Mark Watches ‘The 100’: S03E09 – Stealing Fire

In the ninth episode of the third season of The 100, sigh again. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch The 100. 

Trigger Warning: For discussion of racism.

I can’t talk about that one plot yet.

The Conclave

Well, things have escalated, haven’t they?

It seems that the Grounders have managed to largely gloss over the fact that Titus was responsible for Lexa’s death, though there is a brief mention of it later in the episode. It seems a little strange, given how fast information spreads between the clans. It’s even stranger when you consider that so many Grounders are in Polis for the Conclave. So no one figured it out? No one knows how Lexa died? That just seems unbelievable, you know?

It comes across as an oversight. Instead, the action is confined to just a few characters: Murphy (???? WHY IS HE EVEN HERE, HIS STORY IS SO WEIRD), Clarke, Nia, Ontari, Titus, and the clan heads who witness Ontari’s ascension. I do get it, though, at least because the focus on these people allows a more personal story to unfold. Of course, Murphy fits nowhere in this, and it’s just awkward to see him standing around in most of these scenes. Why doesn’t he leave on his own? Why stick around? Does he prefer being with someone? Why isn’t that explored?

Anyway, I feel no good things towards Titus, but I do admire that Clarke understands that Ontari becoming Commander is the actual darkest timeline. It is! That woman is terrifying. She beheaded a bunch of children in the middle of the night!!! WHO DOES THAT. Someone who will most definitely order the clans to descend on Arkadia and kill all of them, and then probably kill everyone who defied the Ice Nation, and lots and lots and lots of death. (She’s kind of a parallel with Pike, isn’t she?)

I remember Lincoln mentioning Luna, so I’m glad that’s coming to fruition within a story trope I love: QUESTS THAT INVOLVE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN MISSING FOR AGES. We know that Luna is in the East, right? Somewhere? YES, GREAT, AWESOME. Clarke has the Flame and is, unsurprisingly, the Flamekeeper. (Who didn’t see that coming?) But I still want to know more details about the Flame. What exact effect does it have on those who have the same kind of blood as Becca? How is that bloodline passed from one person to another? Why did Luna abandon the Conclave?

THIS IS A COOL STORY, I WANT TO SEE MORE.

Lincoln

I’m glad this storyline is barreling towards something, particularly a plot where people will FINALLY, FINALLY tell Pike that he’s full of shit and endangering all of Arkadia. Whether Hannah is actually a part of that remains to be seen, but I’m cautiously optimistic that Bellamy is done worshipping Pike. Monty definitely is, which is awesome, even though I think he never should have been there in the first place. (JUST A THOUGHT.) Then we’ve Kane, who has changed SO MUCH since the first season, and it’s one o the coolest things I’ve seen on The 100. Even Miller’s boyfriend, Brian, gets a moment to face the guilt of what he did.

And then there’s Lincoln. For the entirety of season three, he has done… what? Anything? Have the writers given him a single plot line where he’s not brooding or glaring at Octavia or Pike or Bellamy? He exists for momentary conflict; apparently, he’s not even important enough to warrant an episode worth of conflict. Every antagonistic moment he has is solved and is insignificant. I kept waiting, hoping that the show would give him something to do or affect or be a part of, and… nothing. He’s a Grounder learning to live in Arkadia. That alone is full of potential, and yet we never really see it. How do other citizens interact with him? What does he help with? What happens to him once Pike becomes Chancellor? Are there still Arkadians who remember what Lincoln did to help them in the past, or are they all just conveniently washed away to make the plot simpler?

This show has managed to find complexity for Clarke, for Octavia, for Lexa, for TITUS, goddamn it, a character who DIDN’T EVEN EXIST PRIOR TO THIS SEASON. Titus has a more active role in this show than someone who has been here since season one. Why? Why did they underutilize Ricky Whittle, who is a fantastic actor, so much???

And then, in his final moments, Lincoln courageously sacrifices himself to save the lives of Grounders we barely know, who we probably won’t see much of at all, and his death scene is one of the most gratuitously violent things that show has ever done. Does The 100 have a thing for showing marginalized-identity characters bleeding out profusely? First, we had to watch Lexa die, then we get to watch Lincoln get one of the goriest deaths of the show. And for what? To grow Octavia? To show us that Pike is a bad person? NEWSFLASH: WE ALREADY KNEW HE WAS AWFUL.

I assume Whittle had to depart the show at some point for American Gods (WHERE THE CAST IS BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT AND I MAY SCREAM), but come on. He deserved better. His character deserved better. The fact that he’s not white makes me suspicious, and I can’t help it. I can’t help but wonder why this show keeps writing such terrible storylines for all its non-white characters. What a shitty way to go, y’all.

The video for “Stealing Fire” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

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About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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