnia Dicta Fortiora Si Dicta Latina

A soulmate au, where you get a sentence in black somewhere on your body on your 18th birthday, and at at the moment you realize you love them, your soulmate will say the sentence, and it will tingle and turn silver.  And of course Bellarke has the weirdest sentences.

Arrows of Fate

When the residents of the Ark turn 15 a silver mark appears on their bodies. One other person has that same mark. That person is their soulmate. Bellamy hasn’t found his match when he arrives on Earth, but when he notices the mark on his co-leader’s hip, he knows she’s the one. But he can’t possibly be in love with the Princess.

Cloud Diner

Clarke Griffin dreams about the same boy every night after her father’s death. He helps her through tough times and she returns the favor. There’s no way he’s real, right?  A Bellarke Soulmates AU

‘cause you color me clear

Clarke is born without a soulmark. She becomes a tattoo artist to write her own destiny across her skin.

Celebrity AU

Coming Home To You

BFF prompt fill for: “Can you please act appropriately do you know just how many of your fuck ups I’ve had to cover up last week’ Celebrity and manager AU taken from cup-of-hot-coffee’s prompt list

Academic

Clarke is a semi-famous History Channel host who is teaching her first university class on Women Warriors. The first thing she notices is the manly man sitting in the back, silent. Then he starts arguing with her and never stops. Infuriating. Particularly when she finds out that he is the brother of her old college friend. The most infuriating thing is how much she wants him, but can’t have him, because he is her student.

We Can Make It If We Take It Slow

It’s been three years since Clarke actually saw Bellamy, instead of just interacting via texts and tweets, but that’s the thing about being in a franchise: they keep coming back.

rumour has it

Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin are sleeping together. Or so say the tabloids.  (aka CO-STARS AU)

For Tonight, Let’s Just Pretend

Being on a variety show where she pretends she has a crush on Bellamy while pretending she’s not nursing an actual crush on Bellamy isn’t exactly Clarke’s best idea, but she can totally handle it. She’s an actor. It’s fine.

Cannon Divergence/AU/Post-Canon

The Post-Apocalyptic Guide to Raising a Hero

He’s not intentional - this child of theirs that everyone thinks will grow up to save the world- but he changes everything. He’s living breathing proof of those feelings they only deal with in the dark. He’s that little bit of light guiding them forward- away from the storm clouds, away from the smoke.  He’s hope- and he’s theirs.  Or, How to be Perpetual F**k-ups but Still Leave a Hell of a Legacy

Not With Haste

Post-canon: Long after they’ve saved the world, Clarke and Bellamy try to get their shit together.  (Or, how Clarke comes to realize she might need a bit more than subtlety to get her point across.)

The Homestead

Bellamy and the remainder of the original 100 are assigned a new mission - one that will hopefully cultivate peace on Earth and peace in their hearts.

these are the days that bind us

Bellamy thinks he could do this forever, like they were the only two people on the Ground, Clarke’s lips and Clarke’s knees pressed into his hips and Clarke’s bright hyper eyes closed with him, her weight canted into him like she trusts him to catch her.

Son of Lycaon

From the ground Clarke can see that Amy was right; it’s not quite a wolf, but she doesn’t know what else to call it. The teeth are wrong, its spine elongated too much- it’s the stuff of nightmares, if Clarke had any room in her dreams for more horrors.

Grounder AU

Stars In The Water, Blood On Our Hands

The Ark knows that people have survived on the ground, but they don’t know anything about them. Now, with time and oxygen running out, information on these people will be what saves their lives.  Clarke is sent down to spy on the grounders.  She’s certainly not meant to fall in love.

Facing Tempests of Dust

Clarke Griffin has grown up in the perfectly controlled environment of the Ark dome, a city created to withstand the destruction of the world outside. Now, she’s been sent out with 100 other delinquents to try to survive on their own, but she knows the truth. They weren’t sent away for their crimes, but rather to buy time for others in Ark, as the city is failing. While Clarke struggles to lead her band of teenagers, she encounters a man with strange abilities and an offer she finds hard to refuse.

Turning Puddles Into Oceans

Prompt: Grounder Clarke finding a hurt Bellamy and taking him to her village to heal him.

Before Those Hands Pulled Me From the Earth

He comes alive to the sound of scraping. Around him the earth is warm and whispering. Wake up, it tells him. She needs you.

In My Dreams We Are Always Together

100 delinquents got sent to Earth and battled for survival against the odds. They landed in Trikru territory but that is not where they stayed. After weeks of battle and war, the Sky People finally lost. They were sent to a land far away, where a group of Grounders unlike any they’ve met waited for them.

Historical/Fantasy AU

the world was born in smoke and fire (and so were we)

The crown rests heavy on top of his head, eight pounds of gold encrusted with emeralds and rubies and a thousand tons of responsibility and duty. He can feel its edge digging painfully into the skin of his forehead, can already sense some of his curls getting hopelessly tangled around the prongs. He forces himself to hold still, understanding the importance and uniqueness of this moment.  He is the first ever king not descended from royal blood. The first king to usurp the previous before his death, and banish him for crimes of inhumanity performed against his people. He is twenty-two years old, and the streets whisper his name.  “Bellamy Blake,” Marcus Kane, his mentor and first advisor, intones, “King of Polis, Lord of the Stars and Protector of the Earth, you may rise.”

Between Me and My Lord and Kin

Lady Clarke wasn’t expecting her first assignment as a knight to be taking command of a refugee camp. It’s not exactly what she had in mind, when she became a knight. Bellamy Blake, refugee tailor and pain in her ass, wasn’t what she had in mind either.  In a good way, as it turns out.

Tell Me No More Stories and I’ll Tell You No Lies

Octavia Blake steals a rose, and her brother goes to live with a beast.

anchor up to me, love

"Duty? You’ve kidnapped me from my home—"  He held up a finger. "Kindly saved your life, which you still haven’t thanked me for."  She ignored his correction.  or the pirate au no one asked for

A Scandalous Proposal

A bellarke Victorian era one-shot.  Clarke’s mother wants her to marry Lord Collins. Clarke has some other ideas…

[head-and-heart]

4x04 Personal Highlights

So I know that there has been a lot of negativity surrounding this past episode, but I would like to point out that it was far from being all bad and I would say it was a hell of a lot better than episode four from LAST season (aka. my least favourite episode of this show, ever) there was actually some good shit buried in this episode that I would like to address.

Never too much positivity, right fam?

Okay, I’ll get to it.

1. “Bellamy should be back by now.”

I mean, it’s self-explanatory. Even the C/exa queen is writing us some Bellarke shit .. hmm, I wonder why? Maybe cause she has to? Maybe cause Bellarke is becoming canon? Huh, weird.

2. Monty being a total babe and trying to comfort Clarke

It only serves to make the absence of his name on The List that much more painful, but I love seeing Monty trying to cheer Clarke up. He’s such a beacon of light. @the-ships-to-rule-them-all and @abazethe100 talked on their podcast about how its not just Monty’s brain and skills that make him invaluable, but who he is at his core - a source of optimism and support. He holds people together. I thought it was worth mentioning because @theskyboxpodcast is always good, but I especially loved that bit.

3. Devon’s acting

The writers truly could not have picked a better actor to play Jasper. He kills it, over and over and over again. Devon is the perfect mix of humour and tragedy that makes Jasper so heartbreaking and unique. He brings life to this character in a way that few actors could. That scene in the rain perfectly demonstrates this.

(UNRELATED: I’d love to see how Jaha was managing out on that lake when he heard about the acid fog. The possibilities are never-endingly humourous.)

4. Kane calling out Octavia

This scene was soooo validating because its the first time that Octavia’s actions have TRULY been called out. And it wasn’t just a brief call-out, it was an entire lengthy scene dedicated to why Octavia’s actions are NOT being supported by the narrative and are NOT right or honourable. 

“A warrior knows when not to kill. Lincoln taught you that. You seem to have forgotten.”

FINALLY RECOGNITION THAT A WOMEN WITH A SWORD IS NOT ALWAYS BADASS AND EMPOWERING. IT TAKES MORE THAN THAT. IT TAKES HONOUR

And to those of you who were screaming about Octavia never dealing with the consequences of her actions after ... what? 4x02? YOU COULDN’T WAIT TWO EPISODES??? WHY DO YOU JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS WHY DO YOU TORTURE YOURSELVES? Short rant concluded. This was a top-knotch scene. 

5. LUNA

She is so gorgeous and her voice is so soothing. She makes every episode better just be existing.

6. THE ISLAND IS SO COOL

I’M SO GLAD THAT ALIE’S MANSION IS NOT THE ONLY THING WE GET TO SEE OF THIS ISLAND. THE WHOLE INTRIGUE SURROUNDING BECCA AND HER LAB AND THE DRONES AND THE “MUTANT LINE” AND THE MYSTERIOUS THINGS THAT ALIE’S SECURITY IS “PROTECTING” THEM FROM IS SO INTERESTING AND ITS SO DIFFERENT FROM ANYTHING THIS SHOW HAS DONE BEFORE AND BOY AM I EXCITED TO FIND OUT WHAT’S GOING ON AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THIS STORYLINE. AND ALSO I, AND A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE, TOTALLY PREDICTED THAT THEY WERE HEADED BACK TO ALIE’S ISLAND TO FIND A LAB OF SOME SORT BACK IN THE HIATUS SO GOOD-WORK TEAM. NOTHING GETS PAST THIS FANDOM, I SWEAR.

7. Jackson being a total babe and helping out Raven this episode/showing compassion and concern

So I’ve seen people shipping it and I am ... oddly, not opposed??? I mean, he’s sweet and that banter was nice and he’s a doctor which means he’s probs smart and also can help her out with her pain (kinda) and it will never happen but I CAN DREAM OKAY? 

Also, Jackson is Jackson’s only name. I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules. You will never hear me referring to Jackson by any other name. #dealwithit

8. “Save us all” sounds like “keep us all clean” in Trigadesleng because apparently Grounders know their priorities

I guess this explains why L.exa had that deep conditioned shit last season while Clarke was progressing through her slow but steady evolution into a dirty mop

9. “I’ve never met a line I wouldn’t cross.”

Richard you get the best lines. And you slay them every time.

10. MURPHY AND RAVEN’S DYMAMIC

I’M SO EXCITED. Lindsey and Richard are both a thrill to watch and they’re both so sassy and their history is just ... WOW. They haven’t had many scenes together ever since that KILLER scene in the dropship where we learned Murphy’s backstory which is a total crime because THEIR CHEMISTRY SERIOUSLY FLIES THROUGH THE ROOF.

I do think Murphy was trying to get on Raven’s good side when he grabbed her and helped her to safety and it was definitely for his personal motives, but I do also believe that a large part of him wanted to do it as an attempt to make up for fucking up her life so bad as well. It’s such an interesting dynamic to watch.

Just want to clarify that I don’t ship it because ... y’all he literally shot her and paralyzed her why do you do this?? But I definitely want to see more of them on my TV screen

11. Dad!Kane cupping his son’s face

Need I say more?

12. “Warriors don’t reveal their secrets.”

AND ECHO LOOKS AT BELLAMY BECAUSE HE DIDN’T CAVE AND REVEAL THEIR SECRETS BECAUSE MY BOY IS SO STRONG 

13. Ice Nation is SO much more interesting than Trikru

BYEEEEEEEEEEEEE

14. “Remember that time we welded your dad’s furniture to the ceiling? Now THAT was a prank.”

I WOULD SAY SO MONTY LMAO THIS IS SO EXTRA AND I LOVE IT

CLASSIC JONTY I CAN CLEARLY ENVISION THEM DOING THIS

15. “You’re not God, Clarke. You don’t get to decide who lives and dies.”

Hmm ... that’s an interesting line. Almost like it might be ... I don’t know ... A major theme of the show or something?

Also A++ delivery Devon. Kudos.

16. This show is SO GOOD with moral dilemmas

They truly do bring their A-Game every season. The List is just one example of these so-called moral dilemmas. There truly is no right choice. Clarke was pragmatic, everything she did made SENSE. But was it moral? Was it humane? That’s another story, and it’s one these writers are not afraid to tell.

17. Monty and Clarke’s interactions are all so on point

“You’re the one going too far and using the same old justification: it’s all for my people.”

ANOTHER MAJOR THEME ALERT

Monty is spilling the tea this episode and while I understand Clarke’s mindset and sympathize with her for dealing with the pressure on her shoulders, everything that Monty said in this scene was absolutely 100% true, and it’s going to come into play in Clarke’s character arc this season, I am sure.

18. Raven’s struggle with her leg is so real

Kim perfectly captured the struggles that Raven has to deal with and how her leg, while limits her physical ability, certainly does not limit her determination, her skill, and her brain. 

19. “What if the fight is all we are? We torture, kill, betray. We pretend we’re more than that just to make ourselves feel better, but it’s a lie.”

I love this line so much. This episode encapsulates so many themes and big ideas of the show (and it grapples with morality in hugeeeee ways) and I’m loving it.

20. “You’re not a prisoner, Luna. You have a choice.”

Raven putting her gun down and saying this to Luna is SO important, especially when you think about how Clarke tried to force the flame on her in 3x14. Free will was a major theme last year and I’m glad to see it paying off now.

21. Jaha swooping in and stealing that crowd

Listen. I know that there are many conflicted opinions on Jaha and I know that lot of people hate him. But I have never been more intrigued. His story this season is sooo interesting. I have no idea what to expect from him. I feel as though he is so disconnected from the other characters at this point in the narrative that he’s a complete wild card. Do I trust him or not? Should I? What are his motives? What knowledge does he have that the other characters don’t?

He’s so fascinating to me in that he is completely unpredictable. His story this season could break off in just about any direction. 

This scene was really fun to watch. Clearly, Jaha’s years of being a Chancellor comes in handy with a crowd. He knows what to do, what to say, to sway them. It reminds me of Bellamy, in a way, actually. Say what you will about Jaha, but he has a way with words and he knows how to inspire people. I can’t wait to see how this goes. 

(I totally think that lottery is bullshit and I think that Jaha realizes this, but he’s manipulating the crowd. We’ll see how this blows up in our faces later.)

“The people need to feel like they have a say in their fate.”

Another interesting line that I enjoyed. Just wanted to point it out.

22. “It’s the only choice you gave yourself. If you think you have the best idea, you have to convince people, not lie to them. Or lock them up.”

So choices and free will and truth and morality are all big focusses of this episode. People seem to overlook how much great thematic stuff is in 4x04 but there’s a lot and it’s great.

23. Becca’s lab is bomb AF

24. BOB MORLEY DESERVES A FUCKING EMMY PLEASE AND THANK YOU

25. “Take me home.” 

BECAUSE EVEN AFTER ALL THIS TIME ARKADIA AND THE SKY PEOPLE ARE STILL OCTAVIA’S HOME BECAUSE THAT’S WHERE BELLAMY IS (or so she thinks) AND HELLO YES I’M STILL EMO

[prosciuttoe]

I would love to see a fic about Clarke fighting for Bellamy (since we know that is sorely lacking in canon)...

Look, there are a few things that Clarke really prides herself on. Staying calm and rational in the face of danger is one of them, definitely, as is the ability to remain unfazed at whatever curveball earth decides to throw her way.

She’s been here for a while, okay? She’s seen some weird shit. There’s not much that can get under her skin, at this point.

Well, except for when Bellamy goes missing for twelve whole hours.

“You can’t be serious,” Raven goes, incredulous, when she catches her gearing up to head out. “Look, I know he’s a little late but I’m sure he’s fine.”

“He was supposed to check in two hours ago,” she snaps, prowling the length of her tent until she manages to uncover Bellamy’s hunting knife concealed under a pile of blankets. Strapping it to her side, she marches out, gesturing for Raven to follow. “The last time we talked, he was crossing ice nation territory. And as much as I know you like Roan, well. I trust him about as far as I can throw him.”

That pulls an exasperated sigh out of her before she relents, dropping a walkie-talkie in Clarke’s upturned palms. “You seem to like Roan well enough when he’s not putting a sword through Bellamy’s leg.”

“I’ll like him better if it turns out he had nothing to do with Bellamy being M.I.A.”

“You’ll probably like people more, generally, if they stopped trying to kill Bellamy.” Raven muses, ignoring the withering look Clarke shoots her way. “It’s a short list.” She adds, patting at her shoulder comfortingly. “Have fun! And radio in once you’ve met up with your boyfriend.”

“I hate you.” She huffs for the lack of a better response, before heading out of the gates.

+

It’s not like Bellamy is her boyfriend, or anything.

The only reason Clarke didn’t deny it entirely is probably because there is some truth in her caring for him far beyond anyone else. But that’s how it’s always been with them: he’ll cross a field full of grounders to rescue her, and she’d let villages burn to keep him safe. He’d risk his life for her over and over again, and she’d fight tooth and nail to protect him from harm.

He saves her. She saves him right back.

So, yeah. The whole boyfriend thing just doesn’t seem to cut it when it comes to them.

(And if she harbours a secret fantasy or two about being with him from time to time- kissing and sex and holding each other- well. That’s her secret to keep. In fact, she should probably just… stop thinking about it now.)

+

Roan is there to receive her at the gates when she arrives, arching a brow in question when she slams the door of the Rover behind her.

“Where’s the other half of the dynamic duo?” he remarks dryly, drumming his fingers casually against the hilt of his sword.

Folding her arms across her chest, she sizes him up, evaluating the likelihood of being able to take him in a fight. Her chances are slim to none, though she does feel a little better when she thinks about the concealed pistol in her boot.

“That’s what I came here to ask you,” she says, drawing out the word pointedly. “The last time I checked, he was crossing your territory before he fell off the radar. Knowing that the Ice Nation has a penchant for taking prisoners only strengthened my suspicions that you have him held here.”

He considers this for a tense, drawn-out minute; long enough for her to start feeling antsy, reaching instinctively for Bellamy’s knife.

“Them,” he says suddenly, breaking the silence. “We have them, though not as prisoners. One of your men was injured en-route, so I very kindly extended an invitation to Bellamy to bring him to one of our healers. They’re probably still there.”

For a second, she can only stare. “Oh.” She manages, licking at her lips. “Well. Can you bring me there?”

“Considering how you’ve stormed all the way here to demand that I give you back your Bellamy? Sure.”

“My people,” she corrects frostily, falling into step next to him as he sweeps an arm out for her to follow. “I came here to get my people back.”

The look he shoots her is amused and pitying, all at once. “But you care about him more.”

Her cheeks heat at that, involuntary, and she resists the urge to do something childish like flip him off. “Let’s just make our way over in silence.” She declares primly, marching ahead while he trails behind her, shaking his head in a way that she knows is supposed to mean kids.

+

Bellamy startles when she taps at his shoulder, hand going reflexively to his gun before she stops it by curling her fingers around his wrist, holding him still.

“Clarke,” he blinks, his relief palpable as he takes her in. It morphs into alarm quickly enough, his gaze roving over her for injuries. “Is something wrong? What— why are you here?”

“You’re seriously asking me that when you haven’t checked in with— any of us for hours?” She gapes, swatting at his shoulder angrily. “Jesus, Bellamy! I was worried sick! I thought you were lying dead in a ditch, or that Echo had finally gotten her claws into you—”

“The walkie-talkies died halfway through our trek,” he interrupts, frowning. “And then Bryan cut his arm on a tree branch, and Roan insisted that I bring him here. I was going to contact you whenever I found the opportunity to.”

“That’s not good enough!” Clarke seethes, her hands shaking by her sides. “Do you have any idea what you put me through? I got in a car and drove all the way here, I left everyone else behind—”

His fingers curl over her shoulders then, holding her steady. The regret and concern in his eyes makes her feel a little guilty for having shouted, but not enough to apologize for it. “I’m sorry,” he says, soft, rubbing at her arms in a placating fashion, “I should have figured out another way sooner.”

“You think?” she sniffs, feeling suddenly and stupidly tearful. “Put yourself in my shoes for a second. If it was me that was out there, you would have sent out ten search parties by now.”

That pulls a smile out of him, wry, belying the intensity of his words. “I would have run all the way here if I thought you were hurt.”

She gives a little watery laugh at that, dropping her face into his shoulder. His jacket smells faintly of the cool winter air, of gunpowder and mint and home. “God, the things we do for each other.”

She senses his smile rather than sees it, though the brush of his lips against her temple is unmistakable. “The things we do for each other,” he echoes, sliding an arm around her shoulders and tucking her into his side as the others begin filing out of the room. “You ready to go home now?”

“As I’ll ever be.” She murmurs, leaning into his touch slightly before disentangling herself from him; both of them leading the charge home.

[hawthornewhisperer]

Princess of the Ark: Clarke Griffin’s Childhood and Emotional Advantages

Emori’s speech to Clarke about her pain was one of the best things I’ve seen all damn season, both acting wise (Luisa, give yourself a goddamn round of applause) and writing wise.  It cut to the core of Clarke’s character and highlighted the invisible advantages she has over other characters that she’s simply not aware of, and contrasted how differently Clarke’s pain plays out compared to someone like Emori, who has been doing this her whole life.

In Emori’s own words: I was cast out of my clan as an infant because of this.  I was forced to steal to survive, forced to kill. You were loved.  You were told you were special.  I was thrown away like someone’s garbage.  You know nothing of my pain.

What I really love about this is that it very subtly highlights the importance of Abby and Jake in Clarke’s upbringing.  It’s clear in the first Ark flashback that Clarke is adored and loved in addition to being economically privileged, and Jake even says you picked a fine time to start acting like a teenager, which implies this is really the first time she’s tested their relationship.  When she hallucinates Jake during Day Trip, he tells her what she needs to hear and holds her when she breaks down, and while he wasn’t real it does tell us that Clarke saw her relationship with her father as one of unconditional love and support.  Before she learns of Abby’s role in Jake’s death Clarke is looking forward to her coming to earth and she’s devastated when she thinks Abby died on the Exodus ship.  And even though things are rocky with them in season two-- you may be the chancellor but I’m in charge and Abby’s horror at Clarke’s decision at TonDC-- Abby is still the first person Clarke turns to for reassurance after Mount Weather.  After that, Clarke knows her mother will love her no matter what, and demonstrates the same to Abby after ALIE forced her to torture Clarke.  And if you still aren’t convinced of the depth of the Griffin ladies’ love for each other, that hug at the top of the episode should have convinced you.

And it’s that love that allows Clarke to be who she is; someone who is able to lead through love and trust.  One of Clarke’s core characteristics is her ability to extend trust to people who maybe haven’t earned it yet-- first Bellamy, then Anya, then Murphy, and the list goes on and on-- and that tells us so much about her.  She’s confident and secure right from day one, because, as Emori pointed out, she was told she was special.  And not in a “you’re the savior of the world,” way, but in the “you are important and you matter” way of loving parents to a child.  Clarke spent the first 16 years of her life loved and knowing she was loved, and that made all the difference.

Let’s contrast her upbringing with the lives of other people on the Ark that we know: Raven’s mother was a drunk who didn’t feed her enough, so Raven turned to the boy next door to protect her.  He did, and then he fell out of love with her while she was risking everything to save him.  Octavia literally spent her whole life caged, and while her mother and brother loved her they were also her jailers and that brings a whole new level of complication to their relationship.  Because to her, it probably didn’t feel unconditional-- they loved her but so long as she pretended not to exist.  (Note: Bellamy’s love for her-- and likely Aurora’s too-- was unconditional on their end, but it didn’t feel that way to Octavia.)  Bellamy’s entire world revolved around loving someone else unconditionally and receiving what probably felt like little love in return, and from the age of six on his needs had to be put behind someone else.  Murphy’s father may have loved him, but he died for that love and Murphy’s mother put the blame for that on him.  And Emori, as we just learned, was forced into a life of violence and lies just to survive.

But Clark experienced none of that until she was approaching adulthood, so she meets her challenges with an unshakable truth in the back of her mind: there are people who love her no matter what.  She has a sense of inner worth, and even when she’s at her most broken, there’s still a voice in her head saying you can come home.  By the time she leaves in 216, Clarke has accepted that not only does her mother love her unconditionally but that Bellamy does too, because she loves him unconditionally and that sort of love comes to her pretty easily.  It’s what gives her the strength to leave, and it’s while it is momentarily shaken by Bellamy’s anger with her in 305 she’s back on solid ground with him by 313, and since then it’s been business as usual for them.

This belief in unconditional love is also what leads Clarke to tell Bellamy that he just needs to wait for Octavia’s forgiveness in 406, because after all, that’s what happened with her mom.  Clarke just needed time, but in the end, Abby was blood and forgiveness was inevitable. But what she doesn’t see is that it’s infinitely more complicated between Bellamy and Octavia, because both of them have always felt like their love for each other comes with a long list of terms and conditions.  (Again, note that I’m talking about how it feels for the Blake Siblings, not how it is.)  Octavia loves Bellamy back so long as he’s giving her freedom, but in his experience Octavia and freedom leads to terrible consequences, so he struggles with giving her that.  It’s what she wants, not what she needs, he thinks, and so when he gets scared he denies her that freedom even though in his mind that will cost him her love.  Better to have her safe than hurt, and if the price is Octavia’s hatred he’ll pay that.  And for Octavia, she perceives his love as conditional on her obedience, because she’s never been in the position he is in of loving someone and being so scared for them at the same time.  So she lashes out against him, which he sees as proof that she doesn’t love him in the same way.

But again, Clarke can’t see that because that is not a dynamic she’s ever experienced.  The fact that Emori honed in on love as an integral part of Clarke is really interesting, because Emori is basically a stranger to Clarke, but she is also a master at reading people.  And I do think that was a surprising moment for Clarke, because she’s long since come to terms with the role that her economic privilege played with other people, but she’s never once thought about the emotional advantages her childhood conferred.

 Clarke is able to lead and make difficult decisions because deep down, she trusts that there are people who love her no matter what.  Someone like Bellamy doesn’t have that natural instinct to trust other people, because love for him always came with strings.  And that’s not to say that the things Clarke has seen and done and lost don’t weigh on her-- they do, and so heavily I think she’s veering towards a bit of a breakdown-- but that she has more emotional resilience because of the love she received as a child.  In short, Clarke is who she is because of Abby Griffin.

[head-and-heart]

Am I the only one who think the episode was poor? I didn't like the writing, it's was a bit lazy and I still think Clarke's action was ooc to create more drama. Idk, it wasn't a bad episode but I didn't like it but I usually don't like the way Kim writes tbh

You’re definitely not the only one. I’ve seen a lot of complaints about it, actually.

Personally, I usually DO like Kim’s episodes, which is why this one was so disappointing. (I mean, Kim wrote “Nevermore”, which is honestly one of the best episodes not just in Season 3 but in the entire show IMO. And while I know this is an unpopular opinion in the BC fam, I REALLY enjoyed 3x03 as well) I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it - I didn’t have many strong feelings either way. There were just a bunch of things that I found a bit annoying.

I didn’t really find Clarke to be ooc to be honest. I think that for Clarke, as an extremely pragmatic character, that list was exactly how I would expect her to write it (besides Monty but that’s another problem I had with the episode). I don’t think that her making hard choices and using “its for my people” as justification was out of character. Clarke has always been that way. I don’t think her lying to the people in order to do so was out of character either. This season is going to be about Clarke learning about free will, for real this time. She isn’t perfect, she’s not a perfect leader. I like that the writers try to show her flaws. I also might add, I like that they like to explore those flaws when Clarke doesn’t have Bellamy at her side, and vice versa.

They centre each other. It shows when they’re apart.

Anyway, I haven’t rewatched the episode yet so I don’t know how well I’ll be able to pick out very specific things that bothered me about it, but I guess I’ll talk about the main ones.

I mentioned that I thought Monty being on that list was dumb. Not just because he wasn’t on it, but because OCTAVIA WAS. I have no idea how Octavia made that list (well, I do, but it has nothing to do with her and everything to do with Bellamy, and I don’t like that implication either). I’m not going to rant here because I already posted an all-caps rant about it here. So, if you’re interested in some screaming go right on ahead and click the link lol

The other big one I can think of is basically everything to do with Octavia’s fight scene with Echo and her “death”.

So much was wrong with that scene. I find it annoying that it was two to one and Octavia effortlessly took out the first warrior even though both of them have been training since they were children. It shouldn’t have been even close to an even fight. Octavia shouldn’t have even been able to hold up against Echo for as long as she did. Especially when you consider the fact that Bellamy disarmed and overpowered Octavia while he had his hands literally tied (and no weapon!) back in 3x10 when they confronted Pike in the span of like, three seconds. It bothers me how, in pretty much no time at all and practically no extra training, Octavia is suddenly hailed as this “badass” force of nature who is effortlessly fighting/killing all of these highly skilled and trained warriors left, right and centre. It doesn’t make sense and the sacrifice of continuity in order to make Octavia more “edgy” is getting old really fast.

I also hate the slow-mo they use in action scenes (not a criticism of 4x04, but the entire show as a whole). Why did they start using slow-mo in season 3? Its like they’re trying to be this big, cool action-movie and are trying to make everything look more badass but it just makes it seem lame. This is a character-driven show. It doesn’t need the slow-mo in order to appeal to people and never has. And the slow-motion glorifies violence in a way that it never used to before Season 3. And I don’t think that glorification was something the writers have ever intended but it makes it seem like thats what they are doing by adding in the slow-mo.

Octavia getting stabbed through the abdomen and falling off that cliff is so ridiculous I can’t even describe how fucking stupid it was. There is no way she could have survived that fall relatively unharmed. Even without that stab wound, she should have broken bones, probably snapped her neck. She should be DEAD. And I bet you anything that in the next episodes the only wound that will be addressed will be her stab wound, not anything she sustained during the fall. Because lets be real, that fall was just there to create drama and parallel her to Aragorn, but it didn’t look like she was suffering from any other injuries.

*clenches fists* URGHHHHH

HOW DID SHE PULL HERSELF ONTO A HORSE HOWWWWWWWWWWW A LOT OF PEOPLE CAN’T EVEN DO THAT WHEN THEY’RE IN GOOD HEALTH THIS MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE

I didn’t like Raven’s line to Luna: “It’s not your blood that defines you, it’s your heart.”

a) it’s cheesy as fuck and I despise cheesy things oh my god

b) it doesn’t sound like something Raven would say. I mean, didn’t we just spend last two episodes exploring how RUTHLESS Raven can be and how she just … doesn’t connect with people in the same way as someone who was more of a “heart” kinda person would? Not to say that Raven is heartless (cause she’s NOT) or doesn’t know how to empathize with people but she’s always been a head over heart kinda gal and, especially since we’ve seen that focused on so heavily lately, it seems odd that SHE would be the one to say that line. It implies that Raven thinks that a person’s morality and their compassion and all that shit are a LOT more important than what we’ve been led to believe by her actions in recent episodes. And believe me I’m not dragging Raven or anything because I love Raven and I love how pragmatic and rational she is, but this line seemed like it should have been written for someone else. It would have made more sense if someone like Abby said it.

(Anyway I have no idea how to articulate any of what I was trying to say but whatever)

c) it felt out of place in the scene and pretty much entirely unnecessary

Just all around an awkward line.

I didn’t like the piano music in Bellamy’s scene where he finds out about Octavia. It felt like they were trying to force the emotion onto us instead of just letting us feel it. I wish they had cut the music off entirely and just let us HEAR and SEE the emotion of the scene through Bellamy (and Kane’s) grief. That would have been a lot more impactful. I’ve seen other people point it out as well, but I also wish that the camera lingered more on Bellamy. The shots were all over the place, it was hard to focus on anything. The music was distracting, the camerawork was distracting … It could have been better.

A lot of the issues in the episode are probably due to that being the director’s debut though, so I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt for now. I’m sure it will get better.

I’m not as upset as most people about the lack of Bellamy in the episode, tbh. I missed him and I wish there was more but I’m not ANGRY. I think people are blaming this all on Kim but I don’t think Kim actually has the ability to just be like “you know what, fuck Bellamy, he’s not going in this episode”. It’s not just up to her - its up to the entire writers room. Remember, they decide what goes in the episodes. Individual writers just decided on the smaller details, like specific lines and movements and how they want the scenes to come to life. But the lack of Bellamy definitely wasn’t just up to her.

Remember 3x10? We got like, two minutes of Clarke in that episode due to scheduling issues with Eliza. My gut tells me that they probably knew Bob wouldn’t be able to film much for 4x04 and that’s why he’s barely in it. They probably gave that episode to Kim BECAUSE they know she doesn’t enjoy writing Bellamy as much, but I don’t think that him not being in the episode was really up to her. Just my two cents.

Anyway I touched the main points. I know you probably didn’t want this response but oh wellll. Thanks for sending in the ask!