In the eleventh episode of the first season of The 100, we don’t get nice things. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The 100.
I’m having the time of my life watching this show, but oh my god, IT’S SO PAINFUL. And relentless! And stressful! and NOTHING GOOD CAN EVER HAPPEN, CAN IT?
Let’s talk The 100.
Raven
Ultimately, I just feel so sad about her story because it’s something I had to go through earlier this year. My break-up from my partner of nearly three years was sudden and traumatic, and the circumstances of it meant that he was still in my life. The break was not clean at all, and I had to deal with my lingering love and affection for him and a desire for the kind of validation and attention that I wasn’t getting from him.
It’s an awful thing to experience, and there’s a reason rebound relationships or rebound sex are ripe for emotional storytelling. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, you can move on by experiencing physical contact with another person. Has that worked for me? No, not really, and in my own personal history, I tend to feel more like Raven does here. I want the act to make me feel better, but it inevitably ends up not working at all. I still missed whomever I was trying to get over.
At the very least, I appreciate that Bellamy tried to give Raven a reason for staying that was based solely on her abilities. That was awesome, and no one else offered her anything like that.
Capture
I still have so many questions, but at least some of them were answered! So, Lincoln was the Grounders’ healer, and after the events of the last few episodes, he’s been either banished or he left of his own accord. I imagine that with as many kills as the Grounders have claimed, there have to be significant factions outside the Grounders. Have we seen them before? Regardless, I think there’s a lot of quiet worldbuilding done here in all of the scenes with Finn and Clarke. While the hideout we see here is sparse, I think we can assume a lot from what we do witness.
The Grounders are a warrior culture, so much so that Anya uses a young girl as her second-in-command as part of training. That tells me that there’s something that necessitates that behavior, right? They have to be warriors in reaction to something, right??? People in this community perform specific roles, too. Anya might lead them all, but they have a single healer. What other jobs are there? How are they chosen? What’s the chain of command in this culture?
Okay, so I’m asking a lot more questions instead of offering answers, but I loved that “The Calm” made me think of these things. The Grounders are used to a different kind of brutality than the 100 are used to, which is fascinating when you consider that Clarke transforms into someone much more like them over the course of this season. We see her desire to save others, both Finn and Tris in this case. We see her skills as a medic. And then we watch her slit a Grounder’s throat and SHUSH HIM TO DEATH.
There’s no avoiding war anymore, except now I wonder who the war will be against. Who did Monty see? That wasn’t a Grounder, was it??? Maybe whomever the Mountain Men are??? THIS SHOW IS FUCKED UP.
The Ark
It is such a fulfilling exercise to compare many of these characters to who they were in “The Pilot” because some are nearly unrecognizable. The man who climbs through a painfully hot corridor in order to rescue other people is somehow the same ruthless politician who eagerly awaited the death of the Chancellor. But the situation on the Ark has changed so dramatically that it became foolish for anyone not to adapt. Here, Kane repeatedly does whatever he can to save the lives of other people, even if that means ending his own. He’s recklessly good-natured, and yet? I don’t question this development. I believe it. I believe that Jaha has changed, and I believe that Kane is never going to be the same person again.
I find that compelling for a television show because more often than not, characters aren’t allowed to change this dramatically. They just aren’t! Kane was an archetypical villain – and a damn fine one at that – and I cannot fathom describing his as that anymore. He saved everyone in the Exodus ship’s bay. I bet he saved Sinclair and Jaha, too. AND HE SAVED ABBY, WHO WAS ALIVE, OH MY GOD.
I still don’t how any of this is going to be resolved because like… fifteen hundred people just died. How are they going to get down to Earth? How are they going to survive in the Ark? What is wrong with this show?
The video for “The Calm” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
Mark Links Stuff
– I am now on Patreon!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME.
– IÂ will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be seasons 1 & 2 of The 100, Death Note, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series will replace the Emelan books.
- Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!
